(Pearl) Zane Grey, Western author, b. 1875 in Zanesville, Ohio. He dropped his first name later in life. Engineer Husband has an uncle named Horace Pearl; Pearl was an acceptable name for boys around the turn of the century and before. Zane Grey wrote over 90 books, travelled all over the world, and became one of the first millionaire writers. Not bad for guy named Pearl.

Have any of you read any Zane Grey? If so, can you suggest ONE title as a starter?

Gerald McDermott, b. 1941, author and illlustrator who won the Caldecott Award in 1975 for Arrow to the Sun.
Gerald McDermott’s website.

Here’s a critical view of McDermott’s book from a blogger who writes about American Indians as portrayed in children’s literature.

An art activity to accompany the reading of Arrow to the Sun.

Quite a few famous authors and other people have birthdays on January 30th. Can you guess the answers to these trivia questions before tomorrow’s post on the Birthdays of January 30th?

What famous children’s song lyrics did Ann Taylor and her sister Jane write?

Who wrote the book A Distant Mirror: The Calamitous Fourteenth Century?

What fictional part of England forms the setting for Angela Thirkell’s 30+ novels?

What is the name of Lloyd Alexander’s Assistant Pig-Keeper?

Who said, “Four years ago, some said the world had grown calm, and many assumed that the United States was invulnerable to danger. That thought might have been comforting; it was also false. Like other generations of Americans, we soon discovered that history had great and unexpected duties in store for us.”?

Who said, “Be sincere; be brief; be seated.”?

Who said, “I warmed both hands before the fire of life; It sinks, and I am ready to depart.”?

Charles Lutwidge Dodgson, aka Lewis Carroll, b.1832 at Cheshire, England.

One day Alice came to a fork in the road and saw a Cheshire cat in a tree.
“Which road do I take?” she asked.
“Where do you want to go?” was his response.
“I don’t know,” Alice answered.
“Then,” said the cat, “it doesn’t matter.”

Other Lewis Carroll posts to cause you to lose your way:

Of Snarks and Quarks

Lewis Carroll’s Birthday: 2006

Radio Jabberwocky

“The horror of that moment,” the King went on, “I shall never forget!”
“You will, though,” The Queen said, “if you don’t make a memorandum of it.”
This is so appropo of my life and memory. The 3M’s, middle age, menopause, and memory loss, are my constant companions.

“The rule is, jam tomorrow and jam yesterday – but never jam today.”

“When I use a word,” Humpty Dumpty said, in a rather scornful tone, “it means just what I choose it to mean, neither more nor less.”

“The question is,” said Alice, “whether you can make words mean so many different things.”

“The question is,” said Humpty Dumpty, “which is to be master – that’s all.” Through the Looking Glass by Lewis Carroll

If you’ve never read Mr. Carroll’s masterpieces, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass, and What Alice Found There, you really, really should do so immediately.

Some (perhaps) motivational facts to get you to pick up a copy of Alice:
Queen Victoria and the young Oscar Wilde were among the first avid readers of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland.
You could host a Mad Hatter Tea Party.
Lewis Carroll, aka Charles Dodgson, was a mathematician, a scholar, and an amateur photographer. There is no evidence that he was a pedophile, although he did enjoy the company of little girls.
“Dodgson was devoted to games as croquet, backgammon, billiards and chess, enjoyed conjuring and card tricks and invented many mathematical and word puzzles, games, ciphers and aids to memory.” (Source: Lenny’s Alice in Wonderland site)
“Through the Looking Glass” is the third season finale of the ABC television series Lost, consisting of the twenty-second and twenty-third episodes of the TV program. Therefore, you can read either Alice in Wonderland or Through the Looking Glass as a part of the LOST Books Challenge.

And then there’s always a dissenter in the bunch. Author Terry Pratchett has said of Alice: “”I didn’t like the Alice books because I found them creepy and horribly unfunny in a nasty, plonking, Victorian way. Oh, here’s Mr Christmas Pudding On Legs, hohohoho, here’s a Caterpillar Smoking A Pipe, hohohoho. When I was a kid the books created in me about the same revulsion as you get when, aged seven, you’re invited to kiss your great-grandmother.”

Don’t listen to him (even if you like Mr. Pratchett’s books). Alice is very funny, witty, and quite undated. The observations of Humpty Dumpty and the Cheshire Cat are endlessly applicable to current events.

Janet at Across the Page just read Alice for the first time, and here are her thoughts.

‘It’s a cravat, child, and a beautiful one, as you say. It’s a present from the White King and Queen. There now!’
‘Is it really?’ said Alice, quite pleased to find that she HAD chosen a good subject, after all.
‘They gave it me,’ Humpty Dumpty continued thoughtfully, as he crossed one knee over the other and clasped his hands round it, ‘they gave it me–for an un-birthday present.’
‘I beg your pardon?’ Alice said with a puzzled air.
‘I’m not offended,’ said Humpty Dumpty.
‘I mean, what IS an un-birthday present?’
‘A present given when it isn’t your birthday, of course.’
Alice considered a little. ‘I like birthday presents best,’ she said at last.
‘You don’t know what you’re talking about!’ cried Humpty Dumpty. ‘How many days are there in a year?’
‘Three hundred and sixty-five,’ said Alice.
‘And how many birthdays have you?’
‘One.’
‘And if you take one from three hundred and sixty-five, what remains?’
‘Three hundred and sixty-four, of course.’
Humpty Dumpty looked doubtful. ‘I’d rather see that done on paper,’ he said.

Unless you share a birthday with Mr. Dodgson, I hope you have a very happy un-birthday today!

Robert Burns, b. January 25, 1759.

“Robert Burns is Scotland’s best-loved bard and Burns Suppers have been held in his honour for over 200 years. This site gives you the complete guide to Robert Burns the man, his poems, his travels, haggis, whisky and much more.” From this website dedicated to all things Burns, The Bard.

In the Prospect of Death

O Thou unknown, Almighty Cause
Of all my hope and fear!
In whose dread presence, ere an hour,
Perhaps I must appear!

Where with intention I have err’d,
No other plea I have,
But, Thou art good; and Goodness still
Delighteth to forgive.

And that plea sounds good to me.

Kate’s Book Blog on Burns’ Birthday
Semicolon: January 25, 2004
Rebecca celebrates with a whole slew of Robbie Burns posts from last year.

Somerset Maugham, b. 1874. “There are three rules for writing the novel. Unfortunately, no one knows what they are”

Virginia Woolf, b. 1882. Eldest Daughter on Virginia Woolf: “To the Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf. This is a beautiful poetic exploration of the ephemerality of human relationships. You can have Joyce; give me Woolf for the highest example of the stream of consciousness technique. Because with her it’s not about the technique, it’s about the people.” I couldn’t say. Modern-day philistine that I am, I’ve never read Joyce or Woolf.

Edwin Newman, b. 1919. Longtime anchorman of NBC News, he also wrote the book Strictly Speaking about the use and misuse of the English language.