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"Over the years, he watched many powerful and proud boys try to master the sport. As he studied and worked with them and counseled them, he learned much about the hearts and souls of young men. He learned to see hope where a boy thought there was no hope. He saw the power of trust, the strength of the affection that sometimes grew between a pair of young men. Or among a boatload of them striving honestly to do their best. And he came to understand how those almost mystical bonds of trust might lift a crew to another place, where nine boys somehow became one thing--a thing that was so in tune with the water and the earth and they sky above that, as they rowed, effort was replaced by ecstasy. It was a rare thing, a sacred thing--and George Yeoman Pocock, the man who'd been watching Joe and the other hopeful freshman, knew more about it than anyone."
"There was a straightforward reason for what was happening. The boys in the Husky Clipper were all tough, they were all skilled, they were all fiercely determined, but they were also all good-hearted. Every one of them had come from humble origins or had been humbled by the hard demands of rowing. Life, and the challenges they had faced together, had also taught them humility--that there were limits to their individual powers. They had learned that there were things they could do far better together than alone. They were starting to row now for one another, not just themselves, and it made all the difference."
"Over the years, he watched many powerful and proud boys try to master the sport. As he studied and worked with them and counseled them, he learned much about the hearts and souls of young men. He learned to see hope where a boy thought there was no hope. He saw the power of trust, the strength of the affection that sometimes grew between a pair of young men. Or among a boatload of them striving honestly to do their best. And he came to understand how those almost mystical bonds of trust might lift a crew to another place, where nine boys somehow became one thing--a thing that was so in tune with the water and the earth and they sky above that, as they rowed, effort was replaced by ecstasy. It was a rare thing, a sacred thing--and George Yeoman Pocock, the man who'd been watching Joe and the other hopeful freshman, knew more about it than anyone."
"There was a straightforward reason for what was happening. The boys in the Husky Clipper were all tough, they were all skilled, they were all fiercely determined, but they were also all good-hearted. Every one of them had come from humble origins or had been humbled by the hard demands of rowing. Life, and the challenges they had faced together, had also taught them humility--that there were limits to their individual powers. They had learned that there were things they could do far better together than alone. They were starting to row now for one another, not just themselves, and it made all the difference."
That's one of my favorite books of all time. So well written.
If you haven't seen it already, here's the actual footage of the race, in 1936. Their race starts at about the 1:20 mark.
I had 10 books on hold which all became available in one week.
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"Elsewhere", by Dean Koontz, published just last year. It's about a man and his daughter who end up possessing a device that transports them to different parallel existences. Of course, an unhinged deep state rogue government official (who's affiliated with a corrupt senator) is hot on their trail.
Dean Koontz seems to have his finger on the pulse of what's going on in our country right now.
Wow, I wasn't kidding about the last sentence. Here's an excerpt from "Elsewhere", I've been up very early reading. I've just got to quote...it gave me goosebumps.
One of the protagonists is describing his parallel universe "travels". Verbatim:
"There is a timeline in which the United States endures a societal convulsion similar to the French Revolution, but even worse. It is led by modern Jacobins, not spawned by the lower classes but by the highest, by privileged young men and women made ignorant by the most expensive universities and schooled in violence by the culture of death that produced them..."
It goes on:
"Tracts of houses and apartment buildings are set afire to exterminate residents who've been declared moral vermin..."
"Nihilism and irrationality spread like a plague. Crazed, bestial emotion replaces logic and reason. Madness is redefined as moral clarity. The past is destroyed and reinvented to ensure a future of Utopian justice, though justice no longer exists, has become mere revenge, often revenge against enemies more imagined than real, even revenge of Jacobin against Jacobin, as the insanity breeds more paranoia."
This book was published in 2020 (written pre-Covid lockdown and summer riots, I'm thinking), but that excerpt was pretty prophetic of society right now, especially post-election.
I thought I posted but maybe no ( I did search quickly)--- so I read Above the Bay of Angels by Rhys Bowen. It came very highly recommended. It's historical fiction about a girl from a good family whose family kind of falls apart (and later father dies) so she becomes a house maid and helps in the kitchen. Eventually she becomes a very good cook, and weadles her way into working for the royal family. It takes place with Queen Victoria. It was an enjoyable read, butI thought some of it was way too contrived. I have never read any of Rhy Bowen's work but apparently she is quite a prolific author. It was a nice diversion and the descriptions (especially the parts set in Nice ) were lovely.
I would give it 3.5 stars out of 5.
I am going to start Normal People next for one of my book clubs.
I thought I posted but maybe no ( I did search quickly)--- so I read Above the Bay of Angels by Rhys Bowen. It came very highly recommended. It's historical fiction about a girl from a good family whose family kind of falls apart (and later father dies) so she becomes a house maid and helps in the kitchen. Eventually she becomes a very good cook, and weadles her way into working for the royal family. It takes place with Queen Victoria. It was an enjoyable read, butI thought some of it was way too contrived. I have never read any of Rhy Bowen's work but apparently she is quite a prolific author. It was a nice diversion and the descriptions (especially the parts set in Nice ) were lovely.
I would give it 3.5 stars out of 5.
I am going to start Normal People next for one of my book clubs.
Will be interested to know what you thought about Normal People, Mayvenne...
This originally was a DNF at about page 50. Picked it back up and it did get better as the book went on, but in the end I only gave it 2 stars.
Right now I'm reading the Kidd books by John Sandford. I've read about all of his books.
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