August 2017 – Page 2 – Cheer Up dot Fun

Students are preparing for a new school year…

As students prepare for a new school year, and families help them gather the supplies that they will need to have on hand, at least a few of us will recall the countless teachers and professors who advised us to have a copy of Strunk’s The Elements of Style (also known and Strunk and White’s Elements of Style) on hand when writing essays and term papers.

As Amazon.com notes in their description: The Elements of Style is an American English writing style guide. It is one of the most influential and best-known prescriptive treatments of English grammar and usage in the United States. It originally detailed eight elementary rules of usage, ten elementary principles of composition, and “a few matters of form” as well as a list of commonly misused words and expressions. Updated editions of the paperback book are often required reading for American high school and college composition classes.

[amazon_link asins=’1988236517,1537669648′ template=’ProductCarousel’ store=’cheerupfun-20′ marketplace=’US’ link_id=’74026917-7e5e-11e7-8b74-0d8d7040b080′]

Copies of Strunk’s Elements of Style have been added to the CheerUp.Fun August eBook Club. The first 100 people to join should automatically receive a copy. For more information on how to join the CheerUp.Fun August 2017 eBook Club Click Here.

Gift of the Magi

O. Henry’s Gift of the Magi is a classic tale of love, of sacrifice, of coming to understand the true value of the things in our lives… and perhaps most of all, it’s a story of relationships, and communication in them.

Amazon.com notes: The classic holiday tale of love, devotion, and the art of giving—written by one of the world’s best-known short-story authors—will delight those both new to and familiar with this timeless narrative.

The Amazon.com listing for a collection of O. Henry writings supplies these further details: William Sydney Porter (1862–1910), known by his pen name O. Henry, was an American writer. O. Henry’s short stories are known for their wit, wordplay, warm characterization, and surprise endings. Among his most famous stories, Cabbages and Kings was his first collection of stories, followed by The Four Million. The Gift of the Magi is about a young couple who are short of money but desperately want to buy each other Christmas gifts.

[amazon_link asins=’0486270610,B005BXY1R4′ template=’ProductCarousel’ store=’cheerupfun-20′ marketplace=’US’ link_id=’f96d1817-7d88-11e7-a8db-fb75017403e8′]

A limited number of copies of The Gift of the Magi have been added to the August CheerUp dot Fun eBook Club. For more info on the eBook Club, and how to join, click here.

A Thank You from CheerUp.Fun

Free eBooks as a thank you for visiting CheerUp dot Fun.

We have a limited number of copies of most of the books that have been recommended so far this month on CheerUp.Fun, if you are interested in receiving free books, directly into your Amazon Kindle account it’s quite simple.

Follow the directions at this link to join our book club. For each of the books we currently have in the book club there are 70 or more copies available, so the sooner you join, the more likely you are to receive a copy.

Books include:
The Red Badge of Courage
The Man that Corrupted Hadleyburg (2 editions)
Bulfinch’s Mythology
Charles Dickens: The Complete Christmas Books and Stories
A Christmas Carol
The Scarlet Letter
Oz: The Complete Collection
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (AmazonClassics Edition)
The Complete Leatherstocking Tales (includes Last of the Mohicans)
The Iliad (AmazonClassics Edition)
The Odyssey (AmazonClassics Edition)
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (AmazonClassics Edition)
Tom Sawyer Collection — All 4 Books
Mark Twain 12 Novels, 195 Short Stories
Dr. Montessori’s Own Handbook
Spontaneous Activity in Education
Montessori Method Scientific Pedagogy
Gods of Mars
Warlord of Mars
Thuvia, Maid of Mars
Chessmen of Mars
Anne of Green Gables Collection
Anne of Green Gables (#1)
Behind the Scenes: or 30 Years a Slave and 4 Years in the White House
Sherlock Holmes: The Collection
Uncle Tom’s Cabin
Slave Narrative Six Pack (includes 12 Years a Slave)
Boy Scouts on Hudson Bay Or, The Disappearing Fleet
Boy Scouts Mysterious Signal or Perils of the Black Bear Patrol
Boy Scouts in the Canal Zone The Plot Against Uncle Sam
Boy Scouts in a Submarine : or, Searching an Ocean Floor

To get copies of books recommended August 2017 by CheerUp.Fun, go to https://whispercast.amazon.com/join/QEYIep2uIkh87x9gC6o4AvnuKFSV3iBD and follow the prompts to join the CheerUp.Fun whispercast BookClub.

The books will appear in your Amazon Kindle Library, and you can go to Manage Content and Devices to send them to wherever you read Kindle Books.

At this time we are ONLY able to offer a Kindle eBook Club. Thank you for your understanding.

Last of the Mohicans

Another example of a story many have been drawn to by a movie, The Last of the Mohicans, written in the early 1800s by James Fenimore Cooper, is set in the 1750s, and tells the story of the last members of a dying Native American tribe.

The volume selected here is called The Leatherstocking Tales… written by the American writer James Fenimore Cooper, the Leatherstocking Tales is a classic series of five historical novels featuring the hero Natty Bumppo. This collection includes the following:

The Deerslayer
The Last of the Mohicans
The Pathfinder
The Pioneers
The Prairie

The Scarlet Letter

Another book among those often assigned in schools, the Scarlet Letter is a story that at first glance might seem to have a dated story line, and a plot that the modern audience finds harder to relate to, after all, it is about a woman who is in almost every sense an outcast because she bore a child out of wedlock. She is compelled to wear a Scarlet Letter, an A, upon her chest, so all who see her will know her sin.
While it is true modern society does not look upon single parents, and children born out of wedlock in the same fashion they did during author Nathaniel Hawthorne’s lifetime, he lived between 1804 and 1864, there are other aspects of the story that are still quite relevant. For instance, the father of the child does not wear a Scarlet Letter, in part because of choices Hester Prynne has made, but the fact remains a double standard is revealed within the story. There is also the topic of emotional guilt, and the burden of carrying a secret, things that every generation can relate to, regardless of what the secret is, or what one feels guilty about.

While there are a great many challenges that await any Hollywood production when they attempt to tackle a creative work that started in another medium, the Scarlet Letter may seem easier than most. With few visual effects / special effects to take on, the other world that seeks to be created is our very real past, as opposed to a difficult to imagine and bring to life future. However, I do not recommend those who adore the story of Nathaniel Hawthorne’s Scarlet Letter watch the 1995 film featuring Demi Moore. While in several places they captured the Puritan environment, and some of Nathaniel Hawthorne’s descriptions of the New World in beautiful technicolor, the film falls short in delivering the full impact of the story, and in many ways neglects to carry through on the painful all too human dilemmas and consequences these characters were subjected to in favor of what, for lack of a better term, could be described as a Hollywood Happy Ending. Then again, if you ever wondered what the Scarlet Letter would have been like with a Hollywood Happy Ending, in place of the author’s envisioning of real life turmoil, perhaps the film is for you.

[amazon_link asins=’B06ZYD5RMB,1542046165,0486280489,1907947965,B00006472Q’ template=’ProductCarousel’ store=’cheerupfun-20′ marketplace=’US’ link_id=’a2a5ead1-794b-11e7-a0dd-29c128641c05′]

Boy Scouts in Fiction

Recently I became aware of what feels like a sub-genre of books for young adults, and middle school readers. These books involve the adventures of Boy Scouts and Girls Scouts, something a great many of the readers can relate to from first-hand experience, and for others while they may not have those direct experiences to relate from, they have seen friends wearing the uniforms, or have seen troops in their community, and have a general awareness of what Scouting is. For those who have never been a Scout, it is possible these books may give them some understanding why, for some individuals, Scouting is an activity they are drawn to, it may help them to see Scouting in a new or different way, and for others it may simply confirm that Scouting is what they thought it was — and is not an activity they need in addition to their already full lives and schedules.

It feels like the most prolific author within this sub-genre is G. Harvey (George Harvey) Ralphson, who lived between 1879 and 1940.

From Amazon.com:

George Harvey Ralphson (1879–1940) was a writer of juvenile adventure books in the early 20th century. Best known for his “Boy Scout” series of adventures, he was one of the first American Boy Scouts Masters.

This ebook edition is collection of collected works of G. Harvey Ralphson. The edition comes with eleven books, active table of contents, active navigation.

Included Works:

The Boy Scout Camera Club
Boy Scouts In A Submarine
Boy Scouts In An Airship
Boy Scouts In Mexico
Boy Scouts In Southern Waters
Boy Scouts In The Canal Zone
Boy Scouts In The North Sea
Boy Scouts In The Philippines
Boy Scouts Mysterious Signal
Boy Scouts On Hudson Bay
Boy Scouts On Motorcycles

Because the works of George Harvey Ralphson have gone into the Public Domain, some of his stories (including Boy Scouts in the Northwest Fighting Fores Fires) are available, individually, for free. The edition where the above stories are collected together however, is currently not a free volume.

[amazon_link asins=’B0083Z19LS,B01DS3P6N6,B0082XKRVE’ template=’ProductCarousel’ store=’cheerupfun-20′ marketplace=’US’ link_id=’68c66d42-7992-11e7-b9ff-9dadd51de32d’]

[amazon_link asins=’B006FLEP2W,B004TREW6S,B004UKD0FS,1523738391,B006FLFBKM,1332783414,1500435082′ template=’ProductCarousel’ store=’cheerupfun-20′ marketplace=’US’ link_id=’1cf95cce-799d-11e7-8ba0-853fd9032bcf’]

Maria Montessori and her Handbook

Noticed a Montessori School in your community and wondered just what that is? Montessori school follow the teaching principles of Maria Montessori, who lived between 1870 and 1952, and opened her first school in Rome in 1907.

Maria Montessori believed in a child’s natural desire to learn, and the sponge like nature of a child’s mind when exposed to new information and materials.

The website for the American Montessori Society notes that youngsters who were unruly at first, soon showed great interest in working with puzzles, learning to prepare meals, and manipulating materials that held lessons in math. She {Maria Montessori} observed how they absorbed knowledge from their surroundings, essentially teaching themselves.

Perhaps one of my favorite Maria Montessori quotes shared on the American Montessori Society website is: When a child is given a little leeway, he will at once shout, “I want to do it!” But in our schools, which have an environment adapted to children’s needs, they say, “Help me to do it alone.” And these words reveal their inner needs. [Maria Montessori, The Secret of Childhood, translated by M. Joseph Costelloe, S.J.]

For those interested in discovering more about Montessori schools, and the Montessori method, the Montessori Handbook may be of interest… but this is another situation where it may be of great importance to keep in mind when the book was written – 1914. A Book over 100 years old is by its very nature bound to sound dated, read a bit awkwardly, add to that the fact it was written by a woman whose native language was not English, and who was approaching the topic from both a medical and an educators perspective. The intent here is to inform as opposed to amuse and entertain… and hopefully it will open some people’s eyes to another way to teach and learn.

“It is not true,” says Dr. Montessori, “that I invented what is called the Montessori Method. I have studied the child, I have taken what the child has given me and expressed it, and that is what is called the Montessori Method.” [What You Should Know About Your Child: Based on Lectures Delivered by Maria Montessori, transcribed and translated by Gnana Prakasam] (as posted on the American Montessori Society Website)

[amazon_link asins=’B004TQG5R8,B004TPBRW2,B00AQMUZHA,B005DJ0NU0,B004S2CDYC,B00XT8WBSE,1463744277,1451531621,7512703546,151198595X’ template=’ProductCarousel’ store=’cheerupfun-20′ marketplace=’US’ link_id=’b08aa1de-7996-11e7-a4b8-bf032a1d6c45′]

Bulfinch’s Mythology

Countless students over the years have been advised to pick up a copy of Bulfinch’s Mythology. Perhaps because so many have turned to this book over the years as their source for myths, it has become known as a definitive source. Whatever the reason, this book has persisted long after the author’s lifetime, and while some of the writing may feel out of sync with modern ideas (political correctness was invented after his passing for instance) as a single volume to turn to and look up your favorite figures. Whether you want to read about Zeus, or the Golden Fleece, these pages are likely to hold something that will capture your imagination.

Per Amzon.com Bulfinch’s Mythology was written by Thomas Bulfinch (1796-1867) a Massachusetts-based writer and banker who wrote and collected the first popular English-language retellings of Greek, Roman, Eastern, Scandinavian, Arthurian, and medieval myths.

[amazon_link asins=’B0084A01CK,B004TPB9CU,B0084A01AM,0486411079,1440426309,B004CURC14′ template=’ProductCarousel’ store=’cheerupfun-20′ marketplace=’US’ link_id=’803f740b-793c-11e7-a01f-cdc07fe64282′]

The Complete Wizard of Oz

When it comes to the Wizard of Oz folks seem to fall into a few different categories. There are those who have indeed read All fourteen Oz books written by L. Frank Baum, there are those that have read The Wonderful Wizard of Oz and in a few cases not realized there were more books to pursue, no matter how much they enjoyed that work, and then there are those who will vow by any means you request that they can quote the L. Frank Baum work… and when you start asking questions you discover that they are devotees of a movie that catapulted Dorothy to another place, where she introduced a vast audience, and multiple generations to some of the most memorable characters many of us have ever encountered… folks who might just want to spend a little time with the books that started so many on the journey to make the film they first fell in love with, and provided them the route through which they came to the yellow brick road, and they came to know, The Wizard of Oz.

According to Amazon.com, the edition linked to here includes:
Fourteen Complete Works

All fourteen of L. Frank Baum’s Oz books, in order and unabridged. Books included:

1. The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (1900)* Includes Original Illustrations by W.W. Denslow!
2. The Marvelous Land of Oz (1904)
3. Ozma of Oz (1907)
4. Dorothy and the Wizard in Oz (1908)
5. The Road to Oz (1909)
6. The Emerald City of Oz (1910)
7. The Patchwork Girl of Oz (1913)
8. Tik-Tok of Oz (1914)
9. The Scarecrow of Oz (1915)
10. Rinkitink in Oz (1916)
11. The Lost Princess of Oz (1917)
12. The Tin Woodman of Oz (1918)
13. The Magic of Oz (1919)
14. Glinda of Oz (1920)

[amazon_link asins=’0486291162,B0746B4S6W,1542048672,B002QRBB30,B00CNW9ZI6′ template=’ProductCarousel’ store=’cheerupfun-20′ marketplace=’US’ link_id=’f0219d2e-77ff-11e7-a936-7dc8a191c004′]

A Princess of Mars

Perhaps the single most significant thing to keep in mind when reading A Princess of Mars / John Carter: Mars Series #1, or watching the Disney film John Carter, is that the Edgar Rice Burroughs novel (and the Barsoom series) came first. Not simply before the film was made in 2012, but before most of the Science-Fiction and Fantasy works you are inclined to be reminded of as you make your way through the story.

According to Wikipedia It was first serialized in the pulp magazine All-Story Magazine from February–July, 1912. So, as you make your way through the novel, or watch the movie, each time you are tempted to think, “I’ve encountered this before” stop yourself for a moment, and rephrase that thought… instead of being disappointed in a Darth Vader like moment, wonder instead if the folks who brought your Darth Vader in the 70s, did not perhaps encounter John Carter, the Barsoom series, and the Princess of Mars on their way to making the Star Wars films. When John Carter is taking a giant leap for Mankind, consider for a moment how many members of NASA, from those who never leave the Earth, to the Astronauts who have sent us messages from their trips to the stars, were inspired by Science Fiction, and the works of authors like Edgar Rice Burroughs.

[amazon_link asins=’1926606841,B073ZJSVVP,B007MDB71O,B00M26EVKU’ template=’ProductCarousel’ store=’cheerupfun-20′ marketplace=’US’ link_id=’0c11504c-7711-11e7-9b8f-694a6450cf09′]

Homer’s Odyssey

Where Homer’s Iliad is a story of battle and valor and heroic men fighting the great fight, Homer’s Odyssey is a very different tale. This is the story of Odysseus return home from the Trojan War. Many refer to this as the love story that counterbalances the epic battle story that is the Iliad, and while both are born of the old Oral History tradition, they carry their own tone and flavor.

As Amazon.com says about this edition:

After enduring the Trojan War, Odysseus begins the treacherous journey home to Ithaca. On the way, he faces ravenous monsters and vengeful gods. But the real battle awaits, as his kingdom is under siege by unruly suitors vying for his wife’s hand—and his son’s head. To reclaim his throne and save his family, Odysseus must rely on his wits…and help from the unpredictable gods.

Homer’s The Odyssey was composed around 700 BC. It is one of the earliest epics in existence and remains one of the most influential works of literature today.

Revised edition: Previously published as The Odyssey, this edition ofThe Odyssey (AmazonClassics Edition) includes editorial revisions.