Day 22 - My Xmas Month Countdown - A Book, a Song and now a TV Show

Watford beats Man U 2-0! Good grief! What a laugh! So much for making Marcus Rashford (Man U striker) my team captain for this week's games and even using my triple Captain points on him. Gaaaa!

Oh well, on to bigger and better things. My Top 4 books, song and TV show of 2019.

Book 4

Rudyard Kipling

Rudyard Kipling - Captains Courageous.

Kipling was born in Bombay in 1865 and died in London in 1936. He was a journalist, short story writer, novelist and poet. He wrote such classics as Kim, The Jungle Book, The Man Who Would Be King. I've only previously read one of his other stories, Puck of Pook's Hill and I do have his Just So Stories on my bookshelf. I found Captains Courageous during one of my looks through the local Little Free Libraries in the area and thought I'd take a chance on it. I'm glad I did as it was surprisingly excellent. My review is below.





"What a lovely, entertaining story. I found Captains Courageous by Rudyard Kipling by chance. Kipling might be better known for The Jungle Book and Kim but this story was great.

It starts with a bang. Young 15 year old Harvey Cheyne, son of a wealthy family and spoiled, is on a sea voyage with his mother when they hit a storm in the Grand Banks off Newfoundland, and he is washed overboard. Luckily for Harvey, the fishing fleet is working at the Grand Banks as well and one of the fishermen, out in his dory, sees Harvey in the water and saves him.

Harvey wants the crew of the We're Here to take him back to the mainland so he can contact his father. They don't believe he is from a wealthy family and can't afford to leave the prime fishing season for such a long period. So Harvey finds himself forced earn his keep working on the fishing boat. The boat is crewed by a wonderful diverse bunch of characters and Harvey soon makes friends of all of them, especially Dan, the son of the ship's master, Disco Troop.

We follow Harvey and the crew as they spend the season out on the banks with the other fishing boats, learning about the people, how hard the job is, but how there is such wonderful camaraderie between the crew members. It's a brave, daring book but at the same time, it's also folksy and friendly. We watch Harvey grow as a human being, from a selfish spoiled boy to a hard-working young man. It's an excellent coming of age story, a pure joy to read. Fair warning, it will take a mite to get used to the language as it was written in 1896 and there is a fair bit of local dialect. It doesn't take away from the joy of the story. Well worth reading (5 stars)"

Song 4

The Blue Nile

The Blue Nile - Tinseltown in the Rain.

The Blue Nile are a band out of Glasgow who formed in 1981. Their early music was based on synthesizers and electronic instrumentation. They worked with artists such as Rickie Lee Jones and Peter Gabriel. They seem to have disbanded in 2004 although there has been no official announcement. They produced 4 albums during this period. Tinseltown in the Rain was released in 1984, the 2nd song off A Walk Across the Rooftops.

TV Show 4

The Unicorn

The Unicorn.

Jo and I have enjoyed a number of the new shows this season. There have been a few excellent comedies as well. The Unicorn is my favorite. It stars Walton Goggins as The Unicorn. He is new widower and according to his friends, that makes him The Unicorn to all the available women. He has two lovely daughters and a cast of excellent friends who are trying to make him live his life. You've got Rob Cordry and his wife Michaela Watkins and Omar Benson Miller and his wife, Maya Lynne Robinson. They are all great and add so much to the show. Each has their foibles and neat characteristics. You have to watch. You will laugh! The imdb synopsis is below.

"A widower is eager to move on from the most difficult year of his life, only to realize he's utterly unprepared to raise his two daughters on his own and equally unprepared for the dating world where he's suddenly a hot commodity." Just like I said, eh?

So there you go. Tomorrow we hit Number 3. Woo hoo! Enjoy your Sunday.