Book Review- The Young Carthaginian

For the Alphabet Soup challenge, Hard Core Re-reading, What's in a Name challenge, Author A-Z and Audiobook challenge I re-read (aka listened to the audiobook of) of G.A. Henry's historical novel The Young Carthaginian.

Synopsis from Goodreads: Set in ancient times, during the Punic wars, this story follows the adventures of young Malchus, an officer in Hannibal's army. Henty describes the army's incredible journey through southern Europe and across the Alps in fascinating detail, providing both a lesson in ancient history and an absorbing story. The balance of power in Europe swayed between Rome and Carthage and the outcome of this struggle would determine the course of Western Civilization even until today

I was a Henty fanatic as a child. I read almost all of his books (and he had a lot!) and re-read many of them as well. I will admit I did learn most of my history from his books. Though they are historical novels, they are quite accurate. As an adult(ish) re-reading them is a little different of an experience than reading them as a child. Henry's novels are fairly formulaic. His heroes are always perfect gentlemen with no faults (though sometimes hot headed). Sometimes he does a history dump and you have to wade through some details before getting to the action but it is a historical novel so I guess it isn't fair to complain about that. However, I still love his books. I learn so much for them and I can appreciate the refreshing change of a hero that is actually good as compared to some "heroes" that are portrayed in books nowadays. It's also nice that while Malchus is always willing to "save the girl" the girl is always capable of saving herself. They make a great team. There's plenty of action  mixed in with the history making it a fun adventure novel for boys and even girls alike (I think I read more of them than my brothers!).
Hannibal and the Punic wars were something I new little about so it was fascinating to learn more about them. I'm now interested to read more about the subject.
Overall I enjoyed the re-read and I am looking forward to possibly re-reading more of Henty's novels next year.


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Top Ten Auto-buy Authors

The theme for this week's top ten Tuesday is your top ten auto-buy authors. So you all know I read mostly classic works so most of these authors aren't putting out books anymore. I'm just going to list the ones that I don't already own all of their works (which is why Jane Austen isn't on the list). For those not familiar with some of these authors, I have put in parentheses one of their more famous works.

1. J.R.R. Tolkien (Lord of the Rings)
2. Charles Dickens (David Copperfield) 
3. Agatha Christie (Murder on the Orient Express)
4. C.S. Lewis (The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe) 
5. Louisa May Alcott (Little Women)
6. Lucy Maud Montgomery (Anne of Green Gables)
7. Emmuska Orczy (The Scarlet Pimpernel) 
8. G.A. Henty (In the Reign of Terror)
9. Brian Jacques (Redwall)
10. P.G. Wodehouse (The Code of the Woosters)

With these authors I would have no hesitation in buying their novels. They are tried and true authors who have never let me down. :)

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Top Ten Authors I've Read the Most Books From

This week's them is the top ten authors I've read he most books from. Now we already did one of the top ten authors we own the books of and these lists will be pretty similar. Looking back at that list though I see I owned a lot less books then. I thankfully have Goodreads to tell me the answers to this list though there are books (mostly ones I read as a child) that still haven't gotten put on Goodreads.

1. Agatha Christie- According to Goodreads I've read 69 of her books... I'm not sure if that number is totally accurate... I think I've read more than that. I've read almost all of her books. 
2. P.G.Wodehouse- According to Goodreads I've read 43 of his books... that number is probably pretty accurate. 
3. Thornton Burgess- A favorite author growing up. According to Goodreads I've read 38 of his books. 
4. Brian Jacques- According to Goodreads I've read 28 of his books. I'm pretty sure I've read all of his books. 
5. G.A. Henty- According to Goodreads I've read 21 of his books. I think though I've read more. 
6. C.S. Lewis- According to Goodreads I've read 14 of his books.
7. Charles Dickens- According to Goodreads I've read 14 of his books.
8. J.R.R. Tolkien- According to Goodreads I've read 13 of his books. 
9. Arthur Ransome- According to Goodreads I've read 12 of his books. 
10. L.M. Montgomery- According to Goodreads I've read 12 of her books. 

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Tea, History, and Snow!

My fingers are going numb!  I think my family should, without a doubt, move our computer upstairs where it is warmer:)  This morning I decided to indulge in a little history and a cup of cherry tea to try and forget about the snow and cold outside. So I read a little of volume four of  A Basic History of the United States by Clarence B. Carson.  His series of books on American history are very informative and intriguing, though they are sometimes hard to read.  I would definitely recommend them for high school and older.  Also for history lovers, if you have never picked up G.A. Henty's historical novels, do so now! They are the best historical novels I have read yet, covering from Ancient Egypt to the time of Queen Victoria.  The heroes of these books are real men, and the heroines real woman!  G.A. Henty's books leave you with all sorts of snippets of historical knowledge without you even realizing it!  These books work well for middle school age and up (one can never be to old for these), and are a perfect supplement to any history curriculum.  Well enjoy your day and happy tea drinking and reading!

Lois Johnson, avid writer, tea drinker, and reader but first and foremost, avid Christian.