Category Book reviews

The Tale of Two Tuscan Cities

Reg Spittle 2 Comments
Our view of our destination from the Via Francigena.
The tower city in our rear-view mirror.

We left behind San Gimignano—the tower city—and followed the Via Francigena to Monteriggioni—the walled city.

It was a day of ups and downs, showing off gorgeous Tuscan views from a sometimes rugged trail along with many miles of arduous and even dangerous road walking.

At one water crossing, longer and trickier than the one in the photo above, a young guy yelled out as I started, “Need some help?” Thanks to practice on the John Muir Trail, I handled the crossing on my own with no problem. I am fighting taking offense, though, when a whippersnapper assumes that my age makes me feeble.

By the end of nearly nine hours, we covered nearly 19 miles and 2,400 feet of ascent, including a final push up an achilles-testing climb to the imposing walled city.

In one day, our feet covered two of the most beautiful places in all of Italy.

Root for Ivan the Gorilla and Cap the Nerd

Reg Spittle Leave a comment

My only complaint about each of these books is that they are too short. The endings are great, but I longed to continue following the charming and clever characters’ lives.

In Schooled, by Gordon Korman, one of my favorite authors, Capricorn Anderson (Cap for short) is a teenager who has been raised and taught by his grandmother on a commune inhabited by just the two of them. He has never watched TV, interacted with other kids, nor eaten pizza.

But when his grandma is hospitalized after falling out of a tree and cannot care for him, he is sent to Claverage Middle School (nicknamed C Average by the students), where a series of events thrusts the naive eighth-grader under a spotlight that he cannot comprehend. His classmates and school are transformed in ways that will surprise and captivate you.

My love of Newbery Award-winning books continues with Catherine Applegate’s The One and Only Ivan. Ivan, a silver-back gorilla, describes his life while he is on display inside glass walls within a shopping mall.

When Ruby, a baby elephant raised in the wild, joins the mall’s animal family, Ivan engages a plan to transport them all to new lives.

Ivan (through Applegate) is a master storyteller whose words and actions are captivating. You are sure to enjoy his tale and his choice of words.

If you seek a distraction or just great books, I highly recommend Schooled and The One and Only Ivan.