Ken Reads The Classics

Dorothy and her friends meet the Hammerheads, travel to the Land of the Quadlings, and Glinda grants their wishes.

Dorothy and friends wreak havoc on the little china country and then the Lion becomes the king of the forest.

Trying one more time to get it right.

Today, the Wizard fulfills his promises to Dorothy and her friends...kind of.

In this chapter, we learn about humbugs and enabling. :)

Dorothy and her friends get lost on their way back to Oz. They call on their old friend, the Queen of the Mice, who tells them about the charm on the cap Dorothy acquired from the Wicked Witch of the West. She calls the Winged Monkeys and they take her back to Oz, but along the way, the King of the Winged Monkeys tells the story of Gaylette and Kaylala. Interesting indeed!

Dorothy and her companions must seek out the Wicked Witch of the West and kill her or Oz will not grant them their wishes.

Our merry travelers finally meet the Wonderful Wizard of Oz but will they get all they desire? Or does Oz have something not so wonderful in store?

In this chapter we examine the Tin Woodman's complicated views on life and love and we finally get to the Emerald City.

Thank you for continuing to listen to The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. I hope you enjoy the episode.

In this episode, we meet the Tin Woodsman and the Cowardly Lion. They join Dorothy, the Scarecrow, and her little dog Toto too, as the journey to meet with the Wizard of Oz.

In this episode, I continue reading Frank L. Baum's classic tale The Wizard of Oz. You can find free, electronic form of this book at gutenberg.org. Enjoy.

In this season, I read Frank L. Baum's classic tale, a free electronic form of this book is available at gutenberg.org.

In this episode we learn a king is willing to give his daughter away as a prize to either a flea, a grasshopper, or a leap-frog, whichever can jump the highest. Ah, the horrors of being a woman back in the day.  Also, we hear the tale of a young boy who learns about his future from a dryad.  Enjoy!

I just finished reading P.T. Duetermann’s The Last Paladin, a book about the U.S.S. Holland - a sub-hunting surface ship during World War II. I picked this book because I have a friend who is stationed in Hawaii and talking with her reminded me of my time sailing around Diamond Head as well as sailing in Japan and other parts of the world. In The Last Paladin, Deutermann writes a fascinating story about the Holland, a fictional sub-hunter sent to destroy Japanese submarines in the vast, and I mean vast, Pacific Ocean. He uses a technique I have never come across before, writing in the first-person but from two different characters points of view - the Captain and the Executive Officer. As I read this story, I found myself fully engaged in the sea battles between the Holland and the six different submarines they attacked and sunk. To be clear, the Holland takes on each sub one at a time and in most cases alone. Lieutenant Commander deTomasi, Deutermann’s fictional captain, is a consummate hunter, evaluating his prey and devising techniques to scare the enemy subs to the surface or boxing them in with a new weapon - the hedgehog. One of the challenges for me was the harsh comments and derogatory terms the captain and crew understandably made towards their enemy - the Japanese. These comments jumped out at me because I was stationed in Japan for over six years early on in my Air Force career. I found the Japanese people to be just like people all around the world, kind and generous and fun to be around. And now, of course, the countries of Japan and the United States of America are allies.  What a difference a day makes. This all gives me hope we can find a way to make our current adversaries into our future friends - without a horrific war. I don’t fault Deutermann as he used the terms to create a very realistic experience aboard a wartime vessel facing a determined enemy. Back to the book, Deutermann creates some very memorable scenes in The Last Paladin. The most salient of which for me is that of Chief Petty Officer Garcia sitting ten feet above an unexploded Japanese torpedo lodged into the side of the Holland. The Chief sits in a bosun’s chair, smoking a cigar, over the top of unexploded ordnance, as the Holland makes five knots in calm seas and lists to port. If action packed, seafaring stories are for you, then I can highly recommend The Last Paladin. You can grab a copy at your local library. That’s where I got mine. Thank you for listening and I hope you join me next time on Ken Reads The Classics.

In this episode, we finish up The Shoes of Fortune and then learn a lesson about happiness from The Fir Tree. Enjoy. 

This episode begins with Chapter IV of The Shoes of Fortune, a resident at a local hospital wears the enchanted galoshes and get stuck in a fence, attends a fortune telling event, and travels through the hearts of unsuspecting theater goers.  In Chapter V we learn of a police clerk who turns into a poet and a chirping bird. 

We follow the adventures of some unsuspecting soles who unknowingly put on 'the shoes of fortune'. 

Today we have two tales by Hans Christian Anderson, The Swineherd - a tale of a prince who, having been rejected by a princess, seeks his revenge in a bewildering fashion, and A Real Princess about a Queen Mother who creates a bizarre test to see if a young lady who showed up at their door one evening truly is a princess. 

It's great to be back again. I hope you enjoy this reading of The Emperor's New Clothes by Hans Christian Anderson. 

In this episode, we meet Gertrude who travels to Knotacentinim Towers (pronounced Nosham Taws) to act as governess for the children of Lord Knotacent, who - in turn, has a secret. In order to keep this secret, he insists his son, Ronald, marry and soon. Ronald refuses, wishing to marry for love. Wait! It seems a mystery surrounds Gertrude's inheritance as well. Will our heroine discover the truth? Will Ronald marry for family or for love? Will the English ever learn to pronounce English? Listen and find out. 

In this episode, we learn how strongly two people can love someone they have never met. Enjoy. 

This pstory cracks me up. I enjoyed reading and hope you enjoy listening to it. 

Hello, I hope you all enjoy this first story in a series of stories written by Stephen Leacock in his book, Nonsense Novels.

I'm going to take a break from reading classical literature for the moment but please give a listen to my new podcast The Magical World of Rowan Farfington Blarney and travel to a different place and a different time. 

Scientists say trial judges should stop doing this immediately.  The unexpected benefits of growing at unusual rates. 

Most people do this one thing while playing croquet.  If you're a Mock Turtle in Wonderland, click on this link. 10 surprising benefits of the Lobster Quadrille.

What advice did the caterpillar give to Alice? Did you just call me a pig? Who wins the tea-cup shuffle? Learn all these answers and more in this episode of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. 

Why are they trying to ban Alice in Wonderland?  Top Five Reasons to Eat Cake. Doctors urge Alice in Wonderland readers to stop doing this one thing.  Is Alice growing or is the house shrinking? Listen to this episode and find out. 

Will more men die in the hunt for Captain Flint's buried treasure? Will Jim and the faithful crew return home to Bristol? What is Long John Silver's fate? Find out in the final chapters of Treasure Island. Chapters 33 & 34. 

Dr. Livesey comes to treat the sick, Jim, Silver, and the doctor make a pact, the treasure hunt begins, the pirates hear a voice in the woods. Chapters 30, 31, & 32. 

Jim sends Hands to the bottom of the sea, then returns to the house to recount his heroics. Silvers gains a hostage and Jim learns another hard lesson of life at sea.  Chapters 27, 28, & 29.

Jim risks all to cut the schooner loose; he cruises in Ben Gunn's coracle, boards the now loose Hispaniola, strikes the Jolly Roger, and engages Israel Hands in a test of wills and wit.  Chapters 23, 24. 25, &26. 

Young Jim Hawkins picks up the narrative once again; the mutineers attack the stockade; Jim goes truant once again.  Chapters 19, 20, 21, and 22.

How did the Union Jack end up flying over the stockade? Will Jim meet up with the doctor, the squire, and the captain? Who will be the next to die? Find out in this episode of Treasure Island.  Chapters 15, 16, 17, & 18. 

We learn what Jim heard in the barrel, the mutineers turn on their captain, the body count increases. Chapters 11 and 12 of Part Two and Chapter 13 of Part 3. 

The Squire buys the Hispaniola, finds a ship's cook who just so happens to know lots of sailors looking for work. Secrets do not remain secrets for very long.  Chapters 7 through 10

In this episode, the blind-man returns with his shipmates; Jim rides off  with revenue officers to see Dr. Livesey. Squire Trelawney, Dr.  Livesey, and Jim decide to go find buried treasure.

In this, the first episode of Ken Reads The Classics, we meet young Jim Hawkins, who along with his mother and father, runs the Admiral Benbow, an inn near Bristol, England. Soon, a cantankerous sea-captain comes to stay at the inn. His former mates come to call on the captain. 

 CHAPTER 134. The Chase—Second Day.   CHAPTER 135. The Chase.—Third Day.   Epilogue 

 CHAPTER 131. The Pequod Meets The Delight.   CHAPTER 132. The Symphony.   CHAPTER 133. The Chase—First Day. 

 CHAPTER 124. The Needle.   CHAPTER 125. The Log and Line.   CHAPTER 126. The Life-Buoy.   CHAPTER 127. The Deck.   CHAPTER 128. The Pequod Meets The Rachel.   CHAPTER 129. The Cabin.   CHAPTER 130. The Hat. 

 CHAPTER 114. The Gilder.   CHAPTER 115. The Pequod Meets The Bachelor.           CHAPTER 116. The Dying Whale.   CHAPTER 117. The Whale Watch.   CHAPTER 118. The Quadrant.   CHAPTER 119. The Candles.   CHAPTER 120. The Deck Towards the End of the First Night Watch.   CHAPTER 121. Midnight.—The Forecastle Bulwarks.   CHAPTER 122. Midnight Aloft.—Thunder and Lightning.   CHAPTER 123. The Musket. 

 CHAPTER 108. Ahab and the Carpenter.   CHAPTER 109. Ahab and Starbuck in the Cabin.           CHAPTER 110. Queequeg in His Coffin.   CHAPTER 111. The Pacific.   CHAPTER 112. The Blacksmith.   CHAPTER 113. The Forge. 

Enjoy this comical tale of Mr. McWilliams and his struggle with modern technology.

 CHAPTER 102. A Bower in the Arsacides.   CHAPTER 103. Measurement of The Whale’s Skeleton.   CHAPTER 104. The Fossil Whale.   CHAPTER 105. Does the Whale’s Magnitude Diminish?—Will He Perish?   CHAPTER 106. Ahab’s Leg.   CHAPTER 107. The Carpenter. 

 CHAPTER 99. The Doubloon.   CHAPTER 100. Leg and Arm.   CHAPTER 101. The Decanter. 

 CHAPTER 93. The Castaway.   CHAPTER 94. A Squeeze of the Hand.   CHAPTER 95. The Cassock.   CHAPTER 96. The Try-Works.   CHAPTER 97. The Lamp.   CHAPTER 98. Stowing Down and Clearing Up. 

 CHAPTER 88. Schools and Schoolmasters.   CHAPTER 89. Fast-Fish and Loose-Fish.   CHAPTER 90. Heads or Tails.   CHAPTER 91. The Pequod Meets The Rose-Bud.   CHAPTER 92. Ambergris.   CHAPTER 93. The Castaway. 

 CHAPTER 84. Pitchpoling.   CHAPTER 85. The Fountain.   CHAPTER 86. The Tail.   CHAPTER 87. The Grand Armada.