corner corner Once and Future King~ The BOOKRAY

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Once and Future King~ The BOOKRAY
by T. H. White | Science Fiction & Fantasy
Registered by weeblet of Jacksonville, Florida USA on Sunday, October 19, 2003
Average 8 star rating by BookCrossing Members 

status (set by tyvmdear): travelling


This book is in the wild! This Book is Currently in the Wild!

7 journalers for this copy...

Journal Entry 1 by weeblet from Jacksonville, Florida USA on Sunday, October 19, 2003

This book has not been rated.

The Merriam-Webster Encyclopedia of Literature:

Quartet of novels by T.H. White, published in a single volume in 1958. The quartet comprises The Sword in the Stone (1938), The Queen of Air and Darkness--first published as The Witch in the Wood (1939)--The Ill-Made Knight (1940), and The Candle in the Wind (published in the composite volume, 1958). The series is a retelling of the Arthurian legend, from Arthur's birth to the end of his reign, and is based largely on Sir Thomas Malory's Le Morte Darthur. After White's death, a conclusion to The Once and Future King was found among his papers; it was published in 1977 as The Book of Merlyn.  

Journal Entry 2 by weeblet from Jacksonville, Florida USA on Friday, December 19, 2003

7 out of 10

looks like we have a book ray!
i'm assuming everyone knows the drill: journal that the book is in your possesion, then when you are done, with comments, hopefully, and then when you release.
i'm looking forward to reading other peoples impressions<:

participants:

wyldanthem and co. (VA) (mailed 1/2)
ResQgeek~VA
therubycanary-ME
maddymonkey (IL, intl. OK)
chivers (brasil, pref. dom.)

 

Journal Entry 3 by wyldanthem from Lancaster, Pennsylvania USA on Thursday, January 08, 2004

This book has not been rated.

Received this today! Will get started soon, and journal again once I'm finished. You're right, weeblet, it is a big 'un! :o) 

Journal Entry 4 by wyldanthem from Lancaster, Pennsylvania USA on Thursday, January 29, 2004

10 out of 10

Weeblet: THANKYOUTHANKYOUTHANKYOUTHANKYOU!

This is the best book I have ever read. Not merely as a work of fiction, but also as a beginner’s book of philosophy. All of man’s most difficult questions are addressed, and in some cases answered, in this enormous tome. Editors tend to look at a 600-page book and say, “There’s no need for all that, really – anything can be trimmed.” But I wouldn’t want a single word changed or cut, especially not in that last chapter, which kept me misty eyed from start to finish. When Arthur asked a favor of his page, Tom, and the young page answered “I would do anything for King Arthur,” I wanted to yell “Me too, me too!” Instead, I got a little vaclempt (sp?), as Mike Myers would say.

The story is ageless, but it still amazes me how much of Merlyn’s and Arthur’s wisdom applies today. There are many passages that have relevance to present day, but this early description of today’s lawyers was by far my favorite:

“Moot points have to be settled somehow, once they get thrust upon us. If an assertion cannot be proved, then it must be settled some other way, and nearly all of these ways are unfair to somebody. … You could … hire the strongest man you knew to fight for you, and the Queen would, of course, get the strongest man she knew to fight for her. It would be much the same thing if you each hired the best arguer you knew, to argue about it.”

How little our justice system really has changed. It can be summed up today the same way in which T.H. White summed it up all those decades ago:

“In the last resort it is usually the richest person who wins, whether he hires the most expensive arguer or the most expensive fighter.”

Now, I'm on my way to B&N to find Sir Thomas Malory's Le Morte Darthur and The Book of Merlyn! Oh, and will drop the book off at the P.O. Saturday so the next lucky reader can enjoy it. Thanks again, weeblet! 

Journal Entry 5 by wingResQgeekwing from Alexandria, Virginia USA on Saturday, February 07, 2004

This book has not been rated.

Arrived in the mail while I was on vacation. I'm currently in the middle of another book from my TBR pile, but I will read this ASAP and journal my thoughts. 

Journal Entry 6 by wingResQgeekwing from Alexandria, Virginia USA on Monday, March 15, 2004

This book has not been rated.

Whew! Finally finished. I found this to be a terribly slow book to read. The frequent narrative asides (many extremely anachronistic) were a major distraction and prevented me from settling into a rhythm as I read. As a result, I found myself easily distracted while trying to read this book.

However, it was worth the effort. T.H. White is exploring a number of significant issues here. It seems to me, looking at the period in which he was writing, that he was trying to use the Arthur legends as a vehicle to search for some meaning or understanding of the great events of his lifetime (i.e., World Wars I and II). Is war inevitable? Can it ever be justified? What alternatives might be found to avoid it? These are some of the questions that White confronts in his telling of story of King Arthur and his Knights of the Round table. In the end, it doesn't seem that White finds any definitive answers. But he certainly provides plenty of food for thought. 

Journal Entry 7 by wingResQgeekwing from Alexandria, Virginia USA on Tuesday, March 16, 2004

This book has not been rated.

This book is being mailed to therubycanary in Maine later today. Enjoy! 

Journal Entry 8 by therubycanary from Portland, Maine USA on Friday, March 26, 2004

This book has not been rated.

I found a free copy of this book at the library, and have decided to pass this one on in the bookring so that it can hurry on it's way.

Here is the link to my copy that I will journal after I've read it:
http://www.bookcrossing.com/journal/1300874 

Journal Entry 9 by maddymonkey from Minneapolis, Minnesota USA on Thursday, April 08, 2004

This book has not been rated.

Arrived a few days ago. Finishing up one novel; this is next on my list. 

Journal Entry 10 by maddymonkey from Minneapolis, Minnesota USA on Thursday, September 02, 2004

7 out of 10

While I found "The Sword in the Stone" quite a slog (who would've thought?), I adored "The Ill-Made Knight." The love triangle is obviously classic and deliciously fraught.

A favorite passage:

"But, my poor Lance, to have given up your glory and not to get anything back! When you were a sinful man you were always victorious, so why should you always be beaten when you were heavenly? And why are you always hurt by the things you love? What did you do?"

"I knelt down in the water of Mortoise, Jenny, where he had knocked me -- and I thanked God for the adventure."

I'm not religious in any way and Lancelot's sentiment there still rings completely true to me.

Thanks for the 'ray. Posted to chivers in Brasil on Monday. 

Journal Entry 11 by chivers from Recife, Pernambuco Brazil on Friday, November 19, 2004

9 out of 10

i'm sooooo sorry!!! i thought i had registered this book a long time ago!!!!!!
it's been on my tbr and i've been reading it the last weeks... i'll mail this as soon as i get the address.
i'm really really sorry...
oh!!! and i looooooooooved the book!!!! 

Journal Entry 12 by chivers from Recife, Pernambuco Brazil on Wednesday, January 05, 2005

This book has not been rated.

this book is going to tyvmdear. i promised he/she the sword in the stone a while ago, and because of the time and patience i decided to send this one!!!! 

Journal Entry 13 by tyvmdear from Thompson, Manitoba Canada on Thursday, February 17, 2005

This book has not been rated.

Arrived safely today.
Thanks so much for the trade and please don't worry about the delay, its not like I had nothing else to read (starting to get buried under the massive mound of books). LOL 

Journal Entry 14 by tyvmdear at Thompson General Hospital in Thompson, Manitoba Canada on Wednesday, May 21, 2008

This book has not been rated.

Released 4 yrs ago (5/22/2008 UTC) at Thompson General Hospital in Thompson, Manitoba Canada

WILD RELEASE NOTES:

RELEASE NOTES:

Will be leaving on the "Book Exchange Shelf" in the BRHA Staff Library. 



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