A free and a nearly free Kindle Adventure Read

[gerardcarey]

On my first Camino I determined that I would need a good adventure story to read on my kindle as I proceeded along the Way.
I finally selected two and was disappointed in neither.
For those of a similar bent;

'Two Years Before the Mast' - Richard Henry Dana's awe inspiring tale detailing how, while attending Harvard aged 19, his eyesight became weak and he took ill. He decided that the life of a sailor with its salt air and hard work would be his cure. In 1834 Dana shipped out of Boston on the brig Pilgrim. This was a two year round trip voyage. They were bound for California, to buy and bring back cow hides for the leather industry around Boston. A memorable early account of the Mexican Colonial California coast, it tells of square rigged sailing vessels of the 1830's and what life was like for a sailor.
Currently free for Kindle at;
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01N18O8FC/?tag=casaivar02-20 the US web address.
https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B01N18O8FC/?tag=casaivar02-20 the Aus web address.

My second selection;
'The Voyage of the Beagle.' Charles Darwin's champion adventure story of his 5 year voyage down the American coast and out into the Pacific Ocean.
While not currently free it is certainly not expensive.
https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=sr_pg_1?rh=n:133140011,k:the+voyage+of+the+beagle&keywords=the+voyage+of+the+beagle&ie=UTF8&qid=1487385018&spIA=B000FC1D4U&tag=camiforu-20
I can assure any prospective readers that this is eminently more readible than Darwin's lesser known masterpiece, 'The Formation of Vegetable Mould Through the Action of Worms: With Observations on their habits.'

Regards
Gerard

PS
For more balanced opinions read the reviews at the bottom of the Amazon pages.

 

[Kanga]

I've never tackled Darwin, but was taken with his list of pros and cons, when deciding whether to wed:

"Children — (if it Please God) — Constant companion, (& friend in old age) who will feel interested in one, — object to be beloved & played with. — better than a dog anyhow.– Home, & someone to take care of house — Charms of music & female chit-chat. — These things good for one’s health. — but terrible loss of time."

And thank you Gerard, for the link.

 

[VNwalking]

Gerard, thank you!
I grew up with Darwin's Voyage...it was read to me as a child by my Father. It is the grandest of adventures.

Another wonderful set of books--not about the Camino but in the same vein--are by Isabella Bird, a Scot who described her travels in the late 19th C, when women did not generally do the kind of things she was doing (gallivanting around the world alone, climbing mountains and such...):

• Six Months in the Sandwich Islands
• A Lady's Life in the Rocky Mountains
• Unbeaten Tracks in Japan
• Among the Tibetans

 

[Eve Alexandra]

I've been debating whether or not to take some fiction with me...

 

[gerardcarey]

Number

I've been debating whether or not to take some fiction with me...

Hi Eve
I know I speak for many when I say that the resting /reading/me time in the late afternoon is one of the greatest pleasures of walking a Camino.
We have arrived at our destination, found somewhere to stay, showered, dressed in clean clothes, done our laundry.
It's now me time. We are clean, loose limbed and relaxed. Feet up, even a bunk is wonderfully comfy. Now it's read and snooze until it's time to think of a wander to find a dinner venue.
Regards
Gerard

 

[jsalt]

Another wonderful set of books--not about the Camino but in the same vein--are by Isabella Bird

And Alexandra David-Neel: "My Journey to Lhasa", amongst others

 

[jsalt]

I've been debating whether or not to take some fiction with me...

I read books after lights out, curled up inside my sleeping, using the Kindle app on my smartphone - one reason I’m usually the last out of the dorm in the mornings
Jill

 

[gerardcarey]

I grew up with Darwin's Voyage...it was read to me as a child by my Father. It is the grandest of adventures.

Thank you cobber. That's just what I needed to say.
THE GRANDEST OF ADVENTURES.
Just stunning. I don't believe I've ever read better.
Overshadowed in the literary field by his book that contains what is often regarded as 'The greatest idea a human ever had.'
"On the Origin of Species." Published in 1859, 23 years after his return from the 5 year voyage.
Regards and tks for the info on Isabella Bird,
Gerard

 

[VNwalking]

THE GRANDEST OF ADVENTURES.
Just stunning. I don't believe I've ever read better.

Indeed!
We take off for the Camino, and get a wee bit anxious...But I can only imagine Darwin boarding the Beagle knowing he would not get home for years, if at all. And his adventures! Yes, Wow.

The conveniences and technology of the modern world have their many good uses, but they've largely made this kind of stepping off the edge into the unknown much harder.

 

[Eve Alexandra]

I'm bringing my paperwhite Kindle. It's my luxury item as I don't like reading on my phone at all.

I've got Merton's New Seeds of Contemplation that I'm working my way through right now, my bible, a historical guide of the Camino, my Village to Village guide, and I think I'm going to read Canterbury Tales for fiction. A nod to my ancestry.

 

[Barbara]

You do know you can get public domain books from Gutenberg straight on to your kindle without using Amazon, don't you? In case not, this is what you do
Turn on Wi-Fi and connect. This won't work if you try with cell network. You need to use Wi-Fi.
Go to the browser. That's starting at the home page, menu icon top right corner, then Experimental Browser.
Type m.Gutenberg.org
Enter
That gets you in. Search or browse the site.
When you are ready to download select Kindle
When you get the dialogue box select OK
Go back to home page and open your free book. Turn the wireless off to save battery if you don't want to have to charge too often.
Works the same general way with other free book repositorys.
Enjoy!

 

[Purple Backpack]

Adventure stories are The Best. Shackleton's voyage. Any explorers to Everest. Sailors shipwrecked on deserted islands. Alice in Wonderland, because how gutsy is it to follow a rabbit down a hole? And of course, hobbits on pilgrimage to destroy the ultimate evil. My soul craves adventure and stories keep it at bay until it's my turn to get back on the road.

"When you are old and grey and full of sleep,
And nodding by the fire, take down this book,
And slowly read, and dream of ...the pilgrim soul in you,
paced upon the mountains overhead
...amid a crowd of stars."

Mr. Yeats, forgive me for chopping your poem to bits.

 

[Eve Alexandra]

Adventure stories are The Best. Shackleton's voyage. Any explorers to Everest. Sailors shipwrecked on deserted islands. Alice in Wonderland, because how gutsy is it to follow a rabbit down a hole? And of course, hobbits on pilgrimage to destroy the ultimate evil. My soul craves adventure and stories keep it at bay until it's my turn to get back on the road.

"When you are old and grey and full of sleep,
And nodding by the fire, take down this book,
And slowly read, and dream of ...the pilgrim soul in you,
paced upon the mountains overhead
...amid a crowd of stars."

Mr. Yeats, forgive me for chopping your poem to bits.

I absolutely must have the name of this poem, pretty please????

 

[OLDBIKERIDER]

I absolutely must have the name of this poem, pretty please????

https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems-and-poets/poems/detail/43283

 

[GreatDane]

'Two Years Before the Mast' - Richard Henry Dana
'The Voyage of the Beagle.' Charles Darwin.

I've read both many times. At the Museum of Evolution in Burgos you can walk through a full sized slice of the Beagle. Have you also read Dana's "To Cuba and Back"? A few years ago I "procured" moss from under the fence from Dana's house in Cambridge MA and gave it to a good friend of mine (and fellow Dana fan) for her birthday.

 

[Eve Alexandra]

Thank you. I'm saving it. It is lovely. <3

 

[gerardcarey]

I've read both many times. At the Museum of Evolution in Burgos you can walk through a full sized slice of the Beagle. Have you also read Dana's "To Cuba and Back"? A few years ago I "procured" moss from under the fence from Dana's house in Cambridge MA and gave it to a good friend of mine (and fellow Dana fan) for her birthday.

Year before last I was in that museum. I don't remember the Beagle. Perhaps a new addition to this great attraction in Burgos.
"To Cuba and Back." I'll check it out.
Regards
Gerard

 

[GreatDane]

I was in the museum in early October 2014. The view from the other side (and where you could walk) was loaded with supplies for the trip.

 

[VNwalking]

How cool is that!?!
All 3 times I've been in Burgos the museum was closed. Very bad timing.

(I knew the Beagle was small...but that's smaller than I thought. And this is a model of the spacious set-up for the Captain and his ilk, upper-class people like Darwin. The hoi poloi sailors would have been stacked like cordwood. Next time I grumble to myself about feeling cramped, I'll remember this.....)

 

[Hiawatha]

If you wish to introduce your child or ' a child ' for that matter to the wonders of adventure with Isabella Bird, Evelyn Cheeseman and other female explorers . I thoroughly recommend the children's picture book by Jeannette Rowe '' Hidden Treasures ''

http://trove.nla.gov.au/work/9199110?q&versionId=44954177

 

[Toncho]

Hi Eve
Many would have you believe that you won't find the time for reading on your Camino. However, I can't imagine a world where I don't daily have a book by my side. Due to weight constraints, I will only be taking one physical book with me - my John Brierley guide. In addition, I have a number of audio books loaded onto my iPod - so I can lie in my bunk at night enjoying a bed time story without disturbing anyone! A novel that I have just finished (my local book club choice for February) was Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford. It's a very moving story that I can highly recommend - check it out on Amazon and if it takes your fancy bag a copy.
Enjoy your Camino Eve - mine starts in 10 days time!

 

[Eve Alexandra]

Hi Eve
Many would have you believe that you won't find the time for reading on your Camino. However, I can't imagine a world where I don't daily have a book by my side. Due to weight constraints, I will only be taking one physical book with me - my John Brierley guide. In addition, I have a number of audio books loaded onto my iPod - so I can lie in my bunk at night enjoying a bed time story without disturbing anyone! A novel that I have just finished (my local book club choice for February) was Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford. It's a very moving story that I can highly recommend - check it out on Amazon and if it takes your fancy bag a copy.
Enjoy your Camino Eve - mine starts in 10 days time!

10 days! Oh you must be so excited!

Yeah I'm beginning to think the extroverts among us are the ones who say we won't have time to read.

 

[Purple Backpack]

I absolutely must have the name of this poem, pretty please????

"When You Are Old", William Butler Yeats

 

[Purple Backpack]

Dana's "To Cuba and Back"

Thanks for this...needed something new!!

 

[Purple Backpack]

Isabella Bird"

I seriously underdress for my hikes.

 

[gerardcarey]

Have you also read Dana's "To Cuba and Back"?

That's a Kindle Freebie Too!
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B004TPLM1I/?tag=casaivar02-20
I'm such a tightxxx. What's that word again?
Tightwad, that's it.
Regards
Gerard

 

[jsalt]

That's a Kindle Freebie Too!
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B004TPLM1I/?tag=casaivar02-20
I'm such a tightxxx. What's that word again?
Tightwad, that's it.
Regards
Gerard

Brilliant, thanks, just "bought" it!

 

[Hiawatha]

Is the work of Yeats available on Kindle I wonder ? Almost worth carrying the weight if it is.
' When you are old ' is best read along with ' The Lake Isle of Innisfree',

https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems-and-poets/poems/detail/43281

 

[gerardcarey]

Is the work of Yeats available on Kindle I wonder ? Almost worth carrying the weight if it is.

There is a selection of his work available.
https://www.amazon.com/s/?tag=casaivar02-20

 

[VNwalking]

I seriously underdress for my hikes.

!!!
No joke, PB.
What a fabulous photo. Love it.

 

[Purple Backpack]

' When you are old ' is best read along with ' The Lake Isle of Innisfree',

Back at you with more Yeats...

"The Americans never walk. In winter too cold and in summer too hot."
- John Butler Yeats, brother of William Butler Yeats

Dude. Really? I'm off to read more of your brother's good stuff.

 

[Barbara]

Collected works JB Yeats free on gutenberg.org
http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/search/?query=yeats&go=Go