Most of you have probably heard the phrase "reading and writing and 'rithmetic". It just so happens that those are my favorite school subjects! I'll post a bit about each one.

Reading

I literally devour books! A two-hundred page book? That's just a day's work! In the bathroom, in bed, in the car, I'll be reading!

I'm also the type that is extremely devoted to two or three authors. Nearly all of my favorite writers are English. C.S. Lewis, Charles Dickens and Brian Jaques are my all-time favorites. I also enjoy Arthur Conan Doyle, writer of the Sherlock Holmes series.

The following list contains the books that I would most highly reccomend.

• David Copperfield - Charles Dickens
• The Narnia Series - C.S. Lewis
• The Redwall Series - Brian Jaques

As you probably noticed, all of my favorite authors are English. I'm one of those "England people".  Anyways, I hope you the list helped!

Writing

I enjoy writing almost as much as I do reading. I'm currently working on the book "The Adventures of Oliver B. Gump". I've decided to post the first chapter. Here it is.

Chapter 1

There once lived in New York city, a very short, plump little dwarf whose name was Oliver B. Gump. He lived in a cozy, brick apartment at 6820b Lilac Cottages, which was the only house with a window box.

Oliver had a very bushy, red beard and a shiny, bald head. He was only about three feet tall, and quite fat. Yet, he was a very respectable dwarf. Every morning he would take a bath and then comb and trim his beard, and put on a clean suit of clothes. Then he would have his breakfast and coffee.

Now, on one fine, summer morning, Oliver B. Gump was sitting in his favorite chair, smoking his pipe and reading the paper. Oliver’s favorite part of the newspaper was the ads, even though he never bought anything. He was looking through the used car ads when he heard a sharp rap-rap-rap at the door. He set down the newspaper and his pipe, and waddled over to see who it was. It was, in fact, Mrs. Bingleton, the lady who owned Lilac Cottages.

Mrs. Bingleton was a very nice woman. She made wonderful cookies and sometimes would give a dozen or so to the residents of her apartments. She was also the president of the Ladies Knitting Club, so every Christmas she made a pair of woolen socks for all the tenants.  And every day thoughtful Mrs. Bingleton delivered all of the mail to the people in her apartments. But, she couldn’t deliver the packages, because some were too heavy for her to carry up the stairs.

Oliver opened the door and said Good Morning to Mrs. Bingleton.

“Good morning, Mr. Gump! I say, Good morning, Mr. Gump!” said Mrs. Bingleton cheerily. “Isn’t a lovely day outside? I say, a lovely day? I do love summer! Oh! Dear me, if I haven’t forgotten what I came here for! ” She hastily pulled a handful of mail from a little bag that she wore over her shoulder. “Here is your mail, sir. I say, here’s your mail! I shall see you later Mr. Gump, and have a wonderful day, dear! I say, a simply wonderful day!”

And with that, she handed him a quarterly coffee magazine, an electrical bill, an ad for the new deli down the road, and…a little envelope with his name scrawled on the very front! Oliver hardly ever got letters, so he hurried back to read it. When he was once again settled into his favorite armchair, with his pipe in his mouth, he eagerly ripped open the envelope.

“Bless my soul if it ain’t from my Aunt Matilda!” he said in surprise.

“Now what in tarnation might she be writing me about?”

He read it to himself. And this is what it said:

Dearest Oliver,

I’m very sorry I haven’t written to you in such a long time. You see, I just left Switzerland a week ago and arrived in China very soon after. You can’t imagine what a wonderful place China is, nothing like the Chinatown in New York! By the way, I’m sending you a present I bought at the market; I do hope you enjoy it! It should be there very soon!

Yours ever so truly,

Aunt Matilda

Oliver wondered what Aunt Matilda might be sending him. Maybe she would send him a pair of carved bamboo chopsticks, or perhaps a long, silk nightgown with dragons and pagodas on it. Or maybe even a gold statue with shining, ruby eyes!  

All day Oliver wondered about his aunt’s gift. While he drank his coffee, he wondered. When he smoked his pipe, he wondered. While he took a walk to the park, he wondered. And when he put on his nightshirt and cap and got into bed, he couldn’t get to sleep, because he was wondering so hard about Aunt Matilda’s gift! When he finally did get to sleep, all he dreamed about were mounds of Chinese treasures and yards and yards of beautiful silks!

The next day, Oliver forgot about bathing and trimming his beard and putting on a fresh suit of clothes. He didn’t even make breakfast or a cup of coffee! He simply sat down in his favorite chair and lighted his pipe and picked up the yesterday’s paper that he hadn’t finished. But, try as he might, he couldn’t keep his eyes on the page. It kept wandering off out the window, where the big delivery truck came by every day with packages. He wondered if maybe his package was in a big delivery truck right now, rumbling toward 6820b Lilac Cottages! Or what if, Oliver’s blood froze in his veins, the delivery truck had been in an road accident! Or if, his package had been forgotten and was still sitting in the mail plane! “Oh, dear!” Oliver moaned out loud as he thought of the awful prospects.

All day, Oliver paced his little living room, peeking out the open window, thinking about the dreadful things that might have happened to his gift. And then, just when Oliver could stand it no longer, he heard the melodious sounds of the of the delivery truck, rumbling up the road! Oliver danced a little jig of delight. He rushed to the door as fast as his little legs would carry him, and jumped into his slippers. Throwing open the door, he raced down the metal stairs and finally, tripped into the lobby.

He could see the delivery man, bringing in all of the packages, on a big cart. He waited until all of the parcels were in, and then walked straight up to the front desk.

Mrs. Bingleton was normally behind the desk, knitting mittens or scarves. But, today, Mrs. Bingleton’s sister was sitting there, sewing lace. Mrs. Bingleton had to leave for an important meeting with her Knitting Club and needed her sister to take over for the day. Oliver, who was very shy around strangers, was a bit nervous, but finally plucked up the courage to speak. “Ma’am!” he said loudly.

The lady looked very puzzled when she didn’t see anyone, for Oliver was not tall enough to look over the desk! Oliver thinking she hadn’t heard him shouted “Ahem…Ma’am!”

Now Mrs. Bingleton’s poor sister was very confused! She looked around her, behind her and in front of her! No one was there! Oliver was now getting angry. He began to think she was ignoring him! So he took in a deep breath and yelled as loud as could, “Look, lady, down here!” The lady slowly leaned forward, still looking very puzzled, and saw Oliver standing there still in his nightshirt with his bright red hair sticking in all directions!

"Oh...um...sir! I'm," she stifled a little chuckled "so very sorry. I didn't see you th-"

“Of course you didn’t see me!” Oliver snapped. “Now, is there by any chance a package for Mr. Oliver B. Gump?”

“Just one moment, please.” And the lady began fumbling through a pile of bundles and boxes on the floor. “I’m sorry sir, there isn’t any…oh, wait here’s one! Adressed to Mr. Oliver Beaudophilus Gump. Yes! Here it is, and have a good day sir!”

Oliver's heart was pounding as the lady handed him the box. But wait! This couldn't be it! The box was no bigger than a toaster! Yet, there was no mistaking his name, and the word "CHINA" stamped in one corner.

Well, it still might be a small golden statuette. No…It’s much too light for that. Perhaps a beautiful, silk robe with dragons and pagodas all over it! No…It’s far too heavy for that. What could it be? Oliver puzzled over it as he carried the package up the metal stairs to his little apartment at 6820b Lilac Cottages.

Although he was very tired when he reached his room, he was also very curious. So he got his little toolbox and pulled out a screwdriver. He was busy unscrewing the box when he heard a low, rumbling, growl from inside the box! Oliver’s heart skipped a beat. Whatever Aunt Matilda had sent, it certainly wasn’t a gold statue with diamond eyes! He wondered whether he should finish opening it. The growling had stopped, so Oliver very gingerly finished unscrewing the lid. But Oliver wasn’t prepared for what he saw staring straight at him from inside the box! It was, in fact, a little, baby dragon!

Although the dragon was only about one foot long, it was very striking. It had bright, crimson scales and long, pointed wings. Its huge row of teeth, were whiter than snow and sharper than any dagger. But the very first thing you noticed was his eyes. They were so green and shiny that they looked like little emeralds.

Oliver was so frightened, and so astounded he didn’t know what to do. So he stood there, and stared right into the baby dragon’s deep, green eyes. How long Oliver stood he never knew. Suddenly, without warning, the dragon hopped right out of the box and for sheer joy, breathed a little jet of flames into the air. This proved too much for poor Oliver B. Gump. He fell back onto the floor, in a dead faint.

Comments are welcome!

'Rithmetic

Yes, I really do like math! I'm doing Saxon Algebra 1 this year, and really enjoying it! Here's a few of my favorite problems:

Problems:

1.  x-2y (x2y + 2x3y0)

2.  -x0 - x2 - a(x - a) - |x2|

3. 0.000007 * 10^-3

Answers:

1. x2 + 2xy

2. -1

3. 7.0 * 10^-9

Enjoy!

In Christ,

pcboy