Speaking American: A Visual Guide by Josh Katz

Speaking American: A Visual Guide by Josh Katz, 203 pages

Speaking American is a very entertaining and quick read about how the United States has different words or phrases depending on what region you live in.  For instance, I grew up in Chicago, and we said pop.  But, when I moved to Missouri I noticed people said soda. Or, in some regions people may say cola or Coke.  It is funny, but true. Or, who would think there is a difference between mowing the grass or cutting the grass or when we go grocery shopping, do we say we are putting our groceries in a shopping cart, grocery cart or buggy? Being from Chicago, I thought it was hilarious how you can tell someone is from Chicago, if they say, pop and gym shoes (instead of tennis shoes or sneakers).  It is also funny if you are from St. Louis, you say soda and outer roads (instead of frontage roads.)  The pictures and graphics are great in this book.  They were simple and great to use!  Speaking American was a very fun read!!  

The Puritans by Jack Cavanaugh

The Puritans by Jack Cavanaugh -- 513 pages

"The story of the Morgan family faith begins at Windsor Castle, on the day that Drew Morgan met Bishop Laud. For it was on that day that Drew Morgan's life began its downward direction."

Book 1 in the American Family Portrait series by Jack Cavanuagh, Drew Morgan, a young man of 18, begins working for Bishop Laud to rid Britain of those who would disrupt the unity of the church and bring Britain down from the inside. But Drew is confronted by the people who are supposed to be dangerous, and by their love for God and man. One on side, he could have everything that he has hoped for, wealth, status, and nobility, but on the other side, these people have so much more than he could have imagined.

Cross Country: Fifteen Years and Ninety Thousand Miles on the Roads and Interstates of America with Lewis and Clark , A Lot of Bad Motels, a Moving Van, Emily Post, Jack Kerouac, My Wife, My Mother-in-Law, Two Kids, and Enough Coffee to Kill an Elephant by Robert Sullivan

Cross Country: Fifteen Years and Ninety Thousand Miles on the Roads and Interstates of America with Lewis and Clark, a Lot of Bad Motels, a Moving Van, Emily Post, Jack Kerouac, My Wife, My Mother-in-Law, Two Kids, and Enough Coffee to Kill an Elephant by Robert Sullivan, 389 pages

I think the title says it all.  The title was almost as long as the book!  This book began very, very slow, almost to the point I thought why am I reading this?  But, what may have helped me in reading this book, was that I was on a four hour car ride from Branson and needed something entertaining to fill my time.  This book did just that.  I was glad I did not give up on this book.  It was an incredible history lesson on the beginning of the interstates and the Lewis and Clark Expedition.  The author takes us on his journeys across America with his wife and two children.  It is a journey the author has made many, many times both alone and with family members.  The author's stories were very entertaining.  The author mixed his true road adventures in with so many interesting facts.  It was interesting to read about the author's journey on Highway 44 while I was driving on it. One thing that interested me about the title was "Who is Jack Kerouac?"  The book answered just that and made me look up what a "Beat Writer" is.  I have to say the most funny story in this book is how the author was moving cross country and his moving truck broke down.  He had to transfer his belongings from one moving truck to another.  The funny part was all his belongings did not fit, so he had to abandon some of his furniture, much to his wife's chagrin.  Trying to go cross country with a teenage son who won't step foot in a Wal-Mart and an author who can't get enough coffee and needs his Holiday Inn Express fix proved very entertaining!!