Christmas Stories by L Frank Baum

Title: The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus AND

A Kidnapped Santa Claus

Author: L Frank Baum (American, 1856-1919)
Originally published: 1902; 1904

Page count: 100; 12

Dates read: 11/27/23-11/16/23; 11/17/23-11/17/23

2023 book goal progress: 23 out of 23

Christmas!

Read my other book reviews for my 2023 goals HERE.



Description on back of book:
The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus tells the captivating story of Claus, a child found and raised in the magical Forest of Burzee by a wood-nymph. Among the immortals, Claus grows into an innocent youth, until the day when he discovers the misery that rules the human world and hovers, like a shadow, above the heads of the children. Now, in an attempt to ease human suffering, he, with the help of his immortal friends, will work to bring joy to the children and teach them, for the sake of humanity, the importance of sharing and caring for each other.

A Kidnapped Santa Claus tells the story of Santa being kidnapped from the Laughing Valley by the five Daemons of the Caves (Selfishness, Envy, Hatred, Malice, and Repentance) on Christmas Eve. Can Christmas be saved?

First sentence:
"Have you heard of the great Forest of Burzee?" -Life

"Santa Claus lives in the Laughing Valley, where stands the big, rambling castle in which his toys are manufactured." -Kidnapped

Favorite quotes:
"Childhood is the time of man's greatest content. 'Tis during these years of innocent pleasure that the little ones are most often free from care. All seem equally fair and sweet while they are babes. Their joy is in being alive, and they do not stop to think. In after years, the doom of mankind overtakes them, and they find they must struggle and worry, work and fret, to gain the wealth that is so dear to the hearts of men." 

-Life

"A generous deed lives longer than a great battle or a king's decree or a scholar's essay because it spreads and leaves its mark on all nature and endures through many generations." 

-Life

"It is called the Laughing Valley because everything there is happy and gay. The brook chuckles to itself as it leaps rollicking between its green banks; the wind whistles merrily in the trees; the sunbeams dance lightly over the soft grass; and the violets and wild flowers look smilingly up from their green nests."

-Kidnapped

CAWPILE Rating (combined for both): Overall - 8/10 - ⭐⭐⭐⭐/5
Characters      - 9
Atmosphere   - 9
Writing Style - 9
Plot                - 7
Intrigue          - 7
Logic             - 7
Enjoyment     - 8
What is a CAWPILE Rating?

Review:

The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus was written like a fairy tale and it's a mythology all about Santa Claus, broken into 3 parts: youth, manhood, and old age. You meet many characters including Jack Frost and a few select deer, 10 to be exact, who became reindeer to work for Santa, and the food they ate to give them special powers. Of which, flight is not one of their powers - they're just especially swift and agile (and beautiful). Their names are Glossie, Flossie, Racer, Pacer, Reckless, Speckless, Fearless, Peerless, Ready, and Steady.

The story also explains where Santa grew up, and who named and raised him. It tells where he lives now, who he works with, how and why he started making toys, why he travels in one night, why he goes down chimneys, how he delivers gifts to those without a chimney, how Christmas trees started, how he became immortal, and much more! I highly recommend this quick read into the lore of Santa Claus!

A Kidnapped Santa Claus was a short story about Santa Claus keeping his good spirits despite being tempted and tested by various personified vices. It was a fun story.

Now I'm off to read another book... but since a review should be more about the author of the book than about the writer of the blog, I will let L Frank Baum have the last words:

"I have looked upon man, finding him doomed to live for a brief space upon earth, to toil for the things he needs, to fade into old age, and then to pass away as the leaves of autumn. Yet every man has his mission, which is to leave the world better, in some way, than he found it." 

-Claus in Life, Childhood

"Afterward, when a child was naughty or disobedient, its mother would say: 'You must pray to the good Santa Claus for forgiveness. He does not like naughty children, and, unless you repent, he will bring you no more pretty toys.' But Santa Claus himself would not have approved of this speech. He knew that the best of children were sometimes naughty, and that the naughty ones were often good." 

-Life, Manhood

"But when many years had rolled away, Santa Claus grew old. The long beard of golden brown that once covered his cheeks and chin gradually became gray, and finally turned to pure white. His hair was white, too, and there were wrinkles at the corners of his eyes, which showed plainly when he laughed. He had never been a very tall man, and now he became fat and waddled very much like a duck when he walked. But in spite of these things, he remained as lively as ever, and was just as jolly and gay, and his eyes sparkled as brightly as they did that first day when he came to the Laughing Valley."

-Life, Old Age

Project Hail Mary By Andy Weir

Title: Project Hail Mary

Author: Andy Weir (American, 1972- )
Originally published: 2021

Page count: 473

Dates read: 11/12/23-11/21/23

2023 book goal progress: 22 out of 23

Work Bookclub 

Read other book reviews for my 2023 goals HERE.




Description on back of book:

Ryland Grace is the sole survivor on a desperate, last-chance mission—and if he fails, humanity and the earth itself will perish. Except that right now, he doesn’t know that. He can’t even remember his own name, let alone the nature of his assignment or how to complete it. He’s just awakened to find himself millions of miles from home, with nothing but two corpses for company.

With his crewmates dead, and his memories fuzzily returning, Ryland realizes that an impossible task now confronts him. Hurtling through space on this tiny ship, it’s up to him to puzzle out an impossible scientific mystery—and conquer an extinction-level threat to our species. With the clock ticking down and the nearest human being light-years away, he’s got to do it all alone. Or does he?

First sentence:
"What's two plus two?"

Favorite quotes:
"I scour the screens for more info. Mostly they seem to be the kinds of things you'd expect on a spaceship. Life support, navigation, that sort of thing. One screen is labeled 'Beetles.' The next screen over says... Wait, beetles? Okay, I don't know if it has anything to do with anything, but I need to find out if there are a bunch of beetles on this ship. That's the sort of thing a guy needs to know."

"It's a simple idea, but also stupid. The thing is, when stupid ideas work, they become genius ideas. We'll see which way this one falls."

"I cross my arms and slump into my pilot's seat. There's no gravity to properly slump with, so I have to make a conscious effort to push myself into the seat. I'm pouting, darn it, and I intend to do it right."

CAWPILE Rating: Overall - 7.7/10 - ⭐⭐⭐⭐/5
Characters      - 8
Atmosphere   - 8
Writing Style - 8
Plot                - 8
Intrigue          - 8
Logic             - 6
Enjoyment     - 8
What is a CAWPILE Rating?

Review:

I enjoyed this book. I can't say much here because I don't want to give anything away. I laughed, I cried, I got angry... I became invested in the book and the characters. It does get pretty sciency and some stuff went over my head, but it's still good overall. If you're into science fiction, I recommend this story. I actually would suggest this book over The Martian, by the same author, due to Hail Mary being less monotonous.

Now I'm off to read another book... but since a review should be more about the author of the book than about the writer of the blog, I will let Andy Weir have the last words. The below quote is early on in the book when he is still getting memory flashbacks and trying to remember who he is. I found it a nice taste of dark humor.

"I'm watching NASA on TV and my first thought is... I'm elated! I can't wait to tell the kids!

I have kids? I'm in a single man's apartment eating a single man's meal. I don't see anything feminine at all. There's nothing to suggest a woman in my life. Am I divorced? Gay? Either way, there's no sign that children live here. No toys, no pictures of kids on the wall or mantel, nothing. And the place is way too clean. Kids make a mess of everything. 

How do I know that? I like kids. Huh. Just a feeling. But I like them. They're cool. They're fun to hang out with. So I'm a single man in my thirties, who lives alone in a small apartment, I don't have any kids, but I like kids a lot. I don't like where this is going...

A teacher! I'm a schoolteacher! I remember it now! Oh, thank God. I'm a teacher."

Later on in the book:

"If I had a nickel for every time I wanted to smack a kid's parents for not teaching them even the most basic things... well... I'd have enough nickels to put in a sock and smack those parents with it."

Kingkiller Shorts by Patrick Rothfuss

Titles: 

-How Old Holly Came to Be

-The Lightning Tree (found in Rogues)

-The Slow Regard of Silent Things

-The Narrow Road Between Desire (expansion of Lightning Tree)

Author: Patrick Rothfuss (American, 1973- )
Originally published: 2013; 2014; 2014; 2023

Page count: 7; 59; 147; 208

Dates read: 

10/23/23-11/4/23; 11/10/23-11/28/23; 9/17/24-9/29/24

2023 book goal progress: 20, 21 out of 23; 21 out of 24

2024 book goal progress: 21 out of 24

Read my other book reviews for my 2023 goals HERE.
Read my other book reviews for my 2024 goals HERE.






How Old Holly Came to Be

This is a poetic short story about a Lady and an old holly tree and how it came to protect her. It's short, sweet, and poetic. You can read it at the link above. 

Description on back of book:
The Lightning Tree takes us to the iconic Waystone Inn to follow a typical day in the life of one of the Kingkiller Chronicle's most popular characters, the mysterious Bast, ostensibly an errand boy, who is much more than he seems to be - a day in which Bast learns many lessons, and teaches a few as well.

The Slow Regard of Silent Things is a brief, bittersweet glimpse of Auri’s life, a small adventure all her own. Deep below the University, there is a dark place. Few people know of it: a broken web of ancient passageways and abandoned rooms. Auri lives there, tucked among the sprawling tunnels of the Underthing, snug in the heart of this forgotten place. At once joyous and haunting, this story offers a chance to see the world through Auri’s eyes. And it gives the reader a chance to learn things that only Auri knows.

In The Narrow Road Between Desires, follow the Kingkiller Chronicle's most charming fae as he schemes his way through the small town of Newarre. While Bast cares nothing for the laws of man, he is beholden to older, deeper laws. And despite his cleverness and care, Bast finds himself forced to choose between betraying his master and helping a hated enemy.

First sentence:
"Bast almost made it out the backdoor of the Waystone Inn." (Lightning and Narrow Road)

"When Auri woke, she knew she had seven days." (Slow Regard)

Favorite quotes:
"Bast stood upright and grinned. His face was sweet and sly and wild. He looked like a naughty child who had managed to steal the moon and eat it. His smile was like the last sliver of remaining moon, sharp and white and dangerous." (Lightning)

"Bast stood to his full height and grinned, his face sweet and sly and wild. In that moment, he looks less like a rakish young man, and more a naughty child who had stolen the moon and planned to eat it like a thin, pale silver cake. His smile was like the final crescent of remaining moon, sharp and white and dangerous." (Narrow Road)

" 'Do you know about bees?'

'A fair bit,' Bast said softly. 'They aren't hard to handle. They just need patience and gentleness. They're the same as everything else, really. They just want to know they're safe.' " (Lightning, Narrow Road)

"And today he looked even bigger still 'cause he was furious. He was spittin' nails. I swear. He looked like someone had tied two angry bulls together and made them wear a shirt!" (Lightning, Narrow Road)

"Bast laughed again. He knew he shouldn't, but there were times when it was either laugh or break wide open because he was too full. It would have been like holding back a sneeze. Sometimes the world was so perfectly revealed to be a joke, a picture, and a puzzle all at once. Laughter was the true applause you offered to the world for being beautiful." (Narrow Road)

"There is a difference between the truth and what we wish were true." (Slow Regard)

"Some days simply lay on you like stones. Some were fickle as cats, sliding away when you needed comfort, then coming back later when you didn't want them, jostling at you, stealing your breath." (Slow Regard)

Lightning and Narrow Road CAWPILE Rating: Overall - 8/10 - ⭐⭐⭐⭐/5
Characters      - 9
Atmosphere   - 8
Writing Style - 8
Plot                - 8
Intrigue          - 8
Logic             - 7
Enjoyment     - 8
What is a CAWPILE Rating?

Slow Regard CAWPILE Rating: Overall - 3.6/10 - ⭐⭐/5
Characters      - 6
Atmosphere   - 6
Writing Style - 3
Plot                - 1
Intrigue          - 2
Logic             - 3
Enjoyment     - 4

Review:

The Lightning Tree: This was a fun story that let the reader learn more about Bast and his antics. It also lets you know much more about the town. If this story represents a typical day in the life of Bast, he definitely interferes a lot with what goes on around town. The story leaves some parts up to interpretation, which I like.

The Slow Regard...: I imagine Auri as Autistic or at least someone with extreme OCD. She is always washing her face, hands, and feet. She always also personifies inanimate objects with emotions and opinions - to the point of anthropomorphizing, since for her all the objects really have emotions and opinions, though they don't talk or move on their own. She always senses if everything is in the proper place and spends most of her day moving bottles and other objects to a different shelf or other location because they would feel better somewhere else. If she doesn't move things to their proper place, she quickly becomes dysregulated.

There's a 3.5-page panic attack written from her perspective, which I think was spectacularly written, but I'm not going to write out a quote that long here. It's the last section of the Ash and Ember chapter if you're interested. This story was an interesting peek into Auri's head, but it doesn't have a plot or any point to it at all. Overall, probably not worth the read.

The Narrow Road...: This is an expanded version of The Lightning Tree and it's hard to tell where exactly the expansions were. Besides Bast, my favorite character is definitely Kostrel. I think the relationship between Bast and Rike was developed more, which I liked - they have a good story together.

Now I'm off to read another book... but since a review should be more about the author of the book than about the writer of the blog, I will let Patrick Rothfuss have the last words:

"Bast got to his feet and stretched, his body bending like a bow. Then he sprinted down the hill... except, in the fading light it didn't quite look like a sprint. If he were a boy of ten, it would have looked like he was skipping. But he was no boy. If he was a goat, it would have looked like he were prancing. But he was no goat. 

A man headed down the hill that quickly, it would have looked like he was running. But there was something odd about Bast's motion in the fading light. Something hard to describe. He almost looked like he were... what? Frolicking? Dancing? Small matter. Suffice to say that he quickly made his way to the edge of the clearing." (Lightning)

Bast explains reading embrils to Kostrel, which I take as being similar to runes, tarot, etc.:

"Names are fine. But if you know what something's called, it's hard to keep wondering what it is. The embrils aren't like names that pin things to a page. Their nature is to twist and change. They remind us that the world is vast and deep. They teach us the distance between catch and keep."

To me, Bast is saying that, though it may be good to know what the symbols mean, reading from intuition is more important. The passage continues and Bast reads a throw of embrils mostly through their textbook symbolism without meaning to. Kostrel then reads them but, since he doesn't really know the symbolism, he reads more intuitively - and you can see how his reading is more applicable/accurate.

Winds of Fury by Mercedes Lackey

Title: Winds of Fury (Mage Winds Trilogy #3)

Author: Mercedes Lackey (American, 1950- )
Originally published: 1993

Page count: 411

Dates read: 9/26/23-10/21/23

2023 book goal progress: 19 out of 23

Author Challenge: Mercedes Lackey

Read my other book reviews for my 2023 goals HERE.




Description on back of book:

Valdemar is once again in peril, threatened by Ancar of Hardorn, who has long sought to seize control of the kingdom by any means at his command. Yet this time Ancar may well achieve his goal, for by harnessing the power of a Dark Adept, he has set into motion a magical strike against Valdemar the like of which hasn’t been attempted in more than five hundred years.

With Valdemar’s ancient spell-generated protections finally breaking down, Queen Selenay, Herald-Princess Elspeth, and their people could soon be left defenseless against an enemy armed with spells no one in Valdemar has the knowledge to withstand. As the long-dormant magic of Valdemar begins to awaken, Elspeth finds that she too has a mysterious ally—a powerful spirit from the long-forgotten past.

First sentence:
"Ancar, King of Hardorn, slumped in the cushioned embrace of his throne and stared out into the empty Great Hall."

Favorite quotes:
"Remember, together you are far stronger than you are individually. 

I think that is something no enemy will be prepared for."

"The mage who knows how to use simple spells cleverly 

is just as effective as the Adept with no imagination."

"There is no such thing as perfection, or a 'perfect' love. 

I doubt there's even perfection in the Havens. 

Wouldn't perfection be a bore?"

"Tell a big enough lie, and everyone will believe it 

simply because it is too audacious not to be the truth."

"A brave man is simply someone who doesn't let his cowardice and fear stop him. 

Hellfires, boy, we're all cowards at some time or another."

"You're a Healing Adept, boy, but you don't need magic to Heal. 

Just words. And kindness, and care."

CAWPILE Rating: Overall - 7.3/10 - ⭐⭐⭐⭐/5
Characters      - 8
Atmosphere   - 7
Writing Style - 7
Plot                - 8
Intrigue          - 8
Logic             - 6
Enjoyment     -  7
What is a CAWPILE Rating?

Review:

This is a good story and a good conclusion to the trilogy. New, seemingly, significant characters were introduced in the beginning, but then they weren't in the rest of the story, which was a disappointment. They finally defeated all 3 BBEGs, 2 of which have been around since the first published trilogy. It was an entertaining and (mostly) satisfying end, but the victory almost seemed too easy for how powerful all 3 of these evil mages were written to be. The book wrapped things up nicely but also left a new cliffhanger for the next trilogy.

Now I'm off to read another book... but since a review should be more about the author of the book than about the writer of the blog, I will let Mercedes Lackey have the last words:

"A good, solid love is something infinitely rare and difficult to maintain because you don't know everything your partner is feeling. Love takes work. Love means being able to apologize and mean it when you blunder. Love is worth fighting for! One of the very things that made Van and I have a lovematch as well as a lifebonding was that we were so different. It is like a marriage - you marry who you think your beloved is, and then discover who they really are over the years. It's that discovery that makes a marriage work."

Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs

Title: Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children

Author: Ransom Riggs (American, 1979- )
Originally published: 2011

Page count: 341 (with many pages just being pictures)

Dates read: 9/14/23-10/8/23

2023 book goal progress: 18 out of 23

Oct. and Nov. Mindful Readers' Family Bookclub 

Read my other book reviews for my 2023 goals HERE.




Description on back of book:
As our story opens, a horrific family tragedy sets sixteen-year-old Jacob journeying to a remote island off the coast of Wales, where he discovers the crumbling ruins of Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children. As Jacob explores its abandoned bedrooms and hallways, it becomes clear that the children were more than just peculiar. They may have been quarantined on a deserted island for good reason. And somehow—impossible though it seems—they may still be alive.

First sentence:
"I had just come to accept that my life would be ordinary

when extraordinary things began to happen."

CAWPILE Rating: Overall - 6.9/10 - ⭐⭐⭐/5
Characters      - 7
Atmosphere   - 7
Writing Style - 6
Plot                - 7
Intrigue          - 8
Logic             - 6
Enjoyment     - 7
What is a CAWPILE Rating?

Review:

I was intrigued by the story concept, but it was told in a 'younger' voice than I would've liked. Maybe if it was written to be geared more toward adults, I would've gotten more invested in the novel's characters (and monsters).

Book to movie review:

TBD

Now I'm off to read another book... but since a review should be more about the author of the book than about the writer of the blog, I will let Ransom Riggs have the last words:

"I really did believe him - for a few years, at least - though mostly because I wanted to, like other kids my age wanted to believe in Santa Claus. We cling to our fairy tales until the price for believing them becomes too high."

Winds of Change by Mercedes Lackey

Title: Winds of Change (Mage Winds Trilogy #2)

Author: Mercedes Lackey (American, 1950- )
Originally published: 1992

Page count: 460

Dates read: 9/10/23-9/25/23

2023 book goal progress: 17 out of 23

Author Challenge: Mercedes Lackey

Read my other book reviews for my 2023 goals HERE.




Description on back of book:
With Valdemar in dire peril, Elspeth, Herald and heir to the throne, has come to the Vale of the Teyledras Clan to seek mage training. Instead of finding a haven, the Vale's Heartstone, a source of mage power, is attacked by a mysterious, dark Adept Mage. Elspeth, still only a half-trained mage, and the Hawkbrother-Adept Darkwind must work together to tame the broken Heartstone.

First sentence:
"Elspeth rubbed her feather-adorned temples, hoping that her fears and tensions would mercifully go, and leave her mind in peace  for just once today."

Favorite quotes:
"There was a Tayledras saying: 'No arrow shot at a target  is ever wasted, no matter how many break.' It meant that no practice or lesson, however trivial it might seem, was a loss."

"She gathered her dignity about her like a robe, and walked off into the darkness, leaving him alone."

"Wintermoon stared at all of them with the impatient air of a man ready to strangle someone if he didn't get an explanation soon."

CAWPILE Rating: Overall - 7.4/10 - ⭐⭐⭐⭐/5
Characters      - 7
Atmosphere   - 7
Writing Style - 8
Plot                - 8
Intrigue          - 8
Logic             - 6
Enjoyment     - 8
What is a CAWPILE Rating?

Review:

This was a great book! Elspeth continued to have a bad attitude and she also wasn't treating her Companion well. This was annoying, but Darkwind called her on her shit and her attitude improved. The book improved exponentially after that. I'm looking forward to the third book in this trilogy!

Now I'm off to read another book... but since a review should be more about the author of the book than about the writer of the blog, I will let Mercedes Lackey have the last words:

"All things could change. If he was the same person he was only a few years ago, he'd have already been sharpening knives and plotting revenge, but revenge seemed foolish somehow. How strange, that after a life like his, revenge seemed hollow compared to simple justice."

Hitchhiker's Guide by Douglas Adams

Title: The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

Author: Douglas Adams (English, 1952-2001)
Originally published: 1979

Page count: 161

Dates read: 8/12/23-8/19/23

2023 book goal progress: 15 out of 23

An extra book for 2023!

Read my other book reviews from 2023 HERE.




Description on back of book:

It’s an ordinary Thursday morning for Arthur Dent . . . until his house gets demolished. The Earth follows shortly after to make way for a new hyperspace express route, and Arthur’s best friend has just announced that he’s an alien. After that, things get much, much worse.

With just a towel, a small yellow fish, and a book, Arthur has to navigate through a very hostile universe in the company of a gang of unreliable aliens. Luckily the fish is quite good at languages. And the book is The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy . . . which helpfully has the words DON’T PANIC inscribed in large, friendly letters on its cover.

This classic plays havoc with both time and physics, offers up pithy commentary on such things as ballpoint pens, potted plants, and digital watches . . . and, most importantly, reveals the ultimate answer to life, the universe, and everything. Now, if you could only figure out the question. . . .

First sentence:
"Far out in the uncharted backwaters of the unfashionable end of the Western Spiral arm of the Galaxy lies a small unregarded yellow sun."

Favorite quotes:
"The ships hung in the sky in much the same way that bricks don’t."

" 'You know, it’s at times like this, when I’m trapped in a Vogon airlock with a man from Betelgeuse, and about to die of asphyxiation in deep space that I really wish I’d listened to what my mother told me when I was young.”

'Why, what did she tell you?'

'I don’t know, I didn’t listen.' "

"He was staring at the instruments with the air of one who is trying to convert Fahrenheit to centigrade in his head while his house is burning down."

"Nothing travels faster than the speed of light with the possible exception of bad news, which obeys its own special laws."

"All you really need to know for the moment is that the universe is a lot more complicated than you might think, even if you start from a position of thinking it’s pretty damn complicated in the first place."

CAWPILE Rating: Overall - 6.3/10 - ⭐⭐⭐/5
Characters      - 8
Atmosphere   - 8
Writing Style - 6
Plot                - 5
Intrigue          - 6
Logic             - 4
Enjoyment     - 7
What is a CAWPILE Rating?

Review:

This is a wacky, but hilarious book. You never know what's going to happen next.

Now I'm off to read another book... but since a review should be more about the author of the book than about the writer of the blog, I will let Douglas Adams have the last words:

"A towel, it says, is about the most massively useful thing an interstellar hitchhiker can have. Partly it has great practical value - you can wrap it around you for warmth as you bound across the cold moons of Jaglan Beta; you can lie on it on the brilliant marble-sanded beaches of Santraginus V, inhaling the heady sea vapors; you can sleep under it beneath the stars which shine so redly on the desert world of Kakrafoon; use it to sail a mini raft down the slow heavy river Moth; wet it for use in hand-to- hand-combat; wrap it round your head to ward off noxious fumes or to avoid the gaze of the Ravenous Bugblatter Beast of Traal (a mindboggingly stupid animal, it assumes that if you can't see it, it can't see you - daft as a bush, but very ravenous); you can wave your towel in emergencies as a distress signal, and of course dry yourself off with it if it still seems to be clean enough.

More importantly, a towel has immense psychological value. For some reason, if a strag (strag: non-hitchhiker) discovers that a hitchhiker has his towel with him, he will automatically assume that he is also in possession of a toothbrush, face flannel, soap, tin of biscuits, flask, compass, map, ball of string, gnat spray, wet weather gear, space suit, etc., etc. Furthermore, the strag will then happily lend the hitchhiker any of these or a dozen other items that the hitchhiker might accidentally have "lost". What the strag will think is that any man who can hitch the length and breadth of the galaxy, rough it, slum it, struggle against terrible odds, win through, and still knows where his towel is clearly a man to be reckoned with."