Treasure Island | Robert Louis Stevenson

I wish I owned this copy illustrated by Steadman

I've read quite a few short-stories by R.L. Stevenson including 'Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde', The Beach of Falsea, The Bottle Imp, Markheim, Thrawn Janet, The Isle of Voices, Will O' The Mill, The Bodysnatcher, Providence and the Guitar, and The Enchantress.  I must admit, however, to not remembering many of the stories with the exception of The Bottle Imp and Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, though I am brought back to the stories when I read a quick synopsis.  'Treasure Island' was the first novel I read by Stevenson, and I must admit that I enjoyed the adventure.

There are some good moral lessons and honor is constantly referred to, but for the most part it is just a good pirate story.  Stevenson has a way of keeping you interested and doesn't add much fluff... only content to add to the story.  I was happy to finally put a book to a bunch of pirate references that we take for granted as just being in existence, which I assumed originated in this novel.  John Silver was introduced, and I was surprised to know that he was a cook.  The phrase 'Yo-ho-ho and a bottle of rum' as well as 'shiver my timbers' was referenced here.  The island was called 'Skeleton Island' which is commonly referred to in pirate movies and peg-legged John Silver also has a parrot named 'Captain Flint'. 

John Silver was quite an interesting pirate - quite intelligent and always playing both sides.  It was no wonder he was able to live in difficult times for a pirate with a severe physical deficiency (loss of a leg).

There were a few things that made me chuckle in this novel.  For some reason, I really found that the references to how bad rum is and how upstanding 'brandy' was, rather funny.  At first, it seemed like Stevenson preached moderation of alcohol but he also had a distinction between good and poor alcohol, and this I found rather comical and indicative of British culture.

I believe I read an abridged version of this novel as a child, and I wish I would have read the real thing.  The prose was very simple and I found myself learning quite a lot about different tall-ship terms.  Thank you for the pictures Wikipedia, they helped bring the novel to life for a land lubber like myself.

I often laugh when I hear about someone wanting an 'easy read' and they pick up something by Dan Brown [poor Brown - I pick on him so much] to go sit on a beach.  I would rather bring 'Treasure Island'... a light adventure read that stimulates the imagination.

Book Beginnings | Treasure Island



Robert Louis Stevenson

 It's Christmas time, and I'm behind in next month's book club book and I have just decided to undergo a personal challenge to read "War and Peace."  It's not an ideal time to start a new book and it's not the season to read about pirates but arrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr, why not?

"Treasure Island" is short, so perhaps I can finish by the end of the month.  Usually I pull out a book beginning post on Friday but it's the holidays and Friday is the day before Christmas.  So, without further ado, here is the opening line from 'Treasure Island':

SQUIRE TRELAWNEY, Dr. Livesey, and the rest of these gentlemen having asked me to write down the whole particulars about Treasure Island, from the beginning to the end, keeping nothing back but the bearings of the island, and that only because there is still treasure not yet lifted, I take up my pen in the year of grace 17__ and go back to the time when my father kept the Admiral Benbow inn and the brown old seaman with the sabre cut first took up his lodging under our roof.


That's a long sentence, but think about the adventure!  The sentence describes why this tale is being told and talks of an island, treasure, and inn and an old seaman with a sword living with the narrator.  Not surprising why this book became a classic with children... this would have roped me in.  What do you think of the opening line?

Review: Around the World in Eighty Days by Jules Verne

What can I say about Jules Verne that I haven't already said in November after reading "A Journey to the Centre of the Earth ?"  Jules Verne is a master of adventure, something that would amaze you as a child and hopefully kindle your passion for books and stimulate your imagination.  As an adult, the adventure still captivates me but I have discovered that I learn quite a lot about what was happening in history at the time.

This novel is about the adventures of Phileas Fogg who attempts to travel around the world in 80 days in order to win a bet of 20,000 pounds sterling.  The proposed route is London to Suez to Bombay to Calcutta (now Kolkata) to Hong Kong to San Francisco to New York to London.  The trip takes every form of travel known to man, but I was surprised that this did not include a hot air balloon, as many versions of the novel have a picture of one on the cover.

As I try to think about the moral of such a journey, I want to say that the reward for taking a journey is not what you get out of it in the end but of the journey itself.  However, it seems that the end makes a case that the only reason why the journey was a success was due to the love of a good woman.  Fogg in his travels cared very little about actually viewing the changes of scenery because his goal was only 'to be victorious' and not necessarily go on an adventure.  Maybe there was something I missed, but the moral of the story wasn't my cup of tea... I would be curious to know a woman's take on this.

The novel was full of dated material including opium use in China, racial slurs ('coolies', 'negroes', etc).  There were interesting discussions on Mormons as well as their history including the Church of Latter Day Saints (I had recently read an article in National Geographic about this).  I also enjoyed when buffaloes stampeded and stopped a train for several hours considering Americans nearly killed all that remained of the creatures.  Their numbers are still recooperating centuries later.

What I didn't expect to find was the comedic content which included elections for a Justice of the Peace ending in a fight.  Another piece of humour I noted was the following quotation from Chapter 12:

"Mr. Fogg stopped him, and, turning to Sir Francis Cromarty, said, "Suppose we save this woman."

"Save the woman, Mr. Fogg!"
"I have yet twelve hours to spare; I can devote them to that."
"Why, you are a man of heart!"
"Sometimes," replied Phileas Fogg, quietly; "when I have the time."

I found that fairly humorous, especially given the ending.  In chapter 15 there was a trial that was held in such a rapid fashion, that I had to laugh on how much we have regressed despite the 'advancement' of our society.  In addition, when Verne talked about how fast the railroad was build in America, I laughed thinking about how long such a job would take today with unions and general laziness of people.

As I read I tried to think if Jules Verne had anything to say about globalization and the only thing I really took from it was that the English had made their stamp all over the world and had a large effect on the culture of the major port cities.  This was discussed as if were an advancement of inferior societies, but with hindsight comes a different viewpoint altogether.

As always, I wrote down quite a few terms and learned a few words which I will probably never use again... but hopefully I will detail a few in the coming days.

All in all, I hope to eventually read at least one more work of Verne's: "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea."  Despite Verne's material usually being dated, the sense of adventure and interesting take on history and science really intrigues me to him... but I find I must read this other work before I can truly comment, as it is well-known as his greatest book (and one of the 100 Greatest Books Ever Written by the Easton Press).

Book Beginnings: Around the World in Eighty Days

After reading "A Journey to the Centre of the Earth" last month, I really wanted to read some more Jules Verne.  Sure, there was a fair amount of un-realism (I'm making up this word because I think it should exist), but Verne has a great way of taking you to places around the globe and making you feel as if you're on a journey.  In addition, he manages to bring in a lot of history from these places which intrigue me and usually cause me to do further research.  My version of "A Journey to the Centre of the Earth" happened to contain another book... "Around the World in 80 Days", so it was a natural progression for me to read this one next.

I'm still in the middle of it right now, but I wanted to share the opening line "Mr. Phileas Fogg lived, in 1872, at No. 7, Saville Row, Burlington Gardens, the house in which Sheridan died in 1814."  Very historical and factual based.  It sets a physical scene, but other than the really great name, it doesn't do much for me.  What do you think of it?

Thoughts Floating Around In My Head

This is going to be a completely random post.  I have been on a reading hiatus which has caused me to think a lot about reading, blogging, book club, etc.

Challenges
I removed all 'challenges' from my blog the other day, mainly because I don't find that I really care about completing them.  I would rather read what I feel like, and for some reason a theme doesn't work very well with me unless I create it myself.  Due to the book club I'm in, I get enough structure from that to keep me along a path and the rest of the things I read are indicative of my feelings in the moment.  Although, I do feel that I need a little more discipline.

Discipline
I really should focus on all the well-known classics that I should have read by now, and I think I start to need to focus on my TBR of Shame which includes a bunch of works I have been daunted to undertake including works by Homer and Tolstoy.

Following Bloggers
The bloggers I follow tend to evolve over time.  As new people comment on my blog, I generally check them out for a while.  I start off initially by reading sites which review classics or have some interesting ideas that catch my interest and I end up sticking with ones that I have a really good feel about.  I can usually get a good sense about a person by the way that they right, and that intuition is what guides me to read about them.  I've been really into reading everything from bibliophilopolis and Jillian from A Room of One's Own - both really resonate with me.

Book Club Outing
Yesterday our book club finally had a chance to meet WITHOUT reviewing a book.  We had a great Christmas Party (not 'Holiday Party' for all you politically correct'ors) and I had such a wonderful time.  It's rare to meet so many great people with diverse interests and talk about things that are not A) The Weather B) What we all did last weekend, etc.  Topics ranged from aboriginal rights to religion to a big rock in the middle of Australia somewhere.  And of course, we talked a lot about authors and books.  Just a great time, and something I think we should do more often.

War & Peace
I have heard a lot about people reading Tolstoy's 'War And Peace' over a full year, and I must say that I'm intrigued.  Book club seems interested so we'll see if we get this started.  I need advice on the best translations.  I have two copies already, so I probably won't buy a third, but I'm interested in knowing who the best translators are.

Authors Attending Book Clubs
We've been getting a few requests for this lately, and I wanted to know what experiences those in the book blogging community have had.  Would be interested in knowing what experiences those in the community have had.

Okay, that's a bunch of stuff out of my head and now in the 'Interwebs' and I feel less cluttered.  I love how writing can be cathartic and freeing.

2010 Year in Review

The end of the year is a stressful time at best, and while I haven't proven this, I assume I read much less during this time frame.  Due to holiday commitments, I never plan to have a book club meeting in December and because I'm focused on everything else [work, presents, tying up loose ends,etc] I don't seem to have much time left over.  That said, I have reached my goal of reading 2 books a month; I have actually read 25 novels!  This doesn't sound like a lot, but at my reading speed, this is a good accomplishment given my time commitments this year and is a personal best.

This year's list seems to have a lot of new authors which I guess means that I'm expanding my horizons [or that I'm not very well-read].  There were quite a few that I enjoyed this year but not many that I found truly great. 

Books Read in 2010
Austen, Jane. Pride and Prejudice
Bellow, Saul. Ravelstein
Bronte, Charlotte. Jane Eyre
Butler, Samuel. The Way of All Flesh
Carroll, Lewis. Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
Carroll, Lewis. Through the Looking Glass
Dickens, Charles. A Tale of Two Cities
Eliot, George. The Mill on the Floss
Fitzgerald, F. Scott. Tender is the Night
Grant, Michael. Cities of Vesuvius: Pompeii and Herculaneum (non-fiction)
Greene, Graham. The Human Factor
Hardy, Thomas. Jude the Obscure
Heller, Joseph. Catch-22
Hemingway, Ernest. Death in the Afternoon (non-fiction)
Irving, John. The Fourth Hand
Patchell-Evans, David. Living the Good Life
Scott, Sir Walter. Ivanhoe
Spyri, Johanna. Heidi (audiobook)
Sterling, William and Stephen Waite. Boomernomics
Stevenson, Robert Louis.  Treasure Island
Thompson, Hunter S. The Curse of Lono
Verne, Jules. A Journey to the Centre of the Earth
Verne, Jules. Around the World in Eighty Days
Wharton, Edith. The House of Mirth
White, E.B. Charlotte's Web
[Links on the left sidebar or on the "Read in 2010" tab - formatting won't copy/paste links]

Best book of 2010: Jude the Obscure
Thomas Hardy absolutely blows me away.  I have said this before, but he reminds me of a master chess player... thinking so many steps ahead and then delivering a knock out blow... all the while dancing a brilliant dance that captivates and inspires.  I thought "Tess of D'Urbervilles" was remarkable, but Jude the Obscure is the bees knees.  Since the church turned on him and he became estranged from his wife over this novel, I applaud Hardy for following through with it.  I only wish that he didn't make this his last novel, out of spite.

Worst book of 2010: Pride and Prejudice
I don't get Jane Austen, I really don't.  I can't fathom how one can say so little on a topic, make it completely prosaic and shallow, and have so much of a loyal following and a general opinion that Pride and Prejudice should be on the top 100 novels of all-time lists.  I really don't understand.  I would skip this and read 'Jane Eyre' or 'Wuthering Heights' from the Bronte sisters. 

Most Difficult to Read: Ivanhoe
Ivanhoe was packed full of goodness, but it was a slog and I remember it as being the only book I have not finished before attending a book club meeting.  I had to finish it while on vacation, and even that was a struggle. 

Biggest Disappointment: Death in the Afternoon
Death in the Afternoon was a disappointment, but in fairness, I assumed that it was a work of fiction and knew nothing about bull fighting.  While it contained an honest opinion (coupled with fact) about the 'sport', it was a book that did not stand the test of time.  Some still regard it as a quintessential work on bullfighting, but due to all the talk around matadors and which cafes to frequent, there was a lot of information that wasn't pertinent.  I admit to not being the target audience, but I think it would still be a slog for many readers outside of Spain and Mexico.

New Authors Discovered/Explored:
Jane Austen, Charlotte Bronte, Samuel Butler, Lewis Carroll, George Eliot, Graham Greene, Joseph Heller, Sir Walter Scott, Johanna Spyri, Jules Verne, Edith Wharton.

Author I wish To Read More Of: Jules Verne; Charles Dickens

Somehow, I never expected to be so enamored with Jules Verne's way of presenting science fiction coupled with adventure. It really appeals to me, and I have since begun a second work of his [as stated above].

I can't believe I haven't read any Dickens other than 'A Christmas Carol' before this year.  What I learned with 'A Tale of Two Cities' is that Dickens is a master storyteller - his novels come across as mysteries with a depth that is rare in the genre that makes it a classic.  They seem to be rooted in history, are dramatic and are quite funny.  I have heard so many bad things about Dickens (many refuse to read him in the book club), but I was pleasantly surprised by him.

I'd like to take the time to give a big thank you to all of the book bloggers out there.  I have been reviewing books for a few years now, but I just stumbled upon this great community this year of fellow bloggers.  I find I read their blogs more than novels, and I'm glad to have made so many new friends from around the globe.

Wishing you all a Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays.  I hope you get plenty of books over the holidays and time to enjoy them!  Please comment on your favourites of 2010 - I'm looking for suggestions on what to read in 2011!