Treasure Island, by Robert Louis Stevenson

I believe the author himself, Robert Louis Stevenson, gives a great summary of his book before the story even starts with his poem to the hesitating purchaser. He promises the book to include sailor tunes, storms, adventure, schooners, islands, maroons, Bucaneers, and buried Gold. Treasure Island is the ultimate pirate story. When asked to explain the plot by my coworkers, the simplest reply was 'think of any pirate story ever told, and that is this book.' We follow young Jim Hawkins with his travels through the world of pirates in search of buried treasure. Throughout his journey he is joined with a numerous amount of characters, including Doctor Livesey, Long John Silver, Captain Smollett, Ben Gunn, and the parrott named Captain Flint.

I chose this book for my next read for a number of reasons. The Old Men at the Zoo was a complicated read, but Treasure Island is a wellknown book that is cherished by people of all ages. I needed a lighter read. Also, I happened to find a copy that was illustrated - and we all know that pictures help a boo go along. However, I believe there was one major illustration missing in this novel. As I continued reading about Jims adventures, I wanted nothing more than a map of the island that he inhabits in order to find Captain Flint's hidden treasure. I'm not a seafaring person myself, and therefore I have trouble imagining an island off the top of my head. Also - I'm a very detail oriented person and an expert navigator, when given a map (if I do say so myself), so I rely very deeply on maps. Perhaps other editions have maps and I just chose the wrong one from the library - always a possibility..

This was an excellent book, and, as to be expected from a pirate story, included adventure, suspense, and plot turns at every corner. There were many times that I was reluctant to put the book down in order to go to bed and get the required amount of sleep. However, there were a few points of this book that disappointed me. I believe that Mr. Stevenson attempted to add too many characters to his novel in too short of an amount of time. Of course, I knew who the main characters were, but often a character who had no importance previously in the book would be the main character for about one chapter before being killed off. It was really hard to distinguish these different characters, and was often very frustrating.

Another thing that was sometimes good and sometimes bad was the dialogue of the book. Robert Louis Stevenson did an excellent job of capturing the pirate speak in his novel, but it was often difficult to distinguish exactly what they were saying. In a book meant to be a light-hearted adventure, people often don't want to have to reread a sentence multiple times (and occasionally use an internet search engine) in order to understand what exactly the character was saying.

The one thing I did enjoy was how we kept with the main character. It is always a let down for me when we never really understand who the main character is or why they are doing what they're doing. However, I feel we get a great feel for, not only Jim Hawkins, but other main characters such as Long John Silver. Also, there is a great deal of surprise in this book. At one moment you think someone will be the villain or perhaps Jim's companion throughout the book, and the next page they're dead!

That's another thing I enjoyed about this book, he wasn't afraid to add some realistic blood, which wasn't over the top. I grew up with a mother who taught me that if a book didn't have a good dead body, it wasn't a good book. Being raised with this idea, I've read many a murder mystery, and it frustrates me when an author chooses to shy away from a death scene. It would have been especially annoying in a subject as brutal as pirates. However, there was always an awesome fight scene to look forward to.

This book kept me going until the very end. Literally, you don't know what the outcome will be to the main character until the last two chapters! I thoroughly enjoyed following Jim Hawkins through his pirate journey. However, because of the additional characters, overly difficult pirate talk, and sometimes too much detail to hold my attention, I give this book THREE STARS OUT OF A POSSIBLE FIVE

Reading Next: A Fairy Tale of New York, by J. P Donleavy

The Old Men at the Zoo, by Angus Wilson

Upon first choosing this book for my next reading, I was quite excited to find out the plot. It is listed under fantasy and sci fi in the 1000 Novels List, so I was pretty interested to see what exactly the old men would come up with at the zoo. However, this was definitely not the case. Upon reading the scene of the poor boy who got killed by a trampling of a giraffe, and the conversations as to whether the kick to the testicles was the true killing point of the young man, it seemed that the book would have a light and humorous air about it. However, delving deeper into the book I found that this was not the case. In fact, at one point I remember crying out 'Why is he just writing about a bunch of old men at the zoo?!?!' Yeah, ironic, right?

I find the character list, complete with names of characters, their spouses, and their positions, a very vital part of this book. With the immense amount of characters, it is easy to forget who does what and why they're acting the way they really are. Especially with the way Mr. Wilson changes the importance of the characters so frequently throughout the book. AT one point this man is scooping poop in the lemur cage and the next moment he is the director of the zoo.

In case you couldn't tell, I found many aspects of this book confusing. There were many times where they were jumping forward weeks, months, or years, though the exact amount of time was never specified, and how we got to this specific area was often hard to understand. However, the plot of the book becomes slightly more understandable when you realize that it is a satire, conveying Angus Wilson's fears of war to come. Though it was written in the 1960s, it is based in the 1970s, therefore being 'fantastical' because it is written in the future (though now the past).

Despite the confusing aspects of the book, around page 250 the book started getting immensely interesting. The war breaks out and suddenly the struggle for survival begins. Previous to this, the book seems to center around the affairs of the zoo and the possibility of war. However, it takes a while for war to actually break loose. I'm not the type of person to analyze a book, however you can definitely see the correspondence with the affairs in the zoo and the threat of war.

I borrowed this book from my college's library, and one of the most intriguing things to me is it's previous check out dates. It was first checked out in the 1960's, around the publishing of the book. It was checked out once again in 1973, perhaps to compare the current world conditions to the predictions of Angus Wilson. And then, the next check out was me. How shocking to think that this particular edition has not been read through in over thirty years!

This book is definitely confusing, especially if you don't realize it is a satire until after page 100! However, there are many moments of occasional humor throughout the book that allow the book to continue movement well. IT is hard to take a break from this book because the chapters are around 70 pages long with very few breaking points in between. Because of these facts I give this book 1.5 OUT OF 5 STARS.

Now Reading:: Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson

And Then There Were None, by Agatha Christie

I have read this book twice already. Once was in my 7th grade PACE class, where we spent an entire semester focussing solely on this book. Basically, I feel like I knew it inside and out by the end of the books. I read it again in my Honors Humanities class my freshman year in college. To be honest, I was surprised how little I remembered. Of course, I remembered the plot and everything, but this book has such a diverse amount of characters that I couldn't remember who died when. Of course -mentioning death isn't a spoiler for this book, it is Agatha Christie after all! This book was interesting and a definite page turner, but also has many characters that are introduced all at once. Because of this, I suggest you dogear when you're introduced to everyone so you can easily flip back and review who they are, just in case.

This book was originally called Ten Little Indians (the title was changed because it is a 'racial slur'). The whole book revolves around a poem/song called Ten Little Indian (Boys) - you will also want to dogear the page with the poem on it. I love this because it makes you feel that you have a sense of knowledge of what will happen, and yet each murder is still a shock. Well. I don't want to give away too much of the book, especially with this being a murder mystery. However, this book did leave me wondering at the end. I still wasn't totally sure what happened, who had planned it, etc. This sense of mystery is what some people love at the end... but I am not one of those people. I prefer finalization and closure.

All in all I give this book 4 OUT OF 5 STARS! Enjoyable, easy to keep up on, but the hanging ending and the occasional confusion makes it rank lower in my book

Still reading:: The Old Men at the Zoo by Angus Wilson

Animal Farm, by George Orwell

This book is excellent! To be honest, I am a HUGE George Orwell fan, my fascination of him coming from an Anthropology class I took from a professor that does a lot of his studies in Myanmar. One of the best things about this book is it is an easy read. Sometimes when you are reading from a list of 1000 novels, you need a rest from all the intense books you have read thusfar. Animal Farm was definitely the break I needed. A rest for the mind, a simple plot with intense subtext.

This book is also quite humorous, as the animals attempt to take over the farm. Of course it is definitely fiction, the animals being able to perform the tasks of humans with ease. Often during the reading of this book I would stop just to try and imagine how a certain type of animal would perform a certain type of task. The main characters are easy to distinguish. There are a few side characters that I had to occasionally look back in the book to differentiate (For example, the neighbor farmer whose name started with a P had a farm starting with an F, but the other neighbor whose name started with an F had a farm starting with a P, though I think Orwell did this on purpose). This book is enjoyable if you read it straight down, but if you look into the deeper meaning of this novel (since most of Orwell's books do have a deeper meaning), it is profound and challenges the ways of the human race. Of course, exact challenges I will let you discover on your own, can't ruin the book for you can I?

All in all I give this book Five Stars (out of a possible Five). Easy to read, enjoyable, humorous, and yet still a classic that you will impress people with your profound views on the novel!

Now Reading:: The Old Men at the Zoo, by Angus Wilson

Why a blog?

So, a little while ago my amazing roommate introduced me to this list, 1000 novels everyone must read before they die. http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/series/1000novels This list was produced by a British newspaper, and I find the Brits quite reliable, especially in their book selections, so I definitely thought it would be good. Additionally, they have a great explanation for how they choose the books. It's not 1000 most popular novels or 1000 most acclaimed novels, so it has a mixture of modern and classic. From Harry Potter to George Orwell, Bridget Jone's Diary to Crime and Punishment. Definitely a wide mix. Myself being an immense reader, I am ALWAYS looking for new books, new authors, etc. This list totally fit into my life style, a way to enhance myself both intellectually, culturally, and perhaps culturally. Besides, what a sense of self-fulfillment to have read 1000 books!

So on this page, I have decided to review each book after I finish it. Mind you this will be COMPLETELY opinionated, purely saying why I did or did not like the book! Some of the books I have already read, and would rather not reread (i.e. Candide, Tale of Two Cities, etc) so I will review those as I am reading another book, in order to make sure I get a review out for them. In the meantime, I hope you sit back, relax, and enjoy the reviews. Oh, and maybe read some of the books yourself too, they're GREAT!