Book Review: The Hound of the Baskervilles, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (1901-1902)

I won't argue whether this is Victorian literature or not.  It fits the bill.

This novella is filled with all the things that make a creepy old story all that it should be.  It takes place on a lonely moor.  There's a creepy old manor house.  You've got your ancient family curse, and a black devil hound roaming the moorlands at night.  Mysterious residents people the place, some odd, some quirky, some dangerous.  There are ancient ruins, bogs, and that foggy atmosphere that makes this a wonderful piece of fiction.

Confessions of a Lazy Reader

I'm going to be honest with you.  The main reason I read older classic novels is because I'm lazy.  It's true.  This will come as a surprise to those who know me and consider me a titan of industry, an energetic mass of effusion and movement, a mover and shaker in the world of literature and finance and espionage.

Book Review: Jude the Obscure (Thomas Hardy, 1895)

Junk.

Sorry, but this might be the only 19th century novel I've read that not only do I not recommend, but I did not enjoy reading it and don't care to read it again.

Jude the Obscure received such a trouncing by critics that Thomas Hardy never wrote another novel.  As much as I love Hardy's earlier work, I have to say I'm not sorry if this is what he planned to shovel out.

Curse You, Facebook!

This is why I hate Facebook.

I ran across something on Facebook the other day that really chapped my hide.  It's a couple.  These are two people I never needed to see again.  When I was 14 I was so in love with this girl.  It was 1979.  We were both in the 9th grade.  But she fell in love with another guy.  We'll call him X, for Xtremely Getting In My Way.  X was in the 11th grade.  X and Y (for Y didn't you pick me!) started dating at that tender, young age.  She was freaking fourteen!  She wasn't supposed to find her "forever love".  But she did.  And now it's like a hundred years later and they are still together.

There's a picture of them on Facebook and they're all so freakin' happy and sappy together, him with his graying hair and pictures of their grown kids and everything.  Sheesh.

See, the problem is I never had my chance.  This dude swooped in before I could get puberty under control and talk to her.  She was my first love.  But her first love was X.  I guess he was her last love.  What a freakin' waste of time to know all this crap, all thanks to Facebook.

Book Review: The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, by Mark Twain (1884-5) - The Conflict

Here is the conflict, in a nutshell.  Huck is helping Jim escape from slavery, and he feels guilty about it.

Jim talked out loud all the time while I was talking to myself.  He was saying how the first thing he would do when he got to a free State he would go to saving up money and never spend a single cent, and when he got enough he would buy his wife, which was owned on a farm close to where Miss Watson lived; and then they would both work to buy the two children, and if their master wouldn't sell them, they'd get an Ab'litionist to go and steal them. 

Book Review: The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, by Mark Twain (1884-5)

This may be one of the most reviewed books in the history of people like me reviewing books.  In fact, entire books have been written to review this book.  Then you have to review those books, and it just never ends.

So I'm not going to fester on this.  I'm mainly interested in how well it stands up to modern readers, which I have mixed feelings on.  I'll go over a few things that struck me about this book.

Book Review: The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, by Mark Twain (1874) - A Modern Second Look

I just read a few scenes of this to my daughter, and immediately something became apparent.  This thing can be hard to understand.

That's actually one of the first things I noticed when I first read it back in high school.  Combine Mark Twain's flowery descriptions with the 19th century vernacular, along with the various slang terms thrown in with characters' speech, and that's a bad combination.

Book Review: The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, by Mark Twain (1874)

This is easily one of the best stories for young people I have ever read.  Wait, I take that back.  It's one of the best books period.  You've got romance, adventure, mystery, and best of all - treasure!

I read this as a teenager and enjoyed it.  I read it again in college.  And again.  And again.  In fact, I don't think I ever plan to stop reading it.  I have it on audiobook and whenever I have trouble sleeping, this is on my list of things to listen to.

Book Review: A Tramp Abroad, by Mark Twain (1880)

Interesting sequel to The Innocents Abroad, but not one of Mark Twain's best.  Wait, was this supposed to be a sequel?  It sort of felt like one to me.  There are parts of this book that I love to read, parts that make me laugh.  But also several parts that are tedious.

The premise is Mark Twain, about a decade or so after The Innocents Abroad, decides to return to Europe.  He's going to hike this time.  And he makes a noble effort at it, but in the end we don't really care how he gets about.

Book Review: The Innocents Abroad, by Mark Twain (1869)

Mark Twain's first book, The Innocents Abroad or the New Pilgrims' Progress, was a huge success.  Even today people love reading an American's take on the "old world".

This is one of my all-time favorite books.  There's no plot, no mystery, no surprise ending.  It's not a novel, it's one of Mark Twain's five books of travel.  The others are Life on the Mississippi, A Tramp Abroad, Following the Equator, and Roughing It.  They are all memoirs, or travel logs.

Book Review: The Pickwick Papers, by Charles Dickens (1837) - more thoughts

I read this book when I was young, and it was my first Dickens book.  Maybe that's why it's my favorite - nostalgia.  But since then I've read some of his later books.  Now that I've reread Pickwick with that experience under my belt, I can see the difference.

His more elegant writing doesn't show up in Pickwick.  In books like David Copperfield and A Tale of Two Cities, it has a more serious tone that lends itself to more serious and sophisticated writing.  But I guess those turns of phrases and exquisite descriptions took a few more years to develop.  I kept waiting for the beautiful similes that Dickens is famous for, but in Pickwick...not so much.

Book Review: The Pickwick Papers, by Charles Dickens (1837)

This will always be my favorite Dickens' book.  I wonder if some writers start out writing humorous pieces but move into more serious storylines as they get older.  I know that was the case with Mrak Twain.  This book is Charles Dickens in his younger years, more light-hearted, less satirical.  I won't say this book is all fun and no social commentary, but The Pickwick Papers is so far the only humorous Dickens book I have read.

It's the story of Samuel Pickwick and his various travels and adventures.  The basic plot is simple.  Pickwick is the founder of the Pickwick Club, and his mission is to go on a walk-about into the world (greater London and the surrounding area) and learn all he can.  Then he writes it down and reports back to his club.

Book Review: Life on the Mississippi, by Mark Twain (1883) - Final Thoughts

This book falls into both categories - it holds up well for today's readers AND it's only good as a period piece.  Well, parts of it fall into both categories.  As with other Mark Twain travel books, I could edit them down to something more readable for today.

Book Review: Life on the Mississippi, by Mark Twain (1883)

A fun romp down the Mississippi takes you back to yester-century.  This book stands up well today because it was meant as a travelogue of a far-away place.  Even today, we can think of it that same way, a far-away place and time.

This book has come to define Mark Twain.  His years spent as a riverboat pilot on the Mississippi River are what comes to mind when people think of his life.  He stated, "I loved the profession far better than any I have followed since, and I took measureless pride in it."

Book Review: Far from the Madding Crowd (Thomas Hardy, 1874)

Wonderful book.  The language isn't too tough, and the message still rings today.  Sure, it's a romance at heart, and a nice one.  But there's also a story of personal struggle; of failure, floundering, seeking to gain a foothold in life, and finally succeeding by the sweat of one's own labor.

This was Thomas Hardy's second book, and first big success.  After Charles Dickens died in 1870, the public wanted a new Dickens.  They thought they found it in Hardy.  And for a few very well written books he did provide.

Book Review: Northanger Abbey, by Jane Austen (1817-1818)

Well this is it.  Jane Austen's first book.  The author of the great Pride and Prejudice which was possibly the best love story in all of 19th century literature.  So Northanger Abbey's got to be good.  I mean, you don't dare knock something this monumental.  But then I read it.

Meh.

On Book Reviews

I know, I know, you think much of this has been done before.  The problem with most readers (and reviewers) of classics is that they have all these preconceived notions, and are likely to give high marks to a book just because it's a "classic".  Gimme a break.  Some of these are silly, the plots are preposterous, and the coincidences - my God, the coincidences! - are just completely over the top.

Matt's Very First Post...on this blog

In one great fit of energy I deleted all my other blogs and am starting fresh and new, like a freakin' daisy or sum'n.  I never could decide on any specific topic, my teenage fear of commitment still lurks inside me.

This blog is about book reviews, random thoughts, and breaking into the literary world.  So The Literary Rambler not only fits well, but was actually available on Blogger.  I will try to bring order from my chaotic mind by starting book reviews with something inconceivable, like "Book Review".  Or sum'n.