Life in the Inanimate: Frankenstein by Mary Shelley

You are voyaging with Captian R. Walton in the Arctic in the good ship, hoping to find a important discovery to make you be remembered and go down in history. Ah, the glory! Then something very peculiar happens: you sight a huge man in a carriage on the ice. Who could it be?

You have just seen the monster of Frankenstein, the "villain" of Mary Shelley's book. In it, a college student finds out how to give life to the inanimate. But things take a turn for the worse when his creation becomes evil...

This book is interesting, as we see how all the circumstances culminate. However, it's very sad, especially at the end. The book is very different from the popular notion of Frankenstein ( for instance, lightning is never actually mentioned as being used in the life-giving process.) The book goes into detail in just the right amount, without being either under- or over-informative (in contrast to Moby Dick).

The book started as a idea of Lord Byron's that he and his next-door neighbors and fellow writers Percy Bysshe Shelley and Mary Wollstonecraft Godwin, who was under 19, should all write horror stories. Mary was the only person to fulfill the idea, writing Frankenstein.

The book is suitable for all ages, but may upset younger children.

I hope you enjoy Frankenstein.

Three Men In A Boat by Jerome K. Jerome

You're taking a pleasant night stroll along the Thames.  Ah, the cool air, the lovely flowers- when all of a sudden you notice a great commotion on the coast of a little island in the water. It is one of those boats with covers, and the fellow in the boat has gotten himself wrapped up in the cover.
Then you see another fellow get knocked down, struggle, and also get all tangled up, and a third person has to help them out.

You have just encountered Three Men in a Boat, by Jerome K. Jerome. It is about the comic adventures of three good friends and a dog going on a trip on the Thames.

Here is the list of main characters:
J.: The narrator: extremely poetic, a hypochondriac.
George: A sluggard and bank clerk, also a hypochondriac.
Harris:  Down-to-earth, another hypochondriac.
Montemorency: A fox terrier, loves to fight.

This book was greeted with such approval that Jerome K. Jerome wrote a sequel, Three Men on the Bummel, which follows the same group of men on a bicycle trip in Germany. It's still funny, though perhaps not as funny as the first.

The Wikipedia link on Jerome K. Jerome is here.
 
I hope you enjoy Three Men in a Boat.

Book Review: Lord of the Flies

You are voyaging in your yacht when you see a lush island. A swath of trees have been cut down. As you get closer, you can see little figures moving around the beach. You suddenly hear a loud, sharp sound.

You have just stumbled upon the island of The Lord of the Flies by William Golding. In this book, a group of schoolboys crashland on an island. Their leader, Ralph, has to deal with growing discontentment, and soon, the island is taken over by a violent group of hunters headed by Jack, another member of the group.

William Golding served in World War II, possibly providing the inspiration for the book.

 In this book, my favorite character is Piggy, because he is the most intelligent.This book will be disturbing to young readers, as it describes a graphic death, so I would suggest that parents make sure their child can cope. It is a short read, but it is quite good. I give it 4 out of 5 stars.

Book Review: Moby Dick, Unabridged

Moby-Dick is about a famous "White Whale" and a captain's quest to kill him.

In Moby-Dick, the narrator, Ishmael (of "Call me Ishmael" fame,") goes to "explore the watery world", along with his friend, the "savage" Queequeg. Ishmael chooses to ship on the whaling ship Pequod, and he is told by the ship's owners that it is being captained by a certain Ahab. The owners,a certain Bildad and Peleg, also tell him that Captain Ahab lost a leg, and that it was "devoured,chewed up, crunched by the monstrousest parmacetty that ever chipped a boat". Also, Bildad is a bit pious, so he'll only give Ishmael the 777th lay(that's his share of the money) while Peleg wants to give him the 300th lay. In the end of the chapter, Peleg wins.

On the way back to their inn, they run into Elijah, a supposed "prophet", who warns them that they should not go on the Pequod. He says that everyone will die, but Ishmael takes no heed. Also, when he last meets Elijah, Elijah points out some men hurrying towards the ship and asks Ishmael "Did ye see anything looking like men going towards that ship a while ago?".

To find out what happens...read the book! It's long-winded and the author's research is mostly irrelevant but read it still. It's good for you!

Books To Cure Depression

Today, I thought of some books people should read in order to cure depression. They are mostly educational too!

Books by Gerald Durrell:

   

Calvin and Hobbes series by Bill Watterson:

    

Peanuts series by Charles M. Schulz:

 

Graphic novels by Jay Hosler:

  

Life of Fred series:

  

Larry Gonicks's Cartoon History series:

   

The Evil Pigs (Animal Farm)

Oink! Did you know that pigs are evil? Not in real life of course, but in this book, it turned out to be true.

Animal Farm by George Orwell is about a farm that is taken over by animals. The boar who starts the rebellion is Old Major. After Old Major's death, every animal elects two pigs to lead the farm. They are Snowball and Napoleon. Snowball and Napoleon write seven commandments to govern the farm and all the animals agree to follow these commandments.

The commandments I can remember are:

• All animals are equal


• No animal will sleep in beds


• Every living thing with four legs is a comrade, every living thing with two legs is an enemy


• No animal will drink whiskey

After a while Napoleon chases Snowball out. Napoleon becomes a dictator and the farm's order collapses.

I believe this is a very good book even though it made me sad. I would recommend this for ages eight and above.

The Young, Chemistry-Loving Detective

  

The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie, The Weed That Strings the Hangman's Bag and A Red Herring Without Mustard are three of my favorite books. Alan Bradley wrote these books with much flair and he's planning to add three more to the series.

The main character of this series is Flavia de Luce. She is eleven years old and has her very own chemistry laboratory. She investigates using village chit-chat/ gossip and her knowledge of chemistry.

In the first book, Flavia investigates the death of her father's former school chum. In the second, she solves the mystery of a puppeteer who dies of electrocution and in the third book, she investigates who is behind a gypsy's head injury and finds, on the way, that someone else was murdered.

If you don't like murder, I suggest that you don't read this series. Otherwise, get your copies today! And leave a comment if you want to discuss them.

The Hilarious Djinni

   

The Amulet of Samarkand (Book 1), The Golem's Eye (Book 2), and Ptolemy's Gate (Book 3) make up the Bartimaeus Trilogy. The Ring of Solomon is its prequel. These books are written by Jonathan Stroud.

The series is about the adventures of a djinni, Bartimaeus, and his master, Nathaniel. In all of these books, they save the world from one terrible being or another. In The Ring of Solomon, we find Bartimaeus helping another character, Asmira, to assassinate King Solomon and take his ring.

I think Jonathan Stroud writes with a very good style. I finished all four books in a short period of time because Bartimaeus is very funny! I would strongly recommend these books to readers of any age.