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Kidnapped by Robert Louis Stevenson
I finished reading Kidnapped (1886) by Robert Louis Stevenson. This was a fantastically fun read! It’s an adventure novel that takes place in the mid 1700s in Scotland and follows the trials and tribulations of young David Balfour. Friendship is a major theme, as is integrity and honor. There were many words new to me,…
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Indiana Jones and the Curse of Horror Island
A few nights ago, I read Indiana Jones and the Curse of Horror Island (1984), written by R. L. Stine and illustrated by David B. Mattingly. This is the first Indiana Jones Find Your Fate book, which is a choose-your-own-adventure style gamebook series. I read a couple of these as a kid and decided to…
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The Great Brain by John D. Fitzgerald
A book jot from July 2021: I finished reading The Great Brain (1967) by John D. Fitzgerald with illustrations by Mercer Mayer. It’s a children’s novel that takes place in the late 1890s in Utah. The setting and some of the plotlines seem unusual for children’s literature, and it handles some difficult themes in a…
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Willie Whitetail
When I was a little kid, I came across this book at my elementary school. I don’t recall now if it was a library book sale or exactly what, but it was discarded from the school’s library. I ended up getting two other books as well, one about a bobwhite quail and one about a…
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From The Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E.L. Konigsburg
(This book jot is from June of 2021) I finished reading From The Mixed-Up Files Of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler (1967) by E.L. Konigsburg a few days ago. It’s a children’s novel I remember seeing around when I was a kid but had never read. It was an enjoyable book with some good humor and…
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We Dream of Space by Erin Entrada Kelly
I just finished reading We Dream of Space (2020) by Erin Entrada Kelly, a young adult novel that follows the lives of three siblings over the course of a month in early 1986. The siblings have a teacher who is closely watching the unfolding of the Challenger mission, and weaves the event into her classroom…
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Journey to the Centre of the Earth
I just finished reading Journey to the Centre of the Earth (1864) by Jules Verne, translated by Frank Wynne. It was a great and entertaining adventure and brimmed with that boyish optimism, perhaps born out of the rapidly expanding world of science, shared by similar books of the era. I was a bit surprised at…
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The Lost World
I just finished reading The Lost World by Arthur Conan Doyle (1912). I had a great time reading this adventure story, and felt like a child at times, basking in the wonder of exploration and discovery. It’s a fun adventure with some memorable characters (and great names; one character is Professor Challenger!). It’s also an…
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Vestigia nulla retrorsum
I’ve been reading The Lost World by Arthur Conan Doyle, and am greatly enjoying the adventure of it. It is kind of making me feel like a boy again, tramping along the banks of Apple Creek and dreaming of adventure.