All About Books discussion

The place to discuss our Group Classic for October/November.

We've just double posted! I'll delete mine, Jenny.

I downloaded the audible version read by Jim Dale. It is excellent so far.

Gill wrote: "We've just double posted! I'll delete mine, Jenny."

LOL, twins in action.

Jenny wrote: "Gill wrote: "We've just double posted! I'll delete mine, Jenny."

LOL, twins in action."

Apropos this, did you see that Brian Friel didn't know his birthdate; he has two birth certificates for two consecutive dates. When asked about this, he said 'I don't know, perhaps I'm twins.' I thought of you, Jenny!

Thanks, Jenny! I'm still reading I Am a Cat at the moment but I can't wait to start this book! I'll do as soon as I finish the one I'm currently reading.

I read this last year so I won't be rereading. I'll probably pop in and comment though :)

Not one of my favourite book. Read it some years ago, I won't reread it. But I'm curious to see what you think!

Gill wrote: "Jenny wrote: "Gill wrote: "We've just double posted! I'll delete mine, Jenny."

LOL, twins in action."

Apropos this, did you see that Brian Friel didn't know his birthdate; he has two birth certif..."

I hadn't seen that, lol!

Jenny wrote: "Gill wrote: "Jenny wrote: "Gill wrote: "We've just double posted! I'll delete mine, Jenny."

LOL, twins in action."

Apropos this, did you see that Brian Friel didn't know his birthdate; he has two..."

???

I started reading the book yesterday night, but I was so tired I only read the first chapter. I'm very tired and overworked these days, so maybe a light book like this one will be good for me.
Problem is, I'm reading it in French, which is not my strongest language, so this is not very relaxing, but it's still good exercise.

LauraT wrote: "Not one of my favourite book. Read it some years ago, I won't reread it. But I'm curious to see what you think!"

I enjoyed it ok when I read it, but I didn't love it. I thought it was a fun adventure story, but it was a little too episodic for me so I got bored in spots.

Marina wrote: "I started reading the book yesterday night, but I was so tired I only read the first chapter. I'm very tired and overworked these days, so maybe a light book like this one will be good for me.
Prob..."

I think this'll be a good one to read in little chunks like that. Hope life gets a little less hectic for you Marina!

Too "old"!

I've been listening to it in the morning as I get ready for work. I think Greg's description that its a "fun adventure story" is perfect. It won't change my life, but It is kind of fun to read and think about how many of the countries he visited were viewed at the time. Remember when Hong Kong was British?

I finished reading this book a couple of hours ago. Well, I did like it, but I was expecting much more, that's why I had nominated it as a Classics Group Read for these two months.
I found it a nice, funny book with nice, funny characters, though not much more than this. Phileas Fogg is intriguing as a classic example of a phlegmatic, unperturbed English gentleman. Passepartout is indeed a clown, with all his incredible adventures.
I also found it a bit racist (as in the descriptions of the Hindus and the Sioux) and certainly not woman-friendly (how can a woman (view spoiler)[fall in love just because the man she falls for has saved her? (hide spoiler)]), but hey, this book was written in the 19th century, so we couldn't expect it to be progressive, right?
However, as I said, I found it good enough, a solid 3 stars for me. As Katy said, definitely not life-changing, not memorable in any way, but also definitely good. I'm glad I read it, in the end.

A local theater in my area is doing a play of this book tailored for people on the autism spectrum. They have lower levels of light, sound, etc. but also the director chose this story because he thought Fogg has a bit of an Asperger's syndrome. Fogg has totally regular habits and on his journey is not interested in seeing the sights or meeting people, just staying on time.

There are certainly stereotypes of pretty much all the countries he goes through. I remember really enjoying a children's version of this, with all the different types of transportation and the exciting finish.

Robin, the idea that Fogg may have been a bit autistic/Aspergers is interesting! I hope that the play is successful.

Very interesting, Robin. I believe it is quite probable that Fogg had Asperger. I've read in some reviews he sounded like he had OCD, but it doesn't seem so to me, as he totally lacks the pain and anxiety going with it.
Also, I find very interesting the idea of doing a play tailored for people with autism. They certainly deserve to be able to go to the theater and enjoy the experience. I too hope it is successful.

That sounds fascinating, Robin.

I haven't read this one yet but I'm hoping to get to it soon.

Leslie wrote: "Robin, the idea that Fogg may have been a bit autistic/Aspergers is interesting! I hope that the play is successful."

Why not!!! Interesting point!

Finished night before last. I was dreading this book somewhat since I did not enjoy Journey to the Center of the Earth.

What a refreshing read. It's an adventure, which is totally plausible, and you get to see how different transportation was back then compared to now.

It did seem somewhat racist, and I didn't buy the girl falling in love with him, but overall it didn't aggravate me into banging my head into the wall about the implausibility of the story (the underground lake in Journey for example).

Marina wrote: "I finished reading this book a couple of hours ago. Well, I did like it, but I was expecting much more, that's why I had nominated it as a Classics Group Read for these two months.
I found it a nic..."

I can completely see what you mean Marina - certainly not a modern sensibility.

I remember reading that H G Wells was quite forward thinking on "The Woman Question" as Victorians go though. He was a supporter of birth control for instance, and that would've been quite shocking then. This article from the New York Times is interesting:

http://www.nytimes.com/1986/09/21/boo...

And this review "Woman and Primitive Culture" which has been attributed to Wells is interesting as well, though not without its problematic moments in terms of both race & gender:

http://www.depauw.edu/sfs/documents/w...

Robin wrote: "A local theater in my area is doing a play of this book tailored for people on the autism spectrum. They have lower levels of light, sound, etc. but also the director chose this story because he th..."

What an interesting idea Robin! There's a great theater company by me that tailors productions for fully enjoyment by both deaf and hearing audiences (Deaf West Theater), but I've never heard of productions tailored for inclusion of autistic audiences. If it were near me, I'd definitely go to support the theater company! Fantastic!

Greg wrote: "Marina wrote: "I finished reading this book a couple of hours ago. Well, I did like it, but I was expecting much more, that's why I had nominated it as a Classics Group Read for these two months.
I..."

Ha ha, why did no one correct me? I got mixed up and posted about H G Wells instead of Jules Verne. Oh my, I have been frazzled lately!

Haha, I did read your post, then got confused myself, but wasn't sure if you were muddled or not! Great info anyway Greg :)

By the way, I keep delaying starting this book, as I have done for years. I've now found a Librivox version that I like, so I'll try and start soon (we'll see if that actually happens or not!)

I started listening to this on Librivox. It was going well with version 3, as I enjoyed the narrator, but then it switched to someone else and I started zoning out. I'm now listing to version 4, which is not quite as good, a bit slow, but at least it's the same person all the way through.

As for the actual story....they are now in America, so on the last leg of the journey. I'm enjoying it, but wonder if I'd have got more out of it reading a physical copy. I'm not enthralled and will sort of be pleased when it finishes. What I do enjoy is finding out about the different types of transport and getting an idea of how special round the world travel must have been at this time.

Pink wrote: "I'm not enthralled and will sort of be pleased when it finishes. What I do enjoy is finding out about the different types of transport and getting an idea of how special round the world travel must have been at this time. ..."

I felt similarly Pink. It was ok, but I started to get a little tired of it by the end. In my case, I think it's because I'm not generally crazy about "adventure stories." I tend to go more for psychology, characters, lush writing, and/or moments of raw wonder; so the book wasn't a natural fit for me.

I found it enjoyable though for that kind of story, and I think you're right that going around the world used to be a much more exotic endeavor!

I remember going to an exhibit of vast amounts of art and popular art from the Victorian era that was inspired when a rhinoceros was brought to England and toured about. The sight of a rhinoceros was so exotic that the whole culture was apparently inflamed! Culture wasn't nearly as global back then.

Greg wrote: "In my case, I think it's because I'm not generally crazy about "adventure stories." I tend to go more for psychology, characters, lush writing, and/or moments of raw wonder; so the book wasn't a natural fit for me...

I feel the same as you about this.

Pink wrote: "Greg wrote: "In my case, I think it's because I'm not generally crazy about "adventure stories." I tend to go more for psychology, characters, lush writing, and/or moments of raw wonder; so the boo..."

I like adventure stories but with only 5 days left in the month, I won't be rereading Around the World this time.