Books 1-6

I have completed six books on my list of books I should read. What is interesting is that some of my impressions of what the book is about is by watching a movie. I am learning, in six books or less, that the director's vision of the book is not always true to the story. Some movies follow the book, while others seem to change it into a hollywood fiasco. Granted, some of these movies are classics, but I wonder what the author would have said. Normally, I like to read the book before I see the movie and sometimes the movie is so different. Granted, sometimes they can be different but both are good.

Four of the six books I have read so far came out in the 1800s and the other two came out in the 1950s. I guess that puts them at the classic level. I do read modern books too.

Here are my impressions of the first six books...

Moby Dick by Herman Melville

This is the jacket on the version I read. Originally published in 1851, I knew the story but I had never read the book. Ishmael, Captain Ahab, White whale...quoted by the bad guy in the Star Trek movie The Wrath of Khan. Crossword puzzles always have clues from it. We all know the story, or do we? I found it to be a book that describes in intricate details the life of a whaler in the mid 1800s; the equipment, the harpooners, the oils they gathered and details of the whales with chapters on the head, tail and everything in between.

I was surprised how easy it was to read given that it was written over 150 years ago. There were words I had to look up but over all, Melville knew how to write. I give the book a 4.0 (Excellent). It was a great start to my book reading quest. I just hope I am not as obsessed in my pursuit as Ahab was...

I want to note that in reading about Melville, I found that he wrote some previous books about his life living in the cannibalistic islands of the south pacific. I borrowed one book that had three novels but decided to hold off on reading them. The novels are called Typee, Omoo, and Mardi. I added the first, Typee, to my list to remind me to read it.

Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad 

This is the jacket of the book I own, It belonged to my brother John because his name is printed inside the cover. It must have been a reading assignment from high school. Although the book contains three short novels, I only read the first, Heart of Darkness. It was originally published in 1899.

The story is told from the point of view of an English sailor who had a job to travel up a river into the deepest, darkest part of Africa. There, is an ivory dealer named Kurtz, who is god-like to the local tribes. My first impression of the story was from the 1979 movie Apocalypse Now, directed by Francis Ford Coppola. Marlon Brando plays Kurtz, and Martin Sheen plays a similar character that is tasked to track Kurtz down. Different time and part of the world, but the story is the same, a man becomes God-like leading the local tribes. I guess the author was trying to show that even a civilized man can be trapped by the darkness of the uncivilized world.

This was a fast read and I enjoyed it for the most part. I give the book a 3.0 (Great).

Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury

This is the jacket that was used when it was published in 1953, or at least the 50th anniversary edition commemorating that first cover. This is one of the few things that Bradbury ever wrote. Well, there were 26 other novels and over 500 short stories. Not much to say about this novel. There was a movie made in 1966 and then recently (2018) HBO had a mini-series which I did not watch.  The book's tagline explains the title: "Fahrenheit 451 – the temperature at which book paper catches fire, and burns..."

To not ruin the story, I recommend you read it, very short and a fast read. I give the book a 3.5 (Great to Excellent). I am just glad we don't live in the dystopian world of the book, else I would have never read it...because....I will let you figure it out.

I, Robot by Isaac Asimov

The jacket used in the original edition of the novel released in 1950. The book is actually a "fix-up" novel of short stories previously published by Asimov in Science Fiction magazines of the 1940s. Most people know of the Three Laws of Robotics. These stories show the conflicts these laws can cause. I am pretty sure I had read this before because the stories seem so familiar. Almost anywhere robots appear in a movie, themes from this original story are used.

In 2004, the movie I, Robot was released with Will Smith in the starring role. In actuality, it is a very rough variation of this book, but does deal with the same conflicts in the robots due to the laws.

It was a very fast read, and I think Asimov may have a few more books out there. I give the book a 3.5 (Great to Excellent). BTW, Asimov wrote over 500 books including Fiction and non-Fiction.

Frankenstein by Mary Shelley

I will say it immediately, my movie and television influences on Frankenstein seem to have nothing to do with the original novel. It should be noted that Shelley was 18 when she wrote this book and published in 1818 when she was 20. Her name did not appear as the author until 1823. Although not described this way in the book, this is the typical look made famous by Boris Karloff...

Frankenstein is written in the form of a frame story that starts with Captain Robert Walton writing letters to his sister. It takes place at an unspecified time in the 18th century, as the letters' dates are given as "17—". In the story following the letters by Walton, the readers find that Victor Frankenstein creates a monster that brings tragedy to his life. The letters by Walton contain the story as told by Victor. In his telling, he details meeting the monster who requests that Frankenstein create him a mate. So, the monsters discussion is within the story by Frankenstein as told to the Captain who is putting it into the letters to his sister. Damn creative!!!! Kind of like the movie Inception.

This book is not fast reading, but the story is wonderful. I give the book a 4.0 (Excellent). BTW, there was no lightning to spark life or even a castle or laboratory or screams "It's Alive" or the song "Puttin' on the Ritz."

Dracula  by Bram Stoker

The story is told in an epistolary format, as a series of letters, diary entries, newspaper articles, and ships' log entries, whose narrators are the novel's protagonists, and occasionally supplemented with newspaper clippings relating events not directly witnessed. Published in 1897, it has spawned many stories including movies, books and television series (remember Dark Shadows, it was always on when I got home from school as a kid in the 1960s)

In 1992, a movie (poster above) that tried to follow the original book was directed by Francis Ford Coppola. Early on it was true to the book, but Coppola changed the ending to make it more, more...you get the idea, a fiasco. Gary Oldham played the Count and other stars included Anthony Hopkins as Van Helsing, Keanu Reeves as Jonathan, and Winona Ryder as Mina. At least the characters acted liked the people in the book, or how I envisioned them. Yes, Dracula does turn into a bat in the book, among other creatures and weather (mist and fog).

This was an easy read mostly. I did have problems when Stoker tried to imitate the vernacular of the working class in London, leaving off the h's and using unusual words. But I got through it. I give the book a 4.5 (Excellent to Memorable). I was going to say the book sucks but decided not to. I did like that he was a Count, that is what mathematicians do....