Treasure Island

Book 21 of 2018 is Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson.

Having read this book over 30 years ago, I thought I'd scan through it since we all know the story so well. The thing with me remembering books is that I recall the peaks and troughs but forget the detail after that long. I'm glad I re-read it.

Like all true classics that define their genre, it isn't perfect or even at the pace I would expect of a swashbuckling adventure but it is true to form. The characters are more complex than I remember them and the classism is cringeworthy but I must keep it mind that it was published in 1883.

This is more than a children's books and less than an adult's book so I am not sure whether to recommend it based on that. I can however recommend it based on it being fun and adventurous.

You can decide if that is for you.

4 Yo-ho-ho, and  bottles of rum out of 5.

Should I read this? Do it. It's a short fun adventurous read.
What did I learn? Rum is not a life for me.

Around the World in Eighty Days

Book 62 is Around the World in Eighty Days by Jules Verne.

This is the 11th book Verne wrote in the Extraordinary Voyages series and one that I am shocked to not have read yet, considering I know the story so well.

What surprised me about the story is that there is no hot air balloon travel at all. Not a single mention of it.

Phileas Fogg is one of the least penetrable yet most interesting central characters I've ever read. He is the central pivot point in the story with the world made up of interesting characters, situations and exceptions rotating around him. I would never have seen that in a movie version.

The twists and solutions are intelligent although sometimes contrived but it all fits together perfectly.

You must remember that time this was written to not cringe at the cultural insensitivity and sexism.

I must read the rest of the series now. And no, order does not seem to matter.

4 idiot travel buddies out of 5.

Should I read this? Yes. Read it to your kids or to yourself. You'll enjoy it.
What did I learn? I want to travel around the world in 80 days now but only five star.

Scarecrow Returns

Book 61 is Scarecrow Returns from the Shane Schofield series by Aussie Matthew Reilly.

This is book four. I accidentally missed book 2 for some unknown reason but it hadn't made too big a difference. The author re-explains where all the old characters came from and how they have been damaged by books past.

Those constant recaps is why this is an airport book. You can pick up any one in the series at an airport and read it without any real commitment to anything but the story in front of your face.

This series is why I know a lot about military aircraft and also why I have a very rational fear of killer whales. This particular book is better than the last with more humour and less self pity which is what you want from a stuff blows up and science is stretched a little further than reality.

A fun romp through a radioactive mutant polar bear infested acid island full of a killer mercenary cult. Oops spoiler! But then you could just read that on the back of the book.

3 stereotypical characters out of 5.

Should I read this? Sure, it's fun.
What did I learn? I now know that an osprey isn't just a bird.

Caraval

Book 56 is Caraval by Stephanie Garber.

I love love loved this book.

Initially put off reading this by the idea of the girls being trapped on an island was wrong. That is a small part of this phantasmagorical story.

When I thought I'd never find another book like Night Circus, I was sad. This is that book and it is a series! Although it isn't released yet, I'm excited to continue in this world.

There is too much to explain and most would give away the mystery.

It is magical. It is mysterious. It is a game. Or is it?

5 twists and turns out of 5.

Should I read this? Yes. No matter who you are, yes.
What did I learn? I love magic, beit real or not.

The Hundred-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out of the Window and Disappeared

Book 37 of 2017 is The Hundred-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out of the Window and Disappeared by Jonas Jonasson.

This book has a great name and the reviews were not promising but I took the chance. This book is very different and I think that justified the negative reviews. However, I liked it and laughed a few times.

It feels like a children's book and maybe books about older people are.

Fun! Historical! Unethical! What more could you want from a book about a cool old guy?

3 world leaders out of 5.

Should I read this? Maybe. I liked it but it was a little long.
What did I learn? Small inputs can instigate large changes.

Scarecrow

Book 29 of 2017 is Scarecrow by Matthew Reilly.

Reilly's book are my go to light, no challenge travel books that are available in airport book stores.

Having enjoyed Ice Station from the Scarecrow series and Temple (not in a series AFAIK) for being adventurous and having aliens or magic, I was hoping Scarecrow would be in the same vein. Unfortunately, this is all military fighting mercenaries all for a crazed evil genius with sharks with fricken LASER beams.

It was an easy read which is good for 38 horrid hours of travel but it had no aliens and magic. This was a little like the time I went to see the movie Lincoln when I thought I was going to see Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter. I was 30 minutes in to the movie when I asked my friend when the vampires were going to come in. He of course laughed hysterically in a full cinema.

This book was a little like that.

If you are in to fast cars, helicopters, gun, ammunition and faster than sound airplanes then this is the book for you. If not, it's an easy enough read with some twists.

3 escapes from the jaws of death out of 5.

Should I read this? Only if you're taking a long plane flight and you don't need to use your brain.
What did I learn? Everything this taught me about military weapons, I have already forgotten.

The Golden Keel

Book 10 of 2017 is The Golden Keel by Desmond Bagley.

People often ask me how I find books from vast arrays of genres. The answer is that I go off recommendations from my friends. That is why GoodReads my primary reading discovery source.

In the case of this book, I picked it up because Desmond Bagley was one of my Mum's favourite authors when I was a child. In fact, both my parents enjoyed The Golden Keel. That made this book extra meaningful to me.

Books that people recommend are a glimpse in to who they are. Once I witness someone share many similar book likes with me, I learn to trust them implicitly and vice versa with books some have like that I did not.

The Golden Keel is a great heist adventure on stormy seas with pirates and unusually for my normal set, characters from South Africa and Italy.

My tropical Mum told me today (when I was half way through this book) that the first time she read the word avalanche was in one of his books and he described it perfectly. That brought an awareness when I was finishing this. This book talks about sailing and a lot of books do but Bagley describes perfectly what a concept or actual thing is in a way that is easy to understand. That is a talent, especially with sailing terms. He also described being trapped under something heavy in a way I felt I'd experienced in ways although I never had.

If you pick this up, keep in mind that it was written in 1963 and reflects the post war boom times in many countries. That said, it could be set right now too.

5 heavy keels out of 5.

Should I read this? For sure. It is a funny and easy read.

What did I learn? I need to read more books about great adventures. Why did I ever stop?

The North Water

Book 9 of 2017 is The North Water by Ian McGuire.

This book is full or gore and great examples of the worst kind of men imaginable. I did not enjoy it at all. There wasn't anything that redeemed it in any way.

It is hard to say if my quest to read more female authors and the eight I read prior to this book meant that the very male story, characters and theming seemed over the top. The killing of animals, people and an awful chapter about pouring puss out of a man's abdomen was just too much. It wasn't even done in a way that made it fit properly. It was like the author would pause once in a while and describe something disgusting in great detail. That behaviour also distracted from the story.

Two polar bears out of five.

Should I read this? No. There are many better books in this genre.
What did I learn? Reading a majority of male writers desensitises me things I don't like in some male writing. There is certainly a different voice.