Innocence Abroad

When Mark Twain was 32 years old he went on a cruise to Europe and the Middle East. He had not written any of the books that he became famous for. He had traveled across much of the US, spending time in Nevada and California, where he wrote the short article, The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County. And then he took his narrow view of the world to Europe.

It was 1867, 141 years ago. This may have been one of the first cruises on record. He mentions that other people who do similar travel had to go from boat to boat, packing constantly. This group stayed on the same ship. They would leave it for long periods of time, packing just what they needed for the visit. He kept a journal and wrote articles for a newspaper. Two years later, he wrote The Innocents Abroad. And weren't they innocent. Or ignorant. They couldn't be berated for thinking that the United States was the center of the world, it was the center of their existence. And Mark Twain left school early, so he probably didn't have a lot of history or art appreciation under his belt. He makes both things clear.

This is, none-the-less, a great book to read if you love to travel. Many things in the countries he visited have not changed. Some have changed drastically. Do you know that Italy wasn't a united country at that time? Twain laments that he had to keep going through customs as he went to different regions in Italy. It takes a moment to realize why. He can't understand why nobody understands their Americanized French or Italian. And, of course, in those days not many in these countries spoke English. Thank heavens that has changed.

Two things struck me as worth mentioning. First, he compares Lake Como and the Sea of Galilee to Lake Tahoe. Very unfavorably. He had just returned from California before this trip. He must have been gobsmacked when he first saw Tahoe. There is nothing like that where he grew up. He marveled at its clarity and the beautiful surroundings. Poor Lake Como. I've been there. It is quite beautiful. In fact, I took pretty much the same tour as Twain. I don't know why he felt compelled to compare it to Tahoe. A bit of Jingoism?

Secondly, he wrote about how travel has changed for the better now that there is telegraph and trains. While much about the countries he writes about has not changed, technology has once again made things so much easier. Trains go more places and are more comfortable. You don't have to ride donkeys or camels to get around in the Middle East. And you can always be in contact with cell phones and the Internet. You may debate if that is really better. It is if you are not addicted to being in constant communication. But it is easier to be informed and prepared for the differences in the world around as you travel through it. Twain applauds how technology had made his travel easier at that point. And I am always happy that it has gone further.

So, this was a longish book. I had to read inbetween sections. First I read this little Lee Child book, Running Blind. Not a well conceived book. It seems preposterous how he gets involved in this FBI case. But Jack Reacher is always a compelling figure. His abilities are mythic. Can a person really be that all powerful. He's like an infallible secret weapon. He is always several steps ahead of the smartest people around him. How does he manage to be so perfect? Lee Child said in an interview that he put everything into Reacher that he wanted to be himself. Well, he wants to be a lot of things. Now if he can just work on developing better plots, I'd be happy.

The first Reacher book I read had a great plot. So I'll probably keep reading them, waiting to find another good one. As for Running Blind, run in the other direction, unless you've already been sucked into buying it.

I went to the bookstore with Eric and Cindy. Actually, Cindy and I went to pry Eric out of the bookstore after we had bought out Williams Sonoma. I saw a stack of books written by Stephenie Meyer. The last book of the Twilight series had come out. Pretty covers. But I didn't know anything about them.

Then Carina walks in with the book she is currently reading. It is the third book in the series. She likes them and I'm always interested in trying something new. Vampires. Now that is a different genre. Well, actually, Twilight is about vampires and a teen-age girl. I was a little surprised when Audible announced at the beginning of the book that it was from their AudibleKids section. What? This is Young Adult fiction. Who knew?

Once I got over that (I did love the Golden Compass books and they too are part of the AudibleKids selections) and started listening, I enjoyed the book. It is a romance, lots of lusting after an incredibly beautiful young man. Now, this guy has Reacher beat as far as special abilities. He's fast and he can read minds. And when he tells you that you smell fantastic - be afraid. Unless you're Bella. My only real objection to this book is that it was overpriced. It takes two Audible credits to get one book. As much as I liked it, I'm going to wait for the cost to go down before I read the other books in the series.

They are making a movie of the first book. The guy who plays Edward, the vampire who makes your heart stop before he touches you, is the same person who played Cedric Diggery in the Harry Potter movies. Okay, I guess I do like kid-lit. The actor is okay, but I like the image in my head much better. Isn't that always the way?