Mississippi Writings: The Adventures of Tom Sawyer/Life on the Mississippi/Adventures of Huckleberry Finn/Puddinhead Wilson by Mark Twain
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I had myself called with the four o'clock watch, mornings, for one cannot see too many summer sunrises on the Mississippi. They are enchanting. First, there is the eloquence of silence; for a deep hush broods everywhere. Next, there is the haunting sense of loneliness, isolation, remoteness from the worry and bustle of the world. The dawn creeps in stealthily; the solid walls of black forest to gray, and vast stretches of the river open up and reveal themselves; the water is glass smooth, gives off spectral little wreaths of white mist, there is not the faintest breath of wind, nor stir of leaf; the tranquility is profound and infinitely satisfying. Then a bird pipes up, another follows, and soon the pipings develop into a jubilant riot of music. You see none of the birds; you simply move through an atmosphere of song which seems to sing itself. When the light becomes a little stronger, you have one of the fairest and softest pictures imaginable. You have the intense green of the massed and crowded foliage near by; you see it paling shade by shade in front of you; upon the next projecting cape, a mile off or more, the tint has lightened to the tender young green of spring; the cape beyond that has almost lost color, and the further one, miles away under the horizon, sleeps upon the water a mere dim vapor, and hardly separable from the sky above it and about it. And all this stretch of river is a mirror, and you have the shadowy reflections of the leafage and the curving shores and the receding capes pictured in it. Well, that is all beautiful; soft and rich and beautiful; and when the sun gets well up, and distributes a pink flush here and a powder of gold yonder and purple haze where it will yield the best effect, you grant that you have seen something worth remembering.

from Life on the Missippi p. 417

View all my reviews

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This was time for a re-reading of a favorite of mine to see if this might be appropriate for an 8-year old grandson who is reading his way through Harry Potter books. I think his skill level is up to it; but I'm not sure a 21st century boy would believe any child could have as much freedom from adult supervision and organized activities as this 19th century boy had. This book might be good for an opportunity to compare and contrast.
I still admire Tom's ingenuity and creativity.
I recommend it for all readers to read and re-read.

View all my reviews

A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court by Mark Twain
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This book was free when I downloaded it to my Nook. I enjoy reading Barnes & Noble Classics on my Nook Tablet or HD+ because I can quickly go to an endnote with a touch on the screen. The endnotes enhance my enjoyment of the classic with definitions and quick explanations of allusions which Twain's first readers were more likely to catch than 21st-century-me.

Twain's commentary on the power of a privileged class seems as timely a discussion with our current 1% as the Gilded age's 1% and Arthur's class of knights and nobility. My favorite quote is "Did you think you had educated the superstition out of these people?"

I recommend this book for all readers.

View all my reviews