30,000 Dollar Bequest - Featured Review

30,000 Dollar Bequest and Other Stories by Mark Twain Genres: Classic, Humor

     I think Mark Twain's humor takes a little getting used to. The first and main story in this book is about a happily married couple who are informed by a distant uncle that they stand to inherit $30,000 when he passes. Human nature can go two ways with such a fortune, a very large fortune back in those days. Money can either enhance one's life to make it better, or it can change people completely. Money is the root of all evil after all. I'll leave it to you to guess which way this turns out so that you will still be surprised when you read it for yourself. It is easy to do since this is a free ebook within the public domain.

     The majority of these stories are enjoyable. Some are pretty out there. From my research when I wrote Mark Twain's biography there was a time in his life where he was just churning out essays and papers to pay the bills. A few of the stories included in this book are undoubtedly Twain writing just to hear himself speak and have something to sell.

On the Decay of the Art of Lying - Featured Review

On the Decay of the Art of Lying by Mark Twain Genres: Classic, Nonfiction

     This is a short essay written by Mark Twain that gives one plenty of food for thought. He isn't implying that people are becoming more truthful, wouldn't that be nice? Twain reflects that people are becoming less artful in their deceptions.

     While theorizing that everyone lies he suggests that a well placed lie can do wonders. Everyone has been in this position ... No, that dress doesn't make your butt look big. Yes, I love your new haircut. Oh sweetie, that is the best drawing of a dog/cow/horse (I have no clue what it was supposed to be) that I have ever seen.

The Mysterious Stranger - Featured Review

The Mysterious Stranger by Mark Twain Genre: Classic

     This story was published after Mark Twain passed away and it is debated as to whether or not this version is a legitimate version of the story or if the editor had too free a reign with the cutting of text.

     Mark Twain can be very hard to read, but this was not the case. Set in Austria around the times of witch burnings, this book sets itself apart from most of Twain's works. There is no phonetical dialogue that he oft uses, and I personally find very hard to read.

Mark Twain Quotes - Top Ten Tuesday

1. “If you tell the truth, you don't have to remember anything.”
   ― Mark Twain


2. “Never put off until tomorrow what you can do the day after tomorrow.”
   ― Mark Twain


3. “The man who does not read has no advantage over the man who cannot read.”
   ― Mark Twain


4. “Classic' - a book which people praise and don't read.”
   ― Mark Twain


5. “Don’t go around saying the world owes you a living. The world owes you nothing. It was here first.”
   ― Mark Twain


6. “The trouble is not in dying for a friend, but in finding a friend worth dying for.”
   ― Mark Twain


7. “Sanity and happiness are an impossible combination.”
   ― Mark Twain


8. “Sometimes I wonder whether the world is being run by smart people who are putting us on or by imbeciles who really mean it.”
   ― Mark Twain


9. “A clear conscience is the sure sign of a bad memory.”
   ― Mark Twain


10. “Out of all the things I have lost, I miss my mind the most.”
    ― Mark Twain

Quotes provided by goodreads

Those Extraordinary Twins - Saturday Short Review

Those Extraordinary Twins by Mark Twain Genre: Classic

     The twins were based on Siamese twins that Twain had seen in a side show. Two heads, four arms, one body, and two legs. It is hard to imagine how much of these characters were fiction vs. truth as one of the twins is dark complected with brown hair while the other is fair of hair and skin. It brings to question if Siamese twins must come from a single fertilized egg that doesn't split properly which would demand the twins be identical, or if two separate eggs could have been scrambled together somehow.

     At any rate, this is quite an interesting story, however I would recommend reading The Tragedy of Pudd'nhead Wilson first. It may have just been the copy that I had but instead of retelling certain scenes, Twain merely referred back to certain chapters/scenes located within the original novel.

The Tragedy of Pudd'nhead Wilson - Featured Review

The Tragedy of Pudd'nhead Wilson by Mark Twain Genres: Classic, Suspense

     Mark Twain admits that the story got away from him, something that he seems to be notorious for. He had originally meant to create a story that was based on a side show attraction that he had seen of siamese twins. His fiction twins had gotten pushed into the background as the characters of Roxy, Tom, and Pudd'nhead Wilson became more prominent. Twain ended up separating the Siamese twins in this book and pulling this plot out of the story and publishing it as a short story titled Those Extraordinary Twins which I plan to review as a Saturday Short review.

     Roxy is a slave who looks white, because the majority of her ancestors were. Her son also has an anglo saxon father and looks just as white as the young master that is her charge. She fears being separated from her son as slaves could be sold at anytime without regard for families. In an attempt to avoid this, she switches the boys in the cradle. Her son ends up pampered, spoiled, and racist, which irks Roxy.

The Prince and the Pauper - Featured Review

The Prince and the Pauper by Mark Twain Genre: Classic

     The more classic books that I read the more convinced that I become about the general misconceptions of the themes of such books. I had always thought that the prince and the pauper had purposely exchanged roles - the prince wanting freedom from his structured schedule and the pauper wanting relief from the hunger and misery that comes with being poor - but that is not the case! What began as childish whimsy, exchanging their clothes led to an exaggerated case of mistaken identity. I find it quite sad that the kids' parents didn't notice the exchange of the dopplegangers, though the pauper's mother did at least have her suspicions.

     By weaving in actual facts of the royal family, Twain has made the history of this time period so interesting that I almost want to research it further - almost, but not quite. I was never a great student of history though I have gotten a little better as I have gotten older and certain topics will pique my curiosity.

     I am not a huge fan of Twain, as i find his frequent use of phonetic depictions of dialects hard to read, but I have found some of his stories to be very enjoyable, and this was one of them. I would gladly read this story again, which I cannot say about all of his books.

January Featured Author - Mark Twain

Mark Twain Born:   November 30, 1835 Died:   April 21, 1910 Main genres:   Children, Classic, Historical Fiction,   Non-Fiction

     Born Samuel Langhorne Clemens but was best known by the pen name Mark Twain. His most recognized characters was probably Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn. Twain grew up in Hannibal, Missouri, which would later provide the setting for Huckleberry Finn and Tom Sawyer. Twain was born during a visit by Halley's Comet, and he predicted that he would "go out with it" as well. He died the day following the comet's subsequent return. He was lauded as the "greatest American humorist of his age".

The Mysterious Stranger by Mark Twain - Review

The Mysterious Stranger by Mark Twain Genre: Classic

     Of course I'm not going to actually tell you WHO the mysterious stranger is. That would just ruin it and you wouldn't need to read it for yourself. Though I did spend most of the book wondering if he was who he claimed to be, or if he was actually his namesake.

     Mark Twain can be very hard to read, but this was not the case. Set in Austria around the times of witch burnings, this book sets itself apart from most of Twain's works. There is no phonetical dialogue that he oft uses, and I personally find very hard to read.