Jules Verne Forum

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Re: Reading Jules Verne--any takers?

From: rick walter <rick1walter~at~comcast.net>
Date: Thu, 16 Sep 2004 22:17:03 -0700
To: "Jules Verne Forum" <jvf~at~gilead.org.il>

In my first two years as a public librarian, I've seen innumerable kids check out full-text Verne novels from facilities where I've worked. And the volumes HAVE been read cover to cover. How do I know? Because in most cases they were new copies I'd ordered myself, and as you know, it's easy to tell when a book has actually been read.

Yes, 20,000 LEAGUES standardly shows up on high school and jr. high reading lists, but the simple fact is that the books circulate promptly if the librarian displays them or puts them in the "new book bin." Both of which I've done. 20,000 LEAGUES, 80 DAYS, CENTER OF THE EARTH, and MYSTERIOUS ISLAND all check out continually, and much of it seems to be "impulse shopping." And one other thing: these books are now available in attractive modern translations and have suddenly become much more digestible fare than Stevenson, Twain, and others whose 19th century English is now tougher going for today's youth.

In my opinion, one of the above titles, JCE, is literally sure-fire with kids--thanks not only to its prehistoric monsters but to its speed, compactness, humor, still-novel adventures, and masterly blend of the bizarre and the believable, I've never seen it fail with either boys or girls. Yep, Verne is still a going concern in the American heartland.

All the best,
Rick Walter in Albuquerque.

      
  ----- Original Message -----
  From: Norm Wolcott
  To: Jules Verne Forum
  Sent: Wednesday, September 15, 2004 8:25 PM
  Subject: Reading Jules Verne--any takers?


  I would like to know if anyone has any solid evidence of an English speaking person under age 30 who has ever read a book in English by Jules Verne. Perhaps we could offer a prize.

  nwolcott2~at~post.harvard.edu Friar Wolcott, Gutenberg Abbey, Sherwood Forrest
Received on Fri 17 Sep 2004 - 07:10:00 IDT

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