Classics for Beginners discussion

Enjoy!

No one should be allowed to start before the October read is finished. Getting ahead is an unfair advantage, GR is watching you! (view spoiler)[. Looks like we will all be getting down with November's group read. I think we will all dig this one. I heard this is one deep book by an author who knew how to get to the bottom of things. (hide spoiler)]

Joseph (Millennium Man) wrote: "No one should be allowed to start before the October read is finished. Getting ahead is an unfair advantage, GR is watching you! [spoilers removed]"

Disagree.
Some people might read faster or read when they have time. Or read slower and need to start ahead in order to be on the same page as others. November is a busy month. I think maybe they shouldn't discuss before the official date that seems fair but to hold someone accountable for reading ahead? No THATS not fair. Plus this is not a race thats not what its about at all.

Anywho this topic is not about that but I had to put in my two sense as they say.

I would love to read this book.November is a busy month for me so I'll read it and post when ever I get it from the library. :) Hopefully I can finish in November.

Well, I've had this one on my shelf for maybe 8 to 10 years. I'd say it's high time to get it read! I'm awfully busy with work these days but I'll do my best to keep up.

Remember not finishing a group read by the end of the month is a capital offense. A GR librarian will arrive at your doorstep with an executioner wearing a black hood. You will be considered guilty until proven innocent. You have the right to appeal by tribunal. The tribunal is purely ceremonial and will have no effect on the outcome. The executioner's fee will be billed to your estate. This draconian policy may see extreme but has encouraged many members to read if not hundreds but thousands of books.

This has nothing to do with the book.....

Gaijinmama wrote: "Well, I've had this one on my shelf for maybe 8 to 10 years. I'd say it's high time to get it read! I'm awfully busy with work these days but I'll do my best to keep up."

Just have fun. :) I know I will

Chakara wrote: "Gaijinmama wrote: "Well, I've had this one on my shelf for maybe 8 to 10 years. I'd say it's high time to get it read! I'm awfully busy with work these days but I'll do my best to keep up."

Just h..."
Thanks, Chakara.
Fun, indeed. I assume that's why we're all here, right?
Joseph...sure you don't want my firstborn along with all that?

I am a almost halfway through and I'm really enjoying the story.

(Don't let anyone know I started already...sshh!)

Joseph (Millennium Man) wrote: " I am a almost halfway through and I'm really enjoying the story. (Don't let anyone know I started already...sshh!)"
I'm on page 42 and you know your secret is safe with me!

Arrived today. I'll begin when I finish Animal Farm. I admit I know nothing about this book but I'm hoping I will enjoy the surprise ^_^

Starting it today!

Read this years ago, but am starting today and reading it again.

I'm on page 100 or thereabouts. They're finally going into the crater. All this really makes me want to visit Iceland! Verne's descriptions are so vivid and intriguing.

Gaijinmama wrote: "I'm on page 100 or thereabouts. They're finally going into the crater. All this really makes me want to visit Iceland! Verne's descriptions are so vivid and intriguing."

That is good to hear! I'm on page 68 and while I like the book, I was wondering how much longer for some action!

This is a book that I started in high school. I got to chapter 30 (Terrific Saurian Combat) and stopped. I don't remember why. I finally picked it back up a couple of years ago (I started over) and really enoyed it. Not as much as some of Verne's other works, (20,000 Leagues Under the Sea is one of my favorites), though.

I really liked (view spoiler)[ the sequences when the party was travelling in the dark (hide spoiler)].

I am starting tomorrow :)

I read half of it in school , dunno why i left reading it , but looking forward to reading it again

On page 130-something now. I am enjoying the book, particularly the descriptions and Axel's complicated relationship with the Professor. The pace is slower than what I'm used to when I read an SF novel but I am trying to keep the historical context in mind (anyone want to get into Verne's sexism and ethnic stereotyping?). I'm definitely seeing what an influence Verne had on...well, pretty much all the SF authors who came after.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ruhmkorf...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dichroma...

I was interested in what the explores were using for a light source and how it worked. I found the above.

I like the story and descriptions, but I'm still finding it a bit slow. I'm excited for them to ditch the guides and start climbing into the mountain!

I started yesterday, as I'm brand spankin' new to this group. I don't know why I haven't read this book before. I suppose I figured it was boring - it's so not. They've just arrived in Iceland and are preparing for their journey.

I'm amazed at how much I like it, so far.

I really want to join in this group read but I was in the middle of a different book when I joined and I haven't finished that one yet. I don't know why but I can't read multiple books at once. My brain just can't keep two different stories straight for some reason. I have the day off today so maybe I can finish the other book up (although I have over 400 pages left) and jump in on this!

Joseph (Millennium Man) wrote: "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ruhmkorf...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dichroma...


I was interested in what the explores were using for a light source and how it worked. I found the a..."

Thanks for those links!

I actually reread the book about two years ago, but I'm going to speed read it again anyways; because I am a big fan of Jules Verne.

Lacy wrote: "Joseph (Millennium Man) wrote: "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ruhmkorf...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dichroma...


I was interested in what the explores were using for a light source ..."

also see...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geissler...

I decided to use Google Earth and do a little virtual traveling and site seeing of Iceland while I am reading this book. Anyone ever done that before? Any ideas, tips, etc.?

Journey to the Center of the Earth starring James Mason, Pat Boone... - late 1950's early 1960's. Not quite the same story. Great movie, great pre-computer animation visuals.

Well, I finished it yesterday. Three stars. Good, interesting from a historical perspective, but not a favorite.
I will not spoil it for you all, but the pace definitely picks up in the last third of the book.

I just started the book, I'm up to chapter 5 (view spoiler)[ I can't get over how selfish the nephew is by not telling his Uncle the translation of the book and the Uncle being mean and selfish by not allowing the family to eat. He actually made them prisoners (hide spoiler)]

I just finished the book and I had a hard time reading this. The writing was beautifully descriptive and the story flowed steadily. Unfortunately, the flow was slow! I really felt that the whole thing was very anticlimactic.

I finished the book. I love the writing and the adventures!

I snagged this off of Project Gutenberg, and the first version I was reading was from 1872 with the professor named Von Hardwigg. There was a note at the beginning that it was not a translation, but rather a complete rewrite, and the version from 1877 with the professor named Lidenbrock more closely resembled the original text. So, I switched and am now reading the 1877 translation.

1.) Which translation have others been reading?

Edited to add another question:

2.) What happened with the dates? I read chapter 18, which was Monday, July 1. Now I'm on chapter 19, which is Tuesday, June 30. Did I miss something?

Mine was the one for the other than fire kindle. I followed the link on gr to the freebie download.

I remember Lindenbrock as the professor.

I read the Barnes and Noble version.

Thanks, Joseph and Valerie! I've been reading the Lidenbrock version as well. How about the inconsistency in the dates? Does anyone know if that is significant in the story? I have clearly missed something...

I didn't realize the inconsistency of the dates. If I did at the time, I likely took it for a typo in the transfer to ebook.

I just finished this and to be honest, the writing was fantastic but the pace was quite slow and I found the ending a little bit anticlimatic. Did anyone else feel the ending could've been way more thrilling?

I'm not yet finished... BUT, as I get closer to the end (I'm on chapter XXXVI) it's becoming less and less interesting. When he was lost in the caverns, I was totally engaged. But, they just dealt with sea monsters and I'm all 'meh'!

Alright, NOW I'm finished. Meh.

I just started reading this and I'm on chapter VII. Its been so long since I've read an older classic the language will take some getting used to, but I'm enjoying it! I'm looking forward to them starting their journey.

Well, I think I am halfway through with the book already but they're only just now going down into the earth, hahaha.

I have read this book a couple of times, and I like it; I rated it four stars; however, as in my review that I posted, the rating I gave it was relative. It was relative to the fact that Jules Verne is a 'grandfather' of science fiction, and set the framework for most of the science fiction genre that continued for decades. His books reflect the excitement of the time period in which he lived felt by the scientific community and the general public towards the new advancements in chemistry, physics, combustion, electricity, etc. If this was a modern science fiction, I probably wouldn't even give it much notice. I enjoyed reading Journey to the Center of the Earth, as well as many of his others, but the stories aren't that intense: they're not going to knock your socks off.

Finished it! I think it was pretty good. Yes, it moved a bit slow and the style isn't the type that would be widely popular among modern sci-fi readers, but it was entertaining to me nonetheless. I enjoyed being transported to an earlier era and learning what they found exciting and adventurous. It felt like a less dramatic Indiana Jones story, what with Leidenbrock being a professor and all.

John wrote: "...enjoyed reading...not going to knock your socks off..." YES! That's about the most articulate description of my response I've seen. That's precisely how I felt!

Danielle wrote: "It felt like a less dramatic Indiana Jones story..." LOL! Love it!

Cury wrote: "I decided to use Google Earth and do a little virtual traveling and site seeing of Iceland while I am reading this book. Anyone ever done that before? Any ideas, tips, etc.?"

I had to haul out my atlas (the only place name I recognized was Lindesnes (Nor.), which I have been to), then do a google search for the volcano. I think the book that inspired em to do the most online research was The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society.

Sunny in Wonderland wrote: "I snagged this off of Project Gutenberg, and the first version I was reading was from 1872 with the professor named Von Hardwigg. There was a note at the beginning that it was not a translation, but rather a complete rewrite, and the version from 1877 with the professor named Lidenbrock more closely resembled the original text. So, I switched and am now reading the 1877 translation.

1.) Which translation have others been reading?

To answer your first question, I did not know there were different versions of the book until I was writing up a Teaser Tuesday post for my blog. I couldn't find a complete back cover blurb here at GR, so looked online, and found info about the changes. The version I read is this one. There weren't a lot of choices at the local UBS -- plus, I didn't know to look for an original version.

2.) What happened with the dates? I read chapter 18, which was Monday, July 1. Now I'm on chapter 19, which is Tuesday, June 30. Did I miss something?"

Wow, talk about differnces! In my version, chapter 18 is Tuesday, July 8. I just skimmed through chapter 19 again and saw no date noted. However, there was a date discrepancy between chapters 24 and 26, when the nephew is lost. (view spoiler)[In chapter 24 it says the date is August 7. Then in chapter 26, when he rejoins his uncle, the date is given as August 9, and says, "my perilous adventure in the interior of the earth, in total darkness, had lasted four days." Ummm, math was never my strongest subject, but even I can figure out that 7 from 9 is only two days!

Another issue that irritated as much as disparaging dates was that -- at least in my edition -- there are a few times when the nephews name is printed as "Henry" instead of "Harry." (hide spoiler)]

Suffice it to say, this was not a favorite of mine. Like others, I thought the action tended to drag, and I really had to push to get through some sections. I also found it difficult to suspend my disbelief in parts, particularly the last couple chapters.