When Books Were Fun

In which we discuss the Tarzan stories of Edgar Rice Burroughs, particularly Tarzan of the Apes (1912), The Return of Tarzan (1913), The Son of Tarzan (1915), and Jungle Tales of Tarzan (1919). [email protected] Check out Al’s stories at sonrisestories.com. Check out Jeff’s upcoming book at perebruinpress.com.

In which we discuss The Inimitable Jeeves by P. G. Wodehouse (1923) and The Mouse That Roared by Leonard Wibberley (1955) and contrast the faux Edwardian humor of the Jeeves stories with Wibberley’s social satire regarding power politics and nuclear weapons. [email protected] Check out Al’s stories at sonrisestories.com. Check out Jeff’s upcoming book at perebruinpress.com.

In which we discuss The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde (1895) and The Admirable Crichton (1902) by J. M. Barrie, noting the humor of the trivial, and the relevance of these two plays to modern society. [email protected] Check out Al’s stories at sonrisestories.com. Check out Jeff’s upcoming book at perebruinpress.com.

In which we discuss the plays of William Shakespeare and why reading these plays can often be more entertaining and instructive than seeing them performed. [email protected] Check out Al’s stories at sonrisestories.com. Check out Jeff’s upcoming book at perebruinpress.com.

In which we discuss The History of Tom Jones by Henry Fielding (1749) and Flashman by George MacDonald Fraser (1969) and discuss how tales of adultery and misbehavior might actually be moralistic, most definitely so in Tom Jones, and somewhat indirectly in Flashman and its sequels. [email protected] Check out Al’s stories at sonrisestories.com. Check out Jeff’s upcoming book at perebruinpress.com.

In which we discuss novels about childhood, Penrod by Booth Tarkington (1914) and The Golden Age and Dream Days by Kenneth Grahame (1895 and 1898) and ponder what aspects of childhood are determined by historical time and place, and what aspects are eternal.

[email protected] Check out Al’s stories at sonrisestories.com. Check out Jeff’s upcoming book at perebruinpress.com.

In which we discuss Three Men in a Boat (To Say Nothing of the Dog) by Jerome K. Jerome (1889) and The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame (1908) and contrast a (somewhat) factual account of three men (and a dog) boating on the Thames with a child’s fantasy of Mole, Rat, Badger, and Mr. Toad, and their adventures along a river and the English countryside.

[email protected] Check out Al’s stories at sonrisestories.com. Check out Jeff’s upcoming book at perebruinpress.com.

In which we discuss Homer’s Odyssey and why reading a poem that’s several thousand years old might be more entertaining that watching its movie adaption.

[email protected] Check out Al’s stories at sonrisestories.com. Check out Jeff’s upcoming book at perebruinpress.com.

In which we discuss some of the Freddy the Pig books of Walter R. Brooks and their depiction of the Bean farm and a traditional 20th century America, Freddy’s vocation as a detective, and his relationships with the other animals, not to mention Freddy and the Baseball Team from Mars. [email protected] Check out Al’s stories at sonrisestories.com. Check out Jeff’s upcoming book at perebruinpress.com.

In which we discuss children’s picture books in general, focusing mostly on the works of Dr. Seuss, and emphasize the importance of reading to children. [email protected] Check out Al’s stories at sonrisestories.com. Check out Jeff’s upcoming book at perebruinpress.com.