Avast! It's Treasure Island Time!

Every winter, I make it a habit to read one of the classics. This year's selection was Robert Louis Stevenson's "Treasure Island." Since my new book is about life at sea, it seemed a reasonable choice. 

For those not familiar, a boy, Jim Hawkins, finds a treasure map and sets off to find it with a couple of local guys and a motley crew of sailors, including the one-legged Long John Silver. Through many twists and turns and adventures, they find the treasure. All in all, I enjoyed it. Greatest book I've ever read? No. Worst book I've ever read? Also no. Action, adventure, plot twists, and vivid descriptions all make for an enjoyable time. And it's reasonably short, so it didn't take me that long to read it like others have. cough* Moby Dick, cough

I was talking with a friend who then asked a question that made me think. "Why," she asked, "why do you read the classics?"

Boy, that's a good question. Do I know I'll like it? No, but then I don't know if I'll like a current best seller, either.

They're considered classics for a reason. Something about them has made them stand the test of time. Maybe it's because they're good for me, kinda like broccoli. They stretch my brain and expand my vocabulary. The language is different and challenging, and the times were different, but there's stuff to be learned.

Treasure Island certainly has plenty to offer a reader, even today. It has all the elements of great story-telling, it just takes a little more brain power to understand parts of it.  

New vocabulary? I had never heard of a "jolly-boat" before, but now I know that it's a small boat used to ferry people to/from a larger ship to shore. 

Good, vivid description? How about a pirate was "Sun-dried" meaning his body was left on display after a hanging (for others to see and take as a warning) at the execution dock.

Turn of a phrase? "You're all in a clove hitch, ain't you?" meaning your emotions are all tied up in knots.

I'm not going to say they're all inspiring, but I learn something from them. Heck, I hope to learn something from every book I read.