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Reading Is Fundamental... Aargh.

Hey Soul Mates,
I don't always finish books I buy. And I have a nasty habit of buying lots of books and not completing them in one go. There's usually a stack of books on my stand that are in various stages of being read. But, lately I've gotten better about it. I completed Gideon Defoe's nifty "The Pirates! In An Adventure With Scientists." It's a completely anachronistic short novel about... well, pirates in an adventure with scientists. Not howlingly funny, but rather consistently, subtly amusing from page one.

Each chapter title has a thrilling piratical theme, but the episode will not include a single word about said treasure, sea monsters or Skull Island. The pirates in question have no names, rather descriptions: the scarf wearing pirate, the pirate with the accordion, the pirate in green and the hero of the story the Pirate Captain. And they all love ham. The Pirate Captain is famous for his feats on the high seas and his luxuriant beard. The stuff of legend.

Off the Galapagos, the Pirates mistakenly raid the booty-free Beagle. Its chief passenger, Charles Darwin, then enlists their help in a romp through sooty Victorian London, complete with the Elephant Man, a Pirate fan convention and miniature golf. Har. Plus, DeFoe (no relation to Daniel, I hope) provides the requisite amount of pirate excitement: plank-walking, cannonballs to the skull, swashbuckling derring-do, cross-dressing and ham. Did I mention Darwin's heroic Man-panzee called Mr. Bobo? Aarrugh.

I'd noticed the book last Christmas in a very small bookshop near Jax Beach, but didn't buy it. I finally saw it (and its sequel "The Pirates! In An Adventure With Ahab" Or " With Whaling" as it was titled in the UK) again last month and made the investment. 130 page books are right up my alley. Otherwise it has to be non-fiction or short stories. [David Sedaris' last two compilations made for great reading aloud on my road trip in Florida 2 weeks ago. The Pirates! would have too.] My simple prayer: no one make a movie of this book. Now I can move on to the next adventure, feeling accomplished about finishing a novel.

In closing, "The Pirates! In An Adventure With Scientists" was short.
Love, Power, Peace

Comments

Anonymous said…
I like ham. Does that make me a pirate?
5:09 PM, February 02, 2006
Norman K said…
Har, Matey. 'Tis so.
6:57 PM, February 02, 2006
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