An Update to my Summer Reading List, Final

I have already started to read those tiles on my late summers reading list. I will publish the list in an upcoming post.

1. Bohemians of the Latin Quarter, Henri Murger
The Bohemians of the Latin Quarter takes place in Paris and in the 1840s. It is a story of several artistic types: a poet, painter, musician, and philosopher who meet up by chance and create a little confederation between themselves. When one prospers, they all prosper, and they live recklessly and extravagantly. Instead of sticking a little of their good fortune away for a rainy day they spend all they have until they are once again destitute. The Bohemians of the Latin Quarter tells of the artists affairs: their successes, their impoverished times, and of their mistresses.

Although there were a few times when the story seemed to drag on, all and all the story was interesting and entertaining.


2. Poor Jack, Frederick Marryat
Poor Jack is a novel by the Frederick Marryat, and tells the story of Thomas Saunders, a sailor's son. Saunders is a neglected and mistreated by his mother and struggles to survive in Greenwich, London as a street urchin. He survives by doing odd menial jobs and begging.

A pensioner takes the poor lad under his tutorage teaching him how to read. As the lad grows older he is recommended to an old friend of the pensioner and starts an apprenticeship to a river pilot. Thomas excels in his studies, passes his exams, and becomes a certified pilot.
The book mentions many adventures. I have skipped a lot of the details, but the lad is very helpful to those around him and makes many friends. Let it be said the boy might have started off poor but ends up becoming very wealthy.


3. The Arabian Nights, Muhsin Mahdi
The Arabian Nights is a compilation of short stories depicting characters from the Middle East. Sinbad the Sailor might be the most notable, but there is much mention of genies, dervishes, sultans, grand vicars, princes and princesses, enchanted lands and treasures, and merchants traveling to foreign lands.


4. The Missing Merchantman, Harry Collingwood 
Ned, no sooner is promoted to 1st mate when the crew of the Flying Cloud munities. The second and captain are locked in a forward desk house and Ned is forced, by the mutineers to do navigating. The passengers, captain and second mate are abandoned on separate islands Ned does his best to provide for the cast a ways in the way of equipment and provisions.

The pirates make for an uncharted island and set-up camp. While on a four island archipelago, Ned comes across of stash of ancient arms and a fabulous treasure. He keeps this find a secret and makes a vow to return once he has gained his freedom.

Ned, always looking for a way to escape and possible through the use of ship finely has a chance of escaping with the ship, however narrowly. Ned sets sail to the islands where the captain and the passengers were marooned, he then heads back to island archipelago to pick-up his booty, and they all head back to Jolly Olde England.

I have condensed my summary, however short; the story is well worth your time. I have read, as you know, quite a few of Harry Collingwood’s stories and all have been good reads.


5. The Troll in the Garden and other Stories, Willa Cather
   A collection of short stories by Willa Cather, which depict life in Nebraska, Kansas, and Montana, for the most part. Interesting frontier characters and a few cosmopolitans thrown in for a change of pace.