It’s been a couple months since I’ve read Around the World in 80 Days by Jules Verne, but I’ve found a way to brush up on my knowledge in a manner that doesn’t involve perusing the entire novel from start to finish. My discovery involves something a little more interactive; using the Around the World in 80 Days Map Tales, the avid fan can actually take the journey with Fogg by looking at each point on the map and reading the attached journal entries and facts straight from the novel. It’s a super cool way to feel a part of Phileas Fogg’s journey while at the same time improving your knowledge of Verne’s exciting book! Enjoy!

He was a man ahead of his time, with a distinct vision for the future. His works were considered fantasy and yet had a tint of realism to them; his less known work, Paris in the 20^th Century, bore its own eerily accurate depiction of a time far ahead of his own. Who is he? None other than the intrepid and imaginative Jules Verne!

It’s no secret that we are a fan of Verne – our 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea poster and our soon to be released art print based on Verne’s Around the World in 80 Days should be proof enough of how much we appreciate his works. And since the unveiling of our Around the World in 80 Days poster is just around the corner, we’d definitely like to take some time before-hand to celebrate this author and his work!

So I thought that our readers, many of whom I’m sure have enjoyed at least one or two of Verne’s books, might have some fun with an article available on National Geographic’s website. This article brings to light 8 Jules Verne Inventions That Came True – from newscasts to Tasers, you’ll be surprised by the contents of this list. And hopefully this will get you in the sci-fi mood as we celebrate Verne the rest of this week! Enjoy!

Some things are just too pretty to eat, and I think this is definitely the case with the subjects of flavorwire.com’s recent article featuring 30 amazing literary cakes. There’s a type for every palate, whether your flavor preference ranges amongst classic authors such as Jane Austen, sci-fi legends like Jules Verne, or contemporary authors of the likes of J.K. Rowling. The only question that remains? Would you be willing to take a bite out of such beautiful and tasty literary depictions?

With an interesting collection which ranges from great classics to contemporary literature, this list is sure to keep you busy for a while! I plan on starting my own 65 Book Challenge and finishing all the books on the list. I’ll be sure to post some good reviews once I finish each one! The first on the list is The Emperor’s Children by Claire Messud which I will be starting today. Whether you are ten or one-hundred, you can feel free to join me in the challenge or even simply leave comments about which of the books on the list you’ve read and what you liked/ didn’t like about them. Now this is what I call a literary adventure!

1. The Bible – I think we can all agree this isn’t a shocker. I knew The Bible would pop up somewhere at the top!
2. Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes – apparently the wayward adventures of Don Quixote and his stalwartly sidekick Sancho Panza are appealing to a lot of people!
3. Xinhua Zidian (Chinese language dictionary) – given how widely spoken Mandarin is, and the high population in China, this seems like a logical choice!
4. A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens – this was foreseen as it was number one on our Literary Tidbit Tuesday blog two weeks ago.
5. The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien – also on our list a couple weeks past!
6. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone by J.K. Rowling – let’s admit it, we all knew Harry Potter just had to show up on this list eventually!

These are some interesting choices, some unexpected and some completely obvious. Which ones shocked you with their place on our list?

I was lucky enough to get the chance to see The Great Gatsby film this weekend, which means that today you will be treated to a movie review! Yay! This, of course, also means that this is your official SPOILER ALERT so that if you want to be completely surprised by the movie you should only continue reading at your own risk.

If you’ve been following us through the last week, which was appropriately titled Gatsby Week, you’ll know that I’ve really been anticipating the release of The Great Gatsby movie. I was definitely glad that I went to see it on the big screen and that I paid a little extra to see the 3D version; if there is any way to describe this film, it’s to say that it is definitely grand and glamorous. There’s lots of bling, sparkle, and glint to catch your eye and allow for a pleasant viewing experience. I thought this was great as I’ve always associated the Jazz Age with over-the-top glitz and glamour and this definitely came across in the on-screen version.

Another thing that I truly enjoyed about this silver screen adaptation was the accuracy. Much of the dialogue seems to have come straight from F. Scott Fitzgerald’s famous novel and the characters were very precise according to Fitzgerald’s own descriptions. I particularly liked how Joel Edgerton brought to life the dangerous strength of character Tom Buchanan and Carey Mulligan lent a vain and transparent air to the flighty and conflicted Daisy Buchanan. I wasn’t particularly happy with Leonardo DiCaprio’s depiction of Jay Gatsby – I didn’t feel that overwhelming passion and sense of control that I always associated with Gatsby’s character in the book – but at the same time it’s hard to imagine anyone truly being able to capture this complicated protagonist.

Now to the things I didn’t like about this film. With a staggering length of 143 minutes, the movie may feel a bit draggy to some. I found myself completely lost in the story and didn’t notice the passage of time, but this is mainly because I absolutely love this classic tale, so for others who are perhaps less excited by The Great Gatsby, length may be a problem.

Another aspect of the film that I couldn’t quite appreciate was the interjection of contemporary music into the story at different intervals. Playing a Jay-Z song at a 1920s party just created a conflict for me; it seemed that the director was trying too hard to make the era and the story appeal to the contemporary viewer, but in my opinion this wasn’t necessary. The 1920s were crazy enough and exciting enough without having to infuse unnecessary music from our current age. And music from the Jazz Age is amazing so it’s beyond me why the focus wouldn’t be on works from this same time period.

Overall, watching this movie was enjoyable and completely worth paying the extra buck to see in 3D. It’s both a visually stimulating experience and an emotional ride as you get drawn into the story. If I have to give The Great Gatsby a rating, I’d say it gets three and a half out of five stars. Kudos to the director for making a film that’s accurate to the novel even if the music wasn’t. If you are a fan of Fitzgerald’s book, this is definitely worth seeing. And if you’ve already seen it, we’d love to hear your thoughts and opinions about it as well!

To finish off Gatsby Week, and to celebrate Favorite Quote Friday, let’s enjoy a quote from The Great Gatsby, featured appropriately (and sweetly) on F. Scott Fitzgerald’s and his wife Zelda’s tombs.

Today, we are going to deviate a bit from Gatsby Week in favor of some good, hearty comedy. How would you like to give some of your favorite novels a friendly shot of clever humor? Apparently artist Kate Beaton does just that! With a combination of droll charm and hyper-active wit, Kate will infuse comedy into even the most serious works through her varied comics and drawings. Want to get a good chuckle out of Twenty-Thousand Leagues Under the Sea, laugh at the interactions of authors H.G. Wells and Jules Verne, or see a whole new side to Jane Austen? Take a look at the following comics:

20,000 Leagues Under the Sea

Wells and Verne

Jane Austen

I admit these managed to extract more than one giggle on my part. Enjoy! J