Hi Jabber,

I'm not sure if I've read all of Treasure Island, I think I read parts of it in junior high.

But I know what you mean about wondering why it's a classic. My Dad gave me a beautifully bound copy of "Moby D-ick" for Christmas.

(Not sure why he did this, but he gave large hard bound books to everyone, and I sort of have the feeling he was actually giving away parts of his personal library.)

Anyway, I recalled that he'd always opined that Moby D ick was a wonderful classic -- one of the best books about the sea ever written.

So I started to dig into it early in January. At this point, I haven't removed it from my reading pile, but I am totally underwhelmed, and I probably haven't read any of it since February.

I'm well over 200 pages into it, I'd guess, and they've just -- finally -- boarded the stupid boat. They haven't yet left port.

It's clear to me that in the 150+ years since this book was written, writing styles have evolved significantly. It's probably due to the "advent" of radio, TV and film, but I'm looking for things to happen a lot faster...

As for Treasure Island, of course, it's also considered a timeless classic. I did some research on it, too and learned that Stevenson was Scottish, and the book was written in 1883. So it was written 30-some years AFTER "The White Whale"... yet it still deals with ships, pirates, and the men involved with them.

I was intrigued to read that it was originally serialized in a children's magazine, as I don't really think of it as a book for children, by today's standards.

I'll be curious to find out if anyone else here has read eitehr or both books and has thoughts to share.