Great Storyteller

Library Newspaper Column: Great Story Teller
Gail Hedstrom Library Director

If you have ever found yourself towards the end of a waitlist for a book, I can appreciate your frustration, because I too often find myself in that spot. Normally, those waitlists move along pretty quickly, but you still need a book. I have a few suggestions to help you with the wait.

Perhaps you are waiting for a copy of “James,” by Percival Everett. I encourage you to read “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” by Mark Twain while you wait. “James” is a retelling of “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” by the book’s character, Jim. Both books are excellent, but I assure you that a re-read of “Huckleberry Finn” will enhance your reading of “James.” I re-read “The Adventures of Tom Sawyer,” then “Huckleberry Finn,” followed by “James,” and I am so glad I did.

If it has been five years or more since you read “Tom Sawyer,” or “Huckleberry Finn,” do yourself a favor and re-read them. If you are relying on movie versions of the stories, don’t; you are short-changing yourself. Finding a quality edition of Twain’s book is important. The Penguin Classics editions are reliably quite good. You see, when a book is no longer protected by copyright, or in the public domain you will find many adaptations of a title, and not all are created equal. The library staff would be happy to help you find a quality edition.

Returning to the topic of Mark Twain, his books are among the best in storytelling, irony, satire, and biting humor. Twain was a writer who criticized mob mentality, the government, hypocrisy and so much more. Many books have been written about Mark Twain. He wrote his autobiography and delayed its release until he had been dead for 100 years. A genius move if you ask me. What you should know about his autobiography is that it is a three-volume set, each about 700 pages long. That alone could hold a person over while waiting for a book on their hold list.

If your interest is piqued, the library also has the PBS documentary on Twain directed by Ken Burns. For Twain enthusiasts, you will be happy to know that Pulitzer Prize-winning writer Ron Chernow is releasing a new biography of Mark Twain to be released in May.

Here’s the thing about Mark Twain: this column was going to be about a variety of books you can read while waiting for a variety of other books, but it turns out that this column is all about Mark Twain. You see, he has this way of making everything about him. I am confident that you will appreciate Mark Twain’s writing more as an adult than you did as a kid. While a river adventure makes for a wonderful tale, you will discover layers to his work with great meaning and cause for self-reflection and contemplation.