Books 5-8 "Huckleberry Finn", "Yertle the Turtle", "Tom Sawyer", "Murder on the Orient Express"

I have grossly deviated from my New Year's Resolutions to read wholesome and educational books. However, the books I have read were thoroughly enjoyable, particularly "Yertle the Turtle" by Dr. Seuss. In order, here are five things I enjoyed about each book:

5. "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" by Mark Twain:

I didn't expect to like this as much as I did. It really made me feel like I was with Huck and the slave, Jim, on the raft trying to find our place far from Pap and far from the slave ridden south. I loved the local dialect Twain wrote with and particularly deciphering what Huck would say. However, I don't think this book can be properly translated in another language due to it's heavy reliance on local dialect which influences the tone of the entire novel.

• My favorite part of this book were the quotes. A few faves:
• "We said there warn’t no home like a raft, after all. Other places do seem so cramped up and smothery, but a raft don’t. You feel mighty free and easy and comfortable on a raft."
• I wouldn’t stand by and see the rules broke — because right is right, and wrong is wrong, and a body ain’t got no business doing wrong when he ain’t ignorant and knows better.
• He was thinking about his wife and his children, away up yonder, and he was low and homesick; because he hadn’t ever been away from home before in his life; and I do believe he cared just as much for his people as white folks does for their’n. 
• Regarding work: I do lots of things — most anything that comes handy, so it ain’t work. What’s your lay?”
• My other favorite thing about this book was the contrast in personalities. Huck is sincere, sensitive and hardworking. His best friend, Tom Sawyer, is a rascal. Tom is impulsive, and always finds the most difficult way of doing things because otherwise would not be acceptable. For example, Jim got captured as a slave and Tom devised a way to make Jim escape from captivity. This plan involved some of the most insane things possible because otherwise it wouldn't seem like Jim was escaping in a proper way. He had to sleep with snakes, chizzle away with a little rock, be tied to his bed with chains. It was awful but Tom would have it no other way because it wouldn't seem heroic enough. I really enjoyed Tom's ingenious character so the next book I had to read was:

6. "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer" by Mark Twain.

 It is amazing how a book so similar with the same characters from Huckleberry Finn could be written in such a different tone. I preferred Huck to Tom but still enjoyed this novel.

• My favorite part of this novel was seeing how Tom would always manage to get himself into the most difficult situations, like faking his own death and attending his own funeral. I thought he was terribly mischievous but liked him anyway. 
• One of my favorite scenes is when he goes to the cave with all of the children and gets lost with his little girlfriend. They are there for a week and Tom is able to keep her clam and is really sweet and gives her his half of the cookie they had to eat. I wonder if they got married.
• Another part I liked, naturally, were the quotes. Here are my favorites:
• "He had a citified air about him that ate into Tom's vitals"...I totally get that.
• "The girl I'm going to marry won't fight."
• Huck to Tom" Looky-here, Tom, being rich ain't what it's cracked up to be. It's just worry and worry, and sweat and sweat, and a-wishing you was dead all the time."
• "He was fully as uncomfortable as he looked; for there was a restraint about whole clothes and cleanliness that galled him."

7. "Yertle the Turtle" By  Dr. Seuss. I like how this book, in such a simple way, conveys how people feel inferior or superior to each other.

"Can a burp change the world?" the answer, in this case, is yes.

8. "Murder on the Orient Express." by none other than Agatha Christie. 

I held off as long as possible but really need to read a good Agatha book. This one was great. Hercule is not my favorite detective (Tommy and Tuppence are) but he is cute and little and is able to figure out any murder. Hercule's famous quote in each book is "You need to use the little grey cells in your head!"

 What I like most about Hercule is that he is methodical and uses precision to solve his crimes. Murder on the Orient Express is about a baby-killer Cassetti, who was stabbed 12 times on his way to Istanbul. Somehow each person on the train saw the killer, a short man with a high woman's voice. There were clues indicating that a few of the passengers could have been the murderer. In the end, it turned out that all 12 passengers were connected to the family of the murdered baby so they all came on the train and each stabbed Cassetti once. It was a very intriguing novel. Therefore, I am now reading the complete Hercule Poirot short stories. I am tempted....deeply tempted....to read all 39 of the novels with him in order but won't. Reading Agatha Christie makes me wish I were a detective instead of a librarian. Her detectives are all really funny people. I could knit like Miss Marple!

Anyway, I am so behind on my reading and don't even know what is on my list anymore so will take a look and see if I can catch up.