Mark Twain

When I was little my maternal grandmother gave me a Readers' Digest hardcover of Mark Twain's Tom Sawyer. I loved that book, reading it several times. I even bought another adaptation of it later on, which may have been an easier translation. That one I also read numerous times.

When I was in high school, I had to read The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn for English class. I also enjoyed that book, though I have only read it that one time and my tastes might have changed since then.

For book club, we elected to read The Best Short Stories of Mark Twain. I'm not a fan. It's impossible for me to stay focused on the story I'm trying to read, as I imagine dozens of other books I'd rather read instead.

I don't really have a good argument for why I don't like these stories. I could probably count the number I've not minded reading on 2 fingers. So that's 2 stories out of 20 or so? Not a good percentage.

I wish I had something more prolific to say as to why I don't like Mark Twain short stories. I don't; I just think they are boring. Simple as that.

As for Tom Sawyer, I came to learn that Readers' Digest does some kind of editing to stories they publish, so what I read may not have been the story Mark Twain intended to tell. I have since ordered an actual NON Readers' Digest edition to see if I still enjoy this story.