I recently finished a book I probably should have read when I was 13. Who would I be now if I had read the character of Cyrus Smith the Engineer as a teenager instead of an adult? The Mysterious Island was written by Jules Verne and published in 1874. The novel takes place during the United States Civil War, with our main characters being held prisoners in the South. The five prisoners work together to escape, but soon find themselves deserted on a deserted island. (Man I could use an ice cream sundae.)

I don’t pick up island books very often. Are there a lot of them out there? I can’t seem to think of many. There’s that one where the kids are on an island, they get all crazy, then eat each other – I think. What was that one called? Never read it. Anyway, I never would have thought that an island would be a good spot for a book to take place, but it turns out if the island is mysterious, it’s an awesome place! You go Jules!

Back to Cyrus Smith, who shouldn’t be mistaken for Sirius Black from the Harry Potter novels, though he too is valiant, determined, courageous, resourceful, steadfast and has a name that starts with a ‘Sa’ sound and ends with a ‘us’ sound – they are not the same character no matter how much you wish them to be (having a wizard on the island really would have changed the cast-aways’ situation). Cyrus Smith is now my ideal man. I mean, should be considered the ideal man. He seems to know everything. The guy builds houses, casts iron, makes gun powder and other explosive devices. He plants gardens, makes an elevator using a waterfall, and helps create the coolest living space I’ve ever read about. I don’t think I gave anything away other than Cyrus Smith being a bad-ass.

What truly amazed me in reading the Mysterious Island was the way in which Jules Verne was able to describe Cyrus Smith’s discoveries on the island. His descriptions of how he transformed these materials into items that would make the castaways’ lives easier or more productive. By reading the Mysterious Island I have learned a few important things about myself. First, I want to own a smart dog that cares about nothing but me, and what I want it to do. Second, If I had to live off of natural resources on my own or with a few others, we’d have well put together clothes, and could probably grow tomatoes, but I’d really have to work my memory to make strong bricks – and unless we had a match and wanted to keep a fire burning year-round, I better learn to make fire. Oh and I need to learn some hunting skills.

Luckily I live on a peninsula and not an island. I don’t have to make all of these things, I can buy them. I am warm in my house while I read my book, this too is nice. Now I either need to pick up a book that teaches me all of these skills before our world is flipped inside out from global warming and we all have to fend for ourselves (deep breath)… Or, I need to come up with a plan to save the planet so I don’t have to learn all of these things.

Now it’s time for that sundae.