Mark Twain

Dear Ian:
At some point in time you will be asked to read Mark Twain. Possibly, you will be asked to read "The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County," and most assuredly you will be asked to read Tom Sawyer and later The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. You should probably read Letters to Earth, as well, although I doubt anyone outside of a few square-headed lit types are going to recommend that one.

Now, you will probably read about Tom, somewhere between the fifth and eighth grades, and maybe follow up with Huck around your junior or senior year, if not for sure at some point in college. I am seriously suggesting here that you get a jump on Huck. Read them back-to-back if you can. You'll be ready; I swear.

You really need to compare these two books, and taking too much time between Tom and Huck can kind of destroy your ability to see their stark dissimilarities.

Even though the books were both written by the same man, they really weren't written by the same man.

You'll see what I mean.