My favourite author and how he has influenced my thinking

Jules Verne:Pioneer Science Fiction Novelist

Growing up as the late in life youngest child, in rural communities and my siblings having all moved out of home by the time I started school I was often left to my own to entertain myself. 
Having little to no tv reception and school friends living sometimes up to an hour away, school holidays were often filled with farm jobs, fishing, camping and horse riding.  But quite often I would end up in a remote quiet area of the farm reading.  

This is not an unusual trait in my family, my mother and her sisters are also avid readers a trait we all inherited from my Pop (maternal grandfather) who was also a keen reader and whose mind was as sharp as a tack right up until he passed away at the ripe old age of 91. As a child I was naturally drawn to stories of adventure and the unknown. Tales of pirates, explorers and adventurers.  

And although there are more modern authors  I preferred the pioneers of science fiction of the 19th Century. Classics which have stood the test of time, whose pages have included ideas and concepts which have now become realities including...glass encased skyscrapers, air-travel, lunar landings and space travel, and deep sea exploration to name a few.

Although, as I mentioned I have a love of 19th Century science fiction my favourite author is Jules Verne (Closely followed by H.G Wells).

Jules Gabriel Verne (February 8, 1828-March 24,1905) is known as the "Father of Science Fiction". At the age of 35 he wrote his first novel Five Weeks In A Balloon  and he went on to become the second most translated author earth writing about innovations and technological advancements years before they were practical realities.

My favorite Jules Verne novel is Around the World in 80 Days (published 1873). The basic story is about a Victorian gentleman Phileas Fogg and his newly employed french valet Passepartout. Phileas Fogg accepts a bet made by his friends at the Reform Club to attempt to circumnavigate the world in 80 days. And wagered 20,000 GBP(roughly 1.6 million GBP today).

Two movie adaptations have been made one in 1957 and the other 2004. Of the 2 movies I prefer the original version but it still does not compared to the novel.

The reason why this is my favorite novel is because it was the first time I had read about many of the countries within Phileas Foggs's adventure (his journey is pictured below). His writing showed me places that as a kid seemed so exotic and remote (1980's).  Many of which I still want to travel to including India, Hong Kong, China, Japan and San Francisco.

And even though my reading genre preference has evolved over the years to a wider variety (mysteries, forensic crime, travel guides) I still re read novels written by Jules Verne and get excited about that time in history where the Industrial world was in it infant stages and just waiting to for industrial inventions and concepts written as science fiction in Jules Vernes time to become a reality in ours.

Jules Vernes' 5 most well known novels:

Journey to the Centre of The Earth (1864)

From The Earth to The Moon (1865)

20, 000 Leagues Under the Sea (1870)

Around the World in 80 Days (1873)

The Mysterious Island (1874)