Bonne fête, Jules!

Google reminded me that today marks the 182nd birthday of French science fiction author Jules Verne. Verne is justifiably celebrated as one of the fathers of science fiction, having explored such notions as submarines (Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea), exploration of the Earth's interior (A Journey to the Center of the Earth), and space travel (From the Earth to the Moon) long before most scientists and engineers considered them serious possibilities. And many of his predictions about the technology proved to be surprisingly accurate, leaving aside a certain amount of poetic license.

I read many of his stories as a child, some in the venerable "Classics Comics" collection and some in books, and they undoubtedly set me on the path of becoming the avid reader of science fiction that I am today. Today's anniversary reminds me of a long-ago vow to invest significant time reading the greats of French fantastic literature in the original French. It probably won't happen soon, but I'm reminded that it really should happen sooner than it would without this reminder.

Bonne fête, Jules! Et merci.