The Resurgence of Choose Your Own Adventure

Netflix has done it again, leaving their indelible mark on popular culture and making us long for a forgotten relic from a bygone time. With the release and subsequent popularity of Bandersnatch, the Black Mirror movie where you call the shots and your decisions lead to different scenes and scenarios, Netflix has sparked a wave of nostalgia for the originators of the genre: Chooseco and The Choose Your Own Adventure books.

Originating in the mid-1970s, the Choose Your Own Adventure books became not just a staple of children’s literature, but some of the best selling books of the 70s, 80s, and 90s, with an estimated 250 million books sold between 1979 and 1998 once publication began through Bantam books. The books were a gateway into the creativity and imagination of many a young reader, but their popularity waned in the age of video games and the internet.

Thanks to Bandersnatch, however, Netflix has rekindled what seemed to have been a forgotten love for the books, this despite Chooseco’s trademark infringement legal challenge against the streaming service.

The world lost R.A. Montgomery back in 2014, as one of the co-creators, key contributors, and authors of the Choose Your Own Adventure series he revolutionized the way children approached books, reading, and indeed, imagination.

Looking for more action and adventure? Visit our online library at www.cagebook.com for a wide variety of ebooks, audiobooks, music, and more. Accessible anytime, anywhere, from your favorite devices, and sure to leave you on the edge of your seat.

The Toughest Man in America

The subject of the 2015 film The Revenant, where he was portrayed by Leonardo DiCaprio, Hugh Glass is without out a doubt one of the toughest, if not the toughest man in American history.

Born in Pennsylvania, Glass was supposedly kidnapped by pirates at an early age and was forced to live the pirate lifestyle for two years before escaping by jumping ship and swimming two miles to the shores of Texas. His escape was short lived however, as he was eventually captured again, this time by the Pawnee tribe whom he became close to and lived with for several years until he left the tribe after traveling with them to St Louis, Missouri.

Glass then became a trapper and explorer, but was shot in the leg after an attack on his expedition. Though he would survive the attack, while scouting for game Glass disturbed a grizzly bear and her two cubs, and was viciously mauled to the point of near death. Glass would still manage to kill the bear with help from his party, but was so badly mauled the men assumed he would surely die and left two behind to bury him upon his death. But his death wouldn’t come quickly, and the men eventually abandoned him, leaving him 200 miles away from the nearest settlement. Glass, of course, would not only survive but would go out seeking his revenge. Glass would have to settle for reparations, but his story remains remarkable and compelling nonetheless!

Looking for more tales of action and adventure? Visit our online library at www.cagebook.com for a wide variety of ebooks, audio books, music, and more!