43 posts tagged “books”
What book do you think should be made into a movie? And do you have any suggestions for the producers?
Or, What book do you think should NEVER be made into a movie?
Worst is first:
Apparently Alexandre Dumas should never be made into a Hollywood movie. The Man In The Iron Mask was atrocious. I don't even know where to start with that one. The whole charm of the book is that it is the last part of the Musketeers' story. It's not uplifting or just or pat, but it is wonderful. The movie was horrible and distorted the plot and characters beyond salvage.
The Count of Monte Cristo was a tiny bit better, but the book has so much more depth and adventure and purpose. Plus they changed the hell out of the ending.
As to books I'd like to see...I want to see the recent adaptation of Captain Alatriste. Viggo Mortensen, yum.
I've been done with these books for days, and I kept waiting for inspiration to hit so I could pour forth an insightful and wholly original review. That has not happened, so y'all get a one-paragraph writeup. Sorry!
Watchmen: To start... I am an idiot. I thought this was published, like, within the last few years. When I started reading and it was set in the '80s, I thought, "Wow, they really managed to capture the time." Well, it was published in the '80s. Silly me. Anyway, this is heralded as the gold standard of graphic novels and one of the best books ever and on and on, and I am glad I can say that it does live up to the hype.
The heroes of Watchmen are masked adventurers and, in one case, a superhuman being. What makes Watchmen different and groundbreaking is that the heroes are at best normal people with normal-people frustrations and folibles, and at worst are the type of men usually found in a cell in solitary confinement. You learn about their backstories, what made them put on a costume to fight crime, and why they chose those costumes. It's a superhero story that focuses much more on character development than on ass-kicking. I dug it.
I'm not a big graphic-novel fan. I appreciate them and absolutely agree that they are a worthwhile form of literature, but they don't resonate with me the way novels do. In some ways I felt the same about Watchmen. It's not a book that is a part of me, but it is a book that I'm glad to have read and would recommend to others.
My Life With the Saints: I just said in my review of a graphic novel that I am not a graphic novel fan, and I'm starting this review of a Catholic book by saying that I am not a Catholic. However, I do have many, many Catholic family members and I've always felt an affection and interest in Catholicism.
My Life... is about James Martin's spiritual journey from typical college kid and business grad to Jesuit priest as well as aboutt he saints that he feels a special connection to. I enjoyed learning about familiar saints like St. Francis and Mother Theresa as well as less-familiar ones like Pedro Arrupe and Pope John Paul...er...something. What I liked most, however, was reading about the author's journey to being a clergyman, because he's such a regular guy. He grew up in a lukewarm Catholic house. He smoked pot in college and chose his major because he figured it would pay the bills. He chose a life in the Church because he was dissatisfied. He struggles with a lot of questions. It just felt really nice to read about someone who didn't have a life with huge highs and lows, or a dramatic spiritual conversion.
I would recommend this book to any Christian, even non-Catholics. I don't pray to saints but I did find the profiles and spiritual journey of the author interesting and applicable to my own life.
Rebecca: I have many friends who have raved about this book. They were correct to have raved. This was a very suspenseful, atmospheric, creepy story. I have much more to say, but I don't like to talk about details or characters from the book with people who have not read it, so I will refrain. I would highly recommend it.
These very short reviews have nothing to do with the quality of the books mentioned, they only have to do with my laziness/tiredness.
I read Captain Alatriste by Arturo Perez-Reverte and An Unquiet Mind by Kay Redfield Jamison. They really couldn't be more different: the first was an escapist, Dumas-esque swashbuckler, and the latter is a non-fiction memoir about living with bipolar disorder.
Captain Alatriste was really well-written, I thought, and quite diverting. Who doesn't love a rather melancholy hero and a villain who has a voice that sounds like alchohol was poured over his vocal cords and a laugh like splinters? It was rather short, though, which is okay because there are a few sequels.
I read An Unquiet Mind for my abnormal psych class, and I read it in a day. It's a really compelling and interesting look into one woman's experience of the disease. It was also nice having both a personal and professional viewpoint represented, as Ms. Jamison is a prominent psychologist at Johns Hopkins and one of the world's experts on mood disorders. I would definitely recommend it to anyone who knows someone with bipolar disorder, but even if you don't it's still a very engaging read.
Casino Royale James Bond movies. I even had a brief thing for Pierce Brosnan at 14. So this year I figured I should read at least one of the books. Casino Royale happens to be the first in the series and gave rise to an excellent movie adaptation.
I started off really enjoying this book. Fleming is very good at conveying mood, and he has a gift for moving the plot swiftly. I would look back and wonder how so much had happened in just a few pages without me feeling rushed. I could have really like this book and wanted to read more had it not been for the “love interest”.
I wasn’t bothered so much by the woman herself. I read old books, so I’m used to the weak heroine or the useless woman. It sucks, but I’m used to it. What unsettled me was the attitude Bond took towards her. I was expecting sexism (it was written in the 50s, after all) but it was so over-the-top, edging into misogyny. Bond veered between feelings of resentment and severe dislike for this woman trying to do “a man’s job” (his quote, how original) and wanting to fuck her. Pardon my language but that’s what it was. I shouldn’t even say “veered” really, as those feelings were uttered in the same sentence or thought throughout the book. There were referenced to Bond wanting to spank her, but as a form of punishment. He thinks to himself that because he doesn’t fully know her inner thoughts, whenever they have sex it will have “the sweet tang of rape”.
I read the whole book, but it left me feeling a little disturbed, and not wanting to read more if this is what I will get. It’s a real shame, because I wanted to like these books.
From BTT:
Are you a spine breaker? Or a dog-earer? Do you expect to keep your books in pristine condition even after you have read them? Does watching other readers bend the cover all the way round make you flinch or squeal in pain?
I am emphatically not a spine-breaker. No no no. I hate that. I have been known to occasionally dog-ear books to mark a quote or something. That's mostly with non-fiction books or school books, books that I feel were made to get worn in. My fiction books are not handled with gloves on or anything, but I do treat them respectfully. The edges of covers tend to get a bit beaten up from being put in purses or balanced on a table, but nothing gets ripped or bent if I can help it.
I don't like seeing people bend the covers around unless it's a novel or something for school. Since most of us buy used copies anyway, they're already beaten up, wirtten in, etc.
A week ago or so I cleaned my bookshelf:
I couldn't stand the dust and general disorganization, so I redid the whole thing. Of course, the rest of my room is still a wreck, but it's nice to have one clean and organized area! :-)
The left side:
The top two shelves are British lit, loosely subdivided by genre. The third shelf houses family photos and things from my great-grandparents' houses. Below that is my Lord of the Rings shelf, and below that are my DVDs. The bottom shelf has a box full of pictures and miscellaneous papers.
The middle of my shelves contain CDs and various knicknacks.
The right:
The top shelf has books written by French, Italian, Spanish, and Russian authors (mostly French). Second shelf is the home of young adult books. The third shelf has all the leftovers: American and Canadian authors, poetry and nonfiction, and old books. Below that I put all my old yearbooks, journals, and other school stuff. Those baskets on the second-to-last shelf hold random things, and the last shelf is just stuff that I want to keep but have no other place to put.
From the awesome Booking Through Thursday:
Are there any particular worlds in books where you’d like to live?
Or where you certainly would NOT want to live?
What about authors? If you were a character, who would you trust to write your life?
The first, most obvious thought I had was that I could die happy if I lived in Middle-earth. Middle-earth has gorgeous scenery, loads of history, and is populated by handsome, chivalric men and elves. Maybe I would even be an elf! Sure, it's a little dangerous, but I could count on Tolkien to either see me through tough situations with grace and courage, or at least give me a rockin' death scene.
I think I would like to experience life in the 1800s or early 1900s. It seems like a very cool time to be alive, fictionally speaking. Oh, I almost forgot! The world of Wodehouse. That is my ultimate fantasy world. The old-fashioned feel, without those pesky things like wars and poverty and sufferage and stuff. To live at Blandings would be heaven, especially if Bertie and Jeeves came for a visit. :-)
On the opposite end of the spectrum, I would never choose to live in a dystopian novel, or anything by John Steinbeck. Things just don't end well for his characters.
I find that I’m having a little trouble articulating my thoughts on Busman’s Honeymoon. I do know that it’s a book I highly enjoyed, and it’s a book that I will carry around inside of me. There is humor (the conversations can be quite witty) and pathos, and, of course, mystery.
It’s a beautiful story with characters that “leap off the page”. It was immensely satisfying to see Harriet and Peter finally work out their relationship and mature into some of the richest characters I’ve ever read about, and I was thrilled to have Bunter and the Dowager Duchess play such large roles. I love to read the Duchess’s wise meanderings, and I adore that she gets along with Harriet so well. Bunter has always been a favorite of mine, and it was nice that he wasn’t pushed off to the side. After all, the reader has known him longer than (I think) any other character, including Harriet. I liked seeing him adjusting (with Peter) to the life of a householder, and it was moving to read a more detailed account of his history with Peter.
A minor character that I appreciated very much was Kirk, the policeman. Sometimes I get a bit lost in all the allusions present in Harriet and especially Peter’s conversations, so it was nice to have a character helpfully point out what works they were from.
One thing that was a bit of a frustration was the sprinkling of French throughout the novel. I know no French at all, and it bugged to not understand some of the things they said to one another. I understand that at the time it was written, many (most?) readers would’ve had a passing knowledge of French, but I don’t think it’s asking too much of a modern copy to provide a translation.
That was my biggest quibble, which is a testament to how much I enjoyed the book. That and Gaudy Night are definitely going on the “favorites” list.
Eclipse by Stephanie Meyer: In my last review, I said that I enjoyed New Moon even when others didn't. Now I see why people don't like it as much; Eclipse is far superior, in my opinion. The Cullens are back (yay!), we learn more about Jasper (yaay!!) and Rosalie, and Bella isn't quite as annoying. (One negative, though: Carlisle is barely present. Boo.) But best of all? Edward is way, way more likeable. He's less of a drama king/stalker, absolutely reasonable and loving with regards to Jacob Black, and altogether acts his age. And you know I'm a sucker for gentlemanly propsals and such. Sigh.
Which brings me to one nagging point: Bella, what is your problem?! Why the devil is she so opposed to marrying Edward? Sure, she gave us reasons, but frankly those reasons are lame. Stupid Bella.
Aynway, good book, glad Victoria is out of the picture, and I can't wait for Breaking Dawn.
The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks by E. Lockheart: What to say about this book. I came into it with very high hopes, and it didn't live up to them, frankly, which may be my fault more than the book's. The premise is excellent: suddenly-attractive, Wodehouse-loving teenage girl Frankie infiltrates a guys-only club at her private school and hijinks ensue. For the first half of the book, it lived up to my expectations. Frankie was a conflicted teenager but still with a strong sense of self, trying to figure out how to balance her self-identity with the identity given to her by friends and boyfriends. It was only after she infiltrated the boys' club that things went downhill for me. The premise is that she is a criminal mastermind. However, most of the pranks she pulls are lifted directly from the club's history book, and the people she directs are the boys in the club itself via e-mail. Her subterfuge is simply creating a false e-mail address, really. Everyone else does the physical, hands-on work and she lifts the ideas for "crime" from another book. And in the end, the book is about claiming power and ambition, two things that I have no appetite for. Ambition for ambition's sake, power for the sake of having power, doesn't appeal to me in the slightest, and it was disappointing to see that that was what Frankie valued the most. I didn't want her to leave her boyfriend because it was an obstacle to her ambition, but because she knew that she was his equal. For herself, not for her ambition.
In all fairness, part of my annoyance was due to the fact that I am more of a traditionalist than Frankie is. I'm not a blind follower, to be sure, but I do have an appreciation for "the way things have been done". Perhaps my problem is more a personality difference than anything else, then. :-)
What's making you smile today?
One thing making me smile is the bag of books I bought today:
