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Books and Clevernesshttps://rdietz07.wordpress.comI am a creative writer and editor looking for a nice quiet place to put my thoughts! I love books, dogs, and knitting!
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Book vs Movie: The Maze Runner

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For whatever reason, my book vs movie post from February 24th was somehow deleted. So without further ado, here it is again!

About a week ago my dad and I finally saw The Maze Runner movie. This was a big deal for me because I had tried reading the book of the same name, the first of a series by James Dashner, but was having such a hard time with the names and slang in the book that I gave up. I knew that there was going to be a movie when I had attempted reading it, and thought the concept was so unique and different that I had to read it before the movie came out. But when I tried reading it, it was like every other word was “shank,” or “shuck,” or “greenie,” and it was all substituted for actual words in a sentence and I just couldn’t follow it.

So I decided that I would wait until the movie came out in theaters. The plan was that I’d see it on the big screen and then if I liked the movie I’d read the book. My main hope was that after I see the movie I might understand all the slang better, and get a hang of the names and the story line so that when I read it I wasn’t too lost. Well, unfortunately, I never got the chance to see the movie in the theatre so I ended up having to wait until it was available to rent on demand. My dad and I both wanted to see it, so we had waited for a time when we could watch it together. That was a week ago – more than a month after it came out on DVD and on demand.

I have to say, though, that it was worth the wait. I really loved the movie. All I knew going into it was that this guy shows up in a place filled with all these boys (sort of a Lord of the Flies feeling place) and they’ve all had their memories wiped and are trapped in a maze. That was all I knew. I’m so glad that that’s all I knew, because I thought the movie was really good (as long as you like young adult mystery-scifi stories… and weird looking kids. Because there are a lot of weird looking kids in this movie. They obviously didn’t have the budget for Harry Potter-attractive level actors) and decided I should give the story a second chance.

I started reading The Maze Runner less than a week ago, and I was intrigued while I was reading, but I wasn’t hooked even by the quarter way through mark. So I started to think that maybe I should give up on it – it wasn’t as good as the movie, and it just wasn’t drawing me in. It was almost like the book knew what I was thinking because at the end of the chapter I was reading, it left on a cliffhanger that had me thinking, “Oh, shit! This just got real!!” I immediately began falling in love with the book, and by the midway mark I never wanted to put it down (“I’ll only read one more chapter before bed!…. unless it ends on a cliffhanger and then I’ll read one more chapter before bed!…”)

I took the weekend off from reading to attempt my hand at trying a Kindle (you’ll get that story soon enough) and the second I picked up the book again I felt like no one could stop me. I spend a straight 4 hours today reading the entire rest of the book, and then another hour running out to Barnes & Noble to pick up the next two books of the series, The Scorch Trials and The Death Cure. Great book. GREAT book.

But here’s the issue: the movie was awesome – but it was nothing like the book. Granted there was still the same premise, but the entire movie was completely out of order, and glorified, exaggerated, and just different. So from a “book critic’s” point of view, I would have to say that the movie was a poor representation of the book. But as a movie lover, and not thinking about the correlation between the two, I thought the movie was really great! This thought really hinders my book versus movie tally, because as a movie it was freakin’ awesome! But it wasn’t the book.

So for this tally, I’m going to be super lenient and give credit to both. If my main question when figuring out the tally is “was the movie better than the book?” My answer is no, and the book should get the win. But if I think about it, the movie got me interested in the book. I thought the book was boring and hard to follow until I saw the movie. I feel like that in itself should mean something.

So here it is: Second book vs movie tally: Book: 2 Movie:1. You know it’s a weird tally when the movie almost gets the point, and I still absolutely loved the book.

Until next time!

Rachel

Book vs Kindle

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My obvious love of books has kept me from accepting the fact that people don’t read physical books anymore: they use e-readers like Kindles or Nooks. Like most book lovers I regard them as something to dismiss, something that takes away from the fun of reading. But here’s the thing: I had never actually used one before. So I decided to conduct an experiment and read my boyfriend’s kindle for a week to give it a try.

But as chance would have it, I only made it through 48 hours before giving up on the thing. I did genuinely try to give it a shot, and I have to say that it exceeded my expectations. I was expecting something more like an iPad – with bright lights that make your eyes go weird after looking at it for more than 20 minutes, and the on-screen-scrolling like an endless news article. Instead, it has a dulled screen that looks more like a page in a book than an actual screen; It has that “used page” look. And to my surprise, you don’t scroll, it has these big buttons on both sides that go forward or backward from page to page.

Other than that, though, I had a really hard time getting into it. My theory was that I would choose a book that I had already read in paperback and read it for exactly one week (unless I finished it sooner) and then write the comparison between a Kindle book and a physical copy of a book. Seems simple enough. So, I found a book that was already on the Kindle and tried to read it like I normally would a hardcopy (for me normal reading is a lot of pages in a short span of time, and almost too much concentration — someone could nearly hit me with a football and I probably wouldn’t even notice.) That first night I read four chapters of the great classic Pride and Prejudice. They’re not long chapters, but it took me a pretty decent chunk of time just trying to focus.

There were a few annoyances. Those big buttons on the side of the Kindle that I mentioned before? Well they take up the majority of each side of the Kindle, making it nearly impossible for me to hold the e-reader like a normal person without going a few pages ahead of where I was and ruining any surprises. I also had such a hard time concentrating on the story. Because it’s a Kindle and quite small, I didn’t need to use both hands to hold it and ended up having an extreme case of restless arm syndrome. I kept checking my phone, grabbing some water, constantly stretching my arms and just basically doing everything but keeping my eyes on the page. I took that as a lesson learned, and the next night I put my phone out of reach, and just tried to sit and focus on the story. I never made it past chapter 5.

About a page into the fifth chapter I managed to figure out the “lazy person’s guide to reading a Kindle” which was basically me laying on my side in bed with the Kindle propped up so I could lay down and read without having to hold it. I fell asleep. I tried one more time the following day to make the Kindle work for me. I sat down in a chair and was all set to read. But when I sat down, I held the Kindle a little too hard on the side and went six pages ahead. That was when I just put it down and said, “nope. This isn’t working. I’m frustrated, I’m bored, and I already want to look at my phone.” And thus concluded my Kindle experiment.

I know a lot of people really like e-readers, and I can completely understand that position. It’s convenient — especially if you’re going on a trip. You can have hundreds of books at your disposal at all times, with a little square that weighs probably less than a pound. It also gives you all the comforts of a real book with a screen that looks like the yellowed, paper pages in a hardcopy. It’s also easy on the eyes, which makes things much better if you were at the beach, or if you even just have bad eyesight (guilty.)

However, I really don’t like it. I tried to find some common ground, and I tried to make it work as best as possible for me, but I just couldn’t get into it. I missed the feeling of turning a page. You know that feeling you get when you’re on the last paragraph and you get ready to turn the page with your one finger on the following page? I missed that. I missed being able to slide a bookmark in and close the book to see how far I’ve gotten, and how much I have left. And as convenient as it is, I’d rather load up my suitcase with books and have to check my bag, than have to read off of a Kindle on a plane. I just get too restless and frustrated. I can’t concentrate.

So for me at least, a hardcopy of a book will always win in a battle of book versus e-reader. If you guys like Kindles or Nooks, let me know in the comments and tell me why you like it. I’d love to hear your thoughts and see if maybe there was something I was missing in the experiment!

Until next time! Happy reading!

Rachel

The Genre Dilemma

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I’m at a dilemma. After reading The Mime Order I’m kind of stuck in a rut due to my current love of the supernatural.

I ought to give you the whole backstory. You see, I have a predisposition of getting obsessed with a genre and sticking to it for a really long time until I get bored with it and move on. I do this a lot – the most memorable and long obsessions began about two years ago, when I started reading books about Asian culture.

It all started with the wonderful Amy Tan and her first novel The Joy Luck Club which chronicled a group of older female Chinese immigrants and their daughters in San Francisco. I had actually read an excerpt of the novel and was absolutely fascinated to the point where I just had to read the book. It was, and remains, one of my favorite books of all time. It’s heart warming, heart breaking, and everything in-between.

After that I decided to read her newest book The Valley of Amazement about a Chinese/American woman living and working in multiple courtesan houses. Now this book was incredible. I’ve mentioned before that a great book makes you feel as though you’re the character. That their pain is your pain, that their activities are your activities. That is exactly what happened here. I felt so connected with the main character that I actually took the book with me places so I could read while I was waiting for appointments or classes or whatever I had going on that day. I would literally break down in tears while in public reading this book. In fact, I was waiting for a class to start (I had two hours before it started) and decided I would buckle up and read the rest of the novel. I finished it in an hour and a half, and spent the next thirty minutes crying in the women’s restroom. It, too, was spectacular. Absolutely amazing, and gut wrenching at the same time.

Soon I had read nearly all of Tan’s books (I only have one of her books left! I’m saving it for the perfect time!) and was watching a documentary on olden days China on Netflix when I came across a documentary on Geisha girls in Japan. Oh my god was I fascinated. I was so fascinated that when I finished the documentary I immediately ordered Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden, who was featured in the film. I was so entranced by his novel that I actually ended up writing an entire essay based on Geishas and their customs. It took a lot of documentaries and a lot of books, but I couldn’t have been happier doing that research.

So, for me at least, finding a subject that I enjoy and want to learn more about means reading a ton of novels based on the topic. My sister and I even went to Boston and I saw a woman reading a book on the subway based on a Japanese family’s life over the span of something crazy like 100 years, and I took note of the book and author so that when we got home I could buy the book. That happened about 7 months ago. I was on this Asian kick for nearly a year. I was that obsessed.

Now, I’ve moved on to supernatural/fantasy novels, usually young adult. I’ve always loved this genre – I mean my blog name is based off of a line from Harry Potter! But last January when I read The Bone Season by Samantha Shannon, I began to slowly integrate fantasy novels into my repertoire, until it became all I was reading. I read books in the meantime (and I’ll admit some of them were about Asian culture – you never get rid of a love!) but I waited an entire year for the Bone Season sequel to come out. That was “my precious.” Then I finally got and read the sequel, The Mime Order, all I want now is for the next book. My next “precious.”

And this is where the dilemma begins. After reading such an wonderful novel, it’s so hard to find something similar that can live up to my expectations. So, I can either stick to my guns and continue reading supernatural/fantasy novels (I’m currently almost done with The Maze Runner by James Dashner) or I can reach out and find a new topic to hone in on. I was thinking of switching over to romance novels – I just bought One Day by David Nicholls, or perhaps a John Green novel… but then fantasy novels are just amazing, and so exciting to read! Dilemma, dilemma…

Let me know what you guys think. Maybe I’ll start taking some suggestions!

In the meantime, let’s get reading! Until next time.

Rachel

The Mime Order Review!

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Hooray!!! I’ve finished The Mime Order!!! It was absolutely incredible. Samantha Shannon’s first book was wonderful – a powerful depiction of human survival instincts. Her second book is honestly even better – a powerful depiction of human manipulation and deception.

It’s always a little weird after you finish a book. It’s almost like the world around you is exactly the same – going on as usual as if you haven’t just had deep emotional trauma the past week you’ve been reading the book. No one quite understands that feeling of absolute shock, of having to tell everyone you know that right now you’ve just experienced something that only a book can do: get you involved into an entirely new world, only to have that world shatter beneath you. It’s both a horrible feeling, and, in a weird way, a wonderful one.

It took me a total of 10 days to read the 500 page book. I was reading maybe two or three chapters almost every night, so it took a lot longer than it did for me to read The Bone Season, which had about the same amount of pages, but only took me 3 days to read. Looking back on it, I’m glad it took me ten days because that’s 7 less days that I’ll be wishing I had another one of her books! I mean, holy cliffhanger…!

Shannon has an estimated five more books until she completes the series. I, for one, can’t wait. After reading The Bone Season last January, I claimed it as one of my all-time favorite books. The second I started reading The Mime Order I started to lean more towards the excellence of the sequel. By the end of the book I was in love. The last hundred pages or so are just mind boggling. It’s so intense that I was literally sitting in bed biting the inside of my lip so hard that it bled. It was so fantastic, such an awesome novel. This has easily become one of my top favorite books of all time, and that includes the first novel of the series, giving Samantha Shannon some pretty decent reign over my favorite books.

In my studies, (*pushes glasses up my nose*) I’ve learned that a good author knows how to captivate you, to get you interested in the story, and to be excited reading it. But a great author brings you into the novel as if you could be any one of the characters, so that even the goings on in the story start to seem real! For example, as I was reading last night I felt this dread in my mind and actually thought to myself “oh my god. I have to compete in a scrimmage in a few hours!” before snapping myself out of it and realizing that I was certainly not competing in a scrimmage, but that Paige was. So a great author gets you to feel those exact emotions that a character is feeling. It’s not just you following a character around and hearing their story, but rather being a part of their story. This writing technique is something that Shannon excels at beyond anything else.

I have to say, though, now that I’m done with the book I’m almost at a loss for what to read! I have a ton of books that I own that I really want to read, but when I think about which one to choose I just say to myself, “It’s no Mime Order… It’s no Paige and Warden.” So touchè, Samantha Shannon, touché. You’ve managed to keep me hooked for another year. The next book can’t come soon enough! Hurry it up, lady!

Until next time (with a new book!),

Rachel

To See or Not To See? That Is The Question

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At my sister’s house this morning I noticed a book in her bookshelf: Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn. I’d like to preface this story by saying that my sister is not someone who likes to read. She likes the idea of reading, but can never finish a book – I love her anyway, but I give her endless crap for it. That said, she had Flynn’s book in her bookshelf, facing the room. Not with the spine showing, with the cover showing. So of course my first instinct was to say, “hey! Put that book in with the other books properly! It misses its friends!”

But then I looked at the cover, which had been altered from it’s original state so it could be recognizable for the movie’s audiences, and instead started thinking about just how much I want to see that movie. It looks amazing! It’s like a well-written Lifetime movie! The book-lover in me tells me to read the book first and then see the movie, which I had originally decided. But is it always better to read the book first?

Here’s the thing: if you’re not planning on reading the book, then you should by all means see the movie. But what if you want to read the book and see the movie? It’s a toss up! We’re all guilty of seeing a film first and then being so excited about the movie that you want to read the book. Usually, you read the book afterward and realize just how much more amazing the book was and you wish you had read it first. Especially because now you picture the actors as the characters!

However, I don’t think that’s a bad thing. I’m generally an advocate of reading the book first, don’t get me wrong. But picturing actors is natural, and I find it really helpful a lot of the time. For example, I read The Hunger Games series before the movies came out and I loved the books. After seeing the first two movies I re-read the series and pictured the amazing Jennifer Lawrence as Katniss. Let me tell you… she is an AMAZING Katniss!!!! When I picture J-Law as the main character, I’m thrilled! I see the features perfectly, I can picture her facial expressions, and it’s wonderful! When I try to think of the character I used to picture before seeing Lawrence as Katniss, I actually remember a different actress that I mistakenly thought looked exactly like the character – Lawrence wins as Katniss. So what’s the difference? If I’m going to end up picturing celebrities as my protagonists anyway, why not see the movie and picture their flawlessness??

I mean, Ben Affleck is in the new Gone Girl movie. Is it really that bad to have to picture Ben Affleck when you’re reading? NO! (I’d like to mention this now, because I won’t get the opportunity again – hate me if you will: I prefer Matt Damon.)

So what’s the big deal in seeing the movie first? Other than the bragging rights you get to have (“I already read the book so I know what happens at the end so if you don’t buy me the large popcorn/drink combo I’ll tell you the end of the story before we watch”) I don’t really think there’s a huge problem with it! I’m a big re-reader. Some of my favorite books I’ve read maybe 10-15 times. A lot of those books have been turned into movies, and honestly I really don’t mind picturing an actor as the main character, or the villain, or even just the butler. I like having a more vivid idea of what the character looks like, talks like, and what their expressions are. I like thinking of the characters as real life people, and sometimes seeing the movie first helps with that!

So my deliberation: if you like a bit of risk, see the movie first! It’s not always bad, and then when you read the book after you see it, you get the same story but in so much more vivid detail! So next time a book turned movie comes out, try seeing the movie first. Maybe you’ll like it!

Until next time!

Rachel