5 World Book Day Recommendations

It’s World Book Day and in honor of it, I’m recommending five books I believe you should consider reading or re-reading in some cases. Let’s face it, in our current crazy times, chances are even if it wasn’t World Book Day, you’d still be searching for your next read, just to have something to help pass the time. So going off the book category selections from my previous post, here are my five World Book Day selections.

1. Current Favorite – Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens. The story of “the Marsh Girl”, aka Kya Clark – abandoned, mocked, bullied and abused, who manages to not just survive her harsh circumstances, but to thrive, Where the Crawdads Sing is a deeply emotional, sometimes heartbreaking tale of love, survival and the indomitable strength of the human spirit. And if you’re like me, who always loves a good mystery, there’s even a mysterious death, to keep things interesting.

 

2. Favorite Classic – Emma by Jane Austen. This is not my favorite classic novel but it ranks up there. And I know I’m probably supposed to say Pride & Prejudice or Sense & Sensibility when recommending an Austen novel but sorry, not sorry, neither of these two novels is as thoroughly delightful for me as Emma. I truly believe the latter is Austen’s most fun and entertaining work – romance, hijinks, misunderstandings, a cast of hilariously enjoyable characters, etc. What more can you want?

 

3. Favorite Childhood/Nostalgic – The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis. I honestly cannot remember how old I was when I first read The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe. I just know that the story has stayed with me, having re-read it multiple times at various stages of my life, gaining some new perspective and understanding of it every time. Incredible world-building, wonderful characters, a compelling villain and battle between Good and Evil, rich and beautiful imagery, and just plain great writing.

 

4. Favorite Thriller/Mystery – Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarity. I know, you’ve probably seen the mini-series, which was excellent and very likely you’ve already read the book, if for nothing else because you enjoyed the mini-series that much. But what the hell, read it again because it’s just that good. While the mini-series was excellent, what I loved so much about the book that I felt was lacking a bit in the former, was the humor sprinkled throughout. The cast of various parents, friends, etc. acting as a Greek Chorus throughout the novel, added a certain light-heartedness and fun that kept the story from becoming too dark and depressing, despite the heavy subject matter.

 

5. Favorite Young Adult – All the Bright Places by Jennifer Niven. You’re never too old for a good young adult novel, period. Chances are you may have caught the recently released Netflix adaptation of this novel. While I thought all involved did a good job, this is one of those instances where you should definitely read the book. There was a level of emotional heartbreak, hopelessness, and pain in Niven’s writing, that simply could not truly be captured in the film. This one broke me in all the best ways a good book should.

Happy reading and happy World Book Day.

 

5 Book to Film Adaptations I’m Looking Forward to This Year

Ah the age old question – which was better, the book or the movie adaptation? Popular consensus says books are always better than movie adaptations and in most instances this is true. And in many ways, it makes sense why this would be the case. A book has more opportunity and breadth to truly develop a story and its characters, versus a movie, which is limited by time.

However, while I was once fully onboard “the book is always better than the film adaptation” train, a few film adaptations in recent years have made me rethink this.

Just a few off the top of my head is The Perks of Being a Wallflower (I felt like I got to know Charlie way better in the film than in the book) and To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before (no offense to Jenny Han but I actually kind of really hated the book and had I read it before seeing the film, I would have likely skipped the film entirely. Glad I didn’t).

I’ve also found many film adaptations that I thought were as good as the books and while obviously some things needed to be left out due to time restraints, I thought the essential aspects of the story were all still there.

And so I’ve become quite the fan of book to film adaptations and I’m always excited to see how the story is translated from the pages to the screen. So without further ado, here are five book to film adaptations being released this year that I’m most looking forward to.

1. Where’d You Go Bernadette by Maria Semple – I read this one at the start of this year and although I had a few small issues with it, in general I really enjoyed it and can’t wait to see how it’s adapted. Plus, the fact that Bernadette will be played by in my opinion, one of the greatest actresses of her generation – Queen Cate Blanchett, is all I needed to be sold.

 

2. The Woman in the Window by A.J. Finn – I am a huge mystery/thriller book fan. If there is some big twist, mystery to unfold, I’m all in. So I devoured this book in less than a week. Some parts of it were predictable and I figured out most of the twists, including the guilty person, mid-way through the story but it was still a fun read. So I’m very excited to see it play out on the big screen, especially as the cast is top notch, including two of my other favorite actresses – Amy Adams and Julianne Moore.

 

3. All The Bright Places by Jennifer Niven – One of my favorite books of the last few years. This story broke my heart in the best way possible. And the whole time I was reading it, I kept thinking how amazing a movie the story could make. And finally we’re here. I have to be honest, I’m a little nervous just because I loved the book so much. But I’m going to go in with an open mind and hope for the best.

 

4. Little Women by Louisa May Alcott – I know what some of you are thinking. Do we really need ANOTHER Little Women film adaptation? And to be completely honest, that was my initial reaction on first reading that another adaptation was being made. But then the cast kept being announced and I was sold. I mean when you have Queen Meryl Streep, Timothee Chalamet, Saoirse Ronan, plus Greta Gerwig directing, how can I say no? I could personally do without Emma Watson (very intelligent and accomplished young woman but good actress she most certainly is not) but that’s a minor issue I’m willing to overlook.

 

5. Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty – Okay, full disclosure, I liked but didn’t love the first season of this adaptation. And a big part of this was due to some of the major changes made for the series, particularly as it pertained to Madeline’s (Reese Witherspoon) character and her marriage to Ed. Because I absolutely adored Madeline and Ed in the book and the series massacred them in my opinion. Those issues aside, I also didn’t see a need for a second season of a stand-alone book. That said, curiosity has won out, particularly in seeing how they pull off a second season and so I will most definitely still watch. Hopefully I don’t come away regretting it.

Images Courtesy Google Images

It’s All About Love (Part 2)

And now for my favorite literary pairings and romantic songs.

Five Favorite Literary Pairings

1. Peeta and Katniss (The Hunger Games) – I’ve read the comments from this pairing’s detractors. Let me sum it up for you – Katniss saves Peeta all the time, he’s weak and therefore not right for her like Gale who has all this fiery passion and fire. Yeah, no. First of all, I liked the fact that The Hunger Games gave myself and other women a heroine that didn’t need to be saved by a man. But more than that, in my opinion, Peeta and Katniss saved each other. They just did it in different ways. And I loved that in the end, theirs wasn’t a sappy, happily ever after love story ending. They were bruised and battered and both riddled with emotional and physical scars from all they’d been through in the Games and the revolution. But the beauty of their love story is that despite all that destruction and pain and loss, they came out on the other side with each other – loving, growing, and living.

2. Emma and Mr. Knightley (Emma) – Yes, the book that inspired Clueless. And while I’m always up for a Clueless re-watch, little suggestion to anyone who hasn’t, go read the book. It’ll be worth it, I promise you. Emma and Mr. Knightley was the classic, “not seeing what’s right in front of you”. Emma was so busy meddling in other people’s lives that she almost missed that the love of her life was right there the whole time. What I loved most about the relationship is that there was a lightness and joy about it. Quite unlike so many of the other literary love stories of its time where there was often, at times, almost a cruelty in the treatment of women by their intended love interest – think Jane Eyre (ugh), Pride and Prejudice, etc.

3. Theodore Finch and Violet Markey (All the Bright Places) – So remember how I said that I was a sucker for a tragic love story? Yup, still stands. The greatest lesson of this novel is that no matter how much and how hard you love someone, you can’t save them if they aren’t willing or can’t save themselves. But underneath that dreary and heartbreaking lesson lay a really beautiful and tender love story. Violet meets Finch at the perfect time in her life when she needed someone to help her get past her grief and guilt over her sister’s death. And that is the most heartbreakingly beautiful tragedy of this love story – that Finch’s love did in some ways save Violet. Hers just wasn’t enough to save him.

4. Macy and Wes (The Truth About Forever) – Full disclosure, I love Young Adult fiction and for many years, one of my favorite authors was Sarah Dessen. I’ve read all her books and while I’ve liked them all well enough, The Truth About Forever will always hold a very special place in my heart because of the tender relationship between Macy and Wes. Dessen’s care and slow pace in developing the relationship, first from a tentative friendship to more made you feel like you were the one experiencing that magic of first love.

5. Harry and Hermione (Harry Potter) – Oh I can already hear the outraged gasps. Yes, I know they weren’t a romantic pairing in the series, but I never said this list was solely based on romantic pairings. In my opinion, Harry and Hermione had one of the most amazing friendships and relationships in literary history. And it likely was so special because J.K. Rowling never intended to make it romantic. Because it has since come to my attention after hating all the actual romantic Harry Potter pairings and reading her post Harry Potter books and hating the pairings in those as well, that J.K. Rowling, for all her amazing talent as a writer, sort of sucks at writing romance. So in a sense, it was for the best that she didn’t tar Harry and Hermione’s relationship with romantic feelings because that meant we were thankfully spared clichéd constant bickering disguised as passion and attraction and superficial feelings of girl become hot so guy now suddenly realizes she’s the love of his life. Instead, what we got was a beautiful relationship forged on trust, mutual respect, loyalty, and tenderness and yes, love. It doesn’t matter to me who Harry canonically ended up married to. In my opinion; his greatest and deepest connection with any girl was with Hermione Granger.

Five Favorite Romantic Songs

1. Wonderful Tonight by Eric Clapton – One of the most passionately beautiful love songs of all time, with such a simple but heartfelt message. There isn’t a woman who’s heard this song and not imagined having those words said to her. I mean this sums it up – “I feel wonderful because I see/The love light in your eyes/And the wonder of it all/Is that you just don’t realize how much I love you…”

2. Please Forgive Me by David Gray – One of the greatest and most romantic albums of all time was released in 1998 and chances are you might not even remember it. That was the year British singer/songwriter David Gray released White Ladder, a collection of some of the most tender, touching, and heartbreaking love songs. If you have never heard of the album or just forgot about it, go listen right now. Trust me, you’ll thank me. And while most of the songs on the album could make this list, the standout is Please Forgive Me, with such unforgettable lines like these, “Please forgive me/If I act a little strange/For I know not what I do/Feels like lightning running through my veins/Every time I look at you…”

3. Cannonball by Damien Rice – Another standout early 2000’s album, Damien Rice’s O delivered amazing song after song – The Blower’s Daughter, Delicate, I Remember, etc. Cannonball, however, was the true breakout hit and why not, when it gave us such intensely passionate and beautiful lines like these, “Still a little bit of your taste in my mouth/Still a little bit of you laced with my doubt/Still a little hard to say what’s going on/Still a little bit of your ghost, your witness/Still a little bit of your face I haven’t kissed…”

4. Perfect/Thinking Out Loud by Ed Sheeran – Okay Ed Sheeran, we get it. You know how to write an amazing love song that has us all swooning. We knew that when you gave us Thinking Out Loud but did you have to destroy us with Perfect too? I mean really, from this, “When my hair’s all but gone and my memory fades/And the crowds don’t remember my name/When my hands don’t play the strings the same way/I know you will still love me the same” to “Well, I found a woman, stronger than anyone I know/She shares my dream, I hope that someday I’ll share her home/I found a love to carry more than just my secrets/To carry love, to carry children of our own…” Fine, you win Ed Sheeran.

5. Your Song by Elton John – As the lyrics say, “it may be quite simple”, but there is power in simplicity. Especially when it’s told so tenderly and poignantly. Sometimes you don’t need all the frills and dramatic, just an honest and quiet expression of love is enough.