by Jeanne DuPrau
When is it okay to change details of the book for a movie? Is it okay when it makes the story better? I saw the movie City of Ember before I read the book and I really liked it. And I wondered how much was changed when they made the movie? Maybe they had to change the storyline to keep it moving. Some parts of the book were slow and perhaps not dramatic enough for to keep an audience entertained. But then who has ownership of it? If the directors and producers and actors make the story better than the author of the book had, who retains the rights? For without the author’s imagination, there would have been nothing, but without the additions by the movie makers, the story wouldn’t have been as rich.
I want to find out what happens to Lina and Doon and if the rest of the city will follow. So, onwards I go into the next book. We’ll see how it is once I get it from the TPL.
“There’s so much darkness in Ember, Lina. It’s not just outside, it’s inside us, too. Everyone has some darkness inside. It’s like a hungry creature. It wants and wants and wants with a terrible power. And the more you give it, the bigger and hungrier it gets.”
by L.J. Smith
I started watching the Vampire Diaries TV Series out of boredom one night. And I kind of got hooked. I was surprised that these books were written way back when, long before Twilight. Because at first I thought, man, someone’s very heavily borrowed from it. But aha, maybe Stephenie Meyer is the culprit. By the way, this is horrible cover design.
The storyline is a bit interesting. I think the characters are cliche though and I really don’t like the portrayal of Elena as being this uber-good, popular, perfect girl. I’m pretty sick of perfect girls getting everything they want in teen literature. Where’s the grit, the humanity? The TV show isn’t much better. I’ll sadly, probably, end up reading all of them.
They’re almost so old, that despite having a more recent publishing run, I could hardly find them at the TPL. After a little digging (cause I couldn’t figure out the order), I’m on super hold. I finally gave in and found a free online publishing of the first book. I say, if you want to save the planet’s resources, don’t download, use the library. Reading on a computer is too harsh and energy dependent.
by John Green
I think his books have gotten decreasingly engaging and poetic and in Paper Towns, his third book, Green seems to be leaning on and borrowing from a lot of great writers, like Walt Whitman and Emily Dickinson. But I think what makes this book resonate is how he relates those great pieces of literature to today’s society and the question of identity.
Who are we? Are we windows for people to look into and see who we truly are, or are we mirrors onto which people bounce back their illusions of who we are and who they themselves are? These days we seem to be more who others think we are than who we actually are. Rumors can kill and characterize us more than our own actions usually can, and the power others have over us can be crippling. The danger it seems is when we start depending on our society and community to tell us who we are. I guess a humorous example of this would be the Season 6 premiere of The Office, when Andy needs Michael to tell him whether or not he’s gay. He’s crippled by a rumor he’s heard about himself and relies entirely on someone else to define who he is.
I loved this movie. It was funny, dramatic, heart-felt, adventurous with a pinch of romance. It had the same feeling as Aliens vs. Monsters, but the jokes were funnier and since I saw it in 3D, the falling food was awesome! It was a little sickening to see how big the mayor got to be (which kind of reminds me of the mayor from City of Ember, which I’m reading now). I loved the jello dome and the sandwich rafts were pretty cool. What a great imagination! And boy was I glad that Steve finally got his gummy bears! Steve! Went with a bunch of friends and we all want to see it again!
by Meg Rosoff
It’s pretty amazing how we under appreciate the truths of youth. We see them as unworldly or naive to the world. We lack faith. And the decisions we make for them often are ill-informed and harmful. This story makes me wonder, if nobody had split up Isaac, Edmond, Daisy, Piper and Osbert, would they have survived better on their own? It seemed like good intentions and a desire for their home split them up. And it only led them to pain. Would Daisy have been better off staying in England, despite being in the midst of war?
It’s also hard to imagine that sometimes physical death isn’t the only way to die. That people can disappear, yet remain whole before your eyes. Makes me think of C and how despite his wife still being alive, she was gone. Long gone. How do you reconcile leaving someone who’s still there in body, but far gone in spirit?
“I hated doing it but I COULD do it and I guess that was the difference between us.”
I really loved the animation and each individual character. It was a pretty cool concept, someone splitting their soul into 9 parts and giving each life. In a self-sacrificing, human way, unlike Voldemort’s evil thirst for immortality. J and I were trying to figure out what part of the scientist’s soul each character represented. So, we thought: 1-Pride, 2-Tinkering/Inventor, 3 & 4-Researcher & Journalist, 5-Hesitator/Compassion, 6-Creative/Artist, 7-Bravery/Warrior, 8-Bully/Macho/Thug and 9-The Best of Us/Conscience. I wonder what my rag doll souls would be…
TPL DVD, enough said. Can’t believe they actually made this movie, but it was kind of an interesting legend.
