March Wrap Up

Although I was not doing my reading in the month of March, and had set my goals back in February based on the end of April, to  keep up with my good blog-posting streak as of late, I wanted to let you know how March actually was.

Read

PS I Love You was my February book for the Monthly Key Word Challenge

The Iron Daughter was my March book for the 2013 Paranormal Reading Challenge

and Clockwork Prince was my February book also for the 2013 Paranormal Reading Challenge as well as part of the 2013 Sequel Challenge

Quarterly Update

Since the end of March marks 1/4 of the year being done I thought I would re-cap the progress I have made on my lists

Challenge #1:  2013 TBR Pile Reading Challenge

1) Before I Fall - Lauren Oliver 2) The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer - Michelle Hodkin 3) Matched - Ally Condie 4) Life of Pi - Yann Martel finished January 23/13 5) Remember Me? - Sophie Kinsella 6) Water for Elephants - Sara Gruen finished February 24/13 7) The Constant Princess - Phillipa Gregory 8) Something Borrowed - Emily Giffin 9) Gone - Michael Grant 10) The Maze Runner - James Dashner 11) Daughter of Smoke and Bone - Laini Taylor ...on deck for March/April 12) Twenties Girl - Sophie Kinsella 13) Forever - Judy Blume 14) Fight Club - Chuck Palahniuk 15) Uglies - Scott Westerfeld 16) The Nanny Diaries - Emma McLaughlin 17) The Guernsey Literacy and Potato Peel Society - Annie Barrows 18) One For the Money - Janet Evanovich 19) On the Jellicoe Road - Melina Marchetta 20) Learning to Fly - Victoria Beckham

Challenge #2: A-Z Book Challenge
A: The Adoration of Jenna Fox - Mary E. Pearson B: Blue Bloods - Melissa de la Cruz (double points!..Scattergories, anyone??) C: City of Ashes - Cassandra Clare finished February 26/13 D: The Diary of a Young Girl - Anne Frank E: Eragon - Christopher Paolini F: Fight Club - Chuck Palahniuk G: Girls in White Dresses - Jennifer Close H: Hourglass - Myra McEntire I: I am Number Four - Pittacus Lore J: Juliet, Naked - Nick Hornby K: The Knife of Never Letting Go - Patrick Ness L: The Luxe - Anna Godberson M: Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children - Ransom Riggs N: The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency - Alexander McCall Smith O: Outlander - Diana Gabaldon P: The Princess Bride - William Goldman Q: Quidditch Through the Ages - J. K. Rowling R: Rise of the Evening Star (Fablehaven #2) - Brandon Mull S: Shatter Me - Tahereh Mafi T: A Thousand Splendid Suns - Khaled Hosseini U: Under The Never Sky - Veronica Rossi V: The Virgin Sucides - Jeffrey Eugenides W: Wanderlove - Kristen Hubbard X: Elixir - Hilary Duff Y: Yearbook - Ally Condie Z: Zombie Queen of Newbury High - Amanda Ashby
Challenge #3 - 2013 Paranormal Reading Challenge

January - Vampires - Marked by P.C. Cast Finished February 4, 2013 (just a few days late)
February - Angels/Nephilim - Clockwork Prince by Cassandra Clare Finished
March - Fey - The Iron Daughter by Julie Kagawa Finished
April - Demons - Daughter of Smoke and Bone - Laini Taylor ...on deck for March/April
May - Aliens - I am Number Four by Pitticus Lore
June - Zombies - Feed by Mira Grant
July - Witches and Wizards - Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia
August - Mermaids - Aquamarine by Alice Hoffman
September - Dragons - Eragon Christpoher Paolini
October - Ghosts - Anna Dressed in Blood by Kendra Blake
November - Werewolves/Shape-shifters - Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater Changed to 'Stolen (Women of the Otherworld #2) by Kelley Armstrong' because Shiver was my January Book for a different challenge!
December - Time Travel - Outlander by Diana Gabaldon

Challenge #4 - 2013 Sequel Challenge

1) City of Ashes - Cassandra Clare finished February 26/13

2) Clockwork Prince - Cassandra Clare Finished

3) Shadow Kiss - Richelle Mead ...on deck for March/April

4) A Clash of Kings - George R.R. Martin finished February 17, 2013

5) Glory In Death - J.D. Robb 

6) The Last Little Blue Envelope - Maureen Johnson

7) Shadow Souls - L.J. Smith

8) Then He Ate My Boy Entrancers - Louise Rennieson

9) Rise of the Evening Star - Brandon Mull

10) Isla and the Happily Ever After - Stephanie Perkins

Challenge #5 - 2013 Sookie Stackhouse Reading Challenge

Book 4 ...on deck for March/April

Challenge #6 - Monthly Key Word Challenge

January: Shiver - Maggie Steifvater finished January 28, 2013

February: PS I Love You - Cecelia Ahern finished March 12, 2013 (wee bit late...)

March: Be Careful What You Wish For - Alexandra Potter ...on deck for March/April

April: Shadow Kiss - Richelle Mead ...on deck for March/April

May: Shatter Me - Tahereh Mafi

June: Under The Never Sky - Veronica Rossi

July: Shadow Souls - L.J Smith

August: A Clockwork Orange - Anthony Burgess

September: Blue Bloods - Melissa de la Cruz

October: Glory In Death - J.D. Robb

November: Forever - Judy Blume

December: The Princess Bride - William Goldman

So, I am definitely doing better with some than others. I am up to date on the 2013 Paranormal Reading Challenge which is great. I did think I would have progressed better with both the A-Z Reading Challenge and the TBR Reading Challenge as well. I'm pretty happy with the 2013 Sequel Challenge so far too, but I am very behind on my Monthly Key Word. 

Right now I have the following books checked out of the library:

Dead to the World with be the first of four for the Sookie Stackhouse Reading Challenge

Miss Peregrine's and Shatter Me are both on the A-Z list, and Shatter Me is also my May book for the Monthly Key Word Challenge.

Therefore, I would really like to read the following in April (again, so so optimistic of me!)

1) Dead to the World - Charlaine Harris

2) Be Careful What You Wish For - Alexandra Potter

3) Shadow Kiss - Richelle Mead

4) Glory In Death - J.D. Robb

5) Daughter of Smoke and Bone - Laini Taylor

6) Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children - Ransom Riggs

7) One For the Money - Janet Evanovich

I will then be all caught up on my monthly ones, and have a few more crossed off every other list too! Fabulous! Now, if I can just stick to it!

Book to Movie Talk - Water for Elephants

Recently (like in the past two months) I read the book Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen and I absolutely loved it! It was such a good read! Then one day I watched the movie on Netflix. And I was like, hmmm that was goo, I think. I remember this movie coming out, and I didn't see it because I wanted to read the book first, but the hype for it really died quickly. It had some popular actors in it, and I hardly remember hearing much about it at all. So I looked up some movie reviews. On IMDB it has a 6.9/10... not great, and rotten tomatoes it got a 6.1/10.

I enjoyed the book so so much, but the movie was only ok, as it seems it was for most other people too. Since there was nothing overly glaringly awful about this movie, I found myself wondering why such a fabulous book could turn into a relatively drab movie.

So, it was directed by Francis Lawrence and the screenplay was written by Richard LaGravenese. If you are anything like me, this means nothing to you. But, Lawrence also directed I Am Legend, and is currently directing Catching Fire. Means more now, right? So, I liked I Am Legend (even though it was a lot scary for me!) So, he can't be the problem. I also thought that the filming of the movie was really good. Most of the scenes were beautifully captured. So, Lawrence, you don't get the blame. We also can try and blame writer LaGravenese, he is known for screenplays of Bridges of Madison County and PS I Love You (another of my recent reads I will have to watch the movie of soon!) This screenplay changes a lot from book to movie, with some big ones being:

1) The story starts at the story. There is quite a lot of lead up to when Jacob begins telling the story (a lot of time in the Nursing Home) in the book, which I assume is character building for the future. This is eliminated in the movie, and I think its for the best (not that it was bad in the book) but the movie didn't need it. I was very okay with this change.

2) They get rid of the away from home bit. I don't care about this, this detail didn't matter to me, but I think it was done to easily show the viewed that Jacob is Polish, as that is an important detail.

3) No Al, just August. I didn't like this fact actually. I liked Uncle Al in the book, and I felt like eliminating him from the movie made August feel more important, when really he was more of a middle man. Ithink he should have been kept.

4) The details of Jacob and Marlena running away and then how they return to the circus are not the same. In the end, this isn't a huge change for the better or worse, but it did surprise me a bit while watching. I think it makes sense in the book for the book, and makes sense in the movie for the movie, so that's fine.

There were some other changes as well, but I think this is enough to show that the screenplay was not the problem in this movie adaptation. So, lets turn to the actors.

Marlena - Reese Witherspoon (known for Walk the Line, Leagally Blonde, and recently This Means War)
Jacob - Robert Pattinson (known for the Twilight movies, and Remember Me)
August - Christoph Waltz (known for Inglourious Basterds and Carnage)

And these three people are why this movie is not as good as it could have been. Now, I actually have nothing bad to say about any of them individually. I hardly know who Christopher Waltz is, and he played a good August, but he played a bad Marlena&August. I just did not believe their relationship. Pattinson was a decent Jacob is the scenes where Marlena wasn't around (however I can't help that think that he talks awkwardly because he isn't very good at faking an American accent, it seems very strained and painful thought..) Anyway, he and Witherspoon couldn't make me believe they loved each other no more than I believe 16 year olds who marry old rich men really love them. It was so unbelievable. The characters were cast fine, until you take into consideration the fact that they don't have relationships well with one another. So there you have it, that is why I think this movie was not as good as it should have been.

Any thoughts from anyone who loved or hated this movie?? What about the book??

Top Ten Tuesday - March 26, 2013

This week I am finally getting back on track with blogging. I should change this blog's title to Imma Busyworm as I have had so little time! Very exciting news happened this weekend though, and that is there was a new baby added to our family! BF's sister had a little boy named Sawyer Kai (Sawyer is a great bookish name, don't you think?!) He is so adorable! This is my 3rd nephew (and I have a niece too) but the first on BF's side of the family (plus, I don't live where my brother does, so I don't get to see his children very often at all). Anyway, he is wonderful, and my bathrooms still didn't get cleaned this weekend!! haha, oh well!!

But, this list only takes a moment to write up, because this week's topic is a good one (plus, I can write this whenever because the Bookish Girls are great and put the topics up very far in advance - thanks!) If you would like to participate in Top Ten Tuesday hosted over at the Broke and the Bookish, you can get all the details here.

Top Ten  Books I Recommend The Most

1) The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
2) Game of Thrones series by George RR Martin

3) The Host by Stephenie Meyer

4) The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky
5) Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins

6) Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card

7) Knocked Up by Rebecca Eckler

8) Summer Sisters by Judy Blume

9) How I Paid for College by Marc Acito

10) And last, (obviously if someone hasn't read them, I talk about them excessively until they agree to read them) all the Harry Potter books

Under The Dome - Stephen King

Goodreads Summary: On an entirely normal, beautiful fall day in Chester's Mill, Maine, the town is inexplicably and suddenly sealed off from the rest of the world by an invisible force field. Planes crash into it and fall from the sky in flaming wreckage, a gardener's hand is severed as "the dome" comes down on it, people running errands in the neighboring town are divided from their families, and cars explode on impact. No one can fathom what this barrier is, where it came from, and when -- or if -- it will go away.

Dale Barbara, Iraq vet and now a short-order cook, finds himself teamed with a few intrepid citizens -- town newspaper owner Julia Shumway, a physician's assistant at the hospital, a select-woman, and three brave kids. Against them stands Big Jim Rennie, a politician who will stop at nothing -- even murder -- to hold the reins of power, and his son, who is keeping a horrible secret in a dark pantry. But their main adversary is the Dome itself. Because time isn't just short. It's running out.

Why I Read This Book: Honestly, this was an impulsive Chapters sale table purchase that I just eventually got around to picking up.

Review: It has been awhile since I read this book, so this isn't going to be very detailed (Goodreads says I finished it December 27, 2012!) Anyway, this book had a good, enjoyable story which I liked quite a bit. The story itself was probably 4 stars, but alas it only got 3 because it was way to freakin long!! The amount of unnecessary detail in this book is off putting. I don't know how many times I just stopped reading because it felt like nothing was happening. For an exciting plot, the book really dragged.

Rating: 

Feature and Follow Friday March 22, 2013

Hello Everyone! This is my first FF in a little while, but things are ever so slightly more calm in my hectic life right now, so I'm trying to get back at the blog! I miss it :( And what better way then to check out some new featured blogs and answer a little question :) Also, I am loving this new button! Gorgeous!

 

First of all, this weeks features are:

Cherie Reads

and 

Shiloh Walker

So stop over and check these blogs out.

Second, this week's question is about guilty pleasure book genres:

Q: What is your guilty pleasure as far as reading? Is it a genre, or is it a certain type of book?

A: I have two; one is adult chick lit (think Sophie Kinsella, Lauren Wiesberger, Candace Bushnell, etc.) and that has been one for awhile, but more recently in the past year is young adult contemporary romance (think Stephanie Perkins, Sarah Dessen, Megan McCafferty, etc.) Blogging allowed me to discover that I love this type of book. I mean, I love tons of other genres as well, but if I'm ever looking for a 'lay on the beach and bring a book I know I'll like no matter what' kinda thing, I'm almost always going to grab for one of those two genres.

February Wrap Up

Hello! World's Worst Blogger here (but I said I would be MIA for awhile, so I don't feel too bad). I have to say that unfortunately updating on here, and even reading in general has taken a back seat these days (like the back seat of a school bus it's so low on my priority list right now!) Which is horrible, but I have been travelling for work, travelling for leisure, still working 2 jobs, and I'm in school... so, really I have been truly busy! Anyway, even though its almost 2 weeks late, I did want to post a quick February wrap up. I still won't be able to find time for any book reviews until the end of April (but I promise I will write and schedule a whole bunch so I have everything I have read out there! Promise! Right after I finish my Stats exam!!)

Ok, so I had very ambitious hopes for February due to how much I was going to be travelling. And I did definitely read more than if I hadn't been on planes, but not near as much as I had hoped to get to. I'm so behind in my reading, I'm worried I will fail all my challenges! :'(

Anyway...

Read

Again, I have no reviews to link up, but Clash of Kings was on my 2013 Sequels list, Marked was my January book on the 2013 Paranormal, City of Ashes was on my A-Z list and my 2013 Sequel list, and Water for Elephants was on my 2013 TBR Pile list. So that's not bad.

SUPPOSED TO HAVE READ

Ok, so I had made plans to also read PS I Love You, which was my Monthly Key Word Challenge book for February, and I have about 20 pages left in it. So I can finish that tonight (unless I fall asleep with it in my hands like last night...) And I was also supposed to read Clockwork Prince as that was my February Paranormal Challenge book. I will read that one next. Then I'm going to read Club Dead and Glory In Death after that. So, I definitely won't be able to get to Be Careful What You Wish For - Alexandra Potter for my March Key Word book, or The Iron Daughter by Julie Kagawa for the Paranormal Challenge. And since March is already almost half over, Clockwork Prince, Club Dead, and Glory In Death are all I'm going to get to read. Hopefully I can finish all of those!!

Since I like planning so much, and list making, and challenge meeting, and since my semester will be over April 16th, I do have hope for April being a successful reading month, so I will get through the following but the end of April (making this my challenge for the next 6 weeks basically):

I better get reading!