Lit Flicks Challenge Wrap-up

Wow! I finished a challenge! The Lit Flicks Challenge hosted by Jessica at The Bluestocking Society. The idea for this challenge was to read five books that have been made into movies, then watch at least two movies to go along with them. But of course, I wanted to watch all the movies that went with my books! I'm only missing one movie, but I'll get to that probably next weekend, after the challenge has officially ended.




Anyway, here's what I finished, with links to my reviews:


1. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee (book review here, and a little movie review here.)

2. Jamaica Inn by Daphne du Maurier (both book and movie review
here.)



3. Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte (both book and movie review here... I also watched the recent Masterpiece Classic version and loved it! But never blogged about it.)


4. The Dark is Rising by Susan Cooper (book review here.)



5. All The Pretty Horses by Cormac McCarthy (book review here and a movie mention here.)

Thanks a fun challenge Jessica! Let's do another soon!

Review: The Dark is Rising by Susan Cooper

Review: The Dark is Rising by Susan Cooper
Genre: YA Fantasy
Rating: A-
For: Lit Flicks Challenge... and I think TBR? I forget.

Yes, I've been wanting to read this book for quite awhile. I got a bit discouraged when I realized it was the second in a series and I didn't have the first one nearby. But I was told it didn't matter, and that the first one was about different characters anyway. So, I did the big taboo and went ahead and read it!

This is the story of Will, a young boy in a big family, growing up in England. One day, just before his 11th birthday and Christmas, strange things begin to happen. First, the animals are acting weird. Then a guy in town gives him a strange little round ornament and told him to put it on his belt and never lose track of it. Besides that, it starts snowing like crazy, even though it normally never snows! By the next morning, the snow is really deep and when he looks outside, he discovers that the whole neighborhood has disappeared and all he can see are snow covered trees!

And so the adventure begins! Will slowly learns his destiny and who he really is. His mission in this book is to prevent the Dark from taking over. He has to accomplish several things, and get past many scary people before that can happen.

It's a wonderfully written book. But I found myself thinking throughout the whole thing, whether or not kids are able to understand it when they read it. The descriptions and concepts are all quite complex, to the point that I found it sometimes hard to follow. It's another one of those books that once you get into the flow and groove, things start making more sense.

It's a fun book, and I hope to read more of the series when I get a chance. I'm still trying to get a hold of the movie, "The Seeker," to watch as part of the Lit Flicks Challenge, but it could be awhile yet. But in the meantime, here's the trailer (which I can tell already they've made Will older and set the whole thing in modern times, but still it looks fun):

Other reviews:

Things Mean A lot

Book Nut

Review: All the Pretty Horses by Cormac McCarthy

Book: All the Pretty Horses by Cormac McCarthy

Genre: Lit. Fiction

Rating: A

For: Lit Flicks Challenge and Awards Challenge (National Book Award 1992)

I went into this book knowing absolutely nothing, except for the fact that the author is well-known for his book The Road. I came out of the book with the idea that this author has a very unique writing style, one of those styles that you have to kinda of get into the grove and flow before you start feeling it. Know what I mean?

Luckily for me, I got in the groove and ended up really liking this book.

Basically, this is the story of John Grady Cole (LOVE that name!) who, along with his buddy, decides to take off from his home in Texas and head to Mexico, just to see what would happen I think. Along they way, they meet another kid whose story they never really learn, but he adds some excitement to their life in a big way! They end up at a big horse ranch, and make quite an impression on everyone with their horse wrangling abilities. Of course, before long a girl gets involved in it all and then things get really messy. Poor poor John Grady Cole!

Even though the writing style was quite unemotional, plain and blunt, and even a bit stream-of-conscious at times, I still totally connected to this dude, and cared about what happened to him. However, this book may not be for everyone. I stumbled upon the reviews about it over at Goodreads and wow, people are all over the board with it!

Anyway, I've rented the movie from the library, and hope to get to that this weekend, so stay tuned for that mini-review.

Other reviews:

Trish's Reading Nook

Bending Bookshelf

Rose City Reader

Review: Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte

Book: Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte
Genre: Classic
Rating: A
For: F2F book club and Lit Flicks Challenge

This was my third time reading this book. I remember loving it in the past. I've always loved it, and I loved it again.

For those who have never read it, it's about two families living out in the desolate moors of England. One day, the father of one family brings home a stray child and they adopt him. His name is Heathcliff. The dad and the daughter, Cathy, are quite taken with him, but everyone else treats him like crap. As he gets older, he and Cathy fall in love (a sort of twisted, bizarre love) and he decides to take revenge on everyone else. However, Cathy ends up with the guy from the other family, which really messes up Heathcliff... and then things all fall apart from there! Eventually, there's a second generation involved and also all messed up.

How's that for a simple sum of this crazy story?

Many people hate the book because the characters ARE so messed up. They are rotten, selfish, immature, crazy, mean people. Most of them anyway.

But I've always liked the story because they are also complex characters. To me, even though they are flawed, they are intriguing, interesting, heart-wrenching, emotional and deep. Heathcliff fascinates me and gets in my head. I know he can't be all bad. I know that deep down there's something to him.

As I was saying to the book club last night, maybe it's just because I love these gothic, English, creepy, sad, doomed stories!

*************************************

For the Lit Flicks challenge, I also watched the movie.... well one of the many versions made of this book. As I mentioned in a previous post it was a 1970-Timothy Dalton-as-Heathcliff version. I enjoyed it. He was great. The only complaint I have is that they completely re-did the ending. They left off everything about the whole second generation (with Cathy #2, Linton and Hareton) and then ended it totally different with Cathy #1 and Heathcliff. Strange. But, until that bit, I liked it a lot! :)


And for the question of the month for the Lit Flicks challenge, which you can find HERE, Jessica asks: Do you set reading/watching goals for yourself? Do you have any book/movie adaptations that you are particularly excited about this year? How did you do on last year’s goals?

1. Yes, I set reading goals, which is mostly the challenges I've joined, and to try and get to 100 books again. And to just read the books I have! But I don't set any movie goals. I like to read the book before the movie, usually anyway. And I like to keep up on the popular movies, most of them anyway, but I wouldn't consider those goals really.


2. I am SO SO excited about Inkheart that's coming up really soon!



3. I did pretty good on my goals from last year I think! Except I come short in most of the challenges, but still, I'm getting plenty of reading done! And movie watching too!

Lit Flicks Challenge November Meme

Here's the monthly meme for the Lit Flicks Challenge:

The Question:

For November, let’s take a look at the Oscar-season movies that are based on books. Which of the adaptations that are being released are you most excited to see? Have you read any of the books upon which they are based? Which ones do you predict will receive awards?
Here’s a (probably incomplete) list of the adaptations coming out this holiday season:

Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist
City of Ember
The Secret Life of Bees
The Time Traveler’s Wife
Quantum of Solace
The Road
Twilight
Coraline
The Tale of Despereaux
The Day the Earth Stood Still
Defiance
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Marley & Me
Revolutionary Road

My Answer:

So I've read: The City of Ember, The Secret Life of Bees, The Time Traveler's Wife, Twilight , Coraline, and The Tale of Despereaux. I have Marley and Me and The Road waiting to be read.

I've seen just The City of Ember and enjoyed it quite a bit, though they messed with details of the ending, but not the overall outcome. And it bugged me that the actor was so much older than the character is supposed to be, but only after I came home and figured that out.

I'm looking forward to The Secret Life of Bees, and The Time Traveler's Wife. The Tale of Despereaux looks really cute. I haven't seen much about Coraline, but I'm sure we'll see it somehow sometime. Marely and Me will probably be a DVD rental for me. The Road looks really good too. All the others I know nothing about.

Well except Twilight and I'm afraid I know TOO much about that one! I'll be going the first weekend (though not the midnight showing however fun that sounds.) In fact I think I'll be buying advance tickets today.

As far as what will win awards? Sheesh, I know nothing! Movies I think are good are NEVER in the running, so there you go!

Lit Flicks Challenge October Questions

I just realized I still needed to do the October Activity for the Lit Flicks challenge. I joined too late to do the September one, but I'm going to try and keep up on them for the rest of the challenge!

The questions:

-Which medium (book or film) is better at creeping you out?

- Do you have a favorite Halloween-ish book that you read every year or movie that you watch every year?

- What is your favorite scary movie adaptation?

- What is your favorite scary book that has been made into a movie?

I think movies for sure creep me out more than books. I can much easily read a scary book than watch a scary movie. Though, books DO creep me out! I remember being a little creeped about by The Historian awhile back... reading it while my husband was gone on a business trip and every thing! And I don't think I can handle some of the Stephen King books, as I've mentioned before.

My favorite kind of creepy movie is the subtle creepy. For example, I love The Others. Also, What Lies Beneath wigs me out every time.

No, I don't have a book or movie that I have to revisit every Halloween. But that would be a fun tradition to start!

A couple of my favorite scary movie adaptations are The Pit and the Pendulum, though I haven't seen that one in years. I'm pretty sure it was this version. Then there's Jaws, and The Shining.

Favorite scary book to movie? Hmmm... I'm drawing a blank right now and then as soon as I hit publish all the answers will come to me. I'm thinking the blank is because I don't read a whole lot of scary books!

Review: Jamaica Inn by Daphne duMaurier

Book: Jamaica Inn by Daphne duMaurier

Genre: Classic, Gothic

Rating: A-

For: R.I.P. III, Lit Flicks and TBR 2008

I thought this book was great! Though not as great as Rebecca. It was quite creepy and often surprisingly violent. There's some pretty rough guys in this story!

To summarize: It's about a girl, Mary, who comes to live with her aunt after her mother dies. Her aunt lives in a creepy lonely place called Jamaica Inn, located out in the middle of the desolate moors. She learns that there's quite the bad reputation surrounded this place and she decides to figure out what it is. Before she knows it, she's mixed up in the whole bad business herself! There's just a touch of romance, though I'm not sure I approved! The romantic hero is himself a pretty rough guy too!

So, as part of the Lit Flicks Challenge, I was supposed to watch the movie too. Years ago I watched a version of this with Jane Seymour in it. When I went to rent it this time, the Jane Seymour was only on tape and way too long. So instead I choose the old Alfred Hitchcock version which was on DVD and starred Maureen O'hara.

I'm quite the Alfred Hitchcock fan so I thought I'd like it fine. However, I tried to watch it last night and just couldn't get through it! It was AWFUL! In the first place, it was nothing like the book at all. I mean, not even close. Same characters was all, but everything else was not a thing like it! It made me crazy. Then, it was just too old. Too silly, too B movie-ish. Too boring. I wanted to fall asleep, and since there were other things I needed to do, I decided to give up instead. It was disappointing. I guess I need to find time to try the Jane Seymour one.

Other Reviews:

Things Mean A Lot

Stephanie's Confessions of a Book-a-holic

Bell Literary Reflections

The Insatiable Reader

Joining Lit Flicks Challenge

I've been fighting the urge to join the Lit Flicks Challenge. That's quite obvious since it started a month ago now and I'm just now finally deciding to do it. Why now? Because I realized that many of the books I already had planned fit the criteria. So why NOT?

This challenge is hosted by Jessica at The Bluestocking Society and here are the rules:

1. Challenge runs from September 1, 2008 to February 28, 2009.

2. Read 5 books/pieces of literature that have been made into movies.

3. Then watch at least 2 of the movie adaptations of the works you read.

4. Your list may change at any time and may include overlaps with other challenges.

So my list of five books are (at this point anyway):

1. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

2. Jamaica Inn by Daphne du Maurier

3. Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte

4. The Dark is Rising by Susan Cooper

5. All The Pretty Horses by Cormac McCarthy

Wish me luck!