Top Ten Tuesday: Books to Movies

Often when I'm reading a book I'll think, wow! This would make SUCH a good movie! Now that The Broke and the Bookish are asking for a list of just such desires, I can't think of which ones I've recently thought that about. So, I've looked over some of my favorite books, thinking about them with regard to movies, and here's what I've come up with:

Top Ten Books I Wish Would Become a Movie

1. Pope Joan...I heard once this was going to be a movie, but I've never seen anything more about it
2. Katherine by Anya Seton.... epic love story on the screen!
3. The Shadow of the Wind... I think this would an awesome movie mixing the bookish fanaticism, the love story and the horror all in one!
4. The Historian... let's see some REAL vampire stuff and maybe learn something too
5. Partials... here's a more recent read that I think would make a fun movie
6. The Name of the Wind... we know from the Game of Thrones success that people love watching epic fantasies come to life
7. The Night Circus... I think this would make a beautiful movie

And some that ARE being made movies:

8. Ender's Game
9. The Book Thief
10. Life of Pi

All that being said, having a favorite book be turned into a movie is a scary scary thing. And those three listed right above? Ah, I'm so nervous. Please people, do a good job with them!

What books would you like to see as a movie? Does it make you nervous when it actually DOES become one?

Review: The House at Tyneford by Natasha Solomons

Book: The House at Tyneford by Natasha Solomons
Genre: Historical Fiction
Rating:★★★★★ 
For: Read Along
From: Bought at Changing Hands bookstore in Arizona


SPOILER FREE REVIEW:

I really loved this book. But I knew I would. It was just what I needed, an adult historical romance in among all the YA dystopia and MG fantasy I've been reading of late.

This book tells the story of a girl from Vienna Austria, who, just before WWII is about to start, goes to live as a domestic servant in a big manor house in England. This is because her family can feel the imminent threat to Jewish people, and they send her there to protect her, while they wait for Visas to go to America. The plan is that everyone will meet up in about a year's time, in America.

In reading the author note that follows the book, this is in fact what many families did to survive. I'd never heard of it before, but I guess this is what the author's great aunt did, thus the inspiration for the story. She was also inspired by the stories of beautiful seaside English houses that were taken over by the army during the war. She based this on one a specific village called Tyneham.

The house at Tyneham.

Of course the story goes on to tell of the relationships the girl makes in England, the attachment she forms with the land and the house, and the worry she has over what's happening with her family that she left behind.... all of which make for a wonderful tale.

As mentioned last week, I loved the writing style, full and rich and easy. I loved the characters, I loved the setting... a place a could easily see myself falling in love with and want to stay at forever. And of course I also loved all the tragedy, since I seem to be a sucker for those kind of stories!

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS.... FULL OF SPOILERS... proceed with caution: 
(From our read along host:  Carrie at Books and Movies)

What is your opinion of where Mr. Rivers and Elise’s relationship ends up?

I thought it was great, despite the age difference. But it hurt and I couldn't forget about poor Kit. Still, I think they both ended up having wonderful happy lives because they decided to say what the heck to social mores and go with their hearts.

As you see it, what events led to Tyneford’s fate?

The war of course. I think no matter what else would have happened, the war is ultimately to blame.

What significance did Tyneford have to Elise, Kit, and Mr. Rivers?

As I've mentioned before, the setting should be considered a major character in this book. You really get a feel for its personality and its effect on everyone. I think the house permeated the very beings of all three of these characters....the Rivers men through birth and blood and Elise inherited it. It's the very essence of who they are. Which makes it all the sadder that things couldn't work out.

Can a place like Tyneford exist in today’s world?

I would have to say, not in the sense that it did during the time this book was written, but I still believe that a place, or a house or a location can have a profound impact on people and can get under their skin and change who they are. I would say my grandma's farm in Idaho would be such a place for me.

Why do you think the novel in the viola blank?

Ah, good question! Why indeed? Did her father put it in there blank? Gosh, that seems like a lot of trouble! I like the speculation that it was so she would write her own story, but still. I don't know.

Anyway. I'm so glad I managed to fit this one in just in time to join the last bit of the read along! It makes me realize that I need to be sure and keep historical fiction in my reading line up. Why do I neglect it so?

Bottom line: I loved it!

Other Reviews:

Books and Movies
The Adventures of an Intrepid Reader
Devourer of Books
Wicked Little Pixie

The Sunday Salon: May? No Way.

Wow, it can't be May this week can it? No way is April over already.

Well, I've delayed my Sunday Salon post so long that Sunday is nearly over now and I'm wondering if anyone will read this anyway! But I guess I'll go ahead with it just in case, and for my own documentation of my completely exciting life.

Outside my window: I think it's blue and beautiful.

 I am listening to: In the process of discovering the song that many of you probably have known forever called Somebody I Used to Know... listening to this remix over and over and over at the moment. Wow. Loving it. 

Song of the week: Well, I think that above song should do it. Where have I been? And guys, I need a new Josh Groban song. Yes. Find me one now.

TV Talk: I'm about to catch up on The Vampire Diaries, since I didn't get to watch it live again this week. I hear it's sad. Dang. I'm not into American Idol since Colton got booted... just watching it a little bit here and there. The Amazing Race is just okay this season too, but the finale is coming up. And Survivor is fun sort of, but not really caring about anyone there either. Watching all the guys that have been booted off in the Ponderosa videos is more fun than the actual show! Once Upon a Time makes say "Wait, what? " every time it ends. 

READING REPORT:
Books Finished: I finished Supernaturally by Kiersten White and Before I Go to Sleep by S.J. Watson... reviews this week hopefully. Oh, and also The House at Tyneford by Natasha Solomons. LOVED that one! Review tomorrow.


Books Started: I'm a few chapters into Precious Bane by Mary Webb which is May's book club book. Trying to read it early in case someone needs to borrow the book. It's going okay so far, it's got a weird style that takes some getting used.


Books Up Next: I know you've heard this before, but The Wise Man's Fear is SO NEXT!!! I am telling you... this time next week I will be either done or immersed in that book! It's so happening!

I am thinking: that it was an interesting week in the book blog universe. I was happy just to quietly observe the goings on. I'm glad I really didn't have much emotional connection to the involved parties. Hopefully everyone learned a lesson.

I'm grateful for: chocolate, seriously. 

Around the house: you know all about my book rearranging, but I still need to fix the mess I made at the downstairs book shelf location, and I keep having grand visions of other house fixes, but I'm sure i won't act on any of them, so never fear. It will be okay. 

It will look something like this, only messy.

Recipe of the Week: chocolate malts. First, get that heavy thick vanilla ice cream from Costco, then after you've scooped a bunch into the glass, add a little milk, stir it up, then add Hershey's chocolate syrup, as much as you need, then add a good heaping spoonful (or two) of malted milk. Stir, shake, stir some more. It's hard work I tell you! But wow, yummy yummy! It's been the treat of the week around here.

Favorite things of the week: watching a movie with Kailana, watching We Bought a Zoo again, playing Draw Something and getting new colors, working on movies and such, printing hundreds of pictures for the photo album and making a conscious decision to quilt again. 

Least favorite thing: having the husband hurt his back and hobble along crippled for several days. He finally went to the doctor who told him has sciatica. Hopefully it will get better soon.

Family Matters: Well, the oldest had a job interview, finished finals, and then didn't get the job. The second kid moved home and just slept in, worked a bit, watched a to of Supernatural episodes and went out with the boyfriend... every day the same thing... kid three won another tennis match, the third in a row, and kid four found out what an itching peeling sunburn is like!

The coming week: Rick Riordan is this week! Also a planning session for some Utah Book Blogger business... dang but we are getting organized! Beware! And maybe seeing Susan from Bloggin 'bout Books again? And let's see... I can't think what else.

A Pinteresting Challenge

When I saw this fun challenge over at Trish's Love Laughter and a Touch of Insanity, I knew it would be fun to go for it! Because, you know, what else would I do with my life! :)

Click on over to see her "rules" and to officially join. But bottom line, the challenge is to pin things to your boards (or look over what you've already pinned) and then actually DO something, then blog about it! So since I'm not too bad about doing this already (with the easy things anyway) I thought I'd take it do the next level and report about it! And maybe do some hard things too. And maybe involve the kids somehow and make them do a project or two.

I will probably do the middle level which is to make/do 4 to 7 things. Yeah, we'll see how that goes. :)

Here's an example of some things I might go for:

Source: crib-tales.blogspot.com via Suey on Pinterest

Source: cheapchichome.blogspot.com via Suey on Pinterest

Source: somersetwardrecipeclub.blogspot.com via Suey on Pinterest

So, what do you think? Join us in the fun?

Movie Review: The Tree of Life

Movie: The Tree of Life
Genre: Artsy Drama (is there such a category?)
Starring: Brad Pitt, Jessica Chastain.... Sean Penn is also included though he really did nothing. The kid who played the boy (Hunter McCracken) did much more acting and needs recognition. 
Rating: PG13
MY Rating: One thumb up, one thumb down

After a fun experience watching Midnight in Paris "together", Kailana from The Written World, and I decided we needed to do it again. I suggested The Tree of Life after hearing some library co-workers rave about it and then seeing also that it was mentioned a few times during the Academy Awards. In fact, it was up for best picture.

So we hunkered down last Sunday evening/night with the movie and the Twitter, and began watching together despite the fact that we were miles and miles and three hours apart. And it was so fun! Mostly because the movie was so so weird, that we had a great time being baffled together and trying to understand it.

The boy, Jack

The basic story of this movie is about a guy, looking back on his life, especially the relationship he had with his dad. (The dad, was of course, Brad Pitt, who I thought played the perfect creepy scary dad.)  In the beginning, we learn that his brother has died, and much of the feel of the movie is the family questioning why this had to happen. Though I am so very confused about this part because as I understand it, the brother died after all the other events in the movie, so at that point, it was not part of their experience. But the guy, older now, feels wrong somehow which makes him look back on these events.

Speaking of confusion... be prepared to experience a lot of it. The movie is weird. Very very weird. (Click here for some example clips.) But artsy too. Very very artsy. You like artsy? You'll love this movie! You hate weird? You need some action? Then this movie is not for you. Thus the mixed rating above. Because on the one hand, it's very good. It's actually amazingly beautiful. The imagery, the music, the feel, the emotion......all beautiful.

On the other hand, the story is confusing and the point of it all is very allusive. Then again, I'm probably a bit (okay, a lot) dense when it comes to these things. Can someone just tell me... WHAT WAS THE POINT? It pondered life, our existence, our relationship to God and to each other, our beginnings, our endings and everything in between.

But the more I've thought about this movie, the more I think I enjoyed it. I think.

But I KNOW I enjoyed the music! You know music is a big deal to me. And in fact, when the movie started I saw something I've never seen movie on a movie.. there was a little notice that came up which said something like... the producer and director of this movie suggest for full enjoyment, it should be played LOUD. How cool is that. Loud was good, trust me.

Anyway, the music. There's tons of cool classical stuff, plus lots of original stuff by Alexandre Desplat. Here's one of each for your listening pleasure:





 

We decided to ask each other questions again, so here are the questions that Kailana asked me:


1. What were your reasons for choosing this movie to watch together? Just that I'd heard about it from people I work with at the library. It made me curious about the movie.

2. If you had to sum this movie up in one sentence, what would you choose to mention? That it's beautiful, but strange.

3. What did you think of the overall story? Did you feel there was one? Yes, I think there was one, the story of the boy and his growing up years and what he had to deal with concerning his dad. But I didn't understand what caused the reflection of the older guy to think back.

4. What were your favourite parts of the movie? The music for sure. I loved how it was filmed too, sort of a home video style, but really really nicely done!

5. Did your husband ever elaborate on what he thought of the movie? Did he like it or basically think similar to us? He didn't say much!  I will ask him!   (Later:) He says the cinematography was amazing and beautiful, but the story was strange. It's probably got some deep meaning about the existence of man, he says, but he didn't care enough to figure it out. He says "the pretty pictures were enough." (So it appears he felt about the same as me.)

6. Would you recommend this to anyone? I actually think I would... but I would have to know that they are into movies as an art form and not just a story.


Be sure to visit The Written World for my questions to Kailana! And to get her take on the movie.

And not that THIS means a thing, but here's Sean Penn wandering around it what totally looks like Goblin Valley here in Utah! Film makers LOVE this place!

Bottom line:  I think I liked this movie despite it's weirdness and confusing moments. If you've seen it, I would love to know what you think about it. If you haven't seen it, be brave, watch it, and then come back and tell me what it means!

And finally, here's the trailer, and this will REALLY give you a feel for what I mean by both weird and beautiful:



We're pondering The Help for our next "watch along" since I haven't seen it yet! Anyone want to join us?

Books Discussed at Book Club April 2012

For those interested, here are other random books (besides our highlighted book of the month, Watership Down) that we discussed at book club last week:

Jenni Elyse : 

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen... which she is reading for the first time and it's a blast to see her "discovering" the story and characters. A lengthy gushing conversation ensued.

Harry Potter.... the British versions, which are awesome!

Jessica A:

The Maze Runner by James Dashner... she's been listening to it... says it's just okay

First Love, Last Rites by Ian McEwan... disturbing

Petronella Saves Nearly Everyone by Dene Low.... cute.

Jenny:

The Odd Thomas graphic book, Odd is On Our Side by Dean Koontz...  It was good.

The 4th Mathew Swift book... it was AWESOME of course! (The Minority Council by Kate Griffin)

Black Heart by Holly Black... the 3rd Curse Workers book... it was also awesome.

It's Not Summer Without You by Jenny Han... not bad.

Julie

Austenland by Shannon Hale... a comfort re-read

Poison Study  by Maria V. Synder   .... a comfort re-read

Jessica N:

Has not been feeling up to reading, but instead has spent time finishing Psyche on TV!

Suey:

Froi of the Exiles by Melina Marchetta... the 2nd after Finnikin of the Rock.... loved them both

Return to Exile by E. J. Patten... for a blog tour for new local author. It was okay, but a bit of an effort at the same time.

The Hollow City by Dan Wells... comes out in July. Awesome book.

Scarlet by A.C. Gaughen... fun take on Robin Hood.. which brought us to a rousing Robin Hood discussion!

The Book Shuffle

So I got it into my head yesterday to finally do something about the piles and piles of books on my floor. I had no idea what I could do, but I thought maybe I could shuffle things around a bit. And of course I thought maybe you'd enjoy seeing the process.

I've shared my crazy TBR shelf many times, but here, once again is a shot of what I was dealing with. On the floor is four quite large stacks. I'd forgotten what was even in there! I wanted to get them out again to see what needed immediate reading attention!



Then I categorized the books into these stacks:


Books I really wanted to read ASAP:


Books I really wanted to read, but not as desperately: 


Books I've already read that needed to be shelved downstairs:


Books from Utah authors that I've not managed to get to yet:
 

Books that have been sent to me to review that have totally gotten lost in the shuffle:


And random books that didn't have a specific stack to be in:
 

So I took the already read pile, the random pile and the books I want to read, but not right away pile, and carried them downstairs to the big shelves…. where I plopped them on the tables and haven’t dealt with them yet. I’m worried about actually shelving the “want to read someday” pile because then I’ll forget about them! Anyway, I wonder if I’ll find room on the shelves down there for books I’ve shuffled to that spot! Maybe I'll tackle that one today.



The books I want to read soon, the Utah author books and the forgotten review books, I just stacked back on my shelf in front of the long forgotten TBR books that are always in the back! Oh, and there is still one small floor stack.



So, does it look any better? Now, I wonder how long it will take for me to accumulate another massive floor pile!

Oh, and as much as I love my TBR shelf and all the treasures it has in store for me, I really hate this corner of my room. It needs something. A plant maybe? Some sort of picture on the wall? Gah, if I'm going to keep taking pictures of it to share, I need to spiff up my boring corner!! I really wish I had room for a lazy boy chair too, but no such luck.