From Page to Screen: The 100

Barnes & Noble

From Page to Screen: The 100

All right, all right I broke the rules. Yes, I watched the TV show before reading the book. Sue me, it happens on occasion, not many but it does. So of course having seen the show first you would assume that I would like that better than the book, that she show would be my baseline to which I compared every little detail and aspect of the story that Kass Morgan so meticulously created.

And that’s where you’d be wrong.

I mean of course I’m going to notice the differences between the two, characters, language, setting, etc. and there are some MAJOR differences! (Um, Jasper & Monty? Hello where are you guys?)

Now at two-thirds of the way through the Morgan trilogy I’ve come to the conclusion that the differences between the novel and the show are not bad, not in any way. Sure the differences are pretty obvious and I find myself searching for those characters I fell in love with on the show but at the same time I got to meet new characters, who I fell in love with for entirely different reasons! We’ve got our favorites around to tether us all together (Clarke, Bellamy, Octavia) and yes Octavia Blake is still chasing butterflies and making friends with the Grounders (Earthborns). Bellamy Blake is ever the protective older brother of his little sister and one half of the only set of siblings in space. Clarke Griffin is actually a doctor guys! Well almost, she kind of gets arrested before finishing training and you can kind of piece together what happens from there.

Maybe I am not judging this adaptation as harshly because I watched the show first and had already resigned myself to the changes that had to be made to stretch a three book trilogy into a whole show. Even still I find myself enthralled with the world, the same basic story, and not minding those changes in the least. It’s clear to me that the books and the show can have two entirely separate fan bases without ever really needing the other; but it is also possible to be a fan of both, as I have recently become part of that category.

For anyone that has seen the show but not read the books yet, I implore you to give them a try! They are a world apart and just as thrilling. Fans of the show we have Jason Rothenberg to thank for keeping the integrity of the story but should praise him for creating such a fantastic world of his own. The TV show is and adaptation in its truest form.

CWTV

For those in the back the meaning of adaptation, according to Oxford Dictionaries, is …

• The action or process of adapting or being adapted
•  A movie, television drama, or stage play that has been adapted from a written work, typically a novel
• Biology A change or the process of change by which an organism or species becomes better suited to its environment

Ironically it’s the last one that I think is most relevant in this instance. This is a case of Jason Rothenberg taking the idea created by Kass Morgan, changing and altering it to fit its new medium. What Morgan does in three books Rothenberg has to stretch over as many episodes and seasons he can muster. So yes, while I am the nerd that would gladly sit through a seventeen hour Harry Potter movie if it meant nothing had to change, I make an exception to my general rule. The 100 is fantastic regardless of whether fans came by page or by screen.

My 2015 Reading Challenge

Goodreads

My 2015 Reading Challenge

As of January 1, 2015 I gave myself a reading challenge for the year. I planned to read 25 books between January 1^st and the stroke of midnight on December 31^st. Now I am a self-proclaimed bookworm, reading, books they’re my favorite pastime. My favorite activity when I have nothing else to do. So twenty-five books that probably doesn’t sound like a lot in theory my challenge should be somewhere in the neighborhood of fifty or one hundred; several of my Goodreads friends challenged themselves with a number that far surpasses mine.

There are a few reasons why I didn’t give myself a higher goal, why I didn’t push myself to complete a greater challenge. First and foremost, life; as any bookworm knows as much as we’d all love to sit around all day engrossed in whatever novel currently has our attention every once and a while the novel must close for a little bit. There are other responsibilities that need to be attended to on a daily basis and not all of them can be done with one’s nose buried in a book. Look I love that sometimes when things are truly slow in my office I can spend a few minutes reading, but that doesn’t mean I get to shirk my actual job responsibilities just because an incredible plot twist demands my full attention! So as difficult as it is I must admit to being a grown up and focusing my attention on other tasks for a while and return to my book later.

And you know what? Some days, as much as I love reading, as much as it relaxes me and offers an escape, sometimes a nap just sounds a whole lot better!

Okay, so life has not gotten in the way and I can read whenever I want! (If only) I still want a variety of the novels that I read. Sure there’s nothing wrong with a little fluff every now and then, a book so easy I barely need to turn my brain on to understand the content but if that’s all I read I’d be bored out of my mind! I like something that will challenge me and makes me think, something that requires my full and undivided attention lest I miss a minute detail pivotal to the entire plot. I want the books with complicated characters with layers that I have to dissect to understand. Laini Taylor’s Days of Blood and Starlight took me almost three weeks to read because I took my time with it, gave it the attention it so rightfully deserved and required. But before I became engrossed in the Taylor’s world and followed Karou on her journey between our world and elsewhere I read a piece of fluff about a girl who thought it was the end of the world because she was a twenty-one year old virgin. (Spoiler Alert: she lived, there are worse things in life than being a virgin … imagine that!)

Of course with variety you get a hit and a miss, for example City of Heavenly Fire; probably one of my biggest disappointments on my challenge list. Took me over a month to finish it because I was lacking the motivation to continue with another page. I am no quitter though and continued on as if I were actually interested in the outcome. So I had the good, the bad, the in between and I did not give up on a single one of them. I finished every book I started during my challenge period.

I fell behind schedule and read furiously to catch up, only to end up ahead of schedule at some point by four whole books! So I set myself a twenty-five book challenge because I felt twenty-five was an appropriate number in which I could enjoy what I was reading. I didn’t feel I needed to sacrifice anything just for the sake of completing my challenge. Each book I read brought something new for me to enjoy, despise, pick apart and think about long after I had closed the final cover. I allowed myself to suffer from more than one book hangover in the last year and I enjoyed every minute of them (as horrible as they seemed at the time).

Twenty-five books! Next year I think I’ll my sights a little higher, not much, but maybe a little. Who knows what 2016 will bring for me?

xoxo

I don't have time ...

You don’t have time for a lot of things! Why is reading any different? 

It bothers me when anyone claiming to have a passion for reading will so cavalierly utter words such as, “I don’t have time.”

You find the time! No one said you have to read a whole book in one sitting, one day, one week or one month. Time is a wonderful thing; it is always there and moving and time won’t judge you for your slow reading. Your brain will not judge you for the long lapses between chapters, it will rejoice in the moments that you allow it to spend in an imagined world.

Reading is a passion like any other and if you truly are passionate about it you will find the time to feed that passion. A few pages here, a chapter or two there, a few minutes waiting in the doctor’s office or a few hours lounging on the beach. 

There is always time for what you are passionate for. So find the time, find the time for your passions, the way you would the mundane daily tasks.

NaNoWriMo 2014

Excuse my brief pause in blogging this week as I prepare to throw myself, wholeheartedly, into NaNoWriMo this year. November is right around the corner and I plan to do even better than last year.

My final word count for November 2013 was 53,055. Let's see if I can do better this time around!

I've already got my concept in mind and a few notes here and there to refer to. I've got plot points I want to hit. All in all I'm way more organized this time around, so I'm hoping that this year's novel is infinitely better than last year's.

Banned Books Week (September 21-27)

BannedBooksWeek.org

Banned Books Week has officially come to close, but I've spent some time reading through the website and seeing which books have made the list in recent years. Why were they challenged? What makes them so terrible that they must be censored?

Here's A Few:

1. The Hunger Games
2. The Perks of Being a Wallflower
3. The Glass Castle
4. The Captain Underpants Series
5. The Catcher in the Rye
6. The Harry Potter Series

.......... I mean the list goes on and on! Now I don't know about you guys but some of the books that make the cut on this list were some of my favorite books from childhood and adulthood! They're banned for reasons citing offensive language, sexuality, violence, unsuited to the age group, religious viewpoint, etc.

Now not every book is for every person, not every genre is suited for every reader and that's okay. But this censorship I have simply never understood. I've seen a number of Banned Books lists that include books such as the Bible, Anne Frank's Diary, and so many others that just blew my mind!

So I proudly read Banned Books!

Because I will not let someone that's sensitive dictate my literary choices, or any choices I make.

Blue Bloods: Gates of Paradise ... The End

Barnes & Noble

Let me just start out by saying that Melissa De La Cruz's Blue Bloods series I have been following since my early high school years! So now that I've finally finished the series I'm left with that usual feeling of sadness. I'm finally done with characters I've been following for years, the story is complete and it's time to move on to something else.

That being said, the sadness I felt was not as profound as other series I've been following for years. I mean I was following Ally Carter's Gallagher Girls series for almost the same amount of time and yet I felt a deeper sadness over the graduation of Cammie & Co. than I did for the Blue Bloods that finally found salvation. 

Unfortunately I know exactly why my sadness is not as profound ... a typo on the last page.

Put aside for a moment that writing and being published is what I want to do as my career; I'm a bookworm! I love to read and I've been a reader since I knew what books were. So a typo in a book is like a knife in the heart to me, but on the last page ... it makes me want to hurl said novel at the wall and scream. In those last few moments of being in that world that the author has created I'm ripped, rather abruptly, back to reality and have to think and process what the line is supposed to say rather than what the words on the page actually read.

And truly the most unfortunate part is that I wish I could say this was the only typo I'd found in the entire book, sadly that was not the case. There were several bumps along the road and while those were frustrating enough the last page really just killed it for me.

I don't even place the entire blame solely on the author; I understand that when you are close to a project your brain will automatically correct mistakes without actually correcting them. But there are so many people involved in publishing a book, an agent, an editor, a publisher, proofreaders that for the sheer amount of mistakes I found was astounding! How could just so many typos and mistakes fall through the cracks and make it to the final copy? Especially such a glaring on as the one on the last page!

I finished this book days ago but this still makes me annoyed when I think about it! When this is your job these are the kinds of mistakes I, nor any reader, wants to see. Proofread, double check, edit, revise, give it to someone else to read, anything to prevent these types of mistakes that will pull your reader from whatever it is you have written.

**For the record: We'll almost there.

Three paragraphs remained after this line and made the ending completely unsatisfying because there simply was not enough time left to re-immerse myself into the world again.

The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1

The Hunger Games Official Facebook

Guys I can't express just how excited I am for the next installment of The Hunger Games! Now at first I will admit I was very much against having Effie as an active character in these installments. However new aspect have come to light that I did not consider at first. That having been said I no longer have the same reservations as I did prior to the trailer release, I am just genuinely excited for this movie!

Is it November yet?

My Fellow Bookworms

So I have now been tagged twice in a post like this one! My pledge sister has asked me Julia & my fellow library nerd Janice to name 10 books that have left a lasting impression on me. At first I thought ONLY 10? How could I ever choose a mere 10? I’ve read probably a few hundred books in my lifetime and I’m being asked to choose 10!

I really did think it was an impossibility it would be too difficult for me to narrow down those hundreds to a handful. But let’s think about this for a moment, shall we? A lasting impression implies that when you think of a place, an object, a person, or even an event there’s something in particular that immediately comes to mind.  My father has always told me that a first impression is a lasting impression. You only get once chance at a first impression so make it count!

Good advice for me as a person and the same can be said for a book. You only get one first impression and that first impression is what I used as my criteria to choose my 10. So here it is, my list of 10 Books that Left a Lasting Impression on my Life.

Charlotte’s Web by, E.B. White

This book will always hold a special place in my heart. That spider and that pig made me hooked on reading. I read my copy so many times the binding is being held together by tape. Thanks to E.B. White I entered a world similar to my own, yet very different. I learned not to judge someone just because they may be different. But thanks to Charlotte and Wilbur I also learned that friends may leave, but the good ones are never forgotten.

The Harry Potter Series by, J.K. Rowling

Okay so this is technically encompassing 7 books, but hey Harry Potter isn’t just a book … it’s a generation. I discovered Harry, Ron and Hermione when I was nine years old and between the 7 books and 8 movies stayed with them until well into my 20s! This entire series will forever be special to me because this trio were my friends when very few others would be.

The Glass Castle by, Jeannette Walls

To anyone that has not read this stunning biography I highly recommend it! This is a story about family and about not being family. It taught me to appreciate what I have because not everyone is so lucky. But even in the worst of times there are ways to make the situation bright and find a silver lining.

Define “Normal” by, Julie Anne Peters

I feel like this title should speak for itself. I saw a post earlier that said; normal is a setting only on the washing machine. “Normal” is not a box that a person can be shoved into to fit.

The Fault in Our Stars by, John Green

This is a newcomer having only read the book at the beginning of this summer but I find this book to be beautiful. I loved everything about it; the story was frank and real. The language was nothing fancy or pretentious. The writing made me feel as if I could be speaking with a friend, listening to their story myself. But mostly because this is a story about life when death is a constant theme.

Out of Sight, Out of Time by, Ally Carter

I love all of Ally Carter’s Gallagher Girls series from the very beginning I have loved Cammie & Co. But this one just stuck with me in a way the others did not. After Cammie’s lost summer looking for the Circle and trying to find answers about her missing father she was returned to a life very different from the one she left behind. I loved this one because once Cammie returned to Gallagher Academy she was seeing life through the eyes of a spy, a real spy, while her friends still had the blinders of school on and try as they might her friends just did not understand.

Styxx by, Sherrilyn Kenyon

There are no words to describe Styxx, but merely just that there are two sides to every story. This addition to Kenyon’s Dark Hunter series blew everything I thought I knew out of the water. Just when I thought I had it all figured out the ever-surprising Sherrilyn Kenyon proved me wrong, there is so much more to learn.

Hush, Hush by, Becca Fitzpatrick

Bad guys sometimes make the best good guys, even if those bad guys are fallen angels.

Nancy Drew Mysteries by, Carolyn Keene

Probably my favorite shelf in St. Aidan Elementary School’s library. I read each of those yellow spined books religiously, over and over again. Nancy was always getting the job done and solving mystery after mystery.

Story of a Girl by, Sara Zarr

“School slut” this is a title I’m sure no girl wants to carry. Deanna however was labeled a slut when she was nothing more than a young, confused child. This is a story of a girl that was taken advantage of and how it affects her in her formative years of growing up. How her past shapes her and her ability to move past it.

I now nominate Melissa Alves, Aine O'Rourke, Meghan Collins, Megan Janczewski & Caroline Fallon, which 10 books have left a lasting impression on your lives?

Would You Still ...

Photo Cred: purkkapallo

I you knew how is would end would you still ...?

I have literally been racking my brain all week and all day trying to figure out what I should make my post about today! And to be honest I have this problem most weeks, except for those aha moments where a lightbulb goes off and my train of thought veers dangerously towards a a perfect idea!

But today was a little difficult, until I saw this post on Tumblr. And here's my feeling on this matter, if you knew how any story would end, including your own, would you still read? Would you still make the same choices?

And I have to say regardless of the ending it doesn't tell me anything about the journey to get there. The journey is the important part in life, in reading, in anything! Knowing the ending is almost like cheating because you can alter your state of mind to ready yourself for it. If I could find out when I was going to die I'm not quite sure I would want to know. The journey to get there, the how, the choices I make are the fun parts.

So the question here remains: If you knew how it ends would you still read?

A BIG, resounding Y-E-S, yes! Because I don't want to know just how it ends, I want to about the journey to get there!

Keep Calm & Accept a Book Challenge

KeepCalmAndSmellBooks

31 Days of Books

The other day I was scrolling through Tumblr and happened upon a July Book Challenge. Since I found the challenge a few days before the start of July I gave the list a read! For whatever reason I've been wanting to do one of these photo challenges, however I was adamant about finding one that I would both enjoy doing and would have the motivation to do.

Props to my Big for doing a 100 Happy Days challenge, I'd probably forget to keep posting around day 15! If I were lucky that is! But this particular challenge seems like something I could easily do and will also enjoy doing.

The Challenge I found was shared by the Blogger: Keep Calm And Smell Books
(keepcalmandsmellbooks.tumblr.com)

Today is July 1st so let the Book Challenge Begin!

Rules

Banned Books

Photo Cred: The Daily Dot

All right so today is the day in which I tackle, or attempt to anyway, Banned Books. I have to tell you this list is one of the most ridiculous things I have ever read! For those of you that are unfamiliar with this topic the Banned Book List is a compiling of different literary materials that include all genres of literature; from to fiction to non-fiction, biographies and fairytales, and everything in between! Some of the more notable additions to this list include, but not limited to, The Bible, The Diary of Anne Frank, Of Mice and Men, The Communist Manifesto, Catcher in the Rye, and many others.

In truth there isn't even one Banned Books list, there are in fact several and they all have variations to them. But there are several novels on each list that are considered classics that always seem to make the cut. Now I attended a private Catholic high school and grade school and guess what every English /Lit teacher I ever had always seemed to be teaching us books from this list. I read Catcher in the Rye sophomore year of high school, Of Mice and Men we did my freshman year, not to mention the Canterbury Tales!

These classics that are considered offensive or including inappropriate materials or topics are some of the better written books. They're classics for a reason and cover topics that should be discussed and studied freely. I truly enjoyed Of Mice and Men when I was a freshman, it was a well-written piece of literature that I'm glad I was given the opportunity to study in a classroom setting. Because literature affects each person in their own individual way and studying/discussing books as a group gives you the chance to open up your mind to different perspectives and ideas.

The Banned Books list has always been a source of amusement and annoyance in my world. As an avid reader and writer I constantly struggle with my stance on banned books or restricted reading materials. While I do think that age ratings, much like a movie rating, are a good thing I never understood the point of trying to ban something simply because one small group was in some way offended.

But really, have we gotten to the point in society where even a free giveaway must be policed because, again, one small sect disapproves of the materials being given away. In a generation where texting, emailing, Netflix, TV, computers it's become a rarity that anyone just sits down and reads anymore. Why read the book when the movie is just around the corner? So when someone finds something they want to read, want to lose themselves in I think that's something that should be celebrated!

So yes a school can limit what they want to expose their students to, maybe it's not appropriate for the age group or goes against their beliefs and principles. But how can parents try to limit a business from giving items away? No one is forcing your kids to take the free item, no one forces anyone to take the item. It's a giveaway and it is solely the individual person's choice to take it or walk right on by, that choice is something no one else has the right to take away.

***Read more at: The Daily Dot***

The Divergent Waiting Game

      Now for one of my more nerdier posts, shamelessly so in fact, and largely in part driven by this past weekend's box office release of Divergent based on the novel by Veronica Roth. A series in which for once my sister and most of my friends have on up on me, I think I am in fact one of the last ones to get into the series and read the books. That being said not only did I fly through a majority of the book in less than a day I also saw the movie on opening day with Caroline. 

     Now was a fangirling and bursting with excitement to see the movie on opening day … well if I'm being truthful here no I wasn't excited to see it. Yes I did want to see the movie. Yes I did want to see it sooner rather than later. Yes I did want to see it while it's still playing in theaters. However I did stay up until nearly two in the morning the previous night finishing the book, I did get up to be at work bright and early and the only showing that my sister and I could get tickets for was well past ten o'clock at night. So no I was not particularly excited to see the movie under those circumstances and by the time the previews began to roll I was ready for bed.

     But thanks to pacing and story, action and suspense the movie by itself rallied me and I made it through the 2+ hour movie more energized than when I had walked in. And there's something to be said about seeing a movie on opening day, midnight premieres are even better, because there's an entirely different atmosphere in the theater. You sit in a seat surrounded by true fans, by real fans that both respect the film on the screen and everyone around them. You're not interrupted by side conversations, no one is on their phones, emotion is collectively shared by everyone in the theater. It's truly a great group to be a part of and vastly changes the movie watching experience.

     That being said … and I highly recommend seeing the movie … here's my issue, very slight issue … Okay that's a lie! It's a big issues, at least for me and my OCD. 

     Now I very much enjoyed Divergent and want to read Insurgent, Allegiant and complete the series. So I figured why not head out and just buy the second book? It's very popular right now and almost impossible to get from a library, at least in the immediate future. So I planned to buy the paperback version of Insurgent and then eventually get my hands on Allegiant. I'm old school and I refuse to upgrade to any kind of tablet or e-reader until absolutely necessary. But I can't find the paperback version of it ANYWHERE!

     I had this same problem when I started reading The Hunger Games books; but in that case the paperback versions of Catching Fire & Mockingjay had been pulled from circulation in order to be re-released later on and keep the hype up for the forthcoming movies. I could've made it easy on myself and simply purchased the hardcover version of the book, the boxed set even and get them all at once but paperback simply happens to be my preference. In general they're much easier to carry around, to handle and to read. So yes I could've made it easy but I have a preference and that's a personal choice  I know. However it's impossible for me to believe that I am the ONLY one that has this preference, the only person that prefers a simple paperback to a clumsy hardcover.

   

What Should I Read Next??

What should I read next??
Aahh the age old question of any and every bookworm out there. Sure I have a reading list that's always at least 50 books long. Of course there are books on my bookshelves that have come into my possession one way or another that I have yet to crack the cover on. My friends are always offering up suggestions to me on whatever they are currently engrossed in.
But really … what should I read next?
This comes up more times than I care to admit. Unless and author or a series in which I follow religiously has a release in the immediate future I never know what my next adventure should be. But then again I guess the real quick isn't what, it's which? Which book should I read next?
Because they've all sparked my interest in one way or another, but what is my mood? Do I want to descend into a magical world similar to that of Harry Potter? Do I want to be the face or even part of a rebellion like Katniss Everdeen? Maybe I want to spend some time with a few fallen angels, Patch is still a regular at Bo's Arcade right? Then again hanging from a zip line and stopping international terrorists with Cammie Morgan & Co. is always a great place to be!
I mean my tastes are all across the board and that's really the way it should be. But how do I pick just one? I want to read them all and I'm one of many bookworms born with a 'To Read' list that I will never finish. Okay maybe I'd be able to finish it if I read a book a day, but somehow I think my boss would find issue with me sitting at my desk and reading all day. Though I would love a job that would allow me to do that.
I have learned this about myself though I am a series girl! I love being in what can only be described as a long term relationship with a book. Harry Potter got ten years, between the 7 books and 8 movies, Ally Carter's Gallagher Girl series I followed since I was a sophomore in high school! The Blue Bloods by Melissa De La Cruz , Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick, The Heist Society Ally Carter, Sherrilyn Kenyon's Dark-Hunters, even Meg Cabot and Mia Thermopolis have kept me entertained for years and years.
But here's my problem! Kenyon excluded from that list, because she's still going strong, all good things must come to an end eventually. There hasn't been a new Harry Potter book since 2007, the Gallagher Girls have graduated and moved on as of 2013. Patch & Nora are doing their own thing as of 2012. My series are coming to an end, time marches on.
So here I am in that usual rut. I'm stuck and I don't know where to move on from here. Sure I could jump on the bandwagon of Divergent and get into that series. But I'm still uncertain about that series, in theory it looks good and I definitely want to see the movie when it's released but I'm not sure if the books are for me.
So the search continues and suggestions are always welcome!

Some would call it an addiction, I call it a passion.

No rush or high can be compared to that of buying a new book, the excitement and anticipation of the story to come. The mystery of the unknown is a high in a of itself, it's a drug unlike any other.