Literature and Poetry Reviews, Home of the Virtual Poetry Circle
Another edition of Mailbox Monday, sponsored by Marcia of The Printed Page.
Here’s what came in my mailbox this week:
1. MAX by James Patterson sent by Miriam at Hatchette Group; this is a continuation of the young adult series of winged children. This is book 5 in the series and is due out in Hardcover in Mid-March.
2. Of Dreams and Realities by Dr. Frank L. Johnson; courtesy of Bostick Communications and the poet.
This week’s Weekly Geeks is about judging a book by its cover.
Here are the rules:
Pick a book–any book, really–and search out multiple book cover images for that book. They could span a decade or two (or more)…Or they could span several countries. Which cover is your favorite? Which one is your least favorite? Which one best ‘captures’ what the book is about?
For this week’s challenge, I chose The Phantom of the Opera by Gaston Leroux:
None of these covers match the copy I have, but these are the only ones I could find. I really love the one with the wax seal which captures the letters the opera ghost writes to the opera house managers. I like the old world feel of this cover.
The final cover is the one most like the musical by Andrew Lloyd Webber, but I’m not sure it captures the novel that well. I don’t really have a least favorite book cover among these.
What do you think?
***Don’t forget to enter my Clearing the Shelves giveaway***
If you could be any fictional character who would it be and why?
I’ve thought long and hard about this one, and are you ready for my unconventional answer? Ok, its really a character that everyone should have predicted by now. In spite of her prejudices and faults, I would love to be Elizabeth Bennet. Why? Because she has the love of her father, the kinship of her sisters, her family, and Charlotte.
She’s also feisty, witty, and plain spoken. She doesn’t give a darn about convention, and is willing to risk it all for love. That’s who I would love to be. Independent, dependable, Lizzy!
Now, if I felt I had more leeway and I could be anyone or anything, I would have chosen differently.
How about this one?
I know I could have selected whomever I wanted, but the truth is I couldn’t just pick one. I love Lestat from Anne Rice’s Vampire Chronicles. He’s another witty character who flies in the face of convention to get what he wants. I love the passion. The desire to get it all.
What about you? Which fictional character would you choose?
***Don’t forget to enter my Clearing the Shelves giveaway. ***
This is my first Monday Movie Review, which is sponsored by Sheri at A Novel Menagerie.
Movie: Wuthering Heights
Starring: Tom Hardy as Heathcliff
Charlotte Riley as Catherine Earnshaw
Genre: Romance, Drama, Classic
The movie version of Emily Bronte’s classic Wuthering Heights may confuse viewers who recently read the book or have the book committed to memory. I distinctly remember the narrator, Lockwood, in the book, and was rightly confused when the movie began at the ending of the book when Heathcliff attempts to force Catherine Linton (Edgar Linton and Catherine Earnshaw’s daughter) to marry Linton (Healthcliff and Isabella Linton’s son).
**Flashback**
Unlike the book, Heathcliff has a softer side, which only turns darker when Catherine’s brother, Hindley, takes over the estate after the death of Mr. Earnshaw. Hindley was vicious to Heathcliff as a child when his father brought the gypsy home. Rumors circulate that Heathcliff is Mr. Earnshaw’s illegitimate son, and Hindley wants to restore his family’s reputation. The relationship between Catherine and Heathcliff grows exponentially from when they were children, and through a sped up storyline and camera effects, their adult-like relationship and wild demeanors are revealed–romping on the moors, becoming intimate, and continuing to engage in childish pursuits of spying on the neighboring Lintons.
What’s missing from this movie adaption is the searing hatred Heathcliff exudes on his fellow man and particularly on Hindley. Eventually this hatred and darkness also descends on Catherine after she marries Edgar Linton. More than just Heathcliff’s edges are softened in this adaption. He’s kinder to Isabella, Catherine, and the subsequent children. Heathcliff’s ending is much more sedate than the downward spiral in the novel. Catherine also is a much softer, more lovable character in this adaption. She could be just as harsh as Healthcliff at times. The ending also is more hopeful.
Staying true to the novel may not have been the aim of this movie adaption. I’ll rate it 3 out of 5 bags of popcorn because the actors were well selected, the storyline was gripping, and the scenes were gorgeous.
Also Reviewed By:
Book-A-Rama
Age 30+ . . . A Lifetime of Books
***In Other News***
Check out Jess McCann, Author of You Lost Him at Hello (my review), on Good Morning America, Feb. 13! On Jess’s Website you can watch her recent appearance on Fox Morning News!
Welcome to another edition of Mailbox Monday, which as you know by now is sponsored by Marcia at The Printed Page.
It was a slow week, and I only received one book in my mailbox. Hard to believe, I know, but it’s true.
Mainline to the Heart and Other Poems by Clive Matson; This book will be released in March 2009.
What did you get in your mailbox?
There’s this crazy meme going around the blogosphere, and of course, I signed up! Trish at Hey Lady! Whatcha Readin’? assigned me the letter “W.”
So here is my list of 10 things beginning with “W” that I love.
1. Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte
2. Wellesley, Mass. (There is just something about this city that makes me calm and happy; memories)
3. Worcestershire Sauce because it is great to cook with, especially when I make hamburgers. I just love the taste.
4. Williamstown, Mass. (I’ve always wanted to go to college in this little town in the Berkshire Mountains, but I’m going to be visiting for a wedding, so at least I will have seen this place once.)
5. Westminster Abbey (Another place I have never been, but it has been on my to-do list for sometime since poets are buried here, like the great Geoffrey Chaucer, not to mention the monuments to Lord Byron and Shakespeare)
6. Waterfalls
7. Windows because you can stare out them at any time of day and see something new; You don’t have to feel the bitter cold outside to “be” outside.
8. War of the Worlds by H.G. Wells (movie, book, radio show)
9. (The) Wedding Singer with Adam Sandler (this is some fantastic cheese, and I just love Billy Idol’s appearance and the music. Ahh, memories of 80s hair and songs. LOL)
10. West Side Story the musical and play (this retelling of Romeo and Juliet is fantastic, and I get sucked in when the movie musical is on television)
Now, I thought this letter would be hard, but there are a number of other things I could have listed here too, but these are the top 10. Now, it’s your turn!
If you want to participate, leave a comment and I’ll assign you a random letter.
With that letter create your list of 10 things you love that begin with your assigned letter, and when people comment on your post, you must assign them a letter to keep the meme going.
LadyVampire tagged me for this meme.
The Rules:
Link to the person who has tagged you. (CHECK)
Write down six things that make you happy. (CHECK)
Post the rules, tag six others and let them know you did it. (Nearly CHECK)
Then tell the person when your entry is complete. (Nearly CHECK)
6 Things that Make Me Happy:
1. Writing/Creativity
2. My Happy Dog and his lunacy
3. My husband’s smile and goofiness
4. The Outdoors (hiking, etc.)
5. Photography
6. Friends and Just enjoying company
Consider yourself tagged:
1. Anna at Diary of an Eccentric
2. Jenn, Julie and Lisa of Girls Just Reading
3. Corinne of The Book Nest
4. Becca of The Inside Cover
5. Darla of Books & Other Thoughts
6. Tamara of Books by TJBaff
65%
Welcome to another edition of Mailbox Monday, sponsored by Marcia at The Printed Page.
Here’s what found its way into my mailbox this week:
1. Voices Under Berlin by T.H.E. Hill, I received this from Bostick Communications and can’t wait to get started.
2. Mission Accomplished: Stop the Clock by Muriel Engelman, from the author and Bostick Communications. This will be a great read for the WWII Reading Challenge.
3. Run for Your Life by James Patterson and Michael Ledwidge. Miriam at Hatchette Group sent this book to me for review.
4. City Above the Sea and Other Poems by Stephen Alan Saft sent to me by Bostick Communications.
Your result for Are You a Jackie or a Marilyn? Or Someone Else? Mad Men-era Female Icon Quiz…
You are a Grace — “I need to understand the world.”
Graces have a need for knowledge and are introverted, curious, analytical, and insightful.
How to Get Along with Me
What I Like About Being a Grace
* standing back and viewing life objectively
* coming to a thorough understanding; perceiving causes and effects
* my sense of integrity: doing what I think is right and not being influenced by social pressure
* not being caught up in material possessions and status
* being calm in a crisis
What’s Hard About Being a Grace
Graces as Children Often
Graces as Parents
Take Are You a Jackie or a Marilyn? Or Someone Else? Mad Men-era Female Icon Quiz at HelloQuizzy
I haven’t done a Weekly Geeks since Dewey’s passing, but in this new year, I’ve decided to rejoin the weekly meme with a subject close to my heart, the classics.
We were asked to choose two or more questions from the list and these are the ones I chose:
1. How do you feel about classic literature? Are you intimidated by it? Love it? Not sure because you never actually tried it? Don’t get why anyone reads anything else? Which classics, if any, have you truly loved? Which would you recommend for someone who has very little experience reading older books? Go all out, sell us on it!
I have loved classic literature since I first picked up Shakespeare’s Hamlet and King Lear in 7th or 8th grade, shortly after I was reading Pride & Prejudice and Wuthering Heights. I think that sums up my favorite classics. For someone who has little experience with the classics should probably start with Great Expectations by Charles Dickens or A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens because those are classics that are easy to read and get into with their wacky characters. I would love for others to fall in love with Jane Austen as well, probably start with Pride & Prejudice or Sense & Sensibility.
2. Let’s say you’re vacationing with your dear cousin Myrtle, and she forgot to bring a book. The two of you venture into the hip independent bookstore around the corner, where she primly announces that she only reads classic literature. If you don’t find her a book, she’ll never let you get any reading done! What contemporary book/s with classic appeal would you pull off the shelf for her?
Myrtle, Myrtle what are we going to do with you? I think you need to spread your wings and check out Cold Rock River by J.L. Miles and Testimony by Anita Shreve. Not to mention, Breathing Out the Ghost by Kirk Curnutt and Gods Behaving Badly by Marie Phillips.
3. A challenge, should you choose to accept it: Read at least one chapter of a classic novel, preferably by an author you’re not familiar with. Did you know you can find lots of classics in the public domain on the web? Check out The Popular Classic Book Corner and The Complete Classic Literature Library, for example. Write a mini-review based on this chapter: What are your first impressions? Would you read further?
For this mini challenge, I chose to read Chapter 1 of The Phoenix and the Carpet by E. Nesbit, who is an author I have never read before.
I was initially intrigued by the first mention of Guy Fawkes, but there are several paragraphs where the fireworks and their validity are discussed. This conversation turned me off from the beginning. I didn’t get far into this chapter, and think I should have selected another author. I had no idea who the kids were in the chapter, knew very little about what they looked like and how they related to one another.
However, this doesn’t temper my thoughts on trying other chapter of E. Nesbit’s works.
Mailbox Monday is sponsored by Marcia at The Printed Page. I can’t believe that I’ve stuck with this meme this long. I am happy that I have, and that I get to share all of my fantastic book news with everyone. As you might have guessed, I have a tour stop tomorrow, so here is my Mailbox Monday a day early!
Here’s what found its way into my mailbox in the past week:
1. Drood by Dan Simmons, which I received from Hatchette Group for an upcoming tour in February. I’m looking forward to this book, even though it is over 700 pages.
2. Galway Bay by Mary Pat Kelly; I also received this from Hatchette Group. The tour is in March on St. Patrick’s Day, one of my favorite holidays. I cannot wait to read this Irish saga.
3. The Best American Essays by Susan Orlean and Robert Atwan; I received this through the generosity of Lisa at Books Lists Life.
4. Dear Anais: My Life in Poems for You by Diana M. Raab; the author was kind enough to send me her book of poems for review. Look for this review in February.
5. The Fourth Hand by John Irving; I snagged this one from Heather at Book Addiction. She was kind enough to send it to me.
Welcome to another Mailbox Monday, sponsored by Marcia at The Printed Page. This is where bloggers will share what goodies came in their mailboxes the previous week.
Here’s what made its way to me:
1. Katie Brown Celebrates
2. Gold Dust on His Shirt by Irene Howard, which finally arrived from Minibook Expo; my cover is brown and gold.
What did you get in your mailbox this week?
