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Saturday, February 28, 2015

The DUFF: Movie vs Book

The Duff

Movie VS Book 


I just recently read the DUFF by Kody Keplinger this past month. I was extremely impressed and gave it a 4 out of 5 stars. I was really surprised by it's depth especially for a contemporary novel written by a teenager. I loved the characters and I how the themes of family, love, friendship, and substance abuse played out. When I saw that they were making a DUFF movie I was beyond excited. After watching the first trailer though I realized that the movie probably wouldn't be anything like the book. After watching the movie tonight I can say that the book and movie have almost nothing in common. Where the book has lots of sex, the movie has none. Where the books main character pretty much only has a father, the movie version of Bianca only has a mother. In the book Bianca is extremely close with her friends but in the movie we barley see them at all. 

The movie centers on Bianca finding out that she is the DUFF of her friend group and embarking on a quest to un-duff herself. It ends up having much less depth then the original book. I actually found myself wondering why Kody Keplinger would let the movie makers essentially make the movie adaptation of her book an entirely different story. I will list below all of the ways I can think of that the movie differs from the book. 

1. Sex. The book has a ton of sex and the movie has absolutely none. 
2. Toby Tucker is a ridiculously smart guy in the book who has just had a tough break up with his girlfriend. In the movie he is a jerky guitar player who is just trying to hook up with Bianca's best friends. 
3. Wesley rush is not Bianca's neighbor in the book. He is also pretty stinking rich and extremely intelligent. 
4. Bianca does not focus on un-duffing herself in the book. Instead she is trying to use Wesley for sex in order to mentally escape her tough family situation. 
5. Mean girl Madison makes no appearance in the book. 
6. Bianca has to deal with quite a bit of cyber bullying in the movie that doesn't happen in the book. 
7. The addition of the homecoming dance to the movie. 
8. Bianca's mother and father are going through a divorce in the book which causes her father to "fall off the wagon". In the movie you only see a mother.  

Okay, I am going to stop there with the list. It honestly would be easier to say that the only things that are the same between the movie and the book are the names of the characters and the concept of the DUFF. Don't get me wrong, I really enjoyed this movie adaptation, I just enjoyed the book better. I was slightly disappointed that the movie didn't tell the amazing and meaningful story the book did but it was also a fun and funny way to spend a couple of hours. I think any book lover could understand why I dislike book to movie adaptations that do not follow their books. Never-the-less I would recommend that anyone who loves the book go and see the movie! 


Have a great day bookworms!

March TBR

March TBR 


I always say that I have a ridiculous time sticking to lists of what I am going to read for the month but what the heck, I am going to try it anyway. These are the books that I really want to get read in the month of March. 

1. The Final Empire by Brandon Sanderson
2. The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin
3. Fables: The Deluxe Edition Books 3 and 4 by Bill Willingham
4. Locke and Key Vol 5 and 6 by Joe Hill
5. Death Note Black Edition Vol 2 and 3 by Tsugumi Ohba
6. The Annotated Peter Pan
7. Naruto Vol 1 by Uzumake Naruto
8. Amulet Book 1: The Stonekeeper Kazu Kibuishi
9. The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S Lewis
10. Fifty Shades Freed by E.L James
11. The Elite and the One by Kiera Cass


I hope I can get all of these read this month! I am always adding books at the last minute so we shall see!

February Wrap Up

February Wrap Up


Okay, so I had a HUGE TBR for this month. Needless to say I didn't even come close to reading all of them. This is a list of all of the books I intended to read this month. 


1. The 50 Shades of Grey Trilogy by E.L James (read)
2. The DUFF by Kody Keplinger (read)
3. The Elite, The One, and The Guard by Kiera Cass
4. Saga Vol 4 by Brian K Vaughan (read)
5. Mistborn the Final Empire by Brandon Sanderson
6. Death Cloud by Andrew Lane
7. V for Vendetta by Alan Moore
8. Watchmen by Alan Moore
9. Death Note by Tsugumi Ohba (read)
10. The Complete Percepolis by Marjane Satrapi (read)
11.Ayn Rand Answers by Ayn Rand (read)
12 Maus 1 and 2 by Art Spiegelman (read)
13. Since You've been Gone by Morgan Matson (read)
14. Locke and Key by Joe Hill (read)
15. Fables Vol 1 by Bill Willingham (read)

These are the books that I actually completed this month in the order that I read them. 



1. Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon vol 1 by Naoko Takeuchi 
4/5 stars
2. The DUFF by Kody Keplinger 
4/5 stars
3. Locke and Key Vol 1: Welcome to Lovecraft by Joe Hill
4/5 stars
4. Locke and Key Vol 2 by Joe Hill
3/5 stars
5. Saga Vol 4 by Brian K Vaughan
4/5 stars
6. Fables vol 1: Legends in Exile by Bill Willingham
4/5
7. Since You've Been Gone by Morgan Matson
2/5 stars
8. Percepolis by Marjane Satrapi
2/5 stars
9. Fifty Shades of Grey by E.L James (re-read)
5/5 stars 
10. Maus vol 1 by Art Spiegelman
3/5 stars
11. Maus vol 2 by Art Spiegelman
3/5 stars
12. Fifty Shades Darker by E.L James (re-read)
5/5 stars
13. Death Note Vol 1 by Tsugumi Ohba
4/5 stars
14. Looking for Alaska by John Green
2/5 stars
15. Locke and Key vol 3: Crown of Shadows by Joe Hill
4/5 stars
16. Locke and Key vol 4: Keys to the Kingdom by Joe Hill
4/5 stars
17. Fables Vol 2: Animal Farm by Bill Willingham
4/5
18. Fables deluxe edition book 2 by Bill Willingham
3/5 stars 

I was able to read a lot this month but there are definitely a couple I didn't get to. I ended up taking The Watchmen, V for Vendetta, and Death Cloud back to the library without finishing them. I was just really not into them and I didn't want to continue with the books. I was also really looking forward to reading The first book in the Mistborn series and being able to discuss it along with everyone else for #yearofcosmere. Unfortunately my copy did not arrive in the mail until just a few days ago. Hopefully I will get around to reading it in March. 

Stay tuned for my next post which should be my March TBR and I have written a review on most of the books above if you are interested in checking them out!

Have a great day bookworms!

Tuesday, February 24, 2015

Top Ten Tuesday: Best Heroines

Top Ten Tuesday

The Best Heroines in Books/Movies/TV


This weekly meme is hosted by the people over at the Broke and the Bookish. I will post the link to their site at the bottom of this post. Go check out their site and write a Top Ten Tuesday post of your own! :-)

While trying to come up with this list, I realized that I must read a lot more about men than women. I certainly seem to have more favorite hero's then heroines. 

*In no particular order



1. Katniss Everdeen from the Hunger Games trilogy by Suzanne Collins: Katniss is one of the most kick ass characters I've ever read about. She is selfless and is motivated to help save her family.

2. Anastasia from the animated movie Anastasia: I have loved this character since I was a young child Anastasia is one of the most spunky, witty, and sarcastic characters and I love her for it.

3. Rapunzel from the Disney movie Tangled: I admire Rapunzel for her beauty, strength, and caring personality. She is a joy to watch.

4. Anne Frank: This should go without saying but Anne Frank was such a strong and immensely smart woman. She was so young when she passed away but she had so many ideas that were far beyond her short years.

5. Esther from the book of Esther: This is my favorite book in the Bible because Esther is a wonderfully selfless character that puts herself in harms way in order to save her people. 

6. Dolores Claiborne from Steven Kings book Dolores Claiborne: This woman is special because she is able to stand up to her husband and survive the domestic abuse he puts her through. 

7. Tris from the Divergent trilogy by Veronica Roth: Tris certainly has her flaws but overall she is a selfless character who constantly fights for what is right. She is the embodiment of courage. 

8. Sailor Moon: This is yet another character that I've loved since I was very young. Her character development is amazing. She went from a young immature girl to a bad ass woman who battles crime. 

9. Scarlett O'Hara from Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell: This woman is definitely a survivor. She deeply values her life and does whatever it takes to survive many terrible situations. 

10. Mulan from the Disney movie Mulan: Yet another woman that I've really respected since childhood. Mulan risks her life for her father, her friends, and ultimately her country. She is funny, witty, and strong.


The Broke and the Bookish Top Ten Tuesday:
http://www.brokeandbookish.com/p/top-ten-tuesday-other-features.html 

Monday, February 23, 2015

PopSugar Challenge: Looking for Alaska

PopSugar Reading Challenge 2015

Read a Popular Authors First Book 
Looking for Alaska by John Green



This is my second John Green book since I read "The Fault in Our Stars" last summer. I loved TFIOS and the movie adaptation. It gave me so many feelings and made me cry uncontrollably. It was not without it's faults but overall I greatly enjoyed it. I honestly wish I could say the same about Looking for Alaska. I went into really hoping to like it, especially since it is one of my best friends favorite books. However, as I was reading it I found so many problems with the characters and the story that I was ultimately not able to enjoy it. 

The first problem I came across was the characters. I don't know if Green didn't fully flesh out the characters or what it was but I was simply not able to connect to them. I didn't really like any of the characters and as such I was not invested in what happened to them. I don't have to tell you that it is pretty important to be invested in the story you are reading but I just couldn't get there. 

The second problem I had with this book was John Green's pretentious and existentialist writing. Apparently everything in a Green novel must be some kind of crazy metaphor and everything has to have some deeper meaning. For me it just makes the characters seem so unrealistic and lets just say it, pretentious. I mean not everyone walks around all the time talking about life and death. I honestly thought this type of writing was appropriate while reading TFIOS but it is really uncalled for in this book. I have heard from other people though that this is just how Green writes. 

Another issue I had with this book was it's predictability. I knew exactly what was going to happen to the main character at the end of the book after I had only read half of it. This is the first time I have ever been able to predict a books ending and I really hope it never happens again. What is the fun in reading a book if you already know the ending?

The last problem I had with this book is that it was boring which in my opinion is the greatest offense a book can make. I found myself several times checking how many pages I had left to finish which is never a good sign. 

I know that a lot of people really liked this book but this is just my opinion. I hope that this review doesn't offend anyone. 

Have a great day bookworms! 

Friday, February 20, 2015

Death Note by Tsugumi Ohba

Death Note by Tsugumi Ohba

Book Review

I originally picked up this manga based solely on plot. This manga is about a straight A student that finds the Death Note dropped by a Shinigami (a Shinigami is a death god). The Death Note has the power to kill any person if you simply picture them in your head as you write their name in the death note. I find this concept to be extremely interesting. 

At first I liked Light's character. I felt that it was a good idea to get rid of all the earths evil people using the death note. After awhile though it is obvious that Light has taken it to far. Instead of worrying about killing the earths evil people, he is more worried about saving himself from being found out. This causes him ultimately to take the life of many honest and good people. I really enjoy reading morally ambiguous books because you can explore moral questions without any real life implications. 

I'm pretty excited to read the next volume. There are actually several more I think. I also found a English dub of this manga on Hulu recently if anyone is interested. I've actually watched the first episode already and it's pretty good!


Happy reading bookworms!

PopSugar Challenge: Fifty Shades Darker

PopSugar Reading Challenge 2015

Read a Book With a Number in the Title 
Fifty Shades Darker by E.L James


This book is another re-read for me. I thought I would give this whole series a re-read in honor of the first movie that just came out. This book is my favorite in the Fifty Shades series with the first book coming in at a close second. I love that it is sexy while also exploring some other serious themes such as; psychological issues, love, family, abuse, etc. 

This book series is truly about much more than sex. In fact, my favorite portions of this book are the parts that delve into Christian's psyche. He has a very interesting mind and all of the things he went through as a child make for a fascinating read. I also really appreciated that this book is partially a thriller. The crazy ex-subs and psychotic bosses are definitely enough to get your blood pumping and have you wondering what's coming next. 

Up next is Fifty Shades Freed which I will have to admit is easily my least favorite book in the series. It is nice though to get some closure on one of my favorite book couples!

Happy reading bookworms!

Wednesday, February 18, 2015

PopSugar Challenge: Maus Vol 1

PopSugar Reading Challenge 2015

Read a Book Based on a True Story
Maus Vol 1: My Father Bleeds History



                                             

I decided to pick up this book due to my interest in Jewish history and the Holocaust. It was very different though from what I was expecting. I thought that this graphic novel was going to be about the main characters time spent in a concentration camp. It looks as if that is what Maus volume two will be about. This volume however is about Vladek Spiegelman's life from young adulthood through the time he was taken into Auschwitz. 

This was an interesting and quick read but I disliked the artwork so much that it detracted from my enjoyment considerably. The main protagonist was also quite annoying in my opinion. At one point Art tells the audience that his father resembles the stereotypical old Jew. I couldn't agree more. The protagonist is penny-pinching and rude. I truly hate stereotypes so I was quite aggravated that the main character may cause others to think negatively about Jewish people.

I am excited to get into volume two of Maus though as I have a keen interest in the death camps from World War 2.  

Top 5 Wednesday: Friend groups

Top 5 Wednesday 

Friend Groups That You Would Like to be Apart Of


Hmm...this is going to be a hard week for me I can see! Looking back on my read books I realize that I don't read too many books with friend groups. It seems like contemporary books are usually the ones that contain the best friend groups and I haven't actually read too much in that genre. I will definitely give it a whirl though! 

1. The Duff  by Kody Keplinger: I absolutely adore this friend group. I would love to be friends with Casey because she is so spunky, beautiful, and loyal to her friends. Bianca would be a cool friend because I am sure we could relate really well to each other. Jessica would be a great friend to lift your spirits. I'm sure she would never allow you to feel down. 

2. Beautiful Disaster by Jaime McGuire: America is probably the coolest most loyal best friend that I have ever read about. I love that she wouldn't hesitate to do some ass-kicking if her best friend was in trouble. 

3. Since You've Been Gone by Morgan Matson: While I didn't really like this book, I do really think that it would be great fun to be friends with Emily, Frank, Dawn, and Collins. I don't think I would want to be friends with Sloane though. 

4. Twilight series by Stephanie Meyer: Bella doesn't exactly have a huge friend group but I am a fan of Jacob Black. He is loyal and handsome and I can see being friends with him. 

5. Harry Potter series by J.K Rowling: Of course it would be fun to live in the Wizarding world and be friends with Harry Potter, Ron, and Hermoine. I love how close the group is. They definitely have each others backs. 



Link to Top 5 Wednesday
https://www.goodreads.com/group/show/118368-top-5-wednesday

Tuesday, February 17, 2015

Top 10 Tuesday: Bookish Problems

This weeks Top Ten Tuesday topic from the people over at the Broke and the Bookish is Ten book related problems. I defiantly have some book gripes below! :-)

 

1. Having Barnesandnoble.com tell you they have a book in stock then arriving at the store and finding that their sold out. This is extremely aggravating to me and it happens all the time!

2. Barnes and Nobles express shipping for members. Haha this is super funny. The last book I ordered online from Barnes and Nobles took 18 days to arrive in the mail. Express shipping my behind. 

3. Being spoiled. I hate being spoiled for a book on Facebook, Pinterest, or Tumblr. 

4. The fact that it is too hard to read while sipping your hot cocoa or eating. Darn book why can't you just stay open! 

5. Having to constantly re-arrange my bookshelves every time I get a new book. Unfortunately for me my books are arranged in alphabetical order by genre and they are packed tight which means every time I acquire a new book, I have to shift everything around. 

6. My corgi's love to try to lick the books I'm reading. Just no.

7. Never being able to get in the perfect cushy position to read. I swear I'm going to have tons of back issues. Reading is most defiantly my workout. 

8. People interrupting me while reading. Can't you see I'm busy? No I don't want to talk about the weather, work, or the newest movie trailer. However, if you want to discuss my book then I'm down for that. 

9. Breaking the spines on your books. After all the effort I give trying to avoid this it still happens occasionally. :-/

10. There is never enough light. No matter how many lights or lamps I have, it always seems too dark in the room when I pick up a book. 



Here is the link to the Top Ten Tuesday page at the Broke and the Bookish
http://www.brokeandbookish.com/p/top-ten-tuesday-other-features.html

Sunday, February 15, 2015

Once Upon a Time Season 4

Let's Talk About Once Upon a Time Season 4 (Part 1)



Anyone that knows me knows that Once Upon a Time has been my favorite show since it's very first season. I know a lot of people that have gotten bored with the never ending drama and peril of this show but personally I just cant get enough. I love the concept of getting to know my favorite fairly tale characters in a different and deeper way. In fact I love this show so much more than I like any of the Disney movies. I realize that it is probably blasphemy to say, but I will admit that I don't even like Disney princesses very much. I do love Mulan and Rapunzel but much to my dismay these characters do not really appear very much in the show. Now onto talking specifically about the show!

While this is still my favorite show, I will say that this season was probably my least favorite. In terms of villains, the ice queen is pretty weak. She isn't really scary and somehow you always feel like everyone is going to be fine and live through any ordeal she puts them through. Honestly the only character that worried me is still Rumpelstiltskin. He is a pretty terrifying character as you never know what he is going to do. 

Everyone also knows that I definitely ship CaptainSwann which was another reason that this season was a little disappointing. At the end of season three, Hook and Emma shared the sweetest moment and I swear I re-watched it ten times. I honestly wouldn't have even been upset if they decided to end the show at that point. Thats how perfect it was. You can imagine my unhappiness then when I start realizing that this season contained almost no Emma and Hook moments and certainly none of the playful Hook banter that I have come to anticipate. 

I was heartbroken as I'm sure everyone else was during the last episode when Robin and Rumpelstilskin had to leave Storybrooke. While I was pretty happy that Rumpel was forced to leave, I was ridiculously sad for Belle and Regina. Those girls just cant catch a break.

A huge plus to this season though was Anna, Elsa, and Kristoff. They are amazing additions to the show and I hope that this season wont be the last that we see of them. The introductions of Ursula, Maleficient and Cruella was also a interesting addition and I can't wait to see where it leads. 

Overall this show is getting less and less interesting to me but I doubt I'll ever stop watching it. It has gone from amazing to just good but oh well, it can always come back! For goodness sakes though, can't the characters just have one episode to be happy? Can I get an amen! 

I can't wait until the show returns on March 1st!

PopSugar Challenge: 50 Shades of Grey

PopSugar Reading Challenge 2015

Read a Book with a Color in the Title

Fifty Shades of Grey by EL James


Okay, so I'm really not going to say much at all in this post. I have already written extensively on this topic in two of my other posts which I will link at the bottom of this post. I will say though that this is the second time I have read this book and I still find it as fascinating now as I did when I read it two years ago. I most enjoy the psychological issues it presents as it gives me something to think about. I don't typically make moral judgements on books when I read them since they are just fiction. No need to judge the make-believe. I find it truly abhorrent when people freak out about the contents of fictional pieces of paper. If you don't like it, don't read it. 

The one point I will make in this post however is something that just really irritates me and gets under my skin. People keep talking about how the book promotes domestic abuse and that Christian Grey makes controlling, stalker types of men seem attractive. This assumption is ridiculously false. Since this is a work of fiction, the character of Christian Grey is able to be so much more than any human in the real world could ever be. For instance, when he buys her a new car, tracks her down to the bar (etc, etc) it is because he is genuinely concerned with her safety. This kind of behavior would not happen in the real world because real humans are not perfect. If you are being stalked in real life it is because that other person has real human issues and is not perfect like a man in a book. Of course he isn't looking out for your needs, he has his own needs. That's what great about a book. We can read Fifty Shades of Grey and understand that Christian has good intentions and genuinely wants to help Ana. In the real world people are flawed. Because of this the people that say that this book makes stalkers seem romantic are just obtuse. If someone is reading a book of fiction and cannot understand that it isn't real, well frankly I think that person needs some help. I mean people seem very eager to try to pass a moral judgment on this book and make it seem like it has real world implications when it is just a work of fiction. I see it just like every other book I read. I don't expect to ever be an assassin in Throne of Glass just like I don't expect to be accepted into Hogwarts tomorrow. We would all be so much better off if we could just remember that books are not reality. they are for entertainment, pleasure, and enjoyment. 

Does Fifty Shades of Grey promote abuse?
http://murbybooks.blogspot.com/2015/02/does-50-shades-of-grey-promote-abuse.html

Fifty Shades of Grey: Book vs Movie
http://murbybooks.blogspot.com/2015/02/50-shades-of-grey-book-vs-movie.html

Friday, February 13, 2015

50 Shades of Grey: Book vs movie

50 Shades of Grey

Book VS Movie 



I really dislike being outright mean and judgmental, however, I believe that this post will probably be both of those and a bit rantish. I will try hard though to keep it classy. First off I must tell you that I am a pretty big 50 Shades of Grey fan. I see nothing wrong with the events of the book and no I do not find it to be abusive. Everything that happens in the book is consensual and therefore I can find no issue with it. Yes, you could certainly say that the writing isn't phenomenal but I like the book based purely on entertainment value, nothing more. Now that we got that out of the way we can get onto the comparison. 

1. The casting for this movie is one of the worst that I have ever seen and Dakota Johnson is probably the movie's worse casualty. She didn't seem to have any acting experience and her portrayal of Anastasia fell very flat. 

2. Another problem was Jamie Dornan's accent. I was surprised that he actually played a pretty believable Christian Grey, yet I could not get passed the ugliness of his accent. Throughout the entire movie Dornan tries unsuccessfully to hide his Irish accent. Unfortunately it just ends up sounding like he has something caught in his throat which is very distracting. Why he couldn't have just kept his original accent I will never know.

3. Elliot, Christian's supposably super hot brother is in fact pretty ugly in this movie. 

4. Let's be honest, sex is really a great deal of what this book is about. It is also pretty obvious that this movie does sex terribly. I can say with certainty that I have never seen a movie in which I felt like laughing every time the couple did the deed. It is not supposed to be funny but the absolute lack of chemistry and lines like, "I want to fuck you into next Wednesday" given with a deadpan delivery make it downright hilarious. 

5. Out of all of these problems I think that chemistry is what is lacking in this movie. In the book version of 50 Shades of Grey, there is no doubt that Anastasia and Christian have immediate and intense chemistry. In the movie adaptation however, I honestly felt like Jamie and Dakota didn't even like each other. Their interactions were awkward and the flow of the dialogue was slow, pained, and far from being natural. 

Overall I wasn't expecting to like this movie. I feel like the subject matter along with the sex scenes would be extremely hard to get right on the big screen. However, I feel like this movie was monumentally worse than it could have been and even worse than I expected it to be. If I could turn the clock back I would not go and see this movie. I feel like the movie only portrayed the negative and wasn't able to get across any of the more complicated themes or even the passion shared between the two main characters. I hate that the way I feel about the movie is slightly poisoning the love I have for the book. It also kills me to know that if a person hated 50 Shades of Grey before seeing it that their loathing will probably be at least doubled after seeing it. This movie is defiantly giving a lot of ammunition to the people who say 50 Shades of Grey is unsuitable or abusive. Just remember that there is a ton of backstory and internal dialogue that the movie just didn't put in. 

Thanks for allowing me my little rant and I hope you have a great day book lovers! 


Wednesday, February 11, 2015

PopSugar Reading Challenge: Since You've Been Gone

PopSugar Reading Challenge 2015

Read a Book That a Friend Recommended
Since You've Been Gone by Morgan Matson



Since You've Been Gone was my first Morgan Matson book and I believe it will be my last. I am going to have a pretty unpopular opinion when it comes to this book since it seems like everyone and their mother loves this book. I chose this particular book for this challenge because all of my Goodreads "friends" couldn't stop raving about it (I don't actually have any friends that read). 

I was really hoping to like this book but I didn't go into it with too many expectations. I didn't think that the synopsis sounded particularly interesting but I was just hoping it would surprise me. Unfortunately I just found the book to be boring. I felt like I was watching a movie about someones ordinary daily life which to me doesn't exactly sound like a hoot-and-a-holler. I have heard a few people say that maybe they are just too old for this book and I think that maybe the case. For example, I feel like I could really relate to Emily because I was just like her in high school. My best friend was also just like Sloan. However, this actually made me dislike the book instead of like it. I am 25 now and looking back on my best friend and I, I realize that I don't like the timid person I was or how much I leaned on my best friend for everything. I was also pretty annoyed by Sloan throughout the entire book. I just did not agree with Emily that Sloan was the best thing since peanut butter and jelly. I couldn't stand the way she made Emily feel bad for not using her fake ID (some people don't like to break the law) or the way she ditched her for her boyfriend. And the huge one, how she left her all summer and didn't tell her where she was going. I really do feel like this could be the perfect book for someone in high school (and obviously older people as well), but personally I just felt like I had outgrown it. 

The only redeemable part of this book for me was Frank Porter. I really liked his character and because of this I actually really enjoyed the last 50 pages of the book since he was present more. My love for Frank Porter was not enough to save this book in my opinion though.

I supposed I really should get used to the fact that I just don't seem to like the books that others love. I will say, it would certainly be easier if I did. 

Have a great day bookworms!


PopSugar Reading Challenge: The Complete Persepolis

PopSugar Reading Challenge

Read a Memoir
The Complete Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi 

When I picked this book up from the library I was ridiculously excited. I love learning about religions and other cultures (especially Islam and Judaism), so I was quite sure that I would fall in love with this book. Unfortunately, the exact opposite happened. I actually didn't enjoy this book at all. It was hard to get through and I found myself forcing myself to finish it. I know that I am a minority as most people really seem to like this book. For me however there were multiple problems. 

1. My main problem with this graphic memoir is Marjane Satrapi herself. She is a real person so I am ashamed to say that she was one of the most annoying characters that I've ever read about. She is spoiled, entitled, rude, and she changes her opinion at every opportunity depending on whose around at the time. It is honestly painful to read a book from her perspective. 

2. My second problem with the book is that the first third of it is pretty confusing. There is a lot of historical facts shoved into a very short period of time. I had a hard time keeping everything straight. I also hated how the people wanted to overthrow the horrible Shah but what they ended up with in the Islamic Republic was so much worse. It didn't make any sense to me. 

3. I was also very frustrated that people insisted on staying in Iran because it was "their land" even though they were in grave danger. It was slightly infuriating to hear that these people risked their lives during wartime to stay in a place that was dangerous simply due to nostalgia. I also hated that Marjane was sent to live in Austria as a young child and that her parents did not accompany her. There may have been reasons for this but they were never mentioned in the book. Due to this I only have to conclude that they did not want to leave their country. I am very confused by this. 

4. I became increasing frustrated with Muslims in general while reading this book. As a person that is interested in all religions I found this very frightening. I realize the book was written from one persons own experiences and that these things actually happened. However, I feel that the depictions in this book could cause real hate toward the Muslim population. Especially if someone who already has prejudice were to try to read it. 

5. I wasn't a huge fan of the graphics but that is my own personal taste. 

Well, those are my thoughts about The Complete Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi :-)

Have a great day bookworms!

Monday, February 9, 2015

Fables Legends in Exile

Fables Legends in Exile

By Bill Willingham



Oh my goodness, this graphic novel was so good! I love fairytales and fairytale re-tellings so this is right up my alley. If you are a fan of the TV show Once Upon a Time, it might take you a minute to wrap your head around the new dynamic. It is so worth it though! This graphic novel is an interesting who-done-it story set in a modern New York City setting with all of your favorite fairytale characters. I really like that a lot of characters are included in this graphic novel that you don't see in many fairytale retellings such as Bluebeard and the big bad wolf. 

I would describe the art in this graphic novel as good. It is crisp and clean and realistic which I like. I feel like after reading the Saga graphic novel series that I will never be able to refer to another works art as great, simply because nothing can beat or even come close to the amazingness of the artwork in Saga. Fiona Staples is simply a goddess. Fables however is very readable and the artwork is enjoyable. 

After reading this first volume I found out that there are lots of volumes I have still to read. This is excellent news as I can't wait to get my hands on the next volume. I've already ordered several of them from the library! 

Have a great day bookworms!

Saga Vol 4

Saga Vol 4 

by Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples


What can I say about this volume that I haven't already said about the other volumes? They are certainly getting better with each volume. This volume got my first four star rating and I really enjoyed it very much. The characters actions certainly drove me crazy in this volume and maybe that is why I liked it more. I'm still a much bigger fan of Marko then Alana. I'm extremely excited to get my hands on volume 5 whenever it comes out. I don't want to wait though!! 




Saturday, February 7, 2015

Locke and Key Welcome to Lovecraft

PopSugar Reading Challenge 2015 

Read a Book that Scares You
Locke and Key Welcome to Lovecraft by Joe Hill and Gabriel Rodriguez


This graphic novel surprised me from the first page until the end. I never knew what was going to happen. I went into this story without knowing what it was about and I am glad I did. The story was suspenseful, graphic, scary, and in some parts it was confusing. I used this graphic novel to fulfill the "read a book that scares you" requirement for the PopSugar reading challenge. I didn't go into this graphic novel expecting it to scare me but it was downright terrifying in some places. I mean besides the obvious blood and gore it features abusive parents, a serial killer, evil ghosts, the killing of ones parents, etc, etc. It was quite disturbing.

This graphic novel had amazing art. It was a very realistic, clear, and crisp type of art which I really appreciate. It seems like many graphic novels have a artsy, blurry, fantasical quality to them that I just don't enjoy. 

Of course it left off on a cliffhanger so now I need to go read the next volume and by now I mean right now! :-)

*I gave this graphic novel 4 out of 5 stars

Have a great day bookworms!

Friday, February 6, 2015

Does 50 Shades of Grey Promote Abuse?

Does 50 Shades of Grey Promote Abuse?


As a 50 Shades of Grey lover I get asked all the time, is 50 Shades of Grey abusive? Actually let me rephrase that. I don't get asked, I get told. A lot of random people upon finding out that I love this book will flat out tell me that it's abusive and that I should be ashamed for liking it. Ahem...excuse me. My next reaction is to ask them whether or not they have actually read the book. Every. single. time the answer is no. (I have yet to actually meet someone who has read the book and still thinks it promotes domestic violence). This is a utterly ridiculous concept to me that I just can't wrap my head around. How can any person form a logical opinion on anything in this world unless they have investigated it for themselves.

This issue I have goes far beyond the book 50 Shades of Grey. While I love the book and will defend it against critics, the issue is in fact much deeper. Judging any medium based on absolutely no facts is abhorrent and honestly just makes the person look a little ridiculous. I can't stand it when someone tells me 50 Shades of Grey is abusive because Tumblr said so or they saw a hashtag on Twitter. Wow, you've really got me convinced now!

And when you really think about it, why is it that 50 Shades of Grey is catching all this flack? I mean there are certainly books that are much more graphic and violent that this book. For instance, there are books written about men forcing women into sex slavery and those two people subsequently falling in love. That in my opinion should be much more cringe-worthy to the masses than a little conceptual BDSM (Note: I actually like these types of books so I am in no way judging).

Back to the issue at hand though. Is 50 Shades of Grey abusive? The answer is absolutely not. NOT with capital letters. This book depicts a consensual (if not realistic) BDSM relationship. There are rules and limitations to the relationship and nothing is done without the main female protagonists consent. I know what everyone is going to say, "don't you remember the time he hit her?!" Yes, I in fact do. I read the book so I know that Anastasia consented to the "spankings" and that she was supposed to use her safe word if things got out of hand. She didn't use her safe word. You can call me callous all you want but no one can expect another human being to be a mind reader. If Anna had in fact had too much, she should have let her partner know that. I'm not even going to go into the fact that Anastasia is practically salivating throughout this whole book to be with Christian Grey. Not enough room in the world to count how many times her "inner goddess" jumps up and down at the thought of him. Totally sounds like abuse to me right? :-/

I have always had this theory that a book is a book, nothing more. It's not reality, but people tend to forget about this. A book can be anything. It can be crazy, wild, sexy, adventurous, murderous and that's okay because it's. not. real. There is no real need to judge a book on moral standards. A book is just something to take a person to another place and let them experience another way of life. Of course I'm not going to be in a BDSM relationship, fall in love with my captor, fly on a magic carpet, or go to freakin' Hogwarts in real life. That's okay, I can still enjoy the book.

One last thought: I've seen a lot of booktubers and book bloggers apologizing to their viewers for having an interest in reading this book or seeing this movie. It's sad that they feel they need to apologize at all. Everyone should read exactly what they want to read and never have to feel ashamed about it. As long as a person is reading I'm happy. :-)

Have a great and (considerate) day bookworms!