Book #10 "West Side Story" - Irving Shulman: So I personally wasn't overly thrilled with this book. I mean sure, maybe it is better as a musical I wouldn't know.
The part that probably bothered me the most out of anything was the whole, 'oh these two random people end up going to a dance and see each other and immediately fall in love with each other and then in less then 48 hours he is talking to her about marring him' thing.
Does this not bother anyone else?
And then as if the whole marring a complete stranger thing doesn't bother you at all then you start to realize that the whole story has a very Romeo and Juliet kind of feel to it, both Maria and Tony come from to different worlds and they are pretty much forbidden to be together but they vow to make it work anyways (when has that ever worked for anyone?).
As the story starts coming to a close it gets crazy, still keeping with the whole Romeo and Juliet thing that they have going on, and then before you know it people start dying right and left. And maybe it ends differently in the musical (don't worry I'm not going to give the ending away) but the way that the book ended was just really abrupt, and in my opinion, kind sorta lame and stupid. Shulman just kind of drops you leaving you wondering to yourself, "what the heck?".
Like I have said before, I have not seen the musical so maybe I have no room to judge but my final thought on "West Side Story" is that it is just a more modern day rip off of the Romeo and Juliet story. And let's be serious for a moment, how many times has that story line been redone now?
Didn't really hate it but didn't really love it either. However, I would be interested in seeing the musical even if only for the sake of seeing how it compares to the book.
Okay so I am going to be doing something a little different. I am going to be reading two books at a time, mostly cuz I have more time now that it is Summer but also cuz I really need to pick up the pace if I am going to have any chance of finishing all these books by the end of the year. So book #11 is going to be "Heist Society" by Ally Carter and #12 "Frankenstein" by Mary Shelley. I will be posting about each once I get to the halfway points. That's all for now.
Until next time,
Michaela Jane
Wednesday, May 15, 2013
Saturday, May 11, 2013
Book #9: "Julie & Julia"...Finished!!
Book #9 "Julie & Julia" -Julie Powell: So as you can tell I have been doing nothing but reading with my summer so far, which has been perfectly fine by me.
"Julie & Julia" (along with having numerous French words that I can't pronounce, excessive use of the 'f word', and lots of unnecessary talk about Julie's friend's sex lives) however, was actually really funny. I can honestly say that I did not expect to laugh while reading a book about some crazy lady from New York who got it in her head to cook her way through a French cookbook (some 500 and something recipes) in a year, sounds almost like trying to read 100 books in a year. But maybe it is just really in my head that these two could ever even start to be considered on the same level of impressiveness.
Overall, I really enjoyed the read. It wasn't at all what I thought it was going to be. I've been a huge fan of the movie, starring Meryl Steep and Amy Adams, ever sense the first time I saw it. And then when I read the book it was the same but at the same time it was different (if that even makes any sense). At first I was really disappointed but then I got into the book at it turns out that it has all the humor and awkwardness that just didn't make it into the movie and it was fantastic in a completely different, and yet wonderful, kind of way.
So yeah, I guess you could say I liked it.
Next book up for ...wait for it...#10!! (WOO DOUBLE DIGITS)Is going to be a novelization of the Broadway musical "West Side Story" -Irving Shulman. I will say this now, I have never seen nor have I ever been told the storyline of "West Side Story" which seems kind of bad to me for some reason...so much so that I am apparently feeling the need to apologize for my lack of "West Side Story" knowledge.
Anyways, that's all for now,
Michaela Jane
"Julie & Julia" (along with having numerous French words that I can't pronounce, excessive use of the 'f word', and lots of unnecessary talk about Julie's friend's sex lives) however, was actually really funny. I can honestly say that I did not expect to laugh while reading a book about some crazy lady from New York who got it in her head to cook her way through a French cookbook (some 500 and something recipes) in a year, sounds almost like trying to read 100 books in a year. But maybe it is just really in my head that these two could ever even start to be considered on the same level of impressiveness.
Overall, I really enjoyed the read. It wasn't at all what I thought it was going to be. I've been a huge fan of the movie, starring Meryl Steep and Amy Adams, ever sense the first time I saw it. And then when I read the book it was the same but at the same time it was different (if that even makes any sense). At first I was really disappointed but then I got into the book at it turns out that it has all the humor and awkwardness that just didn't make it into the movie and it was fantastic in a completely different, and yet wonderful, kind of way.
So yeah, I guess you could say I liked it.
Next book up for ...wait for it...#10!! (WOO DOUBLE DIGITS)Is going to be a novelization of the Broadway musical "West Side Story" -Irving Shulman. I will say this now, I have never seen nor have I ever been told the storyline of "West Side Story" which seems kind of bad to me for some reason...so much so that I am apparently feeling the need to apologize for my lack of "West Side Story" knowledge.
Anyways, that's all for now,
Michaela Jane
Friday, May 10, 2013
Book #9: "Julie & Julia"...Halfway
Book #9 "Julie & Julia" -Julie Powell: So I've come to the point that I am a little more then halfway through "Julie & Julia" and there are 3 main thoughts that have come to mind thus far. One being what we are going to consider the 'bad' thought ( to tell you the truth it's a bit of a 'soap-box-issue' for me), one being the 'good' thought I guess you could call it that, I mean it only makes sense that if your going to have a 'bad' thing you might as well follow it up with a 'good' one right?, and finally the thought that is leaving me in a bit of a predicament. So let's get started, shall we?
Okay before I start in on this first one I promise that I will try my very best not to go on to much of a rant...try being the key word. My issue is this: It always works one of two ways, either the book you are reading will be this amazing/awesome book and there is nothing that you can think of could make it better and then you find out that they made it into a movie and you go watch it and they totally take out all the good stuff from the book and replace it by pointless... wait for it...sex. If you have ever read and then watched "The Vow" you know exactly what I am talking about. However, if it doesn't happen this first way then it will be the opposite: you will end up seeing this movie and you fall in love with it and watch it a billion times and then you find out that its a book and you get all excited and go to read it and ...well I don't really need to explain that there is a bunch of pointless talk about sex in the whole book do I? "Julie & Julia", I'm sorry to say, is a perfect example of the second example mentioned above. It was just so unnecessary and really just takes away from the storyline in general.
Moving on the 'good' thought, for lack of a better name, the whole chapter and half when Julie is talking about killing and then cooking lobster serisously made me laugh so hard. The way she writes when she is talking about standing in her kitchen faced with the task of cutting up a live lobster has a way of making you feel like you are there with her. Part of me wonders however, if it is not slightly over-dramatized for the books sake. But serisouly though, if it's not then I want to be there in person to see someone cook a lobster for the first time someday cause I'm pretty sure it would be the most entertaining thing in the world. :)
Final thought is this: I have always been a very kind of monkey-see-monkey-do kind of person, for example when I first saw the movie "Racing Strips" when I was like 10 (or something) I went around pretending that I had a imaginary pet Zebra for at least a month. Sad I know. Anyways, I am older now, and hopefully not quite as crazy as my 10 year old self used to be, but as I sit and read about all this cooking I am having the insane urge to go and try to cook something myself. This is quite a predicament though when you consider that my cooking abilities start with a bowl of cereal and end somewhere around kraft mac n' cheese. I find that it will probably be best not to put my family members, not to mention myself, at risk with lack of cooking skills and I should probably just avoiding the urge to cook all together. Leave it to Julie Powell, besides she makes it so much more entertaining for the rest of us.
That's all for now, book should be finished with the final thoughts up by the end of the week.
Until next time,
Michaela Jane
Okay before I start in on this first one I promise that I will try my very best not to go on to much of a rant...try being the key word. My issue is this: It always works one of two ways, either the book you are reading will be this amazing/awesome book and there is nothing that you can think of could make it better and then you find out that they made it into a movie and you go watch it and they totally take out all the good stuff from the book and replace it by pointless... wait for it...sex. If you have ever read and then watched "The Vow" you know exactly what I am talking about. However, if it doesn't happen this first way then it will be the opposite: you will end up seeing this movie and you fall in love with it and watch it a billion times and then you find out that its a book and you get all excited and go to read it and ...well I don't really need to explain that there is a bunch of pointless talk about sex in the whole book do I? "Julie & Julia", I'm sorry to say, is a perfect example of the second example mentioned above. It was just so unnecessary and really just takes away from the storyline in general.
Moving on the 'good' thought, for lack of a better name, the whole chapter and half when Julie is talking about killing and then cooking lobster serisously made me laugh so hard. The way she writes when she is talking about standing in her kitchen faced with the task of cutting up a live lobster has a way of making you feel like you are there with her. Part of me wonders however, if it is not slightly over-dramatized for the books sake. But serisouly though, if it's not then I want to be there in person to see someone cook a lobster for the first time someday cause I'm pretty sure it would be the most entertaining thing in the world. :)
Final thought is this: I have always been a very kind of monkey-see-monkey-do kind of person, for example when I first saw the movie "Racing Strips" when I was like 10 (or something) I went around pretending that I had a imaginary pet Zebra for at least a month. Sad I know. Anyways, I am older now, and hopefully not quite as crazy as my 10 year old self used to be, but as I sit and read about all this cooking I am having the insane urge to go and try to cook something myself. This is quite a predicament though when you consider that my cooking abilities start with a bowl of cereal and end somewhere around kraft mac n' cheese. I find that it will probably be best not to put my family members, not to mention myself, at risk with lack of cooking skills and I should probably just avoiding the urge to cook all together. Leave it to Julie Powell, besides she makes it so much more entertaining for the rest of us.
That's all for now, book should be finished with the final thoughts up by the end of the week.
Until next time,
Michaela Jane
Tuesday, May 7, 2013
Book #8: "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix" ...Finished!!
Book #8: "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix"-J.K. Rowling:
'Order of the Phoenix' is Rowling's 5th installment in the Harry Potter story and before you start questioning my sanity as to why on earth I started reading from the middle I assure you I have previously read the first 4!
In 'Order of the Phoenix' Harry is not only dealing with, what is undoubtedly, his hardest year yet at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry but he is also busy trying to find out all the information he can about what he-who-must-not-be-named has been up to sense his return at the end of last term.
Throughout the book Harry deals with being attacked, ridiculed, ignored, put in detention, kicked off the quidditch team, losing the closest thing he has ever had to a parent, and finally coming face to face once again with Lord Voldemort.
J.K. Rowling never disappoints and 'The Order of the Phoenix' is no different. It is action packed from beginning to end. Answering many questions readers have been asking from the start of the story and leaving it hanging with many many new and deeper questions as the plot line brings the reader deeper and deeper into the magical world of Harry Potter.
Overall, as always with J.K. Rowling, it was a very good read :) Next book up for #9 is going to be something a bit different it's "Julie & Julia" -Julie Powell. I have seen the movie probably 50 times and just love it so I'm hoping the book is just as good if not better.
Oh, and by the way readers HAPPY SUMMER!!! :) (or for me it is summer already anyways). With the start of summer here that means the reading pace will be picking up dramatically from what it has been I promise!
Until next time,
Michaela Jane
'Order of the Phoenix' is Rowling's 5th installment in the Harry Potter story and before you start questioning my sanity as to why on earth I started reading from the middle I assure you I have previously read the first 4!
In 'Order of the Phoenix' Harry is not only dealing with, what is undoubtedly, his hardest year yet at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry but he is also busy trying to find out all the information he can about what he-who-must-not-be-named has been up to sense his return at the end of last term.
Throughout the book Harry deals with being attacked, ridiculed, ignored, put in detention, kicked off the quidditch team, losing the closest thing he has ever had to a parent, and finally coming face to face once again with Lord Voldemort.
J.K. Rowling never disappoints and 'The Order of the Phoenix' is no different. It is action packed from beginning to end. Answering many questions readers have been asking from the start of the story and leaving it hanging with many many new and deeper questions as the plot line brings the reader deeper and deeper into the magical world of Harry Potter.
Overall, as always with J.K. Rowling, it was a very good read :) Next book up for #9 is going to be something a bit different it's "Julie & Julia" -Julie Powell. I have seen the movie probably 50 times and just love it so I'm hoping the book is just as good if not better.
Oh, and by the way readers HAPPY SUMMER!!! :) (or for me it is summer already anyways). With the start of summer here that means the reading pace will be picking up dramatically from what it has been I promise!
Until next time,
Michaela Jane
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