Weekly Book Chat - From Books to Movies

From TGIF Reads
Q. Book to Movie: Which book turn movie do you feel did the best adaptation? What about the worst?
Call me crazy but I don't like to read a book AND watch the movie - I prefer one or the other. That said, the worst, is that 2nd to last Harry Potter movie - Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows (Pt. 1). I felt it could have been eliminated totally and it wouldn't have made a difference, or at the very least it could have been combined with part 2. A close runner up is the TV series adaptation of The Sword of Truth series by Terry Goodkind (LOVED the books). The tv series, called Legend of the Seeker, ran from 2008 - 2010 and it was utter rubbish - especially the acting.

As for the best adaptation, I'm going with The Bourne Identity, The Bourne Supremacy & The Bourne Ultimatum by Robert Ludlum. The movies, starring Matt Damon, really brought the books to life - action packed & fast paced ... but Luddie (that's my pet name for Robert Ludlum), I'm still peeved that you sold out and let Eric Van Lustbader write 2 more books in this series - straight screenplay-ish style. Not cool Luddie. Not cool!

From Pen to Paper
Q. Friday Recommends - Pick a book that you've read, and have enjoyed enough to recommend to other readers.
Since we're talking about books with movie adaptations, one of my favorite books is A Time Traveler's Wife, Audrey Niffenegger. No I didn't see the movie - I couldn't - I KNEW I would be moved to tears at the ending, and I just wouldn't be able to handle it. Yes - I'm a bit of a wuss!

Summary: When Henry meets Clare, he is twenty-eight and she is twenty. Henry has never met Clare before; Clare has known Henry since she was six. Impossible but true, because Henry finds himself periodically displaced in time, pulled to moments of emotional gravity from his life, past and future. Henry and Clare's attempts to live normal lives are threatened by a force they can neither prevent nor control, making their passionate love story intensely moving and entirely unforgettable.

Interesting Bookish Stuff Seen Recently

• Reviews and Reviewing (at The Picky Girl). ... interesting article on review sites like Amazon.com, Goodreads & Shelfari, and why this blogger prefers to get book recommendations from other bloggers or twitter. My opinion - I actually like the rating system combined with a synopsis of a book - but usually for books with many ratings. When it comes to books that aren't well known - I have to go with blogger recommendations.

• Number Crunching (at Guy with a Moleskin Notebook) - How many books do you typically read in a year? Like this Guy, I'm not a speed reader and I don't want to be. I'm going back to averaging 1-2 books a week. Anything more than that and I won't remember the details, author or even the name of the main character - a week after I've read the book!