Books Before Movies

I recently came across this awesome pin:
http://www.buzzfeed.com/ariellecalderon/books-to-read-before-they-hit-the-big-screen


I am a huge fan of reading the book before seeing the movie. In some cases, like Catching Fire and The Great Gatsby, this has been a good thing where the movie really captures the settings and characters in the books. In others, ahem, Twilight, the movie adaptation proved to be a huge disappointment to the book, in my opinion. But other people (like my chick-flick loving father) who hadn't read the books still loved the movie.

This list here is great if you're looking for a book to read. I highly recommend Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn for a sweet suspenseful novel, and I can't wait to see the movie with Ben Affleck and Rosamund Pike. There are huge twists in this book that will leave you mystified.

The Fault in Our Stars was a really good, emotional and sweet book about two young teenagers battling cancer. John Green is a great young adult author and his characters are really lovable.

I just finished reading The Book Thief by Markus Zusak, and haven't seen the movie yet. This was another young adult read, based on a girl's desire to steal books in World War II Germany. I haven't heard much about the movie, but this is another book with great characters who I can't wait to see portrayed on screen.

The first book on this list is Divergent by Veronica Roth. This is another one of those young adult series, but I didn't think this book came close to The Hunger Games or some of those other ones. It is an interesting idea, the division of society by personality types, but I just didn't think the whole plot or premise was powerful enough. In this case, I think the movie might be more enjoyable. (Mainly because Theo James, who plays the character Four, looks smokin' hot.) There were a few good scenes in this book, and it's a quick read, but it wasn't one of my favorites.

And I'm currently reading The Wolf of Wall Street, the true story of Jordan Belfort that is out in theaters now. I'm about 200 pages in, and I can't believe how honest this man is about the terrible things he has done. Nonetheless, it's a riveting story that I don't want to put down, and it's a great role for Leonardo DiCaprio. I can't wait to see it.

I haven't read all of them, but I'd like to (except for that Horns book with Daniel Radcliffe. That doesn't look right). Have you read any of these?

Book I recommend: "The Storyteller" by Jodi Picoult

I have always been skeptical to read a Jodi Picoult book. I’m not quite sure why; my roommates all read her in college, my mom highly recommended her books, and I loved the movie My Sister’s Keeper. What was it that made me hesitant to read her?

I have no answer, but I’m glad my first experience with her writing was “The Storyteller.” Kyle got me the book for Christmas, based on the fact that the main character is a baker. He pushed “Click to Buy” before going on to read that the book was also about the Holocaust. At that point, he wasn’t sure if Princess Michelle could handle such an emotional story, but it turned out to be the best book I read in 2013.

Sage Singer is a baker who distances herself from people as much as possible due to a notable scar on her face, which is a result from other dark memories. She attends a grief support group to overcome the loss of both her parents. At a support group meeting, Sage meets 90+ year-old Josef Weber, who later confides a deep, shameful secret to Sage, which takes us into another story altogether.

Midway through, Sage's grandmother becomes the narrator as she retells her story as a Holocaust survivor. This is where the book really took off for me and got very emotional. Once the grandmother started her story, it was very hard to put the book down. From there on, the book is full of shocking moments and surprising twists that had my mind blown.

From beginning to end, I was very impressed with the writing style of Jodi Picoult and her ability to tackle such powerful themes. The biggest theme in this book, I'd say, is forgiveness, and she depicts it beautifully.

“Forgiving isn't something you do for someone else. It's something you do for yourself. It's saying, 'You're not important enough to have a stranglehold on me.' It's saying, 'You don't get to trap me in the past. I am worthy of a future.”

I really like this message from the book. It's not like it's something I haven't heard before, but it's such a powerful thought. It's so hard for the majority of us to actually do something for ourselves that it's no wonder we hold on to grudges, that we don't relieve ourselves from hard feelings. It's easier for us to be angry, hurt or bitter, although perhaps the best thing for us is just to let go of that hold someone has on us. We don't take the time to mentally reflect and internally forgive the ghosts that haunt us. Like setting aside time for a massage or splurging on that nice coat you've had your eye on, forgiving someone else might just be something we have to do for ourselves once in a while. It hurts to cave and give in, but it's something we know we wanted.

And on a fun note, the incorporation of breads, croissants and rolls in this book is mouthwatering.