What Kind of Reader Are You? (part 5)

In this installment, I would like to discuss adaptations. Specifically, books adapted into/for movies or television with a focus on more contemporary material. I could go on forever and ever on this subject with just Jane Austen's books alone so let's stick with books written after I was born.

How rare is the perfect (or even decent) adaptation? For me, it's close to a line I once heard somewhere, "It's like being struck by lightning while living in a house you won from Ed McMahon." Thank you Blanche :) So it's not entirely impossible but highly unlikely.

I am a stickler for accuracy. I am picky beyond rationality. I am, well, you get the picture.

Here's the deal: for those random books that I can recollect that I've read sometime in my thirty-odd years, I could care less but for books that I've read and reread and loved? Ha! Are they really expecting me to be able to enjoy it? Really? Can any other mortal individual replicate what's in my head? (To answer the question that's probably running through your mind: yes, I am a control freak. However, I'm not a borderline personality disorder with OCD tendencies so I can back off. I'll just tell the voices that now isn't a good time.)

For example, and I apologize to those readers who love the show I'm about to bring up and please know that I respect everybody's right to watch whatever the hell they want so please don't drop me from your following list, I can't watch True Blood.

I've seen the promos on HBO and heard about all the shocking stuff they do on that show and it almost hurts when I see what they've done with Sookie and company. To be fair, I haven't sat down and actually watched an episode and that reminds me of my grandma saying to me as a child, "How do you know you don't like it if you've never tried it?" Well, this is like me and brussels sprouts; just looking at those nasty little cabbage lookalikes made me know in my bones that I wasn't going to like them. (I was right.) Where did all the gratuitous sex come from? And look at the covers above. I find it hard to believe that these two series are even related.

It's not just what they've done with the plotlines but with some of the casting. I don't like Anna Paquin as Sookie. I didn't like her as Rogue in X-Men either for that matter. Bill doesn't look right and neither does Sam. Sorry! Even though Charlaine Harris has given the show her stamp of approval, and that is usually good enough for me, I am too much of a Sookie purist to accept Alan Ball's adaptation. Except for Joe Manganiello and Ryan Kwanten as Alcide and Jason, respectively. They're fine. Yeah they are :)

Now, one book-to-tv adaptation I did like was Bones. Emily Deschanel's Temperance Brennan  is absolutely nothing like Tempe from the Kathy Reichs's series. The locales are all different and with the exception of Tempe herself, none of the characters from the books made it to the  tv show but they both work well. Kathy Reichs has been an key player in the development of Bones and worked as a producer for a majority of episodes. Charlaine Harris is listed as a "writer" for all existing episodes of True Blood on imdb.com but it's really just for her novels as inspiration.

Other shows/movies I'm planning on staying away from are HBO's The Game of Thrones, based on the book with the same title from George R. R. Martin's series The Song of Ice and Fire. Based on the teaser trailer they've released, it appears that visually, the show is spot on so I may bend a bit and try it out.





Also on this list are any version ever done of Stephen King's The Talisman or any of his Gunslinger set, and the upcoming movie version of One for the Money by Janet Evanovich. I still get a chill up my spine when I think of Katherine Heigl as Stephanie Plum. Just. EW.

My husband is practically dancing with glee over the previews of AMC's The Walking Dead. Check out that link because I'm not putting those nasty pictures here. He's been collecting the trade paperbacks of Robert Kirkman's comic for a few years now and is such a big fan of his. The show starts in October and don't ask me if I'll be watching. Zombies are so not my thing.

BUT! There are some good ones out there, adaptations that more than acceptable. Bridget Jones's Diary, Mike Mignola's Hellboy and BPRD books, and Harry Potter are all fab. I think Daniel Radcliffe's face was in J. K. Rowling's head as she wrote and Renee Zellweger nailed Bridget, accent and all. Ron Perlman was born to play Hellboy, little ponytail and all.

To summarize, I generally don't like it when my favorite books are made into television programs or movies because they never compare to what I've already imagined. If I do happen to see a movie or show and then read the book then I'm okay but I seem to have this need to rip adaptations to shreds. Call it a gift :)

So, what kind of reader are you when it comes to seeing your favorite books made into tv or movies? Can you watch peacefully and accept the differences or do they make you want to rip your hair out? Share share share! Thanks for reading.

What Kind of Reader Are You? (part 4)

This week's topic: I want to know where you read.

Do you have a favorite place to settle in for a good book or can you read anywhere, in any setting? Do you have a certain chair or spot on the couch? Do you prefer to read in bed? A hammock or comfy chair outside? I have always fantasized about laying on something like this and reading:

 

OK, so I need to work on my fantasies but it's so pretty and elegant and practically screams "Lay on me!" Then I figured that I'd have to keep from constantly sliding down until I'm horizontal so I chucked that idea. When I was a teenager I was in love with the papasan chairs from Pier 1. Remember them? I liked the idea of curling up in one of these with a good book.

They make ones that rock now. I still look at them wistfully when I'm at Pier 1 but I've never bought one. The space in my house is at a premium and in a contest between books and some silly chair like this, books will win. Always.

Can you imagine trying to sit and read on this? It looks kinda cool and I love that it's purple but how would you be able to relax without tipping over?

I can read just about anywhere. In the car, at my brother's house amongst screaming children et cetera but with the exception of the bookstore or the library. I don't know why but I always feel self-conscious there. You'd think that I'd be most comfortable among my people but no. Maybe it's the lack of noise. I'm most often found reading on my living room couch. You can tell which seats I spend the most time in because they are the flattest :) I dream of one day having a house with an actual library with bookshelves built into the walls, comfy overstuffed chairs, and a fireplace to keep me toasty warm. A girl can hope, right?

I can read within minutes of getting up in the morning. Some people need a while for their synapses to warm up but not me. I'm good to go from the start. I can read all day or until I'm cross-eyed. Not kidding. My husband knows when I've read too much just by looking at me. I think of myself as a "chain reader." I will start a new book as soon as I finish the previous one (don't worry - I don't light them on fire). 

I am unable to read in the tub. I have tried but I can't relax enough to enjoy a book because I'm worried about dropping it in the water. That would be very upsetting. (Can you tell I'm a total control freak? LOL) I have been known to stand at the stove while making dinner with my nose in a book that I just couldn't put down long enough to cook. I don't recommend this - it's the culinary equivalent of driving a car while texting. Not smart.

Some sneaky bookworms may feel the need to read under the covers with a flashlight or the Itty-Bitty Book Light. I definitely did that as a kid when my bedtime was way too early for a night owl like me.

You can just imagine all the possibilities. So please leave a comment and share just what kind of reader you are.

What Kind of Reader Are You? (part 3)

Bookmarks. That's what we're talking about today.

How do you save your place? Do you simply remember the page number you were on when you were so rudely interrupted from the literary treat you were devouring or are you like me and need something to mark the page? Never say that you just fold down the corner dog-eared style! What are you, an animal? I get angry when I see dog-eared pages in a hardback book. Why would someone do that?

How specific a mark do you need? I've known some people who have their bookmarks sticking out perpendicular to the spine so that they can pick up where they left off at the exact line they were reading.

Are you one to use any piece of paper lying around like a receipt or bill? Post-it? Postcard? Canceled check? Ticket stub? A finger? Or do you just lay your book open and upside down? In my case, all of the above. When I'm reading a hardback book I tend to use the front or back flap from the book jacket. I liked to use the card from the pocket in the back when it was a library book but almost nobody uses them anymore.

In this day and age with eReaders everywhere that remember your page for you, are bookmarks going to become obsolete? I hope not. I like browsing the racks of them while I'm standing in line at the bookstore. Here's my newest one:

Sounds like a good motto to me. I've been having a difficult time keeping this one away from our newest kitty. She just loves that pretty pink tassel.

As I've mentioned before and if you've noticed the BookMooch and PaperbackSwap widgets on my sidebar, I trade books online. I just love it when I receive a book from some thoughtful person who has added a bookmark to the envelope. BookMooch members tend to send BookMooch bookmarks *smacks forehead*:

Some people send handmade ones like the one I got from Barb in PA that she made while scrapbooking. It's purple (yay!) and has an inset of hydrangea flowers on it, also purple (yay!). Others are made from embroidery thread and look like the bracelets I used to make in grade school. I also get the occasional book thong and I like them but don't use them all that much. There's something almost naughty about them, isn't there?

I do love a nice bookmark. I don't really collect them but if I get one, I keep it. I was recently going through my box of personal mementos (greeting cards, pictures, etc) and found the one I always used as a child. It's one from the Suzy's Zoo collection but they don't make that particular one anymore. The tassel is missing but that can be fixed with some red yarn.

Check out these sites for bookmarks...
http://www.hookmarks.com/
http://www.designboom.com/weblog/cat/8/view/5528/cool-bookmark-designs.html
http://www.creativity-portal.com/howto/qa/bookmark.templates.html
http://www.alastore.ala.org/SearchResult.aspx?CategoryID=161

Now you know my official position on bookmarks. I hope this helps everyone sleep tonight :) So, what kind of reader are you and how do you save your place?

What Kind of Reader Are You? (part 2)

This week's discussion: the buying of books. Who, Where, When, Why & How?

I buy books everywhere. The supermarket, the library, actual bookstores, Goodwill and The Salvation Army, the internet, Walmart, and Target. I love book sales too. If I see books for sale somewhere, you can bet I'll be checking them out. If I go somewhere new to me, I have to check out the local B&N. It doesn't matter that they are all homogenized and carbon copies of what I'm familiar with - I have to check them out. I can't wait to go back to The Strand in NYC later this year and plan to have a good long list burning a hole in my pocket. I'm addicted to trading them online and in the two years I've been trading, my book count has doubled. I'm trying to work on that.

I tend to order hardbacks online. After I let my B&N membership lapse a year plus ago, I find that it just makes more sense. I know I won't die if I don't get my hot little hands on some new hardback (it just feels that way) so I make myself wait for them. I order them from evil Amazon typically for the free shipping and cheap prices. I've been pleased with The Book Depository so far so you can be sure I'll be comparison shopping there as well. Occasionally, I will pay cover price for a hardback but it won't be at a regular chain bookstore. The other day I paid the full $25 for a gorgeous copy of Peter Pan for my nephew at an independent toy store and it was totally worth every penny.

Paperbacks are a different animal altogether. I don't usually order them online unless I can't find them locally. I'm reluctant to pay cover price for trade paperbacks; why should I pay something like double the mass media price for larger print? Granted, the covers are usually more visually appealing but I'm not buying them to look at the covers. I don't like those newer, longer versions of regular paperbacks, the ones that are several dollars more? They're supposed to be more comfortable to hold while reading but for me, it's the opposite.

Which authors do you consider to be automatic buys? I have a relatively short list of authors that I will always buy as soon as they're released (hardback and paperback) and an even shorter one that will get me in the car and on my way asap. Charlaine Harris, Ilona Andrews, Karen Chance, Meljean Brook, and Jim Butcher are in the former group. Deanna Raybourn is in the latter group. I'll even buy her new books in trade paperback size.

I don't usually buy books just to collect them. There are times, like last week when I ordered a copy of The Demon's Lexicon to keep (I got it from the library before), when I loved a book so much that I have to have my own copy and that's pretty normal. I've never been into hunting for first editions or anything like that. For me, what they look like isn't all that important as long as they're in english :)

So...How do you acquire your books?

What Kind of Reader Are You?

So lately I've been reading books of two particular genres: contemporary baseball romances and historical romances set in Britain. What a pair, eh? The mystical force that picks what I read must be PMSing this week. It's weird how that works, choosing what to read next. It's unpredictable and often nonsensical, hence the baseball and regency romances. I like to stand in front of my bookshelves and wait for something to stick out and grab my attention, much like grazing in the kitchen and staring into the fridge.

And then, the reading. My favorite part. I love the feel of a book in my hands and how I lose myself in the pages, especially when I surface from the story and regain consciousness of my surroundings. I am always amazed how wrapped up I get in whatever story I'm in. I recently borrowed my cousin's Sony eReader to take it for a test drive since my husband let me know that I could possibly expect a nook for Christmas this year and have read Melissa Marr's "Stopping Time", parts one and two. I loved the story, a revisiting of the love triangle of Irial, Leslie, and Niall from Ink Exchange but I wasn't enamored of the little machine. The eReader itself is nothing special with a backlight that illuminates from the sides and pages that turn a little slower than I'd like. Maybe I should try a whole book with the eReader and see what happens. 

And now to the point of this post (finally). Jane and I want to know HOW you book lovers read. This week's topic: SERIES. Are you more of a "straight on through or bust" type or a "make it last" type - once you read the first book in a series do you then have to read the rest right away or do you like to take your time and divvy them out piecemeal? 

For me, it depends on the series. If the individual books are lengthy, I'll space them out (even if they're awesome) so it doesn't feel like I'm reading one loooooong book. If they're shorter and irresistible then I'll gobble them all up one after another. I've referred to myself in the past as a serial series separator, an obviously made-up term that I think is pretty accurate for my situation - I'm notorious (in my own little world anyway) for reading the first in a series, hunting down the rest with an almost unhealthy obsession, and then leaving them to languish on the shelf for months. They sometimes sit so long that when I go back to see if I feel like reading them and read the blurbs on the back covers or whatever I wonder what made me so fanatical about collecting them.

Next time we'll discuss the buying aspect of books. In the mean time, leave a comment about how you read. Or you could just tell me I'm one crazy bookworm :)