Books On Film | Insurgent & The Prone Gunman

 

This weekend the film adaptation of Insurgent by Veronica Roth, the second book in the Divergent trilogy, will be released. The film adaptation of the first book, Divergent, was released last year and I fully expect the third film to be adapted next year.

As war surges in the dystopian society around her, sixteen-year-old Divergent Tris Prior must continue trying to save those she loves--and herself--while grappling with haunting questions of grief and forgiveness, identity and loyalty, politics and love.

The film adaption of French crime novelist's Jean-Patrick Manchette's book The Prone Gunman, titled The Gunman and starring Sean Penn, will also be released this weekend.

Martin Terrier is a hired killer who wants out of the game so he can settle down and marry his childhood sweetheart. After all, that's why he took up this profession! But "the company" won't let him go: they have other plans. Once again, the gunman must assume the prone firing position. A tour de force, this violent tale shatters as many illusions about life and politics as it does bodies.

Book Bucket List | Divergent: Abnegation

A few weeks ago, Panteha wrote a post about the popular YA series, Divergent.  For those of you who have already read the books, the short stories, and seen the movie, you can still enjoy the world of Divergent.

First of all, if you haven't already, take a quiz to find out which faction you're suited for.  There's a great quiz on Buzzfeed that will tell you where you'd probably belong.  I just got Dauntless.  

So let's pretend we live in a factioned society like our friends from Divergent.  We'd all have separate interests, jobs, and even friends.

For example, if you were living in Abnegation, the selfless group that does volunteer work and works for the government,  you might be interested in these titles below:

Something Like Hope by Shawn Goodwin  A young girl in lockup wants to turn her life around, and she finds out the best way to do this is helping others.

Scarlet by A. C. Gaughen. This book mirrors the story of Robin Hood, but this time the story features a young woman who sacrifices herself for the good of others.

If I Stay by Gayle Forman .  This heart wrenching book is about a girl's choices to support her family over her own wants and needs.

Books On Film | Teen In '14 (Vampire Academy/Divergent)

Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead is the first book in a series of six. Rose Hathaway and her best friend Lissa are forced attend the Vampire Academy, where mortal vampires, like Lissa, are trained in magic and half-humans, like Rose, are trained to protect them from immortal vampires.  

Of course, even a vampire high school is full of boy drama and teen rivalry. Add the danger from immortal vampires hunting Lissa and you've got a recipe for a crazy high school experience.

The movie adaptation is schedule to be released in February. The film is directed by Marc Waters, who directed the teen cult-classic, Mean Girls. You can tell from the trailer that they are aiming for an off-beat action-dramedy.

Vampire Academy Trailer

Divergent by Veronica Roth is the first book in a trilogy. The story takes place in dystopian Chicago. Society is divided into five factions dedicated to cultivating either honesty, selflessness, bravery, peacefulness, or intelligence. Every person is permanently assigned to a faction after being tested on their sixteenth birthday.

Beatrice's (Triss) is shaken after she realizes that she doesn't fit neatly into any one faction and she begins to loose trust in ideals of her society.

The movie adaptation is scheduled to be released in March with Shaileene Woodley, who also stars in the adaption of The Fault of Our Stars, as Triss.

Divergent Trailer

Covers courtesy of LibraryThing.

Book Bucket List | Gift Books!

It's December 20th. I have only three real days of shopping left.  I'm still not done and I'm trying not to completely freak out.  (Brothers of mine, I promise you won't go without!) Since I always end up scouring the internet for gift ideas last minute, I thought I would make a list of my own. 

Here's a few bookish gift ideas:

The picture book This is Not My Hat by Jon Klassen is not only hilarious, but  imparts some helpful life lessons as well.  It is the 2013 winner of the Caldecott Medal from the American Library Association too.  Follow the journey of a little fish who just happens to "find" a hat. Yikes!

Katherine Applegate's The One and Only Ivan is the Newbery Award winner for 2013.  The story is about Ivan, the gorilla happily living at a mall.  He loves his fellow animal friends and likes to focus on his art.  However, when Ivan meets the baby elephant Ruby, who was taken away from her elephant family, Ivan's perspective on life quickly changes.  This chapter book would be perfect for a young reader. (The cover is also one of my favorites this year!)

Teens are almost the easiest to buy for this season.  There are so many popular series out that appeal to fans of multiple genres.  Suzanne Collin's The Hunger Games series is still huge, especially with the recent release of Catching Fire in theaters.  Veronica Roth's Divergent series is another good option, as the movie in that series will be coming out this March. (Yay!)  And as always, there's Harry Potter. (Shameless plug, I know)

One of my favorite books I read this year was James McBride's The Color of Water.  This year, McBride's new book The Good Lord Bird won the National Book Award for Fiction from the National Book Foundation.  The story begins in 1857 when the young slave, Henry Shackleford, leaves the Kansas territory with abolitionist  John Brown after a violent argument.  However, after a case of mistaken identity, Brown believes Henry is actually a girl.  The pair eventually end up at Harper's Ferry, one of the many catalysts of the Civil War.

Vader's Little Princess and Darth Vader and Son are some of the funniest Star Wars books I've ever seen.  If Lord Vader ever knew about the existence of his children (sorry spoiler alert), then maybe the scenes in these books may have actually happened.  Very funny and good for all ages!

For lovers of non-fiction, the recent release of Hitler's Furies: German Women in the Nazi Killing Fields by Wendy Lower is really fascinating.  Lower has done quite a bit of research on the involvement of the much ignored presence of women in Nazi Germany.  This is a must read for any history buff.

Books On Film (Special Edition) | SDCC for Book Readers

Everyone knows that San Diego Comic Con draws in comic book publishers, artists, and fans. Did you know that San Diego Comic Con also draws in general book publishers, authors, and fans, too?

There is a whole section on the exhibit floor that is full of nothing but book publishers. Big and small publishers are there with books for sale at a discount, advanced copies of upcoming titles, and book signings with authors.

One might think that publishers might only bring science fiction or fantasy titles to Comic Con, but that couldn't be farther from the truth. There are displays for children's books, teen fantasy, adult urban fiction, and much more. The titles span every fiction genre and there books for readers of all ages.

Publishers also host panels to showcase upcoming titles. Panelist, including authors, do book talks and answer questions about their titles. Aspiring writers also have the opportunity to attend panels about writing and publishing lead by authors and industry experts.

Of course, since book to movie/tv adaptations are all the rage there are plenty of book derived things to see, too. To start, all the halls at the convention were decorated with giant banner's from the television adaptation of George R.R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire series!

While at the convention, I attended a panel for the television adaptation of Stephen King's Under the Dome, walked through a set & costume display for the movie adaptation of Orson Scott Card's Ender's Game, the cast of the movie adaptation of James Dashner's The Maze Runner were present for a panel, and I passed by a huge decorated booth giving out t-shirts and posters for the movie adaptation of Veronica Roth's Divergent---just to name a few things.

 

And, of course, no one can't forget the costumes! There were plenty of Harry Potter and Game of Throne characters, of course, but I also ran into at least one Abraham Lincoln, Vampire Hunter and these Warm Bodies cosplayers.

All in all, San Diego Comic Con is a fun time for comic book fans, anime lovers, gamers, tv and movie watchers, and readers!

All photos taken by me at San Diego Comic Con International 2013.

Teens Only | The Best of the Best

Looking for something great to read? I thought I'd check out Goodreads to find out the most popular teen books out there right now. Not surprising, the top of the list featured Suzanne Collins' Hunger Games trilogy, followed by Stephenie Meyer's Twilight books, and then the old favorite Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling.

Following those all-stars -- and in order -- were:

Divergent by Veronica Roth, which I mentioned in an earlier blog after hearing rave reviews from some of my reader friends. This is the one about the dystopian society in which 16 year olds are forced to pick the faction to which they will devote their lives. In case you haven't read it yet, it's also available as an ebook on SSJCPL's Overdrive site.

The City of Bones by Cassandra Clare. This is the story of 15-year-old Clary who gets drawn into the world of the Shadowhunters when she witnesses a murder...and the body disappears into thin air. Ok, I've got to read this one. Who doesn't love a weird murder mystery?

The Giver by Lois Lowry. This is an oldie, but a goodie. It's about a society that is uniformly run by a Committee of Elders. And then there's Jonas -- 12 years old -- whose comfortable, normal existence as a member of this well-ordered community is shaken when he is assigned his life's work as the Receiver. The Giver, who passes on to Jonas the burden of being the holder for the community of all memory, teaches him the cost of living in an environment that is without color, pain, or past.

So now you've got several great reading recommendations. And by the way, Goodreads is a cool website where you create an account and then can not only get recommendations based on books you already like, but you can also see what your friends are reading!

Happy Reading....and see you next Saturday!

Teens Only | Divergent

So I just looked up the definition of divergent: (1) Drawing apart from a common point; diverging.(2) Departing from convention. (3) Differing from another; a divergent opinion. (Source: www.thefreedictionary.com)

Aha. Now I get it.

Oh, you might be wondering why I would look up the definition of this word. Last week I ran into three of my favorite young readers -- Q, Z, and J. Each of them were terribly excited to get their hands on the next book in the new series by Veronica Roth.

The first book, as you have probably guessed by now, is Divergent. It's the story of a dystopian society divided into 5 factions, each devoted to the cultivation of a particular virtue: honesty, selflessness, bravery, peacefulness, and intelligence. There comes a day each year when every 16-year-old must choose which faction to dedicate the rest of his/her life. There is a simulation which helps these teens select the faction which best suits them, but sometimes the simulation results in multiple choices. These "multiple choice-ers" are called divergents. And you can bet the leaders of each faction are not too happy with the divergents, since the leaders want people to act and think their way.

Ok, ok. I'm convinced. I'm going to read this first book and then put a hold on the next in the series: Insurgent. I do love books about dystopian societies. (There it is for the second time in this blog -- dystopian. I went back to that ever useful website freedictionary.com and looked up dystopia: An imaginary place or state in which the condition of life is extremely bad, as from deprivation, oppression, or terror.) Oh I'm definitely going to read these books! I'm hoping you will too!

Just the other day my colleague Lori blogged about book recommendations, and how we library people really do pay attention to what our customers are reading -- and recommending! Read Lori's blog here. 

If you're reading this, I know you're not just a reader of blogs, but a reader of books! Do you recommend your favorite books to your friends? Do you read books your friends recommend to you? I do! I do both! And I want to hear your recommendations as well. And I will read them. I promise, promise, promise.

After all....to quote Thomas Jefferson: "I cannot live without books."

So true.

Happy reading. And happy sharing your favorite books with others!