Do you read the book before you watch the film?

I do! Or at least I do the vast majority of the time! When I know that there’s a book out I’ll do my best to read that before I watch the adaptation, and there’s a few films that my partner has wanted to watch over the years that he’s had to wait on because I needed to read the book first!

We’ve still not seen The Revenant, and we’ve still not seen Hidden Figures! I’ve read them, but by the time I had gotten around to them he wasn’t quite as interested in the films anymore! I’m really not a fan of watching films or TV to be honest, so I’m not sure whether we’ll ever get around to them.

One of the possible exceptions to this is going to be Dune. I have a copy of the book now (thanks to the wonderful Eleanor Nicbhatair for my birthday) but it’s a big book and my boyfriend (who’s read the book before) wants to see the film in the cinema. So maybe this will be the one exception, and it might even make getting through the book easier! That was definitely the case when I read Game of Thrones after I had watched the show, I tried to read it before but it was too awkward. Much easier after I already knew the characters and the plotline!

Real US History that hits close to home

 

I had went to go see the film adaptation of this with my boyfriend and we both found it amazing. Hard hitting, intense, but also funny, it was a great movie and one which taught me more about the struggles African Americans have gone through (which as a white Brit, I don’t have much knowledge about from education, and I’m slowly teaching myself). When we saw this book in a discount bookshop in the UK (The Works), my bf decided to grab it for me as a little gift and I read it not too long afterwards.

This is a memoir about the first black police officer in the CSPD and his infiltration of a local chapter of the KKK, his eventual “friendship” with David Duke, and the impact of his investigation throughout the state and also across the US.

Sadly, I preferred the film. I know, I know. I ended up giving the book 3 stars, and I did speed through it and find it really interesting, but there were too many flaws which could have been fixed with a proof-reader. There was one instance of precise repetition, almost word for word, and there were many other instances where Stallworth repeats information unnecessarily as he only mentioned it ~20 pages prior.

Personally, I was fine with the writing style, but I know that it won’t suit everyone’s taste. I thought it was personal, and given the style of the book, the best choice of portrayal. However, I did feel the detachment of years as Stallworth wrote this many years after the incidents took place.

Despite all this, however, I still urge you to pick up the book and see the film. The memoir gives so much depth and information about this major event in US history. Not just a black man infiltrating the KKK, but also the first black man in the CSPD. It is incredibly interesting. The film adds another layer to the knowledge, with Spielberg taking initiative in some aspects and adding in additional sectors which weren’t in the book but could easily have happened and were happening around the country in this time period. As well as some harrowing scenes at the end of the film.

Overall, this is an important book in my opinion. It keeps fresh in the public’s eye the atrocities which were committed in the name of the US, the racism prevalent throughout societies highest powers, and what can be done to show clowns the true extent of their ridiculous makeup.

Delving back into the world of Artemis Fowl!

So I read the other 6 books in this series many years ago, my mum bought me the first 3 in a charity shop and then I just kept reading them! I ended up with the DS cartridge that had the first 6 books on! (yes they were a thing, and I bloody loved it!) I never went past that though, by the time that I would’ve been buying book #7 I was in a giant reading slump that would last years. But I’m not in that slump anymore and I found this book in The Works (a cheap book outlet store in the UK) and just had to pick it up!

I’m so glad that I delved back into this world, the timing is just right considering that there is a movie adaptation coming out sometime soon and having fun by being in this weird, magical world is exactly the break I needed from my masters. Obviously, these are children’s books, middle grade as North America calls them, but they’re so much fun to read as an adult too!

We follow Artemis after he’s been hit on the head and suddenly is…. nice? Captain Holly Short is very concerned and is doing what she can to get the old Artemis back, before it’s too late! A very fun book and one I recommend for all, especially those who read the books back in the day and are excited for the film adaptation!

Game of Thrones! I finally read it!

So I’ve finally read it, Game of Thrones. Years after I started watching the show, I actually picked up the 800+ page book and finished it. You guys know, as a massive bookworm I 99.9% of the time prefer to read the book first, before diving into a screen adaptation of anything. However, I had tried to read the book and just really struggled to get into it. I then struggled to get through the first season of the TV show (with Dany being the only thing pulling me through) but got much more into the show as the seasons progressed.

Having already watched the show helped me so much in this instance, which is odd for me to say. However, I already care about the characters and feel invested in them (something that I definitely didn’t in season 1 or when I attempted to read this the first time) which helped me to carry on through sections that I wasn’t as interested in and kept me going for certain characters and events.

I will say that I’m not sure yet why I wasn’t overly keen on this. I don’t know if it was that I didn’t feel invested enough in each character or if maybe it was simply because it’s my first adult high fantasy and I’m not quite there yet with my comprehension. I’ll be honest, I didn’t expect that as I have always managed very well with fantasy reads but I’ll be reserving judgment until I have read more in the genre, and also within the series. I will definitely be carrying on and I hope that my enjoyment increases overtime within the books in the same way as it did within the TV series.