Top 5 Tuesday: Dystopian

Hey, guys!
It’s Tuesday, that means it’s time for a bookish favorites posts. Top 5 Tuesday is hosted by Shanah Bionic Book Worm and is quite simple: check out the topic and write a post with your picks.
Today, we’ll talk about dystopian books. Let’s go!

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

I remember seeing the trailer for the adaptation of this book and thinking that I need to get my hands on the novel. Devoured is the accurate description of me going through the entire series.
Although I am not sure I would still as infatuated with the story now as I’m not a teenager anymore.
Actually, the review for The Hunger Games was one of the first things I ever posted on this very blog!

Hunger Games on Goodreads

The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood

Although the book had always been famous, it certainly gained new popularity when the TV show aired (we’re currently on season 3 on that front). The Handmaid’s Tale is chilling and extremely thought-provoking, so if you haven’t already, make sure to give this one a go!

The Handmaid’s Tale on Goodreads

Book vs. Series: A Series of Unfortunate Events (Season 3)

Hey guys!
A Series of Unfortunate Events concluded on Netflix with its third and final season. The last four books in Lemony Snicket’s thirteen-part children’s novel series.

The Plot:

Trying to escape from their latest bit of trouble, the youngest Beaudelaire child gets kidnapped by Count Olaf. Klaus and Violet have to investigate VFD to save their sister, but what has a sugar bowl to do with all of that?

Book vs. Series:

Season 3 adapts four Lemony Snicket books: The Slippery Slope, The Grim Grotto, The Penultimate Peril and The End.
Although I enjoyed the book series, I was glad that it was over. We are talking about 13 books here, so I reached a point where I got a little sick of the whole story. Don’t get me wrong, the books were taking an interesting turn, and were just as smart and intricate as the other installments.

However, with these books, we reach a point where I desperately wanted to know how the riddle is to be solved. Well, what we get is more beating around the bush, more obscure moments.

Also, the end was not quite what I had expected or wanted from the series. To be fair, it was the end the book series need to have, so I can’t be pissed about that. I did in-depth reviews, for each book. So if you want more discussion on that front make sure to check those out!

Book vs. Movie: Everything is Illuminated

Hello, my beloved readers!
Another day, another book vs. movie post. Today I want to talk about the rather weird novel Everything is Illuminated by Jonathan Safran Foer and its adaptation!

The Plot:

Jonathan, a young American, travels to Ukraine to find the woman who had saved his grandfather’s life during the Nazi invasion. He enlists the help of both Alex and his grandfather who run an agency specialized in that kind of thing. All of them end up finding more than they had bargained for…

Book vs. Movie:

Okay, I’ll kick it off with the novel. The special thing about this book is that it tells two stories. We have Jonathan who travels to Ukraine and cruises the countryside in search of his grandfather’s past. And then we have the story of Trochenbrod, the Jewish shtetl he is looking for.
For some reason, the book reminded me a lot of Nick Cave’s And the Ass saw the Angel. Not because the story is similar, but because both books gave off the same vibe.

Thursday Movie Picks: Witness

Hey, guys!
Welcome to another entry for Thursday Movie Picks.
It’s a series hosted by Wandering through the Shelves, so if you want to join the party, head over to her blog! It’s pretty easy: check out each week’s topic and come up with 3 to 5 movies that fit the theme.
This week I’ll talk about films featuring witnesses! All my picks will be more classic movies today.

#1 Witness for the Prosecution

When I saw the topic, this is the first film I thought of. Marlene Dietrich is brilliant in this one!

#2 12 Angry Men

I haven’t seen this one yet, but it is considered to be among the best movies ever made. The trailer is intriguing, so I hope I have time to watch it soon.

Book vs. Movie: Everything, Everything

Hello, my darling readers!
After a YA book adaptation with Nick Robinson yesterday, I thought we’d stick with him a little longer. Everything, Everything was published in 2015 and found its way to the screen in 2017. So let’s take a look!

The Plot:

Due to her immunodeficiency, 18-year-old Maddy is unable to leave her house. Up until now, she had made peace with her condition. That changes when Olly moves in next door and she suddenly longs for more…

Book vs. Movie:

Okay, let’s begin with the book. I know many people loved it to bits, however, I am not one of them.

It started out interesting enough, but I swear 25 pages in I knew exactly how the story would end. I kept hoping I wouldn’t be right. However, I had nailed it.

While Maddy is kind of likable, the story turns into such a cheesy love story that we’ve seen just like this a million times before. The plot-twist at the end felt forced and uninspired.

Many parts of the story were extremely unrealistic (Hawaii?!) or predictable. Everything, Everything left me bored and annoyed that I wasted my time with this. If you are going for cute with so much sugar on top it’ll give you diabetes + a bucket full of drama, this is the book for you. But if you expected something fresh, unique or surprising you will be disappointed.

Although I wasn’t fond of the novel, I decided to give the movie a shot. Maybe the story works better on screen?

Book vs. Movie: Love, Simon

Hello, my precious readers!
It’s time for another book vs movie post. Today I want to talk about Love, Simon, one of 2018’s most talked about films. I was so excited to finally pick up the novel it is based on and check out the adaptation!

The Plot:

Being a teenager can be difficult enough even if you don’t find yourself in Simon’s situation. He is gay but doesn’t know how to come out to his friends and family. On top of that, he fell in love with a classmate via email. He doesn’t have the slightest idea who he could be…

Book vs. Movie:

Oh, all the feels with this one!
I think I read the book within one afternoon. Becky Albertelli created a heartfelt novel that’s nothing short of adorable. It’s all there, the sad, the happy, the funny and the heartbreaking. I want to give Simon a hug and be his best friend.
Although it’s a film focused on a high school situation it doesn’t feel like your stereotypical drama situation. There is plenty of drama but it feels realistic instead of those plastic images we so often get with other books or movies.
There’s honestly nothing I didn’t enjoy about this book.

Can the adaptation live up to that? I braced myself for a disappointment. However, the film turned out to be pretty good too!

There are few changes I didn’t particularly enjoy (I won’t go into details – no spoilers here!) or deem necessary for the film. Sure, you can’t translate a novel to the screen 1:1 but it could have been a little more true to the source in some instances.
However, I am prepared to overlook that as Nick Robinson is just so perfect as Simon. This is exactly how I imagined the character while reading the book!