The Sunday Salon and The 3 Books You Have to Read NOW Before the Movie Comes Out

Welcome to The Sunday Salon! The day of the week where readers from all over the world congregate in the virtual library and talk books. So, grab yourself of cup of Joe, pull up a comfy chair and let's talk!

This week is about those books that are coming our way as movies. It's always been my feeling that I want to read the book first before seeing the movie. I don't like to form any preconceived ideas in my head about the people in the book or know what's going to happen ahead of time. Of course sometimes the movie changes the book in unpredictable ways, and if you've read the book, you know what "really" should have happened. Of course, in some cases, some people find the movie better than the book. I don't think I've ever experienced that before, but I have experienced ending of books changing, like Jurassic Park, which was an amazing book. The ending in the theater made my jaw drop open. The Reader had a twist at the end of the movie not in the book, which I think made the book better. And I couldn't read The Firm after seeing the movie because not only did I know what was going to happen, but it seemed that the dialog was straight out of the book, word for word.

There are quite a few movies coming out this year that are from books. We already have The Book Thief, Labor Day, Enders Game and Catching Fire , BUT here are 3 books you need to read now so you can enjoy the movie…

Winter's Tale by Mark Helprin… Set in New York at the beginning and the end of the twentieth century, Winter´s Tale unfolds with such great narrative force and beauty that a reader can feel that its world is more real than his own. Standing alone on the page before the book begins are the words, I have been to another world, and come back. Listen to me. In that world, both winter and the city of New York (old and new) have the strength and character of protagonists, and the protagonists themselves move as if in a vivid dream. Though immensely complicated, the story is centered upon Peter Lake, a turn-of-the-century Irish burglar, and Beverly Penn, a young heiress whom he encounters in robbing her house, and who eventually will die young and in his arms. His love for her, and a gift of grace, will allow him after the most extraordinary and painful explorations and discoveries to stop time and bring back the dead. To follow him, his predecessors, his inheritors, and his companions is to experience one of the great stories of American literature.

I actually have this book lost somewhere in a TBR pile stored in a moving box. Amazon reminded me that I "bought a copy of this already in 2006", but I saw the trailer for this and fell in love. I recalled the cover to be a beautiful whispy photograph of light streaming through windows in what appears to be an old Grand Central Station. Why didn't I read this book?! Now I'm going to have to because I really would like to see the movie and I hate reading the book after seeing the movie. It just ruins it for me. I like to imagine it all in my head without someone assigning an actor or actress, and I like to know the "real" story and not just the one needed to make a movie, which is sometimes altered in mysterious ways. Time travel, romance and lost love all add up to what seems to be a wonderful historical time travel romance. Historical because I believe it will be a great depiction of New York City in a by gone era.

Winter's Tale by Mark Helprin dates back to 1983, and the movie is coming to theaters this February 14th for Valentine's Day, starring Colin Farrell, Russell Crowe and Jennifer Connelly… There is  just enough time to read it before then! *P.S. Here's the link to the movie trailer… and "The Book".

The Fault In Our Stars by John Greene… Despite the tumor-shrinking medical miracle that has bought her a few years, Hazel has never been anything but terminal, her final chapter inscribed upon diagnosis. But when a gorgeous plot twist named Augustus Waters suddenly appears at Cancer Kid Support Group, Hazel's story is about to be completely rewritten.

OK, here is your typical tragic teenage love story, except it isn't typical. It's gotten fabulous 5 stars reviews and John Green, the author, has been on the radar for writing wonderful books for some time. This has been on my reading list for a while, but I'll have to move it up before June, when the movie will be coming to theaters. I liked the trailer for this one too… Here it is: The Trailer and a link to "The book".

Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn… On a warm summer morning in North Carthage, Missouri, it is Nick and Amy Dunne's fifth wedding anniversary. Presents are being wrapped and reservations are being made when Nick's clever and beautiful wife disappears from their rented McMansion on the Mississippi River. Husband-of-the-Year Nick isn't doing himself any favors with cringe-worthy daydreams about the slope and shape of his wife's head, but passages from Amy's diary reveal the alpha-girl perfectionist could have put anyone dangerously on edge. Under mounting pressure from the police and the media--as well as Amy's fiercely doting parents--the town golden boy parades an endless series of lies, deceits, and inappropriate behavior. Nick is oddly evasive, and he's definitely bitter--but is he really a killer? 
As the cops close in, every couple in town is soon wondering how well they know the one that they love. With his twin sister, Margo, at his side, Nick stands by his innocence. Trouble is, if Nick didn't do it, where is that beautiful wife? And what was in that silvery gift box hidden in the back of her bedroom closet?

Gone Girl had been on numerous "best" lists in 2012. I have to admit, I just never got around to reading it or putting it on my TBR list. It seemed like the typical "Dead Wife, Husband Did It" kind of novel. But, I may have to give this one a try. Gilliam Flynn, the author, has quite a few books behind her, all with good reviews, and the writing may overcome what I first assumed was just the "typical wife dead, who-dun-it." Anyone read this yet? What did you think?! This movie will be released in October of this year and stars Ben Affleck.

Other books to movies this year… The Giver by Lois Lowry, The Maze Runner by James Dashner, This is Where I Leave You by Jonathan Tropper, The Hundred Foot Journey by Richard C. Morais, and The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman, just to name a few.

What are you looking forward to seeing in the movies? Any book you think should be a movie and isn't slated for the big screen yet? What are your favorite adaptations?

Here is a link to more books to movies that may interest you courtesy of Goodreads.

Weekly Recap…
I shared two book reviews this week. First was my review of RELISH by Lucy Knisley. What do you get when you mix a graphic novel with food? Relish of course! Click on the title to read my review of this fun memoir.

Second review this week was for Are You My Boyfriend by C.B. Bryza, a take off of the Dr. Suess classic, Are You My Mother and with the same great artwork to go along with it! It's a book for adults, not because of the language, but because of the wry humor of finding the perfect man. There's a good moral to the story too that wraps it all up in the end. A perfect Valentine's Day gift book. Read my review by clicking on the title above.

And what am I reading right now?! Well, I am reading Under The Wide and Starry Sky by Nancy Horan and am LOVING it!!! It is the story of the passionate romance between Robert Louis Stevenson and his wife Fanny. It's historical fiction and no one does this type of romance better than Nancy Horan. I read her previous book, Loving Frank and fell in love with her writing then. Expect a review soon….

Hope your reading week was good! What have you been cracking the spine on? Share all those great reads right here so we can all grab a copy!

Happy reading… Suzanne

The Sunday Salon... Summer Travel Thru The Pages of a Book

Imagine some university library's vast reading room. It's filled with people--students and faculty and strangers who've wandered in. They're seated at great oaken desks, books piled all around them, and they're all feverishly reading and jotting notes in their leather-bound journals as they go. Later they'll mill around the open dictionaries and compare their thoughts on the afternoon's literary intake....


Welcome Back! It's Sunday and that means The Sunday Salon for all of us readers and virtual visitors. As you know, it's been a while... I've missed all the chit chat about the books we've been reading and all the bookish things we've been doing! So as things settle down in my life, I'm picking up the pen again (really the computer keyboard), and writing about something I love... reading! Grab a cup of java, pull up a chair and relax... Let's talk books!

There is still a month before Summer "officially" comes according to the calendar, but if you step outside here in Connecticut, Summer has landed. This week it's been hot & muggy, and you can feel in the air just the slight tingling of lazy summer days and GREAT SUMMER READING! So, today we're going to look at a few books that we can get in the car and drive to... or at least be transported to once you open the pages of these new releases...

Canada by Richard Ford... First, I'll tell about the robbery our parents committed. Then about the murders, which happened later." Then fifteen-year-old Dell Parsons' parents rob a bank, his sense of normal life is forever altered. In an instant, this private cataclysm drives his life into before and after, a threshold that can never be uncrossed. Undone by the calamity of his parents' robbery and arrest, Dell struggles under the vast prairie sky to remake himself and define the adults he thought he knew. But his search for grace and peace only moves him nearer to a harrowing and murderous collision with Remlinger, an elemental force of darkness. A true masterwork of haunting and spectacular vision from one of our greatest writers, Canada is a profound novel of boundaries traversed, innocence lost and reconciled, and the mysterious and consoling bonds of family.



When I read about this book before its publication I was so excited. The story seemed fresh and fun...True Grit meets the Montana skies. I had never read Richard Ford before. He won a Pulitzer for Independence Day, has been compared to Faulkner and Hemingway and has generated a lot of press for Canada. What I was looking for was a good story writer, and after cracking the spine on Canada, I think I've found just what I was looking for. His prose is easy going, and colorful. Canada was released this past week by Ecco publishing, a division of Harper Collins. Look for a review in the near future. P.S. This book is Kindle Ready!

Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn... On a warm summer morning in North Carthage, Missouri, it is Nick and Amy’s fifth wedding anniversary. Presents are being wrapped and reservations are being made when Nick Dunne’s clever and beautiful wife disappears from their rented McMansion on the Mississippi River. Husband-of-the-Year Nick Dunne isn’t doing himself any favors with cringe-worthy daydreams about the slope and shape of his wife’s head, but hearing from Amy through flashbacks in her diary reveal the perky perfectionist could have put anyone dangerously on edge. Under mounting pressure from the police and the media—as well as Amy’s fiercely doting parents—the town golden boy parades an endless series of lies, deceits, and inappropriate behavior. Nick is oddly evasive, and he’s definitely bitter—but is he really a killer? As the cops close in, every couple in town is soon wondering how well they know the one that they love. With his twin sister Margo at his side, Nick stands by his innocence. Trouble is, if Nick didn’t do it, where is that beautiful wife? And what was left in that silvery gift box hidden in the back of her bedroom closet?

OK, this may be a stretch for Summer travel stories, but the "Gone Girl" did go on a trip, although probably a long trip on a short river bank. This book has gotten a lot of great buzz and it piqued my interest. I'm a little tired of the "Husband did it" murders you see on the news almost every day (what is it with these guys- ever hear of divorce?), but this story seems to take that idea and move it towards a different direction. Gillian Flynn is known for visiting those dark places of the human heart as well as writing good suspense, so I'm looking forward to cracking the spine on this one. BUT, I'm going to have to wait about a week... Gone Girl will be released on June 5th by Crown Publishing, a division of Random House. P.S. This book will be Kindle Ready!


What books have you been waiting to crack the spine on? Share those great books you're excited about so we all can have a great read! In the meantime, I'll be changing the batteries on my reading light because I think I'll be turning the pages late into the night!

Happy reading.... Suzanne