7 Days of Favorite Books... Day 4

Cheryl Strayed definitely held my attention and had me turning those pages to keep reading. One of my favorite books, nonfiction, memoir and definitely better than the movie, which only touched on all the emotional, thought provoking writing.

The Sunday Salon and The Oscar Goes to... "Which Book?"

Welcome to The Sunday Salon! It's that day of the week where we sit down virtually with all our reader friends and talk books! And this week not only is it books, it's also movies!

For months now the media has been all abuzz about movies. It's the big push before the coveted Oscars. You see your movie theater bringing back the Oscar nominees for another go in the box office and you read all sorts of stellar reviews. That is, if you're into the big screen. I've always enjoyed a good movie, but when a book that I dearly loved is slated for the big screen I feel dread. It never use to be that way, but time and time again, I've been disappointed.

It's not entirely the movie industries fault that a movie doesn't translate (or translate for me) on the screen as well as the book. The director has a certain vision, there are time constraints that may hinder the full development of the movie on the screen, and as readers, we create in our minds the setting, the people, the everything from the author's words on the page. But sometimes it does work...


I'd have to say, all the Harry Potter books were great as movies. I loved the books and equally loved each movie. They "got it". The characters fit, the sets were brilliant, and the stories weren't chopped to fit the screen. The Time Traveler's Wife I thought was well done. It was amazing how they got all that time traveling pretty much on the mark, with the characters and the settings. The Shining was another amazing movie from a great book. It was perfect. Brokeback Mountain was amazing! I loved that movie and the short story by Annie Proulx was equally wonderful. Although a bit controversial, 2 gay cowboys falling in love, the love story was given the time and space to develop perfectly on the screen and the cinematography was beautiful.

And then there were some movies that weren't quite right... I loved the book Jurassic Park, and I do really like the movie, BUT the ending of the movie is so different from the book I was in shock while I was watching. The Reader was a moving, heart wrenching read, and the movie was wonderful UNTIL the ending. Why did "they" think they needed to change it? I don't know, but the ending in the book was perfect as it was, the ending of the movie was not. Memoirs of a Geisha was an amazing book, the movie was visually beautiful, but could not match the written word.

This year I did read one book-to-movie, a book I absolutely loved and a movie I was so disappointed with... Wild. If you did not read the book, the movie could stand alone and be good. If you read the book, you'd be wondering where half the book was. I thought the book was heart wrenching, sad, compelling, and I felt such empathy towards Cheryl Strayed, but the movie left me a bit empty. Her life was mostly told in small vignettes that just didn't have the power of the pages and pages that were devoted to how Cheryl became the woman that she was. I was doing a play by play afterwards to enlighten my husband as to the background of some of what was going on so he could better understand the circumstances.... Now, this is just one girl's opinion. My feelings may reflect my love of the book and how the movie did not live up to my expectations (which were low).

Here are a few books I LOVED that have been made into movies (and I haven't seen yet)... The Help, The Book Thief, Water for Elephants, Bridget Jones Diary, The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, The Kite Runner, and Snow Flower and the Secret Fan.

What books have you enjoyed that have been made into a movie? Are you excited to hear a book you loved is being turned into a movie? Have you read any of the books-to-movies up for an Oscar this year? I like to read the book before I venture out to see the movie, but maybe I shouldn't anymore!

Happy reading... Suzanne

Wild by Cherly Strayed… A Review.

The Pacific Crest Trail is 2663 miles long. It is a wilderness trail that stretches from the Mexican border in California all the way to the Canadian border. It passes through California, Oregon and Washington, various mountain ranges, lakes, watering holes, icy expanses, and all manor of woods. Sharing the wilderness trail are bears, coyotes, rattlesnakes and numerous other wild animals, and a few wild humans too.  It is beautiful and at the same time dangerous.

Cheryl Strayed was emotionally damaged. She had lost her Mother, lost her family essentially, loved her stepfather, but felt estranged from him as his life went forward after her Mother's death. She was divorcing a man she loved and she was out of control trying to move forward when she didn't have the strength. The PCT or The Pacific Crest Trail gave her that strength. It made her focus.

In what could be considered a crazy move, Cheryl decides to go on a 3 month hike on the PCT. Crazy because she didn't have the knowledge one should have about long distance hiking. She never even hiked much before the PCT trip. But she had nothing to lose. Underfunded and carrying too much of a load, with only a guidebook in hand, Cheryl sets out to hike over 1000 miles alone. This is an amazing story. This is her story.

What did I think? I absolutely loved this book! Cheryl's writing is gripping and honest. I was enthralled from the first page and had to keep turning those pages. I was emotionally and almost physically walking that trail with her. She made me feel what she was going through. I was sad, devastated, elated and rooting her on as she took me on that 3 month journey. Her thoughts went back to her "other life" at times, sharing with us her struggles that lead her to buy those hiking boots and start something fresh. Those moments of reflection were seamless and moved the story along wonderfully. And the story itself was written as though it were happening in the present, even though Cheryl didn't start writing Wild until years later.

I had heard about Wild when it was first published the summer of 2012. It had gotten good reviews, but I was a bit "memoir outed". When Wild was picked as one of World Book Night's 2014 selections, I decided I would pick it up. Maybe it's because of my own past struggles that Wild resonated with me, or maybe it was because Cheryl was a woman trying to prove her abilities to be independent & strong. As I read I wanted Cheryl to succeed, not only with her long distance hike, but the struggles she had with missing her Mother, wanting her family back,  and trying to forgive herself for decisions she had made in her past. When I finally turned that last page, I felt that satisfaction and disappointment of finishing a really good book. The adventure between these pages wasn't all milk & cookies, some of the story was hard to take at times, but I would recommend this book to anyone wanting a wonderfully written story full of heart. Part adventure, part inspirational, Wild is about life.

Wild is published by Vintage, a division of Random House and is available in Paperback , a Kindle Edition , and for Nook. If you're interested, click on the links to purchase Wild and read it for yourself!

The Sunday Salon and Wonderful Children's Books

Welcome to the Sunday Salon! It's that time of the week we all get to kick back and relax and talk about books! So, grab a cup of joe and find a comfy chair and let's talk books. And this week it's children's books. I love children's books. A simple story with beautiful illustrations just blows me away sometimes. Even though I have no children, I can appreciate the beauty and artistry that goes into some of these wonderful books. As adults we can find meaning in some of these children's books that hit a chord with our own lives. Sometimes the story can be silly, with humor that we can appreciate as adults, sometimes the story can make us pause to look at the world around us. In my travels this week, I came upon 3 books that I thought were simply wonderful...

Paul Meets Bernadette by Rosy Lamb... "Paul is a fish who used to go around in circles. He made big circles and little circles. He circled from left to right and from right to left. He circled from top to bottom and from bottom to top. What else was there to do? Until one day Bernadette drops in and shows Paul that there is a whole world out there, right outside his bowl, with so many things to see. A banana-shaped boat! A blue elephant with a spoutlike trunk (be quiet when she’s feeding her babies)! A lovely lunetta butterfly, with tortoise-shell rims! Simple saturated paintings play off this charming ode to an active imagination — and the way that life changes when a bewitching creature opens your eyes."

This book has gotten a lot of praise from it's wonderful story to the beautiful simple paintings that Rosy Lamb has created to go along it. Teaching children the power of imagination,  I'm sure if we open our eyes that we too can re-imagine the world in all it's beauty. Published by Candlewick, this book will be released Dec. 10th! And can be pre-ordered in Hardcover .


Once Upon a Memory by Nina Laden... Does a feather remember it once was a bird? Does a book remember it once was a word? When a feather drifts through a child's window, a magical journey begins. As the boy follows the feather, he is swept away to a world filled with adorable animals, where fantasy and reality come together in surprising and playful ways. From the cake that once was grain to the ocean that once was rain, whimsical "before" and "after" scenes offer readers a peek at the world as seen through the eyes of a curious child, ultimately asking the question, "What will you remember?"

The words to this story, a poem in reality, just stuck me as thought-provoking and beautiful. Do we really pay attention to the things around us and reflect on their origins? I think maybe not enough, but this wonderful book nudges us in the right direction to ponder the wonders all around us. This book has garnered a lot of great reviews and has a starred review in Publisher's Weekly to boot. Once Upon a Memory will be available in Hardcover on Dec. 3rd! And is available for pre-order.

Cinders: A Chicken Cinderella by Jan Brett...  Tasha feeds her flock in the old tower and falls asleep on a bed of straw.  So begins a magical night...  In Jan Brett's version of a favorite fairy tale, Cinders is pushed around by her comical sisters, Pecky and Bossy, and their haughty mother, Largessa. This night the chickens fly off to Prince Cockerel's Ice Palace.   All except poor Cinders until a Silkie flies in with her magic wand and transforms the little hen into a beautiful and mysterious guest at the ball.  Fanciful illustrations capture the grandeur of eighteenth-century Russia while Jan's chicken characters provide the fun and romance that she brings to the Cinderella story. Jan traveled to Russia and readers will be in awe of the Ice Palace aglow under a deep blue moonlit sky, exquisite ball gowns on the comely pullets, uniforms with gold braids and buttons on the cockerels, striking Russian architecture transformed into ice in the borders, and a very funny flock of chickens who provide an appealing, original look at this snowy Cinderella. 

I love Jan Brett's beautiful illustrations in her many books. This story should be no exception. And the story should be just plain fun! Of course being a "Chick with Books", I'm a bit partial to "Chick" books and this just was calling my name. Not just a wonderful take on a fairy tale we are all familiar with, but a beautiful wintry tale as well that would make a great gift book during the snowy season. Published by Putnam for Young Readers, Cinders: A Chicken Cinderella is being released this tuesday, Nov. 5th! It will be available in Hardcover AND for Kindle as well!

The Week in Review...

Tuesday Oct. 29th I posted New Releases that are meant to inspire you! Including a new book by Richard Paul Evans. In case you missed them, here is the link!

For Halloween, I posted that famous Halloween poem, The Raven by Edgar Allen Poe. Here's the link!

And on Friday, Nov. 1st, I reviewed The Hen Who Dreamed She Could Fly by Sun-mi Hwang. It's a modern classic tale translated from Korean for the first time. It has been on the best seller list in South Korea for a decade and now we in the Unites States have a chance to enjoy it. I really enjoyed it. Here is the link to read the review.

This week in reading...

Well, I started reading The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt, and I am hooked! And I downloaded Wild by Cheryl Strayed, which I am almost done with and have enjoyed in a different kind of way. Cheryl's writing is wonderful, but she's draws me into her world so much that I am really feeling a roller coaster of emotions as she hikes the Pacific Coast Trail reflecting back on losing her Mother, screwing up her marriage and hitting the lowest of the low in her life. I decided to read it because I've heard so many great reviews and it was also one of the World Book Night choices. Look for a review coming soon.

My reading group has chosen The Light Between Oceans by M.L. Stedman  as this months pick. What's it about? Here's a bit from the publisher...  Tom Sherbourne is a lighthouse keeper on Janus Rock, a tiny island a half day’s boat journey from the coast of Western Australia. When a baby washes up in a rowboat, he and his young wife Isabel decide to raise the child as their own. The baby seems like a gift from God, and the couple’s reasoning for keeping her seduces the reader into entering the waters of treacherous morality. A good book choice for a reading group is one that has potential for a good discussion, and The Light Between Oceans seems to fit that mark. I'll let you know how how the group enjoyed it next month.

So, how was your reading week?! What do you think about children's books? Can we as adults enjoy them too?

Happy reading... Suzanne