Wednesday, July 24, 2013

Upcoming book-to-film adaptations

     I feel like so many of the movies that have been made over the past year have been either sequels or book adaptations. Hollywood running low on ideas? No complaints here, so long as they don't half ass it! Here are some upcoming confirmed book-to-film adaptations over the next year or so. If you know of any others, leave them in the comments! I am not always super up-to-date on this stuff. : )

Horns by Joe Hill
Film Release: October 11, 2013

     If you don't know (I didn't when I first fell in love with his writing) Joe Hill is Stephen King's son and an absolutely amazing storyteller (shocker!) This isn't my favorite of his books (that honor goes to Heart-Shaped Box) but this is the only one I know of heading to the silver screen. Guess who's starring? Guess!!

Daniel Radcliffe! He is set to portray the tortured title character Ig Perrish. Eee!






Divergent by Veronica Roth
Film Release: March 24, 2014

I'm sure by now you all know about this one, but Veronica Roth's highly acclaimed novel Divergent is being made into a film starring Shailene Woodley, Zoe Kravitz, and a bunch of other super-talented stars. To be honest, I haven't actually gotten around to reading these books, but I know that they've gotten really great reviews around the blogosphere.







The Maze Runner by James Dasher
Film Release: February 14, 2014

     This YA novel about a boy who wakes up in a giant maze with no memories. So, that sounds pretty legit. This is another of those novels that got a TON of wonderful reviews but I just haven't gotten around to reading it yet. Man, my TBR list is HUGE. Honestly. James Dasher also has writing credits on this film, so hopefully he was able to bring the novel to life the way he wanted it to be portrayed.








If I Stay by Gayle Forman
Film Release: ??

This novel was just...I don't even know what to say. I am both glad and worried that it's being made into a movie, because sometimes you see a film adaptation of a book and it's like WHYYY. So, we'll see. This is set to star Chloe Grace Moretz, who is just AMAZING, so I'm thinking this will be a pretty great movie. : )










Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead
Film Release: February 14, 2014

These books are crazy-popular, and they are definitely not your typical vampire fare. The film is set to star Zoey Deutch who is just insanely beautiful. She was also in the Beautiful Creatures movie (as Emily Asher), and she's in that ABC show Switched at Birth.











The Fault in Our Stars by John Green
Film Release: 2014

This book broke my freaking heart, you guys. Repeatedly. And I loved every damn second of it. The film is set to star Shailene Woodley and I would this is probably one of the ones I'm more excited/anxious about. Damn. Seriously, I loved this book so hard and if you haven't read it you need to. John Green is wonderfully talented. Just...seriously.







And there are a ton of things that are listed as 'in development', so who knows if they'll get off the ground. Here are a few:

The Age of Miracles by Karen Walker Thompson (THIS BOOK WAS AMAZING)
Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn
Incarceron by Catherine Fisher
Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor (OMG!)
Matched by Ally Condie (Supposedly the entire trilogy has been picked up by Disney)


And then of course there's Catching Fire and City of Bones, both of which I am INSANELY excited about because I absolutely DEVOURED both of those  book series.

So. It's shaping up to be an interesting year!

Levitating Las Vegas

Levitating Las Vegas by Jennifer Echols
Genre: New Adult/Young Adult
Published: May 7, 2013
Publisher: Pocket Star

     Showgirl Holly Starr is sick and tired of assisting her dad, a celebrity magician, in his Las Vegas casino magic show. As soon as he keeps his promise to her and shares the secrets of his tricks, she can break out on her own. But can she really make it? For years Holly has taken medication to stave off crazy hallucinations that she can levitate objects. Just when she thinks she's ready to make a career and a life for herself her medicine-and her luck-run out.

     Elijah Brown suffers from a similar delusion-that he can read minds-and he's out of medicine too. Determined to save himself and his old flame Holly, he kidnaps her and takes her straight to the source, a town high in the Rockies where their medicine is made. What they discover there leads them to suspect their powers are not imaginary after all...and neither is the intense attraction they feel for each other.

    They make a pact to stick together as they return to Vegas to confront the people who kept them in the dark so long. But soon they're pitting their powers against each other in a dangerous world where the nightlife is seductive, domination is addictive, the sex is beyond belief...and falling in love is murder.

     I was so very excited for this book, you guys, seriously. Look at that cover! And that synopsis...oh man. And I bet that you can guess that this is leading to a 'but', so I'm mentally pulling a Bob Barker as in 'ding, ding, ding give them all a prize!' 

     Okay, sorry, sarcasm over. Probably. This book had so many appealing aspects: it takes place in a casino in Las Vegas, our main character is a girl struggling with the idea that she has a mental illness, there's glitz and glamour and cute boys and MAGICIANS for Pete's sake. 

     However, as anybody who has ever tasted my cooking can attest, throwing a bunch of yummy ingredients into a pot does not a delicious meal make. There was a little something something missing from this book for me, a certain cohesion. I know that sounds super vague but the truth is I can't exactly pinpoint what was missing, I only know that something was and it left me wanting. 

     I usually really enjoy Jennifer Echols writing, too. Oh, well. 

     If you're looking for something fun and a little flirty to get you through one of those 'I don't want to think' days, or a lazy beach day where your brain is all sun-soaked I would recommend picking this up. 

Oh hey guess what!! You can totally read the ENTIRE BOOK for FREE (along with a selection of other full-length novels from XOXO After Dark) here : http://xoxoafterdark.com/free-reads/

Tuesday, July 23, 2013

Teaser Tuesday

Hey guys! It's Tuesday! That means its time for another Teaser Tuesday. This is a weekly meme hosted by MizB at Should Be Reading and is an opportunity for people to share a little snippet from their current read. Anybody can participate!

*Grab your current read
*Flip to a random page
*Share two 'teaser' sentences from anywhere on the page
*Avoid spoilers! Don't be that person who ruins a book for someone else!
*Share the title & author so that other readers can check out the book, too.

So, here's my TT for this week:


"And then, as if in slow motion, he was falling, in skydiver pose. I was perched safely at the top of the jungle gym and I saw Charlie hit the ground with an ominous thud."
                     Pg. 88 Lulu Dark Can See Through Walls
                                              by Bennett Madison

I've only just started this book but it's a girl-detective type novel about a girl who is not as wholesome as Nancy Drew (and not quite as badass as V. Mars, but then again who is?)

What are you all reading?

Veronica Mars

Holy freaking hell I cannot wait for this!!



Ah!

Thursday, July 18, 2013

Adults reading YA: Is there a stigma?

     I am 26. I realize that, technically, I'm closer to 30 now than 20, and am therefore no longer in my early twenties but in my mid-twenties (ugh, I'm still processing that...) At my library the YA section is in the Children's section, in a separate room and floor from the regular adult section. Suffice it to say, this makes me feel a little bit weird about browsing in there. I can't be alone in this, right?

     Here's the thing, though. The themes present in YA novels are the same themes present in novels for adults: sex, love, lust, civil unrest, violence, family issues, etc. My library even has The Hunger Games series stocked I'm both the adult and YA section, and novels by Dickens and Shakespeare are also in the YA section.

     I've realized through blogging that I am absolutely not the only adult who reads YA. A big portion of the buzz and support for YA novels and authors comes from bloggers, a good portion of whom are in their 20's. Books like Harry Potter, Twilight, and the Hunger Games broke a lot of barriers in the literature department, and it isn't uncommon to see older adults reading these novels that have been made into epic movies.

     So why is there still a stigma to adults reading YA? Why is it still looked down upon as a somehow lesser form of literature, when the themes are similar to ones Shakespeare wrote about, and his novels are considered timeless classics and, in my high school at least, required reading? Is this stigma imagined?

Wednesday, July 17, 2013

Waiting on Wednesday

Hey all! Wednesday is upon us once again, so that means it's time for Waiting on Wednesday. Waiting on Wednesday is a meme hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine. Basically it's an opportunity to share a book whose arrival you're anxiously awaiting.

I always end up adding a ton of awesome books to my TBR list because of this meme! : )

This week my pick is:

The Chaos of Stars by Kiersten White
Publication Date: September 10, 2013
Publisher: Harper Teen

I have read some seriously mixed reviews of this book, but I can't wait to get my hands on it. I love Kierstn White's writing, and I've been anticipating the release of this novel since before the cover art (beautiful, beautiful cover art!!) was released.

What are you all waiting on? Leave me links, the books on my TBR list could use some company! ; )

P.s I'm rewatching Charmed (Netflix!), and is it just me or did they change the theme music? They totally did the same thing to Dawson's Creek! WTH, world?

Saturday, July 13, 2013

Golden by Jessi Kirby

Golden by Jessi Kirby
Published: May 14, 2012
Publisher: Simon & Schuster

     Julianna Farnetti had the kind of relationship depicted in romance novels, the kind of love that all teenage girls dream of finding for themselves someday. She and her boyfriend, Shane Cruz, are the golden couple of their small town, their future all mapped out before them. When she and Shane are killed in a car accident their senior year of high school they become almost mythical figures, larger than life.

     Parker Frost is the girl who plays it safe. Ever since her poet father left her business-minded mother, Parker has felt pressured to tramp down that side of herself and succeed, which means good grades, perfect attendance, and extracurriculars galore so that she can get into Stanford. Her best friend (and my new fictional bestie) Kat warns Parker that she's missing out on a lot of things that make life interesting and makes Parker promise to do one unexpected thing before graduation.

     When Parker stumbles upon Julianna's senior year English project, a diary she kept that was meant to capture candidly who she was at 17 and who she aspired to be, and, against her own nature, begins reading it, Parker is launched into the middle of a life very different from  her own, and a 10 year old mystery. Was Julianna Farnetti the golden girl everybody thought she was?

     This book has a perfect blend of romance, mystery, adventure and angst, and Julianna's story is intense and completely engrossing. I had a hard time putting this book down, and got a little mad every time I got interrupted. I loved this book so much, and unraveling this mystery with Parker and watching her (tentatively) step out of her shell and become more confidant in herself was amazing.

     I also loved the incredibly realistic relationship between Parker and Kat. I hate reading a novel where the 'best friend' is just a prop but Kat felt like an actual, three-dimensional person to me, and her encouragement, support, and frustrations made me love her that much more. She urges Parker to try new things, supports her in her college dreams, and nudges her in the direction of the boy Parker's been crushing on since the 7th grade (Trevor Collins....just....sigh....) Kat is fantastic.

     If you are a fan of Sarah Dessen, or if you remember what it was like to be 17 you should definitely check out this book. LOVE.

Wednesday, July 10, 2013

Gimmie Gimmie

Hey-Oh! Guess what! I'm back from my super-secret, I'd-tell-you-what-I-was-doing-but-then-I'd-have-to-kill-you break from blogging! Yay!

To celebrate my return, I thought I would rock a giveaway to shamelessly win back my followers and maybe, if I'm lucky, get some new ones. So, what do you say? Want a free book? : D

Here's the deal:

Enter your info in the Rafflecopter below
The contest runs until the end of the month
Winner will be announced here and on Twitter
Choose your loot!


a Rafflecopter giveaway

iBook: Pick or Pass

Hola, fellow Bibliofreak! Are you like me? Broke, with an unrelenting love of books?

     My latest hobby is bopping merrily around the iBook store in search of things that are A. Palatable, B. Hidden gems, or C. Laughably bad. Since we're all friends here, and I wouldn't want you all to waste your time wading through some of the crap that's out there, I thought I would share my findings with you. Because sharing is caring. Thus we have my new (sure to be sporadic) feature, iBook: Pick or Pass.



Leashed by Zoe Dawson
Published: September 29, 2012
Publisher: Blue Moon Creative

     This novella (26K words) is the first in a series, Gone to the Dogs. As you can probably tell, dogs are a pretty big plot point in the world Zoe Dawson writes about.

     Our heroine, Callie Lassiter, is a dog trainer who comes from a family of dog breeders, Great Danes specifically. There was a lot of information about dog breeds, dams and sires (that's probably incorrect terminology, I've already forgotten what they're actually called.) This was knowledge I didn't previously have and would probably have survived another 20 years without caring about, but it adds authenticity to the story, I suppose.

     Our love interest is Owen McKay, Callie's neighbor and...I don't really know what to say about Owen McKay. He is a wealthy club owner/bad boy/notorious womanizer who is wearing leather pants when we first meet him. LEATHER PANTS. I don't know. On the one hand, Owen is essentially a trope. A bad boy with a reputation for bedding hotties who has a heart of gold and a serious soft spot for his Aunt Mildred, but for some reason I actually kinda dug Owen, when he wasn't making with the awkward dialogue (seriously, some of the stuff that came out of these people's mouths was cringe-inducing.)

     Callie's Great Dane, Jack, knocks up Owen's Great Dane, Jill, ensuring that they will have to spend time with one another for the remainder of the book while we wait for Jill to give birth (it's called Whelping. Did you know that? I did not know that.)

     This book is super cutesy, a pretty quick read, and written well enough that it's possible to overlook the trope-y ness of it all. It also serves to introduce Callie's set of dog-loving friends who, I assume, will be the stars of other books in this series. If you're in the mood for something light and fluffy then you could do a lot worse than Leashed.

Verdict: Pick