I decided to read BIG FISH: A NOVEL OF MYTHIC PROPORTIONS by Daniel Wallace when I first realized that the movie BIG FISH was actually based on a book! I saw the movie years ago and loved it! I love Ewan McGregor, you know! But I had no idea it was a book first. A few weeks ago, we had a free movie weekend with HBO or something like that and there was a preview, I think, that mentioned the book. I decided that I wouldn't watch the movie again until I read the book, so I immediately ordered the book and now I've finished reading it! So I can finally watch the movie again!
The movie varies from the book quite a bit. It keeps the essence of the overall story--what Wallace does with this beautiful story of a man who is an amazing story-teller (on his deathbed) and his son, attempting to connect with the man he doesn't know.
In some ways, I like the book better, but a part of me feels that I'm only saying that because as a book lover, I'm kind of supposed to say that. It is a really good book and I am very glad that I read it, but yet I have to admit that with this one, I think the movie is better. I don't know if it's because I'm prejudice towards Ewan McGregor or what, but I just find that the movie is much more fun. The book is cute, but I didn't laugh or smile or even cry while reading the book. I did all of those when I watched the movie. Of course, again, that might be because I watched the movie first, but that isn't going to change my opinion.
In this instance, the movie BIG FISH is better than the book BIG FISH by Daniel Wallace. (*Don't hate!)
BTW: did you know that there is also a stage musical?! I didn't!
Larry Richards' THE FULL ARMOR OF GOD: DEFENDING YOUR LIFE FROM SATAN'S SCHEMES is exactly what it says
it is. If you're new to studying the armor of God, it is definitely well worth reading. If you're not new to studying the armor of God, it's still worth reading, just know that there isn't an awful lot in it that you might not have studied or read previously. Richards covers the information thoroughly and well....just not in a very interesting manner. Don't get me wrong; it's a very good book and well worth reading. It's just that I found myself nodding off during my reading because it just didn't read in a way that held my attention and WOWED me when it comes to writing about something so important. The Bible is the living, breathing Word of God, so it doesn't need us to make it better. I guess I just have higher expectations regarding interest level when I'm reading about something as wonderful as the armor of God.
I did it. This isn't the first time in my life I've read my Bible through in a year, but it is the first time I've done it in several years. I tried last year, 2013, but when we went to Disney, I stopped and didn't pick it back up for some odd reason. It is NOT easy keeping up with something like reading my Bible every single day for 365 days in a row especially considering how busy I am at various times throughout the year (mainly the beginning, middle, and ends of any given semester). Every year, I say I am going to read my Bible through and almost every year for the past seven or eight years, I just haven't made it beyond the first few months. I am proud of myself for completing this goal this year.
Did I learn anything new from this reading? Because the Bible is the living, breathing Word of God, of course I did. I can't put into words exactly what, but what I do know is that rather than ending
the year thankful that it is over and afraid for the future, I am ending 2014 full of the Joy of the Lord and excited to see what miracles God is going to finish and do throughout 2015.
I loved reading through my Bible as I focused on JOY. I marked every single verse in the Bible with the word JOY in it as I read each day. I found myself marking verses on JOY more days than not. As I have studied JOY throughout the past year and as I have read my Bible through, I have found the true JOY of the Lord and that He truly has poured out His oil of JOY on me [more than anyone else].
I read the New Living Translation of the Bible on my digital reader.*
Jodi Picoult has the power, like no one else, to convince me that what I am reading at the time I reading HER book is THE GREATEST book I have ever read in my life as well as the most realistic story I have ever read. Wow. I had a difficult time getting started with LEAVING TIME. Not because of the story, but because I was very busy with the end of the semester. Once I had a few minutes to sit down and actually read the book, though, I found it next to impossible to put down. Wow. As I was nearing the end, I felt that I should have seen THAT ending coming, but wonderfully, I did not. I love it when I get to the surprise without having figured it out. I can still enjoy a book when I have figured out the surprise before getting there, but for me, it is simply more fun being able to read the surprise and experiencing it in its full force and effect. Wow. Great job, Jodi.
I have always loved elephants, but LEAVING TIME has given me a much greater appreciation for them. Wonderful.
LEAVING TIME is a wonderful reminder of the fact that we have to be careful to pre-judge someone or simply to pass judgment on people before we know the whole truth. There are certain characters in this book who I found myself drawn to and others I wanted to disappear simply because I didn't agree with them, didn't like their philosophy, or more importantly, I didn't like or agree with something they were doing. But by the end of the book, I found myself changing my way of thinking about each of those characters!!!
Picoult's books never fail to keep me riveted. The best part is that with LEAVING TIME, we also get the back story of her novellas that she published online prior to the release of the book! Awesome. I can't say enough good things about LEAVING TIME by Jodi Picoult.
I know I read DRAGONFLY IN AMBER years ago...back when I first read Diana Gabaldon's OUTLANDER, but for some reason or another, I could not remember the second half of the book. I remembered everything right up to....well, for those of you who haven't read it, I won't say, but for those of you who HAVE read it, right up to THAT part--you know which part I'm talking about. Anyway, everything after that part read as if I'd never read it before. I don't remember giving up the book years ago after reading THAT part, but I honestly didn't remember any of it. It was as if I'd never read it. Oh well. Now I can say for sure that I have read the WHOLE book and I doubt I will forget the reading of it this time!
I do think that these books have too much information, details that
are difficult to remember. It is hard for me to believe that Claire, NOT a historian, would remember specific historical information that her husband, Frank Randall--a true historian, shared with her. We remember things we're interested in and Claire just was not interested in the same things Frank was interested in. Granted, I do believe that in times of necessity we can and do remember things, information that we didn't even realize we knew, but still...I find it difficult to believe that Claire could remember so much specific information.
I still love the story between Claire and Jamie. It's wonderful seeing their relationship and how they interact with one another--two stubborn hot-heads who are definitely more suited to one another than Claire and Frank. It is very difficult for me to like Frank at all when he physical resembles Black Jack Randall so much. Yes, he also resembles Jonathan Randall's brother, Alex, but we don't meet Alex until the second book and Black Jack has made such an incredible impression on us already from book 1.
Anyway, to OUTLANDER readers, DRAGONFLY IN AMBER is still an enjoyment to read and definitely feeds our desire for more of Claire and Jamie! I'll give VOYAGER a shot next and see if it continues to feed my desire for even more of my beloved characters!!!! ;)
As a NaNoWriMo participant, Kevin Kaiser's @WRIMO: 30-DAY SURVIVAL GUIDE is a motivational read. I would not dare to say that it gave me the inspiration I needed to stay focused and actually finish my 50,000 words for the month, but I will dare to say that it kept me wanting to work on my novel. It is written in the same style as devotionals which means that the chapters are short, sweet, quick to read, interesting, and motivational. There is one chapter for every day of the month. I finished it a day or two early only because I also finished my 50,000 words a few days early. I have now read this book for three years straight during the month of November. It just keeps getting better and better.
The one question I have for Kevin Kaiser or anyone on the NaNoWriMo staff is: What are the current statistics and/or how do I find them? I don't know why, but I find it fascinating to know the number of people who signed up for NaNo vs. the total number to finish.
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IDENTICAL by Ellen Hopkins is incredible! I prefer not to read books about sex, drugs, and alcohol filled with foul language, but Hopkins deals with such issues in a way that demonstrates the fact that such things can (not always, of course)--but such things CAN lead to destructive behavior. The way she handles her stories is just fantastic. I realize that many of her books, IDENTICAL included, come under the heading of "YA" Literature, but as an adult, I can't get enough of her! I LOVE that she writes prose in poetic form and that she is the only author I have read up to this point who has done this--and done it so incredibly eloquently! It's a throw-back to old English Literature such as Christopher Marlowe, William Shakespeare, John Milton, and others like them who wrote prose in poetic form, but mostly in iambic pentameter or other consistent poetic styles. Hopkins doesn't stick with one poetic form; she plays with poetry in a manner that creates a story that not only jumps off the page because it's simply brilliant, but also because of the physical appearance of the words on the page. I loved holding my book at different angles sometimes to see if a poem held a new way of seeing it by SEEING it differently! Hopkins is genius and should be read by EVERYONE!!!
I have to say that I am excited to note that I actually figured out the
"secret" of the book before I got to that part. I did it with the help of someone who asked me a random question when I was talking about the book. He didn't even realize he'd done anything. And to be perfectly honest, at the time, I thought it was a dumb question. But it was ultimately a question that led me to question my original perception of the book and to evaluate it from a completely different view and to figure out the surprise twist before I actually read the surprise twist! It did NOT ruin the book for me to know that in advance! I was, instead, quite excited to find that I had figure it out before needing to be told--by the story itself!
Great book! Go read it!!!!
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