Wednesday, December 31, 2008

Movies!

Nick and Norah's

Many critics of Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist claim that it was a complete failure; that the writers were aiming for a Juno look-a-like, and ruined it miserably. Now, those who have read the book hopefully understand that Nick and Norah are very different characters than those portrayed in the movie Juno. Could it be that it was the same male lead (Michael Cera), but just because Kira Knightley is in Pirates and Pride and Prejudice you are not going to compare the two movies, are you? 
On the other hand, there are raving reviews declaring how phenomenal this movie was. With is quirky funny drama, and closer to real teenagers (compared to the average bubbly, fairytale living or druggies we often see in movies) it is easy to follow and enjoy without reading the book. The main plot line is changed, but it does keep some of the book’s originality and dialogue. This of course is always a plus. 
Personally, I would most definitely recommend this movie for anyone (unless you can’t stand teen drama and comedy). It’s very cute and the music is catchy. I’m not saying it is the best movie in the whole wide world but if it were to ever be on T.V. on a Saturday afternoon you should better believe that I would sit on my couch and watch it. Just make sure you go into it with an open mind and ready to laugh. = )

 

City of Ember

This movie did very well with keeping to the book. The plot was the more or less the same, but of course it being a movie there were slight changes here and there, none really messing up the movie. In some respect, the movie had a very little climax, although how much of that is the movie’s fault vs. the book’s, I really don’t know. 
One part that really did disappoint me was the lack of information on how they got down to the city in the first place. Having read all of the books, I know how and why they did what they did, but in the movie it left people unhappily hanging. In fact those of my family who went to see it with me had to ask why they were there and what happened to everyone else, because the movie never said. 
Overall, I think it was a good movie to see once, maybe twice. It was cute, but the characters seemed slightly shallow and monotone. There was little character development between Lina and Doon. It was defiantly an interesting movie. Go and see it, give it a chance. And who knows, you may just love it!

 

Twilight

Where to start? I don't even know. 

Hmmm, ok. Let's begin with the hype. Movies like these always have huge amounts of pressure to get everything right with comparison to the book. Fans were, watching and re-watching any little interview or clip that they could get their hands on, becoming vacuums of information. People debated the worthiness of Robert Pattinson to play their dear Edward. They fought over their opinions of the skill of the director, screenwriter, and in multiple cases the cast. We really were a hard crowd to please. As time went on, new Twilighters appeared, and so did new expectations. By that fateful 12:01 a.m. November 21st, no one really knew what to expect.

Yes, I was one of those crazy people who went opening night. Yes, I did get in line quarter after nine (which, by the way was way too early). And yes, I did make t-shirts with my friends to wear to school that day. But no, I did not get what I expected. Not necessarily in a bad way, but it was definitely different. The Edward in the movie was much more real that I had ever imagined him to be. He was innocent, and vulnerable, and against all my previous oppositions he made me smile. He was human. It was nice. At the same time that I was discovering these wonderful surprises I was unable to not find downfalls. There were parts that felt horribly scripted (and I am not completely sure if this is a fail on the side of the actors or the writers, or that others even felt that way: as I am more inclined to see a script behind the acting because I am in theater) and the chemistry between Bella and Edward was off. They dumped the blood typing scene from the movie to add minutes of them staring into each others eyes and climbing trees. This leads me to my final thought, I thought it was funny. The only problem is, I'm not sure that it was meant to be comical. I mean seriously, Jasper's face? And quirky remarks from Edward like "it’s the fluorescent lighting" when asked about his eye color changing. 

My best advise to you? Go see this for yourself. Because there are so many ways that these movie screwed up, and so many ways it rocks. It really just depends on what really matters to you.

Tuesday, December 23, 2008

Christmas Jars

Hey everyone!
Keeping with the holiday season I have just finished rereading one of my favorite Christmas stories of all time. Granted it is a sappy -all most too perfect- story, Christmas Jars by Jason F. Wright never fails to take my breath away. It is a story of a family who collects change during the year to spend on Christmas. This idea suddenly becomes focused on giving to others rather than getting things for themselves. Yes, the typical Christmas moral. Nonetheless, it really is remarkable and it’s such a great picker-upper. Unfortunately, with its short story layout it is lacking in very dynamic and developed characters. :D (go here --> www.christmasjars.com)

On that note, I (and the rest of the LOTR newsletter staff...even though I really don't know if they want to spread good cheer to you or not...) want to wish you all a wonderful holiday season and a great New Year! Keep reading!

<3 Brenna

Saturday, December 20, 2008

LOTR Book of the Month Review: House of Dance by Beth Kephart


Title: House of Dance

Author: Beth Kephart

Summary:

Rosie and her mother coexist in the same house as near strangers. Since Rosie's father abandoned them years ago, her mother has accomplished her own disappearing act, spending more time with her boss than with Rosie. Now faced with losing her grandfather too, Rosie begins to visit him every day, traveling across town to his house, where she helps him place the things that matter most to him "In Trust." As Rosie learns her grandfather's story, she discovers the role music and motion have played in it. But like colors, memories fade. When Rosie stumbles into the House of Dance, she finally finds a way to restore the source of her grandfather's greatest joy.

Eloquently told, National Book Award finalist Beth Kephart's House of Dance is a powerful celebration of life and the people we love who make it worthwhile.


Rating: 4.5/5

Review:

For starters, this was a very very quick and easy book. So the fact that I finished it in less than a day automatically made it a good pick for me.

Other than that, I have many many thoughts on this book. It'd be too hard for me to write a full review, because most of my thoughts contain spoilers, but I'll do my best not to ruin the book for anyone.

If anyone has read my reviews lately (at bookloverreviews.blogspot.com) you will know that I have been focusing a lot on the main characters... and for some reason, they are just never right. I am not someone who cares a whole lot on the main character's personality, but recently I've been getting annoyed. House of Dance had an absolutely perfect main character; she is a strong and generally good person-- she is almost TOO good. I almost wish that she would have snuck out and done something naughty, just to make her at least a little bad. However, I loved Rosie so much... she was such a sweet person, she is someone I'd strive to become, and so she made the book really enjoyable.

And it WAS really enjoyable. Depsite depressing subject matter, I still enjoyed reading the descriptions and stories thrown in here and there... it all added up to a great story with an amazing concept.

However, I did have one tiny problem: character development. There were descriptions of things that happened, and in general who everyone was, but I find myself wanting MORE! Especially more about Rosie's father and Nick, and also Marissa and Max and everyone else from the House of Dance. All of these characters intrigue me; they are all part of this grand masterpiece and I wish I could learn more about them and how they came to be.

So overall, it was a fairly enjoyable book. And it's going to make a great Christmas present for one of my best friends :)


<3 Chelsie

Friday, December 19, 2008

Blogging End of the Year Countdown

Since it is almost the end of 2008, I am going to propose something...

Anyone who reads my blog should remember the Back to School Countdown I posted back in August? Well, I am going to do an End of the Year Countdown. It will consist of the top five favorite books from 2008... released in 2008, and read in 2008.

This time, though, I'd like other bloggers to participate... I would LOVE to see what everyone's favorites are...

So, basically, this is what I'm doing... I am going to invite everyone to post their own End of the Year Countdown on your blog, if you're interested. The only thing I ask is that, in your first post, you either mention my blog and say that's where you got it from, or link, or something. Give credit where credit is due =D But other than that, you can post it however you want, or you can follow how I am posting, which I will explain below.

If you're feeling up to a countdown, let me know and I'll be sure to go check it out. If not, that's fine too, I just figured I'd let everyone else know to expect another countdown =D

---

First Post on 12/28/08 at 12:00 AM: Fifth Favorite book of '08
Second Post on 12/29/08 at 12:00 AM: Fourth Favorite book of '08
Third Post on 12/30/08 at 12:00 AM: Third Favorite book of '08
Fourth Post on 12/31/08 at 12:00 AM: Second Favorite book of '08
Last Post on 01/01/09 at 12:00 AM: Absolute Favorite book of '08.

Hope to see at least some of you counting down with me!

<3 Chelsie

-also posted on bookloverreviews.blogspot.com-

Saturday, December 13, 2008

Our October 2008 Newsletter

Here's the next installment. (I like it much better than the first.)

Click the right-most image (of a rectangle in a rectangle) to see it in full zoom.

Hope you like it:


Oct 2008 LOTR Newsletter

Our August 2008 Newsletter

This was released at the end of August and just to keep it in our files I'm putting it on this blog.

Enjoy (if you haven't already seen it)! 

BTW, yes I know some of it is messed up or you can't see it, it's because of Scribd.


NEWAUGUSTNEWSLETTER

Monday, December 8, 2008

Welcome!

Welcome to the new blog for Like OMG Teens Read. Here are some questions and answers that will guide you along who we are and what we will do with this site:
  • What is Like OMG Teens Read? It is a message board located at likeomgteensread.com where all genres of books like fantasy, drama, mystery, etc. are discussed through the creation of topics and replies by fellow members.
  • Is it free to join? Yes. 100%. You should join... now.
  • What is this blog for? This blog is for our "newsletter". It took too much time and effort to get together our writers and to write about a new book coming out, an author of the month, a quote of the month, rally together a contest, and the whole nine yards every month. So we decided we could make a Blogger blog where we could post when we want (and have the inspiration) about what we want.
  • What kinds of things can I expect to see posted on this blog? Book releases stories, author interviews, book discussions, stories on real-life happenings in the book world, and much more.
  • Can I contribute to this blog? YES. We'd love for you to contribute. Just e-mail whatvanessareads (at) gmail.com with the subject line "LOTR Blog" with your Blogger e-mails o I could add you to the authors. We'd love for you to become a member of our message board first though, and you can just go to likeomgteensread.com and join... it takes 3 minutes. 
Thank you so much for reading this and I hope you come back to see more happening soon. :)