Tag: book review

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling

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Took a little break from Harry Potter before coming back to read the final book, but it felt so good to come back and all I have to say is WOW. This book was seriously sooooo good.

It’s definitely the best out of all of them. Seriously there was so much action from beginning to end, I’m not surprised at all that they decided to break it up into two movies.

I am so sad that so many characters had to die in the end. It was hard to read about the deaths of so many of them.

I really can’t believe I never read these books before now. I grew up with these books around constantly and I’m so sad that I missed out on the hype of the new books being released and the movies coming out, but I’m so glad that I’ve read them now. Better late than never, right?

Seriously this series is just so amazing and the writing is so good. Everyone should read these books. I can’t believe I’m done!

Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail by Cheryl Strayed

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This was one of those movies that I saw a while ago and reflected on while I was going through a rough patch with a guy. I felt like my feeling for him were consuming me and it made me feel like I was worthless because he wasn’t returning the same feelings.

I decided to read the book and I’m really glad that I did. This book and Cheryl’s story really helped me. I know that our stories weren’t the same at all and she had it much worse than I did, but I think that when you find something like this that helps you, it’s really special.

Things get better and life is going to be full of situations and issues that you’ll have to overcome. It’s important to work on yourself and to not blame yourself for the things that happen to you. Sometimes, it’s just completely out of your control.

I like that this book really made me feel like anything is possible and to never let yourself believe that you can’t do something. Cheryl wasn’t a hiker, she had hardly any experience on this trek and she did it, even though people doubted her and she doubted herself. She did it, and that’s so important.

I’d be lying if I said that i didn’t want to do a hike of my own after reading this book. It’s so inspiring and it just sounds so amazing to make that decision to change your life and do something for yourself.

If you haven’t read this book, I would highly recommend it. Seriously, it’s a good one.

Love, Rosie by Cecelia Ahern

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Here’s yet another book that I decided to read because I was obsessed with the movie. Don’t worry, I promise it won’t be the last 😉

When I decided to read Love, Rosie I had no idea that the entire book was made up of letters, emails, and instant messages. At first I was a little put off by it, but it actually made it a lot easier to read and it was a good way to show the personalities of all of the characters.

Man, this book was frustrating. They loved each other for SO long and it took SO long for them to finally be together. At least in the movie they were still pretty young when the ended up together.

I guess this story really resonates with me because I have a “friend” in my life right now who for awhile was someone I only communicated with through text messages. We seriously went for about 9 months texting every day before meeting and so love stories like this remind me of it. I hope that if I’m going to end up with this person, like Alex and Rosie *eventually* did, that it happens faster than it did for them.

I was glad that Alex’s kids were grown up by the time he finally ended up with Rosie. It would’ve felt wrong if Rosie had broken up his family so that they could be together.

I did have to re-watch the movie after I finished reading and I just have to say, it’s so crazy how much they sped the whole story up! I mean, I totally understand why they did it, it’s just insane how quickly they went through everything!

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by J.K. Rowling

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After reading The Order of the Phoenix, I needed a break from the Harry Potter world. Like I said, that movie was never my favorite, and the book was just as hard for me to get through. It was a good book and I did have a better appreciation for it by the end, but it is not the best one of the series.

I took a break and read a few other books, as you may know if anyone actually does follow this blog, but I’m not one to give up on something I’ve set my mind to!

I’m so glad I decided to pick the Harry Potter books up again and read the Half-Blood Prince. This book was sooooo much better than the last one. It was way more action-packed and I was excited to read it every day. I actually finished this one pretty quickly once I really got into it.

I thought it was interesting how the romantic relationships really started to develop in this book. It makes sense that as these characters get older they’ll start developing romantic feelings for each other. I actually really like Harry and Ginny together in the books. It’s funny, because I always see how people say they shouldn’t have ended up together in the movie, but with the book it totally makes sense.

The one thing that did annoy me was how obsessed Harry became with stalking Draco. Like, I know he was right, but it was just so annoying to have to get through.

I know it’s a major story line in the last book, but I wish that Dumbledore would have taught him more when they were hunting for the horcrux. He just did it all by himself and didn’t really explain it all to Harry, which wasn’t helpful at all.

I think because I knew that Dumbledore was going to die, it didn’t really upset me when it happened in the book. I’m sure it would have been shocking and upsetting for anyone who read it before the movies came out, but I was more upset about Fang being in the burning hut.

This book definitely made up for the last one, and I’m so excited to read the next one!

Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher

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I watched the first season of 13 Reasons Why as soon as it came out on Netflix. It was hard to watch at times, but I absolutely loved the characters and that the show was opening up a dialogue about mental health issues. When I found out that the show was based on a book, I had to read it.

I’ll admit, I was a little disappointed with the book. Usually, when a show or movie is based on the book I love it because I get to learn more about the characters and how they’re feeling.

The number one thing that bothered me about the show was how long it took Clay to listen to the tapes. In the book, it’s too fast. It actually made me appreciate the show and how it gave you time to emotionally deal with each revelation. It make me realize that it was actually probably pretty hard for Clay to keep listening, which is why it took so long. In the book, it was just one after the other in one night.

I also feel like I don’t know anything about the people on the tapes from the book. The show did such a good job building these characters that it feels wrong to be judging them from one or two things that the they did to Hannah.

I felt bad for every one of them in the show (except Bryce) and Hannah makes them seem like they’re just horrible people all of the time. Although a lot of the things they did to her were awful and mean, I don’t think they really knew what all was going on in her life, and she didn’t know what they were also going through.

The book left me wanting so much more, so I’m really glad that the show exists and that the continued to build on these characters in the second season. In the book, you don’t even get to see how Clay reacted to being around these people after he finished the tapes and that’s what I was most looking forward to when I was reading it.

They really did such a good job with the show. I understand the controversy, but I think that parents can use it as a way to talk to their kids. The issues in the show are real things that happen to people of all ages. It’s definitely uncomfortable to talk about, but we need to be talking about them.

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J.K. Rowling

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Okay, so I didn’t remember this movie at all. Why did I think that Neville’s parent’s were dead? I must have just overlooked that in the movie, I actually can’t remember if they ever say whether they’re alive or not.

Anyway, WOW what a crazy book. Not remembering the movie well actually made me keep questioning what I thought happened, and I felt like maybe they changed things in the movie.

I’m not gonna lie, I kind of had to drag myself through the first half of the book. It felt very slow and I really loved the last one so I thought this one would be exciting, but once it got to the the Triwizard Tournament it really picked up and was really good.

It really makes you think that no one can be trusted. It could’ve been anyone who put Harry’s name into the goblet. I felt bad for Harry, that he didn’t know who had put him in this situation and that he was forced into it and people acted like he was just doing it for the fame.

The Voldemort scene was intense and some amazing writing. I was so sad about poor Cedric, the scene was devastating, especially after Harry had told him to take the goblet with him.

I really liked that Harry gave all the money he won to Fred and George, that was a nice little thing to end the story with.

I know what’s coming next and I’m so worried about how I’ll feel reading it. There was so much more in this book than what I remember from the movie, but that’s why I really love reading books that have inspired movies. Even if you know the gist of the story, it takes you so much deeper which is really fun.

The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins

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When I first started seeing trailers on TV for The Girl on the Train, I was super excited to see the movie. It reminded me a lot of Gone Girl, which I loved, so I was hoping for the same type of story. The Girl on the Train isn’t quite on the same level as Gone Girl, in my opinion, but I still really enjoyed it.

Usually when I read a book that a movie is based on, it’s because I saw the film version first and didn’t realize or have interest in reading the book before. In this case, I made the decision to wait to read the book until after I saw the movie. I feel like when I read the book after seeing the movie I fall in love with it more because it gives so many more details and insight into what is going on with the characters. In this case though, I found myself wishing I had read the book before.

I felt like the book didn’t have as big of an impact on me because I knew from the beginning how it was going to end. It was a strange feeling for me, because I often read books after seeing the movie and have not experienced this sort of thing before. I kind of think that I just wanted to experience the shock I would have felt while reading the book, and that because I already knew, it didn’t have such a big climax for me.

That’s not to say that the book wasn’t as good as the movie. I actually think that the book was better than the film version, and liked that there were some little differences between the two. The main difference was that the book took place in London, while the movie took place in New York. I thought that was an interesting change they made, and that Megan definitely seemed more like what I think of as an “American” girl. It’s possible that I just imagined her that way based on the actress that played her in the film.

I also liked that the book went into more detail about how far Rachel’s relationship with Scott went. The movie sort of hinted that this was what happened, but I really liked knowing for sure what was going on between the two of them.

Which brings me to Rachel. I really liked her, even though she is an unreliable narrator. You really want to root for her and trust that she didn’t do this to Megan, even though her pieces of memory suggest otherwise. Even when watching the movie, I never felt like she was the one who killed Megan. I actually really liked Megan too, and mostly just felt sorry for her. However, I really hated Anna throughout the whole book. Her reminiscing about being the other woman and missing that feeling of having someone want her in that way were kind of annoying. Even at the end she thought about letting Tom kill Rachel just so that she would have him to herself again, even though she knew that he had cheated on her too.

I also think that the book did a really good job of disguising Tom as the killer. Even though I knew from the movie, there were multiple times when I questioned it while reading the book and even thought that maybe they had changed the story for the film version. I had actually guessed it about half way through the movie and the book kept me questioning it right up until the end.

Even though The Girl on the Train wasn’t as crazy of a story as Gone Girl, I really enjoyed it. I liked that there were twists and that the characters all had their own interesting stories and points of view. I liked that I got to see what was going on from all sides of the story and really liked how it ended. Would definitely recommend to anyone interested in these types of thriller/suspense/mystery stories.

Indecent Proposal by Jack Engelhard

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So apparently the only reason I read books now is if I really like the movie they’re based on. Just kidding, but the following review definitely continues the trend of my past few reviews.

I absolutely loved the move Indecent Proposal the first time I watched it. My mom told me that she thought I would like it, and it happened to be on Netflix so I gave it a shot. Demi Moore is absolutely beautiful and I loved her with Woody Harrelson. I thought that they were believable as a couple and genuinely seemed to have chemistry in the film. Spoiler alert for those who haven’t seen the film/read the book, the whole plot of having a rich man offer money to a poorer man for one night with his wife was crazy. The movie was exciting, it made me angry, it made me cry, and it made me believe that maybe true love and true soulmates do exist.

I was so excited to read this book because I love all the extra little details that usually get cut when a novel is adapted into film. However, I soon found out that the film is really just loosely based on the novel and that the characters are not the same at all.

Other than the “rich man pays poorer man for one night with his wife” theme and meeting in the casino, the stories were pretty different. The movie was definitely much simpler and didn’t include any sort of racial differences in characters like the novel. I think that a lot of what motivated/pushed the characters in the story had to do with their racial/religious/personal backgrounds and we didn’t see any of that in the movie.

All that said, I do kind of like when books are different from their film adaptations because it keeps things interesting. I definitely think that I liked the movie more still, it was more entertaining and I liked that it showed the wife’s point of view as well. I also thought that some of the main parts of the book were unrealistic and that kind of turned me off from the book. For instance, when Joshua visits Ibrahim and is shown the “sex tape” he secretly filmed and then they get into a physical altercation. I just couldn’t see this whole situation actually playing out the way it did in real life.

There’s really a lot more that I could say about this book, but I feel like this is getting pretty long already so I’ll cut it short. Overall, I liked that the novel can stand on its own and that it isn’t exactly the same as the story in the film. I liked that at the end I still felt like the two were meant to be together, and I liked that the story really makes you think about the proposed situation and what it would be like that have that sort of offer on the table. It’s definitely an interesting idea and I would definitely recommend the book to any one who has seen the movie or is just interested in the plot.

Breakfast at Tiffany’s by Truman Capote

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7fea81d08d1a6e809a22ff05dfeab606One boring, rainy day I was looking for something to watch on Netflix (is this how most stories start these days?) and I came across Breakfast at Tiffany’s. I had never seen an Audrey Hepburn movie and, to be honest, I thought that the movie was literally about having breakfast at a woman named Tiffany’s house. Dumb, I know right?

I was pleasantly surprised by the film and now I would definitely say it’s one of my favorites. I loved everything about the movie, so of course I had to read the book. I had never read anything by Truman Capote before (although In Cold Blood is definitely on my reading wish list) and was really excited to just read his words and see for myself the development of these characters that I loved so much in film.

When I started reading, I could already tell that many changes had been made when the film was produced. Even though the characters were built a little differently in the story and some scenes had been changed I still felt like the story of Holly Golightly and the narrator was there, and I still really enjoyed reading the story.

I do have to say I was a little disappointed by the ending. Of course, I wanted Holly to come back and end up with the narrator but that’s the ending that Hollywood added. Although it was a different ending from the one I wanted I still liked it because it was actually more realistic.

Overall, it was definitely worth the read. I would probably read it again now that I know not to expect the same exact movie version of the story, which is why I usually like to read books before seeing their movies. In this case though, the fact that it was a little different definitely made it more enjoyable to read because I didn’t know what to expect from the story and it gave me another experience with the characters.

Short and Sweet: Killer by Sara Shepard

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3047849I’m back! Well, sort of. This is just a quick little review, but it still counts as a post right?

I was in a rut. I had started reading something that I didn’t find interesting and when I put it down, I struggled to pick it up again. This happens to me sometimes when reading, and I feel like I have to finish something before I can start something new so I get sort of stuck.

Sometimes when this happens, it helps for me to read something light. Since I had already read the first few “Pretty Little Liars” books, I decided to quickly read the next one. And I actually finished it.

I’m not sure what it is about these books, but they’re actually pretty interesting. I do follow the television show (I’m sure I’ve mentioned this before), and it’s interesting to see the differences between the two.

There really isn’t much to be said about the books. They really could probably be squeezed into one larger book, but it was enjoyable to read and I’ll probably read the next one.

Now that I’ve finished a book, I’m looking forward to starting another one. I’m really interested in Paper Towns and want to see the movie, so maybe you’ll see that next on my book reviews.

Anyway, thanks to anyone who reads these posts. I really appreciate any interest you show in looking at my posts.

Thanks again for reading 🙂