Topic Tuesday: Books coming to life

Episode 7: Books becoming TV shows or Movies

I feel like there is a lot to say about books coming to life and that there are a ton of ways that I could do this post.... Therefor I don't have a freaking clue as to how I will do this xD and the post will probably not have a solid structure xD

I feel like a great deal of movie/show adaptations take so much away from the books, there are details that are skipped or even changed, sometimes very little sometimes A LOT !
You read the book and then you watch the movie and it's just like-

For me the best movie adaptation that I have seen is The Martian... Its just VERY similar to the book, not exact, there is a thing or two that is changed and a couple that are just not in the movie at all but its simply because of time and it's not very necessary details. The book does this thing in which they things said are very smart but... basic people (like me) can understand it as if they were part of NASA themselves xD It makes me feels all sorts of smarts and stuffs and things. 
It's an epic book, ive been reading it very slowly because I just don't want it to end u.u

Its understandable that way, when films skip a thing or two because otherwise the movie would be 5 or 6 hours long >.> but when they change it? No.. just no.

Another movie that I personally think they did an okay job, not the best, they still skipped a bunch of things but that didn't change the plot was Harry Potter. Sure, the eyes were supposed to be green and not blue, but seriously, could anyone else be Harry besides Dan? I didn't so!

What I mean about small details is the following:

A couple of weeks ago a friend and I were having an argument, like actually yelling at each other and making calls to other people, about Harry Potter.

SPOILER ALERT IF YOU HAVEN'T SEEN THE FILMS OR READ THE BOOK!-Ill be trying NOT to spoil but write in a way that if you HAVE seen it you know what im talking about
hopefully.

So when a certain Professor puts the real Gryffindor Sword at the bottom of a small lake, in the movies, its not really clear how the certain Professor knew where the kids were at the time. That is a detail that is not found in the movies. However, in the book is DOES mention how the Professor knew, because Hermione opened her bag as she said the location and the portrait overheard.

Sure, its not a HUGE detail but it would saved some arguments xD Like the one we had. YES, we had both read Deathly Hallows, but I simply didnt remember at the time. I see why they did that though, it gave it more of a shock factor when you find out about the Professors real feelings xD

Now, onto the bad movie adaptations.

Okay bad just sounds horrible.

But seriously, not so great adaptation-

Percy Jackson.

*tomato gets thrown at my face*

DON'T get me wrong. I'm still a fan, but anyone that read the books then saw the movies KNOWS that its seriously a bad adaptation >.> When I went to go see Sea of Monsters, I was SO freaking mad when I got out, I was downright rude to everyone around me. It was seriously freaking horrible to me >.> If I'm being perfectly honest about it all, I only own the movies because I like the actors xD and the only reason I wish they would finish the film series completely is because there is a part of me that hopes they would get better >.> 

But.. That's just not going to happen

Another adaptation that is bad but for another reason

Loved the movie to death

BUT its WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY different than the book, they are both epic in their own worlds xD I saw the movie before I read the book u.u 

I know.

Shameful.

But as I read the book I was like WHAT THE HELL IS THIS?! This wasn't in the movies >.> I said that every single page xD

Eventually I understood that I needed to stop comparing the works cuz I wasn't going to find any similarities besides the names xD
The book was good and the movie had a

 strong storyline.

The Vampire Diaries is another adaptation that is WAY different (the books are just like... This isn't what I saw XD Seriously, they borrowed the characters and that's it. It's sad really), but in this case I enjoy the show move than I did the books. 

Correction, I liked season 1-3 more than the books.
To be honest 4-7 haven't been doing it for me u.u

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Its scary when you find out that a series you like will come to the big screen. Like sure, its epic news and you cant wait to see who will play who and who will direct and doing all our research to try and visualize absolutely everything and rioting when an actor gets casted that you dont believe is correct for the part (Paul Wesley should have played Edward Cullen).

But when you sit down and think about movie/show adaptations in the past, you start to realize that maybe its not the best thing that could possibly happen to you as a fan xD

Recent example: If you have read City of Bones in the past and have seen the trailer for the new show, you can tell that it'll be WAY different already. 
Keep in mind its MONTHS away but here we are, already different.

--

My favorite series is currently The Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer I'm obsessed and if I'm being perfectly honest I'm scared that if it was to ever be picked up for a deal in a movie or show, that they would ruin the series u.u 

Well, not RUIN because I could always just stick to the books and ignore the movies but in other peoples eyes, (that probably saw the movie before reading the books) they will think that that is the way it's supposed to be when it truly isn't...

Which kind of leads me to another point.

"You're not a real fan."

Have any of you ever heard that? When someone has seen a series and they become super into it and they haven't read the books that go with that series. 
Like, for example, Twilight. 
That a Twilight (or any other book to movie series) fan became a super fan after watching the movies but haven't read the books and they go on Instagram and somehow announce that they have never read the books and people are like, "HOW CAN YOU CALL YOURSELF A SUPER TWILIGHT FAN IF YOU HAVEN'T READ THE BOOKS. YOU'RE A FAKE FAN." 
Y'all think I'm kidding but I'm not. 
I have seen it happen.
And it bugs me to no end. 
Like SO WHAT. 
If you haven't read the books for a series you really like... It doesn't mean you're any less a fan than the person who HAS read the books, you can't measure that xD There is a ton of reasons for which a person might not read the books for a series they like.

Did I or did I not warn you that this discussion would be all over the place xD

What do YOU think about books coming to life? 
Shoot me an email :D Subject line: books to life

Review: Silent Nights by Martin Edwards

Rate:

4/5

Goodreads Description:

N/A

Review:

I must stress how much I love Sherlock Holmes therefore I really liked this book xD It contains a whole bunch of Christmas time mysteries from about 15 authors so if you get bored of one, you move on to the next.

But its Sherlock, I dont get bored xD 

Well thats only the first one but ANYWAYS!

The writing is of course, perfect because its an anthology, its piled together by author Martin Edwards and edited a bit but otherwise, its the original authors work.

I can't say much more besides the fact that its an enjoyable book that is perfect for in between fast reads. 

Recommend it?

I mean... you could probably find these stories online but its always neat to have them all in one place...Besides, the cover is really nice xD

Author Spotlight: Andy Weir author of The Martian Episode 5

 Can you still hear me fangirling? Good.

Y'all will not understand how completely amazed am I at having the opportunity to interview Andy Weir, y'all know that I ALWAYS love and appreciate working with authors, I simply LOVE it! 

I love being able to pick at their brains and being able to know a bit more about their works and share it with everyone (I bet you thought I would use "Y'all" again xD)

But seriously, I got to read the book a bit back and LOVED it! (Review barely scheduled to this past thursday) If you haven't picked it up, you should. While the movie was amazing, the book is even better, Watney is just hilarious, and you get to see a bit more of the character, as always, there are just more details in the books that should really be appreciated.

So, now onto the person who made this world possible.

About the author

ANDY WEIR was first hired as a programmer for a national laboratory at age fifteen and has been working as a software engineer ever since. He is also a lifelong space nerd and a devoted hobbyist of subjects like relativistic physics, orbital mechanics, and the history of manned spaceflight. The Martian is his first novel.

Connect with the author:
Facebook: Andy Weir 
Twitter: @AndyWeirAuthor

About your experience 

         

What were your goals for the Martian when you were writing it, and how did it feel when you were approached by a Random House (Crown) representative?

I just wanted to make a realistic sci-fi adventure. No deeper meaning. No moral. No point. Just fun. It felt great when I got my print deal! All my dreams coming true!

On “Founders Fund” you mentioned you had written a book before the Martian, could you give us some details on that earlier work? Do you hope to publish the book one day?

Two earlier books, actually. The first was a (terribly written) dystopian future thing. The second, much better written but still not up to par, was about a heist in a distant, interplanetary future with aliens and whatnot. The Martian was my third novel.

With all the success, together with the great reviews, you must have gone through a few personal milestones. At which point do you think you have felt most proud of your work and of yourself so far?

I think when I first got my print copy of the book. It was a real thrill for me. Something I’d dreamed of since I was a teen. I was finally a published author.

About yourself

The Martian takes place in the future, so let’s go the other way. If you could travel back in time to any date or year, which would that be and why?

That’s a loaded question, because the first thing I have to consider is how many lives I could save by going to the right time and doing the right thing. (Kill Hitler, or find a way to stop the Taiping Rebellion from happening, or just bring antibiotics to the 1300s and stop the Black Plague). But if I can’t change the past, which removes all that responsibility, I guess I’d go back to 1919 or so. That’s the beginning of a prosperous era without too much suffering and a slow-paced lifestyle that might be fun. However, I don’t think I’d like it too much. Lots of racism/sexism/etc. I’d rather not go back in time at all.

What are your top 3 things in your bucket list? Have these changes over the past few years?

-          Visit London

-          Visit Japan

-          Write a TV show

All three of these are more likely than ever before, thanks to the success of The Martian. The first two are more an internal problem: I’m terribly afraid of flying. But I’m getting better at it.

What is one of the things you enjoy doing the most in your free time?

I like boardgaming and mixing cocktails.

What can you tell us, and even aspiring writers, about your experience going through the writing and publishing process, and the trials and victories in your life as a novelist so far? (Basically, what is it like to be a writer?)

It’s a pain in the ass. The hard part is actually writing. It’s easy to come up with ideas but hard to write them down. It’s a lot of hard work. But once you do it, the reqards are fantastic. The knowledge that someone out there is reading your story, immersed in a world you created, is wonderful.

Anything you would like to tell your fans and readers that I have not addressed? (i.e. Can be about anything really)

Nothing comes to mind.

The Martian

While Mark Watney can be declared a static character, but he is still an extra-ordinary character, is he inspired on anyone around you?

Mark is based on my own personality. Though he’s smarter and braver than I am and he doesn’t have my flaws. I guess he’s what I wish I were like.

Besides a love for space, what else do you and Watney have in common? (If anything)

Smart-ass personality. Relentless problem-solving.

How were you able to come up with all of the different challenges that Watney had to face? (Like a killer drill or rolling rover)

Mostly they came naturally from the situation. The whole book is basically one long cascade-failure. Each problem leads to the next.

Where are Watney (and maybe the rest of the Hermes Crew) 10 years after the end of the book? (i.e. new jobs? Still at NASA?)

I never define that stuff. Once the book is over, it’s over. Anything that happens beyond that is up to the imagination of the reader.

While doing research for The Martian, was there anything that surprised you?

Yeah, I learned a lot about orbital mechanics and just how incredibly complicated it is.

Was there any scene in the book that you enjoyed writing more than any of the others?

I loved the scene where the (ill-fated) Iris launch is doing their launch status check. It built up tension really well. I’m proud of how it turned out.

Million Dollar Question: Why potatoes?

No other crop has the calorie-per-unit-area yield of potatoes. So with Mark’s limited space, they were the only option.

Buy the book!

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Book Depository

iBooks

Goodreads Description:

Six days ago, astronaut Mark Watney became one of the first people to walk on Mars. Now, he's sure he'll be the first person to die there. After a dust storm nearly kills him & forces his crew to evacuate while thinking him dead, Mark finds himself stranded & completely alone with no way to even signal Earth that he’s alive—& even if he could get word out, his supplies would be gone long before a rescue could arrive. Chances are, though, he won't have time to starve to death. The damaged machinery, unforgiving environment or plain-old "human error" are much more likely to kill him first. But Mark isn't ready to give up yet. Drawing on his ingenuity, his engineering skills—& a relentless, dogged refusal to quit—he steadfastly confronts one seemingly insurmountable obstacle after the next. Will his resourcefulness be enough to overcome the impossible odds against him?