3 posts tagged “50 book challenge”
# 3 - About A Boy - Nick Hornby
I saw this book on the list of a lot of peeps who are doing the 50 book challenge and seeing as I LOVE the movie, I thought I'd give it a whirl.
It's written from two character's points of view Will (the Hugh Grant character) and Marcus (the boy) Of course it's better than the movie, but only because you can get so many more of inner thoughts of the characters and get a better understanding of who they are. Especially Marcus who is much less of a big misfit than in the movie. He actually comes off as much more intelligent and thoughtful in the book and actually grows a lot more in the end.
Marcus's relationship with his mom is interesting and true to life...the worrying about someone who is sick while at the same time resenting having to worry.
Good read, good movie and I don't regret reading it after seeing the movie.
#4 - 'L'odyssée Des Deux Amis' - Rindert Kromhout
I found the plot of this story intriguing, as Jack and Paul's travels along the river and through the woods CLEARLY represents mans eternal battle to remain immortal and to 'rage against the dying of light'. However, I cannot decide which was more disturbing, Jack and Paul's co-dependant enabling relationship which feeds both of their neurosis (a dysfunctional relationship not seen since the early days of Bert and Ernie) or the fact that they're just so one-dimensional.
I'm messing with you. Here's another french kid's book that I picked up at the library fromthe Collection Etoile series. The vocabulary in this book was actually a good challenge for me and I found a lot of idioms I didn't know before. It's a very cute book about two friends who decided to go off onto an adventure together, but each time one of them wants to do something, like swim in the river or climb a mountain, the other one talks him out of it for fear of what might happen. They end up doing nothing, but when they get home, they're both pleased by their 'adventures'.
Cute, cute illustrations too.
Okay, I guess I could offer the same review as one member of Bookcrossing from Ohio. His insightful thoughts were as such:
'This book is in french.'
Oui, it is.
'L'Halloween de Caramel', from the 'Je peux lire!' series of books, is the HI-larious adventures of one schoolroom guineapig during the fun, yet sometimes frightening season of halloween. (Okay, I actually did get some giggles from this book).
As stated before, I'll be adding some kid's books to my list because I'm learning French and I figure they'll offer just as much of a challenge. I can probably take it up a notch because while I did get some new vocabulary, this book only took me 1/2 hour to read.
Still, if you are learning French, these aren't a bad set of books to start with.
As per a group in Livejournal, I'm taking the 50 book challenge. It's a challenge for me because I'm a super slow reader.
Book #1 - The Wind in the Willows
So it only took me 40 years to read this book. OMG what was I waiting for?
I loved this book, and I don't mean in a 'two thumbs up' way. I mean in an 'I want to marry it' way. It was fucking hilarious! Especially Toad and his 'speeches'.
Beautifully written with amazing metaphors and descriptions. One of my favorites is when Rat collects a 'french' meal for the sea rat.
'A yard of long French bread, a sausage out fo which the garlic sang, some cheese which lay down and cried, and a long-necked straw-covered flask containing bottled sunshine shed and garnered on far Southern slopes.'
So, my next books are 'About a Boy' and 'L'halloween de Caramel' . Okay, 'L'Halloween de Caramel' is a kid's book, but I'm learning French, so I think the challenge will be the same as an adult English book.
