Tune in Tuesday with Katelyn: I’ll be gone in a day or two

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Tune in Tuesday - Cover EditionIt’s the second week of Tune in Tuesday’s cover theme, and I decided that I definitely needed to feature a Reel Big Fish cover! RBF was one of my favorite bands in college; I’ve seen them live more than once, and they are still solidly on my iPod rotation. They’re so goofy and high-energy and self-deprecating, and they’ve put their ska/punk twist on a bunch of really fun songs! I actually had trouble deciding between their version of “Boys Don’t Cry” and “Take on Me,” but ultimately I decided to go with the latter. (But go here for “Boys Don’t Cry” if you want it!) I love how they replaced the catchy synthesizer line with brass instruments! So here’s Reel Big Fish covering “Take on Me,” originally performed by A-ha. P.S., the original video is a thing of beauty!

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Top Ten Tuesday: Make it a movie

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Top 10 TuesdayThis week’s Top Ten Tuesday topic is books you’d like to see made into a movie or TV series…assuming that Hollywood didn’t constantly ruin the books we love! Not sure I can think of ten off the top of my head, but let’s see how it goes:

1. Erin Morgenstern, The Night Circus — I actually didn’t love this book, but I did love the lush, vivid descriptions of the setting. Because so much of the novel’s magic comes from imagining all the wonders of the circus, I think it’s an ideal candidate for a movie. And I would like Baz Luhrmann to direct it, because it would be gorgeous.

2. Naomi Novik, Temeraire series — I believe Peter Jackson optioned these books a while ago, but I don’t know if he’s actually planning to do anything with them. But having a visual for those dragon battles would be pretty amazing!

3. Jane Austen, Northanger Abbey — Yes, this book has already been adapted more than once, but I’d love a version that actually stays true to the original novel! I somewhat enjoyed the 2007 version with Felicity Jones and J.J. Feild, but the script was subpar, and the random fantasy scenes were terrible. Basically, I would like the same cast with a better screenplay, please!

4. Jasper Fforde, The Eyre Affair — This would probably be a really difficult book to adapt for the screen, but I’d love to see ’em try! I once attended a Fforde book signing where someone asked him who would play Thursday Next in a film adaptation. His response: Vin Diesel. Hey, I’d watch that!

5. Georgette Heyer, The Grand Sophy — Or any of her Regency romances! I’m actually surprised that there aren’t already tons of adaptations of her novels, given the popularity of bonnet movies these days. Someone should have capitalized on the Austen fever of the past few years…

6. Robin McKinley, The Hero and the Crown — This was one of my favorite books growing up, and I think it would make an excellent movie. There’s a great blend of action/adventure, cool fantasy special effects, and romance.

7. Rainbow Rowell, Eleanor and Park — I mean, this book basically IS a John Hughes movie already! It’s got the young love, the cool soundtrack, and the coming-of-age struggles that would make it a big hit with the teen movie crowd.

8. Julie James, Practice Makes Perfect — This is another book that I really like and that I think would be easily film-able. Also, I love a good chick flick, but I have been really disappointed with the quality of rom-coms in recent years. I’d like to see a chick flick revival!

Review: Devil’s Brood

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Devil's BroodSharon Kay Penman, Devil’s Brood

Henry II, with the help of his wife, Eleanor of Aquitaine, has created one of the vastest empires known to Europe, and the time has come to parcel it out among his sons. As the oldest, Hal will succeed his father as king of England and will also rule over the French duchies of Normandy and Anjou. Richard, Eleanor’s favorite son, will inherit her lands as Duke of Aquitaine. Geoffrey will become Duke of Brittany through marriage to a prominent heiress. But even though all three boys have grown up, Henry still holds onto the reins of power, convinced that none of them are truly ready to rule in their own right. His sons’ lack of independence soon breeds resentment, and Henry is shocked by its consequence: with the help of their mother, they openly rebel against him. This novel is the story of the conflict between Henry and his sons, between Henry and Eleanor, and between the boys themselves, as their struggle for power leads to almost constant warfare throughout Europe.

I’ve been enjoying Penman’s Plantagenet series, and I think this is my favorite installment so far. It’s hard to believe that the major events in this novel actually happened…there’s just so much drama! I also found the portrayal of Henry and Eleanor’s (adult) sons to be fascinating. Geoffrey was my favorite, which will probably surprise any fans of “The Lion in Winter”; but based on Penman’s depiction, I think he would have made the best king. Sure, he was self-serving and manipulative, but so was everyone else in the book! At least he had a good strategic mind with an ability to make long-term plans, and he managed to win over the Breton nobles so that he could rule Brittany competently. The overarching conflict between Henry and his sons was both sad and frustrating. It seemed to come down to a total lack of communication skills and an inability to see the other side’s point of view. (Hmm, sounds familiar….) I’m glad I finally read this book, and I look forward to reading Lionheart in the future.

Tune in Tuesday with Katelyn: Poor old Johnnie Ray…

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Tune in Tuesday - Cover EditionTime for another themed month at Tune in Tuesday! During September, we’ll be sharing our favorite cover songs. I think this will actually be a pretty difficult theme for me, since I generally tend to prefer the original song to the cover. But it’s always interesting to hear a different spin on a song you like, and there are some very creative bands out there! So this week I’m giving you a cover I actually like: “Come On Eileen” as performed by Save Ferris, covering Dexys Midnight Runners. You may recognize Save Ferris from their cameo in “10 Things I Hate About You” (they were the band that played at the prom)!

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Bookish Update: August 2013

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bookish updates aug 2013

Currently reading: nothing (!), but I’m planning to start Luis Fernando Verissimo’s The Club of Angels in the morning

Books read in August:

  1. Jennifer Echols, Dirty Little Secret
  2. Charles Portis, True Grit
  3. Poul Anderson, A Midsummer Tempest
  4. Lauren Willig, The Passion of the Purple Plumeria
  5. Matt Beynon Rees, The Collaborator of Bethlehem
  6. Sharon Kay Penman, Devil’s Brood
  7. Georgette Heyer, Behold, Here’s Poison

Favorite book of the month: Can I say all of them? I think it’s actually true.

Least favorite book of the month: None of them!

Books acquired in August:

  1. E.F. Benson, Mrs. Ames
  2. Lauren Willig, The Passion of the Purple Plumeria
  3. Naomi Novik, Blood of Tyrants
  4. Isaac Asimov, A Whiff of Death

E-books (all FREE except for *):

  1. Anthony Trollope, The Warden
  2. Paul Leicester Ford, Wanted–A Chaperon
  3. *Charles Finch, An East End Murder
  4. *Lauren Willig, Ivy and Intrigue
  5. Mary Roberts Rinehart, The Circular Staircase
  6. Rebecca West, The Return of the Soldier

Review: The Collaborator of Bethlehem

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The Collaborator of BethlehemMatt Beynon Rees, The Collaborator of Bethlehem

Omar Yussef, a teacher at the Dehaisha refugee camp in Bethlehem, is a fussy, polite, middle-aged man with a combover. He’s the last person anyone would ever expect to make trouble, especially in the politically charged atmosphere of Bethlehem, where one wrong step (literally or figuratively) could place him and his family in lethal danger. But when a prominent Palestinian freedom fighter (or terrorist, depending on whom you ask) is shot just outside his own home, Omar can’t help getting involved — especially when his friend George Saba, a Christian and therefore a convenient scapegoat, is arrested for the killing. Omar knows that George is innocent and even finds evidence proving that he could not have committed the crime. But Omar’s friend the police chief is unwilling to investigate the matter further, since clearing George’s name would anger the militant Palestinians who champion the dead man as a martyr. So Omar resolves to investigate on his own; but the more he digs into the events surrounding the murder, the more he risks his own life.

I don’t know if I can say I liked this book…it’s very dark and very serious, and “liking” doesn’t seem like an appropriate response to it. But I’m extremely glad I read this novel, because it introduced me to a setting and a conflict that I honestly know very little about. The book does a wonderful job of depicting everyday life in Bethlehem, where the threat of violence is omnipresent and where the voices of extremism are much louder than the voices of moderation and peace. I really appreciated that the book does not paint either Israelis or Palestinians as the “bad guys,” but rather focuses on the struggles of individual people to do the right thing (or not) in a terrible situation. This novel is technically a murder mystery, but I found the detective work to be the least interesting part of the story. The urgency of the plot comes not from the hunt for the killer, but from Omar’s race against time to save his friend George. Overall, I found this book a fascinating read and will probably seek out more mysteries featuring Omar Yussef.

Review: The Passion of the Purple Plumeria

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The Passion of the Purple PlumeriaLauren Willig, The Passion of the Purple Plumeria

In the eyes of the world, Miss Gwendolyn Meadows is the fiercely protective chaperone of Miss Jane Wooliston, who is currently one of the belles of Parisian society. But since Jane is also the elite British spy known as the Pink Carnation, Miss Gwen’s duties also include strategy, swordsmanship, and a taste for the dangerous work of espionage. Miss Gwen thrives upon the excitement of her double life, but she is forced to return to England when Jane’s younger sister goes missing from her prestigious boarding school. A second girl has also disappeared: the youngest daughter of Colonel William Reid, an officer of the British East India Company who has recently returned to England to reunite with his daughters. Now Miss Gwen and Colonel Reid must work together to find the missing girls — and fight their increasing attraction to one another, because Miss Gwen is all too aware that her clandestine activities are the probable reason for the girls’ disappearance.

This is the 10th book in Lauren Willig’s Pink Carnation series, and as I expected, it was a fun Regency romp complete with legendary Indian treasure, a meeting of the Hellfire Club, and a sinister French master spy. I like the fact that Willig chose a more mature hero and heroine for this installment of the series; it lent a bit of substance to the story, although the book still retains the series’ trademark light and fluffy tone. Miss Gwen is in her 40s and has long despaired of ever finding romance, so the relationship between her and Colonel Reid is particularly sweet and satisfying. I also liked how Willig is starting to gather the loose threads from some of her earlier books; for example, Colonel Reid is the father of Alex Reid from The Betrayal of the Blood Lily, and some of the events of that novel are relevant to this story. I am really hoping that Jack Reid, the black sheep of the family, is a hero in one of the future Pink Carnation books! All in all, I’m still enjoying this series and will continue to read more by Willig.

Bout of Books 8.0 Wrap-Up

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Bout of BooksAs of 11:59 p.m. last night, Bout of Books 8.0 is officially over. I have to admit, I didn’t actually reach most of my goals: I didn’t manage to read every day (Sunday fail), and I only finished one book instead of the two I’d hoped for. But I did participate in way more than three mini-challenges, so at least I had some success! I really enjoyed doing the challenges…they were all very creative and very different from one another. The read-a-thon also motivated me to read more than I otherwise would have, so I’m glad I participated, even if I didn’t 100% meet my goals. And as always, it was so much fun to meet other bloggers! Thanks to all those who stopped by my blog…I’ve definitely found some great new people to follow!