Tuesday Top Ten

Posted on February 11, 2014 by Jennifer Milligan | 3 Comments

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by the Broke and the Bookish. Book bloggers create their own lists based on the chosen topics and post links to our lists. It’s a way of all sharing our thoughts and our love of books. And who doesn’t love lists??

So this week’s challenge was to list the top ten books that make me swoon… The problem? I’m not really much of a swooner… So these may not be swoon-worthy so much as great love stories.

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak – Rudy & Liesel, young, innocent love…
The Time Traveler’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger – Clare & Henry throughout time…
Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell – Scarlett & Rhett – frankly my dear…
The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald – Daisy & Gatsby, poor, poor Gatsby…
Fault in our Stars by John Green – Hazel & Augustus, so sweet & so sad…
Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell – in all their quirky teenage wonderfulness…
Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy – And her doomed love for Count Vronsky…
Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte – Catherine & Heathcliff wandering the moors…
The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein – The tree & the boy…
Romeo & Juliet by William Shakespeare – Not my favorite, but how can it not be on the list???

Tuesday Top Ten

Posted on July 30, 2013 by Jennifer Milligan | 5 Comments

Due to technical difficulties, I was out of contact on my blog last week, but now I’m back up and running! So this week’s challenge was to list the beginning and endings of books that I love the most…

Beginnings

“First the colors, Then the humans, That’s how I usually see things, Or at least, how I try. Here is a small fact, You are going to die.” – The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair.” – Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens
“It was a pleasure to burn.” – Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
“Today is Christmas Eve. Today is my birthday. Today I am fifteen. Today I buried my parents in the backyard. Neither of them were beloved.” – Death of Bees by Lisa O’Donnell
“If you are interested in stories with happy ending, you would be better off reading some other book.” – Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket

Endings

“I am haunted by humans.” – The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
“It’s a book, Jackass.” – It’s a Book by Lane Smith
“After all, tomorrow is another day.” – Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell
“But wherever they go, and whatever happens to them on the way, in that enchanted place on the top of the Forest a little boy and his Bear will always be playing.” – The House on Pooh Corner by A.A. Milne
“So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past.” – The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald – “

Tuesday Top Ten

Posted on July 9, 2013 by Jennifer Milligan | 6 Comments

So this week’s challenge was to list the best/worst movie adaptations from books. To be fair, I only considered those where I have read the book and have seen the movie. There are many, many that I could add to both the lists of good and bad, but most are just mediocre – not fantastic, but not awful enough to offend me! You will see that my list is pretty heavy on children’s movies – having kids these are the movies I have seen the most often and typically multiple times so they are the ones that stuck with me!

The Good

Harry Potter – I won’t try to pick the best of the movies – but they were all fantastic – some followed the books more closely than ever, but I never was disappointed after watching a Harry Potter movie.
The Wizard of Oz – The movie may arguably be better than the book (ruby slippers are far superior to silver ones!).
Gone with the Wind – A classic, beautiful costumes, wonderful cast, just a great movie if you have four hours to spare!
To Kill a Mockingbird – Another classic – both the book and the movie are fabulous.
Because of Winn Dixie – A wonderful family movie with a cast of great actors that closely mirrored the book.
Charlotte’s Web – Both the 1973 animated movie and the 2006 movie were both fantastic depictions of this great childhood favorite.

The Bad

Tale of Despereaux – I LOVED this book and I HATED this movie! It was the most awful depiction of a book that I have ever seen, even my kids could not sit through it. Don’t waste your time!
The Cat in the Hat – Great children’s book, horribly overdone ridiculous movie.

Some of Both…

How the Grinch Stole Christmas – The 1966 cartoon is still a favorite from my childhood and I eagerly watch it every Christmas, but I am not a fan of the 2000 movie – too annoying, overdone, and ridiculous.
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory – I loved the 1971 version, a childhood classic, and an amazing world full of candy! But the 2005 version? I’m sorry, but Johnny Depp was far too creepy – I would never let my kids go into a candy factory with his character!

Top Ten Characters I Would Crush On If I Were Also A Fictional Character

Posted on April 2, 2013 by Jennifer Milligan | 2 Comments

So this week the challenge is to list the characters that we would “crush on” if we were also a fictional character (because of course no real person ever actually crushes on a fictional character – that would just be silly and we are all firmly planted in reality…). This was actually a really difficult list for me, I don’t tend to crush on fictional characters all that much – I might like them, think they’re funny, inspiring, intriguing – but the idea of having a “crush” on them was a little weird for me, and I may have ended up with a list of male characters that I like, but don’t “like-like”, but I tried…

Jack Reacher – The main character in Lee Child’s Reacher series (the way that he is written – NOT Tom Cruise!!!), he is certainly characterized as being smart, tough, good-looking, and good with women. He’s a tough guy, and you know that he’s going to move on after the current catastrophe is resolved, but hey – not a bad guy to have around if your life needs saving…
Morelli vs Ranger – For fans of Janet Evanovich’s Stephanie Plum series I will provide my thoughts on the Morelli vs Ranger question. My vote? Morelli. Sure, Ranger is supposed to be crazy hot, but so is Morelli and wouldn’t it be nice to have a guy who was there even when your car wasn’t on fire?
Edward vs Jake – For fans of Stephenie Meyer’s Twilight stories – I pick Jake. Sorry, but vampires are creepy – all that undead, blood-drinking, not sleeping, pale skin – doesn’t do anything for me. Jake may be a werewolf, but at least they’re living, somehow makes it less weird, I guess?
Atticus Finch – The dad in Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird is definitely crushable – honest, ethical, a great single dad – and always Gregory Peck in my mind…
Lucas Davenport – The main character in John Sandford’s Prey series is intense, well-dressed, extremely wealthy from his former dork-days (I’ve always been a sucker for a cute dork), and always catches the bad guy – what’s not to like?
Robert Langdon – I have a soft-spot for smart guys, and Langdon from the Dan Brown books is definitely uber-smart, travels all over the world, and has crazy history-changing adventures. Sounds like fun to me… as long as I don’t get killed…
Cliff Janeway – Cliff Janeway is a former cop turned rare book dealer in John Dunning’s Janeway series. A tough guy, always saves the day, who knows and loves books – what’s not to love?
Rhett Butler – I’m much more reasonable than Scarlet ever dreamt of being, Rhett wouldn’t have to curse at me…
Inspector Gamache – Inspector Gamache from Louise Penny’s mystery series is probably just a character that I really want to know – not necessarily a crush – I would be happy to have him as a friend, an uncle, a colleague – his constance, his sincerity, his intelligence, his kindness – I have always wished that I could actually meet him! Plus, he’s married to a librarian… 😉
Rudy – The perfect childhood crush – filled with innocence and adoration – the boy that will do anything for you while begging for a kiss and annoying you – Rudy from Markus Zusak’s The Book Thief is my definition of great childhood love.