Here’s to a momentous occasion! I actually did all of the blog posts I was supposed to do this month! Since I’ve started posting twice a week, I haven’t actually posted twice a week for an entire month. Every now and again I would miss a Book Blurt or a Weekly Update, and so I’ve never gotten over 7 blog posts in a month. Well, here’s to the first time I’ve gotten to 8, and here’s to continuing this trend!
Well this past week has been a little slow (reasons will be forthcoming) so I decided to take advantage of that by getting some planning and tweaking done. The first reason for the slowness was the obvious fact that Thanksgiving was yesterday (hope yours was fantastic!). My colleagues took a few days off, and we didn’t have any of our regular programs scheduled. This freed up some time to spruce up the blog (hence the awesome new look) and to change the names of my social media to something more accurate. (The other reason was the insane amount of snow and cold that we got this past week!)
As I mentioned a little while ago, my library system’s name has changed to Community Library Network, and yet, my social media still said Kootenai Shoshone Area Libraries. So I’ve rectified that situation. My Twitter account is now CLN4NextGen (Community Library Network for Next-Gen Adults), my Facebook is Next-Gen Adults of the Community Library Network, and my blog is now cln4nextgen.blogspot.com. The only social media outlet that hasn’t changed is Youtube. Reason? They won’t let me! All of the other social media outlets allow you to change your name, but for some reason, my Youtube channel doesn’t have that option. I’ll have to think about what to do about that…
Well I also got some planning done this week. Coming up in December, we are doing Jingle Bell Rock! We had so much fun doing Airband Awesomeness that we decided we would do something similar for December. But, we also decided that you didn’t need the pressure of preparing a song for competition, so we are just going to be taking requests and anyone who wants to can rock with it. I’ll provide some Christmas music, pizza, pop, and a laptop (whereby we can look up songs on Youtube) and you bring yourselves, your friends, your ipods, and the desire to have fun and rock out. It is going to be open for grades 6th through 12th, and will be going on December 22 from 7:30-9:00. (Don't worry it won't only be Christmas music; we can play anything you want to)
Even though it seems kind of ironic to be thinking of summer during this wintery blizzard that is also what I did this week. We order things from our Summer Reading vendor a couple months before we actually need the stuff, so I’ve been figuring out what incentives, prizes, and promo stuff we’ll need for June, July, and August. There is some fun stuff coming up!
Once again, I hope you had an amazing Thanksgiving, and I’ll see you in December.
Friday, November 26, 2010
Wednesday, November 24, 2010
Things Could Get Hairy
Well, just in case you don’t live in the Inland Northwest, it is really really cold up here! Yesterday morning, I went outside to heat up my car, and my hair froze…literally! It was still a little wet from my shower and even though I was only out there for a maximum of 60 seconds, the edges of my hair froze! Needless to say, it is COLD!
Anyways, that means it’s a good time to curl up in front of the fire with a good book, and I have one for you. Schooled by Gordon Korman is the topic of my Book Blurt this week, and I had a really good time reading it. I’ve been trying to vary the authors and books that I’ve read, while keeping tabs on the popular or prolific authors out there. Korman’s name kept popping up in YA and Juvenile fiction, so I figured I’d pick up one of his books.
The book opens with Cap Anderson being sent to a new school while his grandma recovers from a hip injury. Sounds normal enough until you know who Cap is. Turns out his name is Capricorn Anderson, and he has been living alone with his grandma, Rain, on a communal farm. Yes, you guessed it, Cap is a hippie! Rain has been his sole teacher and friend, and while she recovers, Cap stays with a foster family and has to attend Claverage (C Average to the students) Middle School. As if just a normal middle school experience wouldn’t be bad enough for a homeschooled hippie, the school’s cool kid, Zach Powers, is planning to make his experience that much more terrible by pushing him into the spotlight of Eighth grade president. This is an “honor” reserved for the biggest losers in school, and Cap has no idea what he is in for…
Even though things could get really hairy (pun intended), this book is funny and heart-warming. Similar to Stargirl, the oddness of the Cap character actually endears him to the student body, and winds up changing the entire school for the better. Both books seem to ask the question, what would happen if we all would worry about someone else instead of ourselves? But unlike Stargirl, this book has a happy ending. (Stargirl doesn’t end terribly sad like someone dying, but you are left with a feeling of why do people have to be that way, while this story ends on a happy note. I enjoyed reading both books, and it depends on which kind of good book you are looking for). On an entirely different note, this novel is written from the first person point of view, but you get the story from several different characters. This keeps the book interesting, moving, and very enjoyable the entire way through.
P.S. This was actually written quite a bit after the rest of the blog post, but have a great Thanksgiving!
Friday, November 19, 2010
Playing Some Catch Up
Hello again everyone!
So, there have been quite a few things that have come and gone without me having a chance to talk about them, so this week, I am going to play some catch up. I know I’ve been mentioning that for a while, so I figure that I’ll actually follow through and do it today.
But before I do, I mentioned the Community Library Network last week, and said there would be more on it this week. Without getting into a long explanation, our library district (formally called Kootenai Shoshone Area Libraries) has brought on a new library (Post Falls) and has changed its operating name to Community Library Network. I won’t have time to go into some catch up if I keep going, but we’ll come back to this story in the future.
So here’s your catch up. I mentioned the Wrestlemania Reading Challenge for quite a while before Teen Read Week, and people actually participated which is cool! Around fifteen students turned in pledge forms, and I consider that I good start for what I hope we will be able to do next year as well. I also think it is cool that many of those students heard about the competition from one of our school librarians that partnered with us. I love having the opportunity to work with other educators!
The other big thing that happened during Teen Read Week was Airband Awesomeness (click the link for a fun recap video)! This was one of our most successful programs to date, which is, well, AWESOME! We had about 35 people attend, and even though they weren’t all in the tween/teen age group, they all had a great time. Two airbands performed, and the teens did a great job with choreography, lip syncing, and just having fun with it. But, I think the most successful part of the program was the fact that teens I didn’t specifically invite actually came and had a great time at the program. In the past, most of the teen programs have consisted of my family members coming to the programs. (Well, you have to start somewhere, and my family enjoyed the pizza, pop, and fun programs). But, it was really encouraging to see teens I didn’t know coming into the library for a program I put together. It energized me to keep learning from the programs I’m doing, and to make the programs I do in the future even better!
So, there have been quite a few things that have come and gone without me having a chance to talk about them, so this week, I am going to play some catch up. I know I’ve been mentioning that for a while, so I figure that I’ll actually follow through and do it today.
But before I do, I mentioned the Community Library Network last week, and said there would be more on it this week. Without getting into a long explanation, our library district (formally called Kootenai Shoshone Area Libraries) has brought on a new library (Post Falls) and has changed its operating name to Community Library Network. I won’t have time to go into some catch up if I keep going, but we’ll come back to this story in the future.
So here’s your catch up. I mentioned the Wrestlemania Reading Challenge for quite a while before Teen Read Week, and people actually participated which is cool! Around fifteen students turned in pledge forms, and I consider that I good start for what I hope we will be able to do next year as well. I also think it is cool that many of those students heard about the competition from one of our school librarians that partnered with us. I love having the opportunity to work with other educators!
The other big thing that happened during Teen Read Week was Airband Awesomeness (click the link for a fun recap video)! This was one of our most successful programs to date, which is, well, AWESOME! We had about 35 people attend, and even though they weren’t all in the tween/teen age group, they all had a great time. Two airbands performed, and the teens did a great job with choreography, lip syncing, and just having fun with it. But, I think the most successful part of the program was the fact that teens I didn’t specifically invite actually came and had a great time at the program. In the past, most of the teen programs have consisted of my family members coming to the programs. (Well, you have to start somewhere, and my family enjoyed the pizza, pop, and fun programs). But, it was really encouraging to see teens I didn’t know coming into the library for a program I put together. It energized me to keep learning from the programs I’m doing, and to make the programs I do in the future even better!
Thursday, November 18, 2010
Running from Their Thoughts
Happy first snow day, Hayden! Looks like it is actually sticking in the city now, so I figure we have officially hit the snow season. Drive safe and stay warm. :)
Yesterday, I was off visiting a local school with a special guest (more on Friday), so I wasn’t able to get the book blurt out on time. But, here we go for a Thursday book blurt.
The reason I read this book goes back…hmmm…must be a year or so. Karen had the chance to read The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness, and she absolutely loved it! She quickly read the second (The Ask and the Answer), and couldn’t wait for the third one (Monsters of Men) to come out. When she got her advanced reader’s copy (one perk of being a librarian) she devoured it very quickly. Well, juxtapose this on top of Karen’s desire for me to read a book a week. Once she finished reading it, she would ask me if I had read it yet. I would then say no, and she would ask me if I had read any other books. Nothing like a little accountability to help you do what you know you need to do.
All that to say, that it is a very interesting, fast-paced, and well written book. The novel opens with Todd Hewitt, the last boy in Prentisstown, a month before he becomes a man. The town has a boy becoming a man ceremony when a boy turns thirteen, and Todd’s turn is coming quick. But, while walking in the swamp near the town, Todd hears something that he can’t explain; silence. See, the men of Prentisstown hear everything that everyone else in the town thinks. They call it Noise, and it was a plague unleashed on mankind after they settled New World. So, when Todd hears a lack of Noise in a living, breathing, moving object, it turns his whole world upside down. Especially because the men of Prentisstown, the men he has lived with for his entire life, are now trying to kill him.
The Knife of Never Letting Go is a great book. You very quickly get sucked into the story, and it doesn’t want to let you go. It is filled with suspense, and a word of caution, there is violence throughout the story. There are also quite a few swear words that are thrown around or implied. (Both elements are realistic for the story, but if you don't agree with using violence and swear words in a book, then this book might not be your best option). Wrapped inside this tale of suspense and violence, is a very human examination of why people endure through hard times. Todd has to come face to face with the reason he gets through all of the hard stuff, and why he will continue surviving through all of the hard stuff.
Yesterday, I was off visiting a local school with a special guest (more on Friday), so I wasn’t able to get the book blurt out on time. But, here we go for a Thursday book blurt.
The reason I read this book goes back…hmmm…must be a year or so. Karen had the chance to read The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness, and she absolutely loved it! She quickly read the second (The Ask and the Answer), and couldn’t wait for the third one (Monsters of Men) to come out. When she got her advanced reader’s copy (one perk of being a librarian) she devoured it very quickly. Well, juxtapose this on top of Karen’s desire for me to read a book a week. Once she finished reading it, she would ask me if I had read it yet. I would then say no, and she would ask me if I had read any other books. Nothing like a little accountability to help you do what you know you need to do.
All that to say, that it is a very interesting, fast-paced, and well written book. The novel opens with Todd Hewitt, the last boy in Prentisstown, a month before he becomes a man. The town has a boy becoming a man ceremony when a boy turns thirteen, and Todd’s turn is coming quick. But, while walking in the swamp near the town, Todd hears something that he can’t explain; silence. See, the men of Prentisstown hear everything that everyone else in the town thinks. They call it Noise, and it was a plague unleashed on mankind after they settled New World. So, when Todd hears a lack of Noise in a living, breathing, moving object, it turns his whole world upside down. Especially because the men of Prentisstown, the men he has lived with for his entire life, are now trying to kill him.
The Knife of Never Letting Go is a great book. You very quickly get sucked into the story, and it doesn’t want to let you go. It is filled with suspense, and a word of caution, there is violence throughout the story. There are also quite a few swear words that are thrown around or implied. (Both elements are realistic for the story, but if you don't agree with using violence and swear words in a book, then this book might not be your best option). Wrapped inside this tale of suspense and violence, is a very human examination of why people endure through hard times. Todd has to come face to face with the reason he gets through all of the hard stuff, and why he will continue surviving through all of the hard stuff.
Friday, November 12, 2010
A Long Post on Science, Happiness, and All Staff Training Days
Well, well, well, well there is once again, so much to talk about. Blogs are funny things. I figure that I want each blog post to be between 300-500 words (closer to the 300 so I don’t get too wordy). That doesn’t sound like too many words…if you have something to talk about. There have been weeks where I sit for fifteen minutes staring at a blank screen, wondering what I did that week that would be interesting. But, then there are weeks like this week (where I’m still playing catch up) where that number of words won’t be near enough.
Anyways, let’s talk a little about what I did this week, and if we have enough space, I’ll back track to something I did in the past, but didn’t have time to talk about. This Monday, I had a chance to do my Ka-Boom Science Experiments program again. I just have to say, SCIENCE IS AWESOME! Of course, my kind of science is putting Dawn in some warm water and adding dry ice (just so you know, that particular experiment was awesome!), but science is just way too much fun to do, and talk about. I find that I’m getting a whole new crowd in the library for Ka-Boom, and they are critically thinking about why something happened in the experiment. Some of it they have just heard in school or at home. But some of it is legit curiosity and wonderings, and I’m glad I’m allowed to have this kind of program at my library! (If you think about it, Play-do here, and Dry Ice there tends to add up. But my boss, and my boss’ bosses are supportive of this program, and that also makes me excited. Also, for those keeping track, we didn’t have a special quest last week. Miss Emily, one of my colleagues, wasn’t quite able to join us, even though it would have been great to have her).
Also this week, I got a little bit of time to catch up on my email and social media postings which was nice. But, the other big event was the Community Library Network (more about what that means next week) All Staff Training Day. Each Veteran’s Day, my library network gets all of the staff from our seven (now eight) libraries into one building and does a conference. Lunch is provided (which is always nice), and the topics this year were marketing and happiness. The last couple of months, there has been a large marketing grant going on at my library, and the marketing topic was an update for the staff on what has been going on with their research.
The happiness workshop was put on by Anne Abrams from the Idaho Commission for Libraries (ICfL). She discussed research on happiness, and had us do some role playing activities which wound up being quite hilarious. The thing that stuck out to me about the topic of happiness is that your response to the topic of happiness comes down to your outlook on things (how much happiness or lack thereof that you already have). Having someone discuss happiness when you aren’t very happy doesn’t work too well, but discussing happiness with someone that is happy is sort of redundant. But, I think Anne did a good job finding research and some things to laugh at, and it can’t be a bad thing to be reminded of the benefits of having a positive outlook. I think myself and some of my colleauges were also quite ridiculous and tired during the afternoon, so there was plenty to laugh and be happy about.
Anyways, it looks like I’m already over my word limit, so I’ll sign off for today and see you on Wednesday for an uber-epic-awesome book blurt (not like all the rest of them haven’t been uber-epic-awesome, but I felt like closing the blog that way today).
Anyways, let’s talk a little about what I did this week, and if we have enough space, I’ll back track to something I did in the past, but didn’t have time to talk about. This Monday, I had a chance to do my Ka-Boom Science Experiments program again. I just have to say, SCIENCE IS AWESOME! Of course, my kind of science is putting Dawn in some warm water and adding dry ice (just so you know, that particular experiment was awesome!), but science is just way too much fun to do, and talk about. I find that I’m getting a whole new crowd in the library for Ka-Boom, and they are critically thinking about why something happened in the experiment. Some of it they have just heard in school or at home. But some of it is legit curiosity and wonderings, and I’m glad I’m allowed to have this kind of program at my library! (If you think about it, Play-do here, and Dry Ice there tends to add up. But my boss, and my boss’ bosses are supportive of this program, and that also makes me excited. Also, for those keeping track, we didn’t have a special quest last week. Miss Emily, one of my colleagues, wasn’t quite able to join us, even though it would have been great to have her).
Also this week, I got a little bit of time to catch up on my email and social media postings which was nice. But, the other big event was the Community Library Network (more about what that means next week) All Staff Training Day. Each Veteran’s Day, my library network gets all of the staff from our seven (now eight) libraries into one building and does a conference. Lunch is provided (which is always nice), and the topics this year were marketing and happiness. The last couple of months, there has been a large marketing grant going on at my library, and the marketing topic was an update for the staff on what has been going on with their research.
The happiness workshop was put on by Anne Abrams from the Idaho Commission for Libraries (ICfL). She discussed research on happiness, and had us do some role playing activities which wound up being quite hilarious. The thing that stuck out to me about the topic of happiness is that your response to the topic of happiness comes down to your outlook on things (how much happiness or lack thereof that you already have). Having someone discuss happiness when you aren’t very happy doesn’t work too well, but discussing happiness with someone that is happy is sort of redundant. But, I think Anne did a good job finding research and some things to laugh at, and it can’t be a bad thing to be reminded of the benefits of having a positive outlook. I think myself and some of my colleauges were also quite ridiculous and tired during the afternoon, so there was plenty to laugh and be happy about.
Anyways, it looks like I’m already over my word limit, so I’ll sign off for today and see you on Wednesday for an uber-epic-awesome book blurt (not like all the rest of them haven’t been uber-epic-awesome, but I felt like closing the blog that way today).
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
A Different Presentation
This week I read a brand new genre that I haven’t had a chance to look at before; Manga. Manga and Anime are very popular on the YA scene right now, so I figured I’d go ahead and read one of them. Manga is the print version of Japanese comics, and Anime is the animated version of the same style of art. Obviously, when these comics are in Japan, they are printed in Japanese, so the Manga I read was translated into English, with the original artwork kept intact. My library doesn’t have a huge selection of Manga, but I noticed that many of the comics are actually series, and most of the first couple titles in the series were missing. I’m thinking that they were checked out because you guys like to read them. But luckily, we had #1 of Dragon Voice, a Manga put out by TOKYOPOP, written by Yuriko Nishiyama, and translated into English by Mike Kiefl.
The story centers around Rin Amami, a fifteen year old who has a natural knack for dancing. His home town is Tokyo, Japan. He is also above average in looks, smarts, and sports. He goes to school when he wants to, and makes a few dollars selling pictures of Idols, the popular singers/dancers that everyone knows. One popular up and coming Idol group is Beatmen. Rin thinks the Idols are a joke; people who can dance, but fake the singing, and just do it for the money. When Rin runs into the lead singer of the Beatmen, Shino, he finds that they are actually performers who seek to create something new. Rin dreams of being a performer, but his voice sounds something like a mix between a bullfrog and Godzilla. But, the boss of the Beatmen thinks that Rin might have a chance in the entertainment world because his unique voice has never been heard before, and has a ton of personality attached to it.
I enjoy looking at art and literature from other cultures. My friends and I have watched quite a few Bollywood films in the last couple of weeks. We think it’s cool that the culture and presentation are different, but the themes and stories are very similar. I found the same thing reading this Manga. The presentation, culture, and animation is different; but, the story of a nobody getting launched into fame and entertainment is a time tested and fun story. It took a while to figure out reading from the opposite direction and things like that, but I enjoyed the read.
P.S. There is some cussing and crude content in the book.
The story centers around Rin Amami, a fifteen year old who has a natural knack for dancing. His home town is Tokyo, Japan. He is also above average in looks, smarts, and sports. He goes to school when he wants to, and makes a few dollars selling pictures of Idols, the popular singers/dancers that everyone knows. One popular up and coming Idol group is Beatmen. Rin thinks the Idols are a joke; people who can dance, but fake the singing, and just do it for the money. When Rin runs into the lead singer of the Beatmen, Shino, he finds that they are actually performers who seek to create something new. Rin dreams of being a performer, but his voice sounds something like a mix between a bullfrog and Godzilla. But, the boss of the Beatmen thinks that Rin might have a chance in the entertainment world because his unique voice has never been heard before, and has a ton of personality attached to it.
I enjoy looking at art and literature from other cultures. My friends and I have watched quite a few Bollywood films in the last couple of weeks. We think it’s cool that the culture and presentation are different, but the themes and stories are very similar. I found the same thing reading this Manga. The presentation, culture, and animation is different; but, the story of a nobody getting launched into fame and entertainment is a time tested and fun story. It took a while to figure out reading from the opposite direction and things like that, but I enjoyed the read.
P.S. There is some cussing and crude content in the book.
Saturday, November 6, 2010
Missed it by that much...
So sometimes, your Young Adult Librarian can have way too much to do, and the blog posting goes in one ear and out the other!
Last Friday, I was busy preparing for the Youth Services trainings that were coming up that week, and I didn’t have time to do the blog while I was at work. When that happens, I try to do it when I get home. Well I had to do some homework for my senior research project, and I also had several things to do for my student government. So, Friday passed without a weekly update. Then Saturday comes and goes hanging with friends and also working on my senior research project. Then I actually didn’t go to work on Monday because I had to move my hours around so I had enough hours to go to the trainings on Wednesday and Thursday. All of this sounds kind of like an excuse, so I apologize for not getting it done, and for trying to weasel my way out of the responsibility for it.
It’s kind of sad that I didn’t get a blog post out as well. Obviously because you are all expecting a blog update, and also because I didn’t get to the magic number eight. If you notice in my blog postings for the past couple of months, there have been seven blog posts each month. That kind of shows the slackerism of my job, because there should be eight a month; four book blurts, and four weekly updates. Well, obviously that hasn’t happened, and I thought that October might be the first time to do it, because there were actually five Fridays in October, so it would have been easy enough to do. But, because of a couple missed book blurts and the missed weekly update, I missed it by that much. Once again I want to apologize, and try to do better this month. Of course, I’m starting off on almost the wrong foot, because here it is a Saturday instead of a Friday! I’ll figure out this consistency thing eventually.
There is a whole bunch more to talk about, but we can backtrack during our weekly update next Friday. Just wanted to quickly mention my Ka-Boom Science Experiments program going on this Monday from 4-5pm. We’re going to be playing with Dry Ice, and we might also have a special quest. So, if you feel like a scientist on Monday, join us for a good time.
Catch you on Wednesday,
Your Crazy Young Adult Librarian
Last Friday, I was busy preparing for the Youth Services trainings that were coming up that week, and I didn’t have time to do the blog while I was at work. When that happens, I try to do it when I get home. Well I had to do some homework for my senior research project, and I also had several things to do for my student government. So, Friday passed without a weekly update. Then Saturday comes and goes hanging with friends and also working on my senior research project. Then I actually didn’t go to work on Monday because I had to move my hours around so I had enough hours to go to the trainings on Wednesday and Thursday. All of this sounds kind of like an excuse, so I apologize for not getting it done, and for trying to weasel my way out of the responsibility for it.
It’s kind of sad that I didn’t get a blog post out as well. Obviously because you are all expecting a blog update, and also because I didn’t get to the magic number eight. If you notice in my blog postings for the past couple of months, there have been seven blog posts each month. That kind of shows the slackerism of my job, because there should be eight a month; four book blurts, and four weekly updates. Well, obviously that hasn’t happened, and I thought that October might be the first time to do it, because there were actually five Fridays in October, so it would have been easy enough to do. But, because of a couple missed book blurts and the missed weekly update, I missed it by that much. Once again I want to apologize, and try to do better this month. Of course, I’m starting off on almost the wrong foot, because here it is a Saturday instead of a Friday! I’ll figure out this consistency thing eventually.
There is a whole bunch more to talk about, but we can backtrack during our weekly update next Friday. Just wanted to quickly mention my Ka-Boom Science Experiments program going on this Monday from 4-5pm. We’re going to be playing with Dry Ice, and we might also have a special quest. So, if you feel like a scientist on Monday, join us for a good time.
Catch you on Wednesday,
Your Crazy Young Adult Librarian
Wednesday, November 3, 2010
Never Judge a Book by Its Movie
So I totally missed my weekly update last Friday, and I want to apologize to anyone reading this blog about not being consistent with it. We’ll chat a little more about some possible explanations for said bad actions on the weekly update this Friday. While I’m typing this, I think it’s amusing how much a book can affect your writing style. I just finished reading The Princess Diaries by Meg Cabot, and I totally feel like using “totally” and “like” a whole bunch right now. Please don’t be offended if this blog post seems a little bit shallow. Lol.
As I mentioned, I read The Princess Diaries this week (which once again turned out to be skimming through the book in one night). I must confess that I watched the movies quite a bit before I read this book, and that I read the book partially because I enjoyed the movies. It’s always interesting to look at the differences between the book and its movie, and to see which one you enjoy more. More often than not, the book is going to be better than the movie. You get such a better feel for the characters in a book, and you get very different emotional and mental reactions from reading a book rather than watching a movie. But, while I type this blog post, I’m not sure which I like better; the book or the movie.
I know for certain that I enjoy, Joe, from the movies much more than I enjoy, Lars, from the book. I also know I enjoy Julie Andrews’ character much more in the movies than the Grandmere character in the book. There also seems to be a little more character development in the movie. But, I have to qualify that. I have only read the first novel, and there are plenty more in the series. I’m assuming the Mia character grows quite a bit from the person she starts as.
Movies can only tell you a story from what the characters do, while a book can tell you what a character thinks. I imagine the books have been enjoyed because it gives you a good look at what a typical nerdy high school girl would go through if she suddenly found she was the heir to a country. The books are written as the journal of Mia, and are filled with scribbling about homework and everyday things that we all think but never say. Its fun to think that a princess, however fictional, has to deal with Algebra homework like the rest of us. There is also something fun about a character babbling about what happens to them. But, there is also something fun about a filmmaker taking this story and adapting it to the silver screen. I think I enjoy the movie a little more than the book, but that could just be because I watched the movie before I read the book…
As I mentioned, I read The Princess Diaries this week (which once again turned out to be skimming through the book in one night). I must confess that I watched the movies quite a bit before I read this book, and that I read the book partially because I enjoyed the movies. It’s always interesting to look at the differences between the book and its movie, and to see which one you enjoy more. More often than not, the book is going to be better than the movie. You get such a better feel for the characters in a book, and you get very different emotional and mental reactions from reading a book rather than watching a movie. But, while I type this blog post, I’m not sure which I like better; the book or the movie.
I know for certain that I enjoy, Joe, from the movies much more than I enjoy, Lars, from the book. I also know I enjoy Julie Andrews’ character much more in the movies than the Grandmere character in the book. There also seems to be a little more character development in the movie. But, I have to qualify that. I have only read the first novel, and there are plenty more in the series. I’m assuming the Mia character grows quite a bit from the person she starts as.
Movies can only tell you a story from what the characters do, while a book can tell you what a character thinks. I imagine the books have been enjoyed because it gives you a good look at what a typical nerdy high school girl would go through if she suddenly found she was the heir to a country. The books are written as the journal of Mia, and are filled with scribbling about homework and everyday things that we all think but never say. Its fun to think that a princess, however fictional, has to deal with Algebra homework like the rest of us. There is also something fun about a character babbling about what happens to them. But, there is also something fun about a filmmaker taking this story and adapting it to the silver screen. I think I enjoy the movie a little more than the book, but that could just be because I watched the movie before I read the book…
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