Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, by Roald Dahl

2013 Book 41: Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

Written by Roald Dahl and Narrated by Eric Idle

Reason for Reading: I'd watched the two movies with my nephew, who'd just read the book, and I decided that I wanted to know which one was more true to the book. 

Genre: Children's Fantasy / Humor / Adventure

Review

When Willie Wonka announces that he's hidden 5 golden tickets to his fantasticly famous, but very mysterious, chocolate factory, Charlie Bucket wishes more than anything that he could be one of the lucky 5 winners. But Charlie is very poor and can not afford to buy any of the chocolate bars that conceal the tickets. Luck knocks unexpectedly, though, and he's up for the adventure of a life-time with 4 other kids - each of whom has at least one huge personality flaw. Violet Beauregarde is uber-competitive and has a nasty chewing-gum habit, Veruca Salt is spoiled rotten, Mike Teavee is a know-it-all who watches too much TV, and Augustus Gloop is grossly overweight and incredibly greedy. As the eccentric Willie Wonka takes the kids on a wild tour of his factory, each of the kids suffers dire consequences of their flaws. 

This is my FAVORITE Roald Dahl book. Hilarious and fun - and it has a classic movie that makes me even fonder of it. :) I really enjoyed listening to Idle's fantastic narration of the story - though I wish he'd sung the Oompa Loompa songs instead of just reading them. But no one's perfect. :) I think I enjoyed this book just as much as an adult as I had as a child. 

My nephew and I compared the two film adaptations. The first was the Gene Wilder version from 1971 and the second was the Johnny Depp version from 2005. I hadn't seen the classic movie for many years, but I had watched the newer one when it came out. I remember being disappointed in the newer version, but this time around I rather enjoyed it. Yes. It was different than the classic movie, but they were both very interesting interpretations. They both took some artistic license - and each had some stronger points and weaker points. The 1971 version, of course, inserted all that stuff about Arthur Slugworth (not to be confused with Horace Slughorn) and the 2005 version inserted all that stuff about Wonka's father. Other than that, there were only minor tweaks to the story in either one, and I was surprised to realize that they both were equally true to the book, in their own way.

So, who's my favorite Willie Wonka? I don't know! That's really hard to decide. The character was acted QUITE well both by Wilder and by Depp, though in very different ways. Wilder's was eccentric in a crazy-scary sort of way. Depp was eccentric in a wacky-vulnerable-creepy sort of way. These were very different interpretations  but I was surprised to realize that they were more similar to each other in some ways than they were to the book character (as read by Idle). Both of Depp and Wilder (especially Wilder) seemed almost to encourage the nasty little kids to misbehave. Willie Wonka of the book seemed mostly unconcerned with the consequences of misbehavior, but seemed to genuinely warn them not to misbehave. 

Charlie Bucket was cute in both movies, and the interpretations of the actors was fairly similar. I think Peter Gardner, of the 1971 version, sparkled just a tab bit more. Look at that cute expression when he finds the ticket. :)

Violet Beauregarde was modernized in the 2005 version. She was still the over-competitive gum-chewing brat written by Dahl, but she was the daughter of a win-or-die beauty queen and was totally kick-butt in a losing-isn't-an-option-because-you're-better-than-them sort of way. Basically, it's making fun of a certain stereotype of over-competitive girls that didn't exist when Dahl wrote the book. So, the Violet of the 1971 version was more true to the kid in the book, but  I could better relate to the stereotype portrayed in the 2005 version - and I think this modernization was spot-on with the message Dahl portrayed in his book.

Veruca Salt was cuter in the 2005 version, but she had SO much more attitude in the 1971 version. Look at that "I want it NOW!" face. Definitely a bad egg.

Mike Teavee was obnoxious in both versions. He was modernized a bit in the 2005 version - he was addicted to video games rather than TV - but their interpretations of the character were pretty similar and I don't see any reason to think one did a better job than the other.

The first thing my nephew said when he saw Augustus Gloop in the 2005 version is "he's even fatter in this one!" Indeed, the only character trait Augustus had in the 2005 version is that he was severely obese. To the point of it being a little too much, I feel. Augustus Gloop in the 1971 version is quite fat enough to get the point across, and he has a lot more personality. 

Which movie did you like better, and why?

Challenge Roll-Call: This is my first movie review for Once Upon a Time VII (progress). Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is my 15th audiobook (progress) and my 19th library book (progress) of the year. I'll count it as "children's humor" in the Genre Variety Reading Challenge (progress). It'll count as category 1 "to the screen" for the Reading Outside the Box Challenge (progress). This will count as category D "children's classic" from Back to the Classics Challenge (progress). And it'll be my fourth review on my "children's" list for the Classics Club (progress). 

John Dies at the End, by David Wong

2013 Book 39: John Dies at the End

Written by David Wong, Narrated by Stephen R. Thorne

Reason for Reading: Real Life bookclub

Genre: Quirky adult horror


Review
This book is the king of unreliable narration. Presumably, this book is about David and John, two friends in a Midwestern town who need to fight off evil forces when a new drug (soy sauce)  opens a door to a parallel universe. Although it's clear that David exaggerates a good deal for the sake of story-telling, it is up to interpretation whether David and John are really kicking the EF from PU butt, or if they're hallucinating. Either way, it's a wild, crazy, and very humorous ride. The humor is very dark, dry, and sometimes witty. It was my favorite part of the book. The plot was fairly non-existent, though. The book was more about action and weirdness - the story was just too wild to actually have a coherent plot. During the middle of the book, I was starting to regret that it was so long because I'm more of a plot-driven than situational-driven reader. But I'm glad I hung in there, because I got some great laughs and may view the world a tiny bit differently after listening to this book. 

You wouldn't think this book would lend itself well to audio format, but Stephen R. Thorne did an amazing job. His delivery of the dry humor and action was spot on. I'm happy that I took the risk on audio. :)

Challenge Roll-Call: David Wong is my 24th new author this year (progress). John Dies at the End is my 5th book this year for the Once Upon a Time VII challenge (progress). It's my 14th  audiobook (progress) of the year. I'll count this book as "ghosts" in the Paranormal Reading Challenge (progress). It'll count as "horror" in the genre variety reading challenge (progress) and as "unreliable narrator" in category 2 of Reading Outside the Box (progress). 

May 19, 2013 Sunday Update

Well, it's been a few weeks since I've updated! In that time, I've had some difficulty with technology. For one, the bearing on my car was "obliterated" and I risked eminent death by fiery crash if I didn't replace it - and apparently the axle and struts on my undercarriage. My printer whacked out, and I can now only print in black-and-white. And most tragically - my First Generation Nook died. 

Luckily, there just happened to be an AMAZINGLY AWESOME sale on Nooks at Barnes and Noble, and I bought myself a new HD plus! The bonus was that I really, really wished that I could get an app for Evernote, where I keep class notes and recipes and just general recordable thoughts. When I bought the new Nook, it didn't have that app. But within a few days afterwards, B&N made a deal with Google Play and I can now access all of Google Play's apps. Including Evernote! So I'm really thrilled with my Nook. :)

Since it's been so long that I've updated you all, I won't bother to list all of my new reviews - you can take a look at that on my sidebar, after all. But I want to bring your attention to the review I posted earlier this morning about Against the Tide, by Elizabeth Camden. I'm leading a discussion for this book at the ACFW Bookclub on 5/27 - 5/31. If you would like to join the discussion (or see what else the bookclub is doing) you can join the Yahoo Group. There is still time to read this book before the discussion! 

As busy as I've been, I will be even busier starting Monday, because I'm taking an online course in Genetics from the University of Minnesota. This should be a fairly straightforward class for me - just a hoop I have to jump through in order to gain entry into the "fourth year" of the CLS program that I'm joining next year. I'm sort of looking forward to it, though, because I've enjoyed online courses from Coursera in the past, and I think it MUST be more fun when you're paying insane tuition for it, right? (Let's hope.) 

Cheers!

Against the Tide, by Elizabeth Camden

2013 Book 39: Against the Tide, by Elizabeth Camden

Reason for Reading: I'm leading the discussion of Against the Tide for the ACFW Bookclub on 5/27 - 5/31. If you would like to join the discussion (or see what else the bookclub is doing) you can join the Yahoo Group. There's still time to read this fantastic book!

Genre: Christian Historical Romance 

Review
Lydia Pallas grew up surrounded with instability, but she is finally content with her comforting home and rewarding job as a translator for the U. S. Navy. She meticulously organizes her surroundings so that, for the first time in her life, she feels she's in control of her life. However, her landlords are now threatening to throw her out of the only stable home she's ever had. She needs to raise several hundred dollars to buy her home by December. Seemingly fortuitously, Alexander Banebridge (Bane), a friend of her boss, offers to pay her a lot of money for some free-lance translation work. Even though Lydia begins to question the odd requests of Bane, she finds herself attracted to his cleverness, charm, and sense of humor. Soon, she is swept up into a dangerous world of opium smuggling. 

I have a lot of good things to say about this book. I loved the late 1800's Boston setting - it's a time which lends itself easily to romance. Although there were a few moments that I wondered if the language was historically accurate, I felt Camden did an excellent job with her research into opium trade. Despite (or possibly because of) Lydia's OCD quirks, she was very lovable. I really found myself empathizing with her pain - losing her family, the stress of raising money to buy the only home she's ever felt safe in, and her feelings for Bane. On the other hand, I inwardly groaned at her devotion to Bane and his cause. I totally understood WHY she was in love, but cringed at the foolishness of loving a man who claims he has no interest in marriage, but doesn't mind a bit of flirting. But love is foolish, often, isn't it? :) I was sort of torn - I empathized with her frustrations with Bane, but I also wished she would find herself a nice dedicated man. This is a similar conundrum I felt while reading Jane Eyre - I wanted her to live happily ever after with the man she loved, but I thought she was risking too much by loving him. I guess that makes it more romantic, in some ways?

The other thing that I really appreciated about this book (though my attention was only drawn to it because I'm about to lead a book discussion): the questions that Camden provided at the end of the book were really deep! I didn't realize how many sticky philosophical and spiritual questions were brought up in the story until I read the discussion questions. And they're not spiritual questions that have an obvious "right-if-you're-REALLY-a-Christian" answer, which is what a lot of end-of-book discussion questions in Christian Fiction seem to be. Personally, I don't see the world in black and white, so I love the opportunity to discuss grey. :)

Challenge Roll-Call: Elizabeth Camden is my 26th new author this year (progress). Against the Tide is my 9th Historical Fiction (progress) this year. In the Genre Variety Challenge, it counts as "Historical Romance" (progress). It is counted in category #6 of Reading Outside the Box because it was published in my birth month (progress). 

Classics Club Spin #2

I've decided to participate in the Classics Club Spin this time around. The basic idea is that I take 20 books from my Classics Club List and make a numbered list. On Monday the 20th of May, the Classics Club will post a random number between 1 and 20. I'll read whatever book corresponds to that number. They had some super-special rules about how to challenge yourself with a variety in this list - but I felt free to break the rules. All of these are classics that I want to read, but that I will listen to as audio instead of physically reading. I'm not sure if all of them are on my list or not, but I'm not too worried about that. :p

My reason for choosing only audiobooks is because I'm currently slogging my way through The Sound and the Fury as a physical book, and I need to finish that before I start another classic. It's certainly taking longer than expected!

1. Oblomov, by Ivan Goncharov
2. The Hobbit, by J. R. R. Tolkien
3. Bleak House, by Charles Dickens
4. Our Mutual Friend, by Charles Dickens
5. Sons, by Pearl S. Buck
6. Villette, by Charlotte Bronte
7. The Tenant of Wildfell Hall, by Anne Bronte
8. Vanity Fair, by William Makepeace Thackeray
9. Three Men in a Bummel, by Jerome K. Jerome
10. Adam Bede, by George Elliot
11. Daniel Deronda, by George Elliot
12. Middlemarch, by George Elliot
13. The Mill on the Floss, by George Elliot
14. The Woman in White, by Wilkie Collins
15. The Moonstone, by Wilkie Collins
16. North and South, by Elizabeth Gaskell
17. Cranford, by Elizabeth Gaskell
18. Mary Barton, by Elizabeth Gaskell
19. Shirley, by Charlotte Bronte
20. Wuthering Heights, by Emily Bronte

Airman, by Eoin Colfer

2013 Book 38: Airman, by Eoin Colfer

Reason for Reading: Seemed like a good idea

Genre: YA Steampunk

Review
Conor Broekhart has grown up as the best friend of the princess of the Saltee kingdom (an imaginary kingdom off of Ireland). But when he discovers a conspiracy to kill the king, the real traitor captures him and sends him to a prison camp to mine diamonds in obscurity. Conor must use his genius for flight to escape the prison and rescue the princess. Conor is much like a 19th century steampunk Artemis Fowl. Colfer delivers his usual book - fun, delightful, and humorous. Definitely a treat for fans of non-dystopia non-paranormal-romance YA. (YAY! for something different!) I'd say this book is appropriate for 5th - 8th graders. 

Challenge Roll-Call: Airman is my 8th historical fiction (progress), 18th library book (progress), and my 17th YA book (progress) this year. It counts as a YA steampunk in my Genre Variety Reading Challenge (progress). It counts for my third person omniscient book of category #2 of the Reading Outside the Box Challenge (progress). 

The Testing, by Joelle Charbonneau

2013 Book 37: The Testing, by Joelle Charbonneau

Reason for Reading: This book was provided by the publisher through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This book will be released in June 2013.

Genre: Young Adult Dystopia

Review
Cia wishes more than anything that she will be chosen for the testing procedure - leading to a university education. But the testing procedure turns out to be more than she'd bargained for. The other kids are literally cut-throat competitors, and the testing officials are cruel and calculating. Will Cia be able to hang on to the person she is and still pass the test? Does she even want to pass the test anymore? What dire consequences really do follow failure?

This book was a fantastic addition to the popular young adult dystopia genre. It took me a little while to get in to the story because there was little to distinguish it from all the other YA dystopias I've read lately, but after about 50 pages I was really sucked in and wanted to know where Charbaonneau was taking the story. I had an inkling what might happen in the end - sort of a "wow, I hope it goes in this direction, because that would make the next two books really interesting." And it DID go in that direction. So, the ending wasn't unpredictable, but it was unique, and I was in suspense for the entire book which way it would go. I hope she really works that aspect in the second and third books. To me, that's the aspect that will make this trilogy stand out from the crowd. Another thing I liked is that although there's potential for a love triangle, that aspect wasn't focused on. As I'm really tired of the triangle, the lack thereof was very refreshing. I hope the trilogy stays that way. The violence might be a bit off-putting to some young readers, but I'd say it's about the same as The Hunger Games - maybe a little less.

Overall, a fun quick read. I hope this trilogy is popular. :)

Challenge Roll-Call: Joelle Charbonneau is my 23rd new author this year (progress). The Testing is my 3rd dystopia (progress) and my 16th Young Adult book (progress) this year.