Yeah, there was one with a mermaid in it. Not a fan of romance novels, fairywaif?

I really don't mind romance, as long as it's well done. I think it can be pretty obvious when an author includes it just to include it though.

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When I do read romance it tends to be action/adventure/comedy/romance. It's not just a straight romance.

I feel ya. I don't particularly care for straight up romance in a book when I'm reading but when it's tastefully included in the story then I really enjoy it.

I can't think of any really good examples of that right now, however. :sweat:

My favourite book at the moment is My Antonia, by Willa Cather.
Set in the late 19th century mid-west, a boy goes to stay with his grandparents and becomes wrapped up in the immigrant Shimerda family - mainly, Antonia Shimerda, who is a few years older than him.

It's more of an earnest, innocent obsession than a love story, but it's tremendous.

Well, like the Princess Bride could be considered a romance, but as the Grandfather says at the beginning it's got swordfights, revenge, danger. It's a more complicated and exciting story.

Oh and Ethan Frome (Edith Wharton) is a 100 page 'love' story with an ending that weighs on you. God, how it weighs on you. Dx

Moment of truth time, I've never watched or read The Princess Bride.
Did I live a completely miserable childhood? xD
Although I have a friend who has never seen Mary Poppins or The Wizard of Oz. maybe something about my neck of the woods just guarantees you miss one of these pivotal childhood experiences? xD
Pearl - Is that a recommendation or a warning? I can deal with weighty books, but it's always better when they're worth it. (:

I've never seen Mary Poppins at all but I've seen bits and pieces of the Princess Bride. I'm.. not actually a big fan of it but my partner is. He loves it.

@ Candyland - oh, it's an excellent novella. But New England has never looked bleaker. xD

READ IT NOW! (The Princess Bride) And watch the movie. Both are amazing. One of the few movies that is as good as the book. Although are actually quite different since the book gives a lot more back story on the characters. So I would read the book first, because then you'll know the characters even better.

@Scribbled - If you enjoy musical nannies at all you sort of needed Marry Poppins in your life yesterday. ;D It's a cute story, bit of a lengthy movie though.
@Pearl - I've got pretty strong ties to the New England area (maternal grandparents live there an we visit all the time), so now I'm really excited. Does it capture the character of the area? Hahaha bleak sounds pretty spot on at least from some of my experiences.
@Grace - That is a glowing recommendation, and now I know for sure what I'll be hunting for at the library tonight! (: And thank you for the suggestion to read the book first, I was never quite sure which to tackle because I'm a book purist when it comes to stuff like that, but the movie is so well known.
Back story on the characters is always one of my favorite aspects though, so that solves all my problems. <3

It really helps that Goldman was he one who wrote the script for the movie. So they have the same feel even though they have different narrators essentially.

@ Candyland - the landscape is one of the main characters! I'm just looking for my copy to give you a sample of writing.

@vgracebutterfly - That's the happiest news I've had all day. :D It's just something about the transition from book to movie that always makes me incredibly nervous. Like I don't know how you guys feel about The Hunger Games, but that's a series I feel was really strong written but will probably crash and burn in a movie adaptation. Unfortunately. ):
@Pearl - Must. Resist. Urge. To. Dance.
Can you tell I'm just a tad excited? ;D

Hi everyone ^^

Oh yeah I loved the Hunger Games Trilogy, the only actor that looked right to me was the one that was going to play Rue. They are supposed to be young teenagers not young adults. I think it takes away from the horror of the story to make them older.

@ Candyland - my favourite thing about the book is Ethan Frome himself, a poor New England farmer full of aching sadness and brave new love. You should probably read it xD
I wrote an essay on it, and I've got pages and pages of quotes/notes, but I didn't concentrate on the landscape so much.

Apparently the author chose the casting, but they all look so old and they don't look right at all. I'm pretty disappointed. At least Harry Potter has been really good.

Afternoon SesshysMiko! (: Any recent literary adventures in your neck of the woods?
@vgracebutterfly - I haven't seen Rue's actress yet, only the three mains, but I was pretty disappointed with their selection for the reason you described. The whole point of the book is that this is a twisted society that is offering up its children, and as soon as you age them up it becomes so much less about the struggle to survive and just dissolves into bickering over the love triangle.
@Pearl - He sounds like a magical character, and I'm now dying to read this novella. <3
What was your essay on?
@Fairtwaif - I liked Harry Potter adaptations, although there were a few things that really bothered me. Like the third movie, although opinions really vary from person to person. My friends and I bickered over that for quite a while. xD
The other thing was that they weren't a great way to get people into the series, because some things were so confusing unless you had the context of hundred of written pages to walk you through it.

As far as looks go, the Harry potter cast was spot on. I'm thrilled by everyone who played a Weasley. So many redheads!

I'm thinking about re-reading the Harry Potter books after I'm finished with Pride and Prejudice.

Seconding that, Scribbled Lore!
My only concern with them was Ginny, because they obviously didn't know how big a role she would play later on and unfortunately her acting never quite seemed up to par. ): She seems like a really sweet person though.
And you have to! :D
I started earlier in the summer but go distracted with a bunch of trashy series my cousin recommended for me. xD

@ Candyland - I struggled to contain my enthusiasm for the book into one 2000 word argument, but in the end I settled on:
Ethan Frome’s power of unsettling the reader lies in Edith Wharton’s use of contrasts. Discuss.
It was a simple enough structure, anyhow.

My intro:

Ethan Frome manages to disturb and unsettle readers through the story of the eponymous antihero’s [SPOILER EDIT] fate, against a grey New England back drop. It is, however, not unremittingly bleak, and this is part of what accentuates the chilling nature of Wharton’s narrative. Ethan’s many fantasies and dreams, as simple as they are, contrast with the life he is living and only seem to make his ‘real’ world more unbearable. The arrival of Mattie and her vibrancy lead to the tragedy at the novel’s finish, and with this increasing sense of fantasy Ethan’s wife becomes more and more discoloured and cruel. Flashes of desire and colour to his life only serve to make the final disaster more disturbing, as every avenue for happiness is gradually closed off to him, making the end scene [SPOILER EDIT] seem one of complete isolation and despair.

:XD

I was able to join the Pottermore website and am waiting on my welcome letter to be able to use it. So I think I'm going to postpone my re-read of the Harry Potter books until I have full access to the site.

Ah, trashy series, lol.

I think the most interesting things I've read this summer were Wind-Up Bird Chronicles, the Quantum Thief and Perdido Street Station.

I couldn't get into Pottermore. :( I couldn't get to the library early enough...

@Pearl - I applaud your introductory paragraph, because not only am I incredibly intrigued but I know that my crazy (and awesome) English teacher would have loved it too. She tried to make us write essays on a short story, but we ran out of time at the end of the year. I was one of the few disappointed students. xD
@Scribbled - Oh my god, I can't believe you have early access! I may just drop dead of jealousy right here. ;D It's not so much for the online interactive aspect, although there's no way that won't be awesome, but I can hardly wait for all the new content Jo promised! (:
@Fairywaif - I feel your pain. <3 We will just have to grin and bear it until the nanosecond that it's open to the general public. ;D And I'm assuming here, but interesting in the good sense of the word as far as your summer reads go? (: