Blogger Recognition Award and Book Adaption Tag

I loved doing tags because they make me think about books in a slightly different way. And this one, which is all about adaptations, was especially fun! Many, many thanks to Michaela at the ever-delightful Journey Into Books blog for tagging me. It’s always nice to be thought of and included when folks are having fun… and I had a blast with this.

Rules

• Thank the blogger/s who nominated you and provide a link to their blog.
• Write a post to show your award.
• Give a brief story of how your blog started.
• Give two pieces of advice to new bloggers.
• Select up to 15 other bloggers you want to give this award to.
• Comment (or pingback) on each blog and let them know you have nominated them and provide the link to the post you created.

How did my blog start

I majored in English in college, so by the time I graduated, I was pretty exhausted by writing because there was so much pressure. For a long time after that, I just enjoyed reading for fun again. Then, in 2020, I realized I wanted to start writing again, but I still found myself overthinking everything. So, I decided to begin this blog as a fun, no-pressure way to write without needing everything to be perfect. And it’s been a lot of fun — my creative writing juices are even sputtering to life again, after lying dormant for many years, which gives me hope.

Two pieces of advice for new bloggers.

I only have one piece of advice: have fun! Finding an audience and connecting with other bloggers is wonderful, but the only way you’ll get real satisfaction out of this — and be able to sustain it, too — is if you’re creating content you enjoy. If you’re not enthusiastic, it’s easy to burn out. But if you’re having fun, writing about what you love, it will show in your “product,” and attract kindred spirits.

And in that spirit… onward to the tag proper!

THE BOOK ADAPTATION TAG

What is the last book adaptation movie you saw?

That would be The Mask of Zorro (1998). It puts a fun twist on the original novel by Johnston McCulley, The Curse of Capistrano, and it’s one of my ultimate comfort watches.

What book movie are you most excited about?

I’m not keeping up with much film news right now, but I am very excited about Apple’s upcoming adaptation of Pachinko by Min Jin Lee. I loved the book, and I think it will make a great series!

Which upcoming book movie will you definitely not see?

I feel like there was one that I was not excited about, but… I’ve blocked it out of my mind. Next question?

Which book movie would you NEVER watch again?

The 1934 adaptation of Anne of Green Gables. It’s a strange little movie, but the main reason I dislike it so is because it takes a hard left from the original plot and turns it into a weird Romeo and Juliette-esque story. Why?? Also, the entire cast is just… awkward as all get-out.

Is there a movie you saw that made you want to read the book if you had not yet?

This has happened to me many times! Random Harvest (1942) and Scaramouche (1954) both led me to the novels (by James Hilton and Rafael Sabatini, respectively), and they are now among my favorite novels of all time.

Conversely, is there a movie that made you never want to read the book?

Not that I can remember, though I’m sure it’s happened! Typically, though, I think if the book doesn’t appeal to me, the movie won’t, either, and vice versa, so I just don’t try.

Name an adaptation that has almost nothing to do with the book it is supposedly based on.

There are plenty of adaptations that deviate wildly from the original, to varying degrees of success, but the only thing the 2003 film Cheaper by the Dozen has in common with the book by Frank B. Gilbreth Jr. and Ernestine Gilbreth Carey is the title and the fact that it’s a family with twelve children. Strictly speaking, I think the movie was more “inspired by” than an adaptation, but as a kid who loved the book with all my heart and soul and went in thinking it was an adaptation… I was sorely disappointed.

Have you ever left the theatre during a movie adaptation because it was so bad?

No, but I don’t go to the movies often enough for that! Also, I’m a bit of a completion-ist, so if I start a movie, I usually finish the movie. It’s such a small time commitment, after all!

Do you prefer to watch the movie first, or read the book first?

I think it depends on a lot of factors, like if the book is already on my TBR, if I care enough to want the original in my head before seeing a movie, or if I’m just mildly curious about it.

How do you feel about movie adaptations that age characters up? (ex. Characters that are in middle school, but in the movies, they’re all 18+)

Well, child actors are generally terrible, so… as long as they can make it work with the story, I don’t think this is too bad. But I don’t like it when the actors are older while the characters are still the same age. That messes with my brain.

Do you get angry when the actors don’t look like you thought the characters would?

Not angry but certainly disappointed. I am, after all, the woman who waited 10 years after reading Persuasion by Jane Austen to watch an adaptation because I wanted the original well fixed in my mind before introducing a film’s visuals! But if the actors do a good job portraying the characters, looks matter less.

Is there a movie you liked better than its book?

I saw the 2008 adaptation of Winifred Watson’s Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day long before I read the book, and it’s one of the few perfect movies in the world. I love everything from the music and set design to the story and its achingly tender reflections on love and war, set on the eve of World War II and contrasting older characters who remember World War I with bright young things who don’t. It’s lovely. And the book is lovely, too, but it’s much simpler. When I finally read it, I realized the screenwriters had taken a sweet, cheerful little story and fleshed it out into something greater.

Name a book that you would love to see as a movie.

This is going to be a weird answer because the book wasn’t actually published until 1963, but oh! how I wish a 1930s adaptation existed of False Colours by Georgette Heyer because Billie Burke would have killed it as the flighty, flirty Lady Denville! Where’s a time machine when you need one??

I’m not sure who has already done this tag, so feel free to ignore if you’ve already been tagged — or to do it again, if you want? I just want you to know I appreciate you.

I Tag….

• Dini of dinipandareads
• Riddhi of Whispering Stories
• Madeline of The Bookish Mutant
• Kristin of Kristin Kraves Books
• And, if you want to join in — YOU!

—b