Books and Movies That Made Me Think

This blog will be a bit of a cheat. It will be about both books and movies. Bare with me, it'll be a long one!

There is only one thing I love more than kicking back with a good book and/or movie; kicking back with a good book/movie which makes you think about life. 

Books

The Five People You Meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom

Anyone who's been following my blog knows that one of my all time favourite books is The Five People You Meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom. This book is about an elderly man (named Eddie) who works at a local amusement park. Eddie has been working at Ruby Pier for almost his entire life. He feels like his life has been a total waste. Eddie dies instantly one day, when there is a freak accident on one of the rides at Ruby Pier. The book is about his journey in the afterlife, meeting five people along the way, whom his life has greatly impacted.

I think I was about twenty years old the first time I read this book and I fell in love with it immediately. Your late teens/early twenties is essentially a time when you're "finding yourself." This book really made me think about how we all have a purpose in life, even though we may not know it at a time. No matter how mundane our lives are, we all have a reason to be here and should never take that for granted. I've read this book a few times since, and it never fails to give me a warm and fuzzy feeling inside.

The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch

This was another lovely book I was introduced to by my monthly book club. Randy Pausch was a University professor who was diagnosed with cancer. The book is about the trials and tribulations he went through with his family and friends during his last days, his chemotherapy and his process of creating his "last lecture."

What an inspirational human being! Even though he was diagnosed with cancer, and he knew he was about to die, he decided to live before he died. This is something many of us forget to do. We are so concerned about the insignificant things in life, that we truly forget to live. Refer to the link below to hear his beautiful lecture.

Achieving your Childhood Dreams

Rebecca by Daphne DuMaurier

Yes, another book club book indeed! The story starts off with an unnamed heroin who meets the charming (widower) Maxim DeWinter. They soon get married, and she moves to Manderly with him, a romantic town with a beautiful backdrop. The wife always feels like she is being compared to Maxim's deceased wife, Rebecca. She starts off a very shy, meek and quiet girl who allows people to take advantage of her. However, she soon becomes a strong and independent woman, able to express her thoughts, feelings and opinions. The book is written from the point of view of the heroin.

I instantly fell in love with this book. In my opinion, it's a book which I think all young women should read. It really shows that you can be strong and opinionated woman but still be a good person. We see lots of growth in the heroin through out the novel and it's written beautifully.

Movies

Yes Man

This is a goofy comedy starring Jim Carrey. Carl (Jim Carrey) is a recently divorced man with a dead end job. He never wants to go out with friends, meet new people or try anything new. Until one of his friends takes him to a motivational speech encouraging people to say "yes" to all opportunities that come their way in life. Carl soon says yes to everything and begins living his life to it's full potential.

This is one of my top "feel good" movies. How many opportunities have you missed in your life, simply out of fear of saying "yes?" What's the worse that can happen? The only way to truly be happy in life is to experience new things. How else will you know if you like (or don't like) something, if you've never tried it? I've re-watched this movie a few too many times, and it's completely changed my perspective on life.

The Truman Show

Another Jim Carrey drama. This movie follows the life of Truman Burbank. His life is recorded on screen where everyone watches his every move 24/7. Truman is completely oblivious to his star status and is unaware that his family and friends are simply just actors in his "TV show."

Truman feels truly trapped and lost, until one day he discovers the truth about his life. This film really made me think about free will. Are we really living life because we want to, or because it's expected of us? This is another gem I've seen numerous times, and love it every time. I always get goosebumps in the last scene of The Truman Show where Truman is quoted as saying, "In case I don't see ya. Good afternoon, good evening and goodnight."

"12 Reasons I Have Decided to Read One Book Per Week"

I wanted to do something different today. Rather than writing my own blog, I wanted to refer you guys to another wonderful blog post I discovered yesterday. It was quite inspiring and beautiful. Please follow the link below and enjoy.


12 Reasons I Have Decided to Read One Book Per Week

Happy Belated Birthday J.R.R. Tolkien!

Beloved author J.R.R. Tolkien came into this world on January 3rd, 1892. He was known to be friends with Chronicles of Narnia author C.S. Lewis. Both Lewis and Tolkien were members of a writing group called "Inklings." Tolkien was the author of many novels, the most popular ones being The Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings Trilogy.

I am somewhat ashamed of myself. I've declared myself a fan of high fantasy and sci-fi, yet I've never completed the entire Lord of the Rings book series. I've read The Hobbit (on more than one occasion) but for some reason I've only watched the Peter Jackson version(s) of the trilogy on the big screen. Although I LOVED the movies, I promised myself that the next time I re-watched the movies, would be after I've read the books. I watched the films about ten years ago (when they first came out) and I've forgotten the storyline, so I think this may be a good time to start!

Though I haven't enjoyed all of his work, I've got to hand it to Mr. Tolkien for introducing us to the awesome world of bad ass wizards long before J.K. Rowling did. But I may be a little controversial in my opinion that Merlin is still the ultimate badass wizard. Sorry, Team Gandalf!

I close by saying, Happy Belated Birthday J.R.R. Tolkien and thank you for introducing us to a world of wizards, hobbits, and riddles.

PS, Please enjoy this movie trailer for the upcoming and very anticipated film version of The Hobbit. =)

Which famous author do you write like?

I learned about this fun tool via facebook. You just copy and paste a piece of writing, and it generates which author you write like. For one piece of work, it told me I write like David Foster Wallace, and for another it told me I write like J.K. Rowling! What an honour!

Here are my badges to prove it.

I write like David Foster Wallace

I write like J.K. Rowling

Check it out, and have fun with it!

I write like

Word on the Street

Every year cities such as Toronto, Halifax, and Vancouver host their annual "Word on the Street" book and magazine festival. The festival takes place simultaneously all around Canada on the last Sunday of September. (It's always easy for my to remember the day it takes place, because it happens right around my Birthday!) The festival consists of book sales, author readings, author signings, concession stands, and many different kinds of book related activities. I kept hearing about Word on the Street for about three years now but hadn't gotten the chance to experience it for myself, until last Sunday. To say I had a blast at Word on the Street is an understatement.

I started getting excited about the festival just about six weeks prior to the actual date of the event. I kept asking around to see who wanted to join me but not many people seemed too interested. Some of my friends' said things like, "That seems boring" or "Maybe I'll come if I have nothing better to do that day." Finally, I convinced my 17 year old cousin to accompany me. However, I soon learned it probably would have been more fun to go alone. The event went on from 11 am to 6 pm, but we only stayed around for the afternoon. I got a chance to see the Scotiabank Giller Prize tent (which was actually the main one I really wanted to see) and heard some author readings. Much to my surprise, many of the books were actually being sold for a fraction of the cost. One independent author was selling his book at a price of "pay what you can." (Yes, you read right.) The book sold on book shelves for $16.99, but I got a steal for $10.00! Even better, the author personalized it for me with his autograph!

I am a proud member of an online community called "Wattpad" who also had a booth at Word on the Street. I was super excited to see some of the people I've been communicating with online, in the flesh! Wattpad was giving away free t-shirts, posters, stickers, bags and candy. Of course, I took some! Many tents were giving away freebies, and I'm proud to say I've accumulated a lifetime supply of free bookmarks! Well maybe not a lifetime supply, but so much so that I'm planning on making a scrapbook out of them! After browsing around various tents like a kid in a candy store, it was time to go home and my smile soon turned into a frown. I took my last few steps towards the nearest subway station and already starting planning for Word on the Street 2012. Word on the Street Book and Magazine festival was definitely something I would like to be a part of every year.

Word on the Street Toronto is located at Queen's Park and the best part about it is that it's for everyone and it's free. There are many tents and stages set up which are aimed for kids, teens and adults. If you're a book enthusiast, you're guaranteed to find something for you. Those who don't like buying books can even check out Toronto Public Library's bookmobile, if you're more of a borrower than a purchaser. The only downside about Word on the Street is that most of the authors are Canadian unknowns. Lucky for me, I have read a lot of Canadian books and I love Canadian authors. Furthermore, although I hadn't heard of many of the authors there, I love hidden gems. I am passionate about literature as it is, so I can't describe the feeling of contentment I get when I get to see who is behind the scenes. Overall, it was a great experience, and one that I hope to have again every September.

Does Word on the Street take place in your hometown? Take a look at their website below and find out!

Word on the Street

Beyond Harry Potter

I keep hearing people say "So, I just finished Harry Potter... now what?!" Although I also jumped on the Harry Potter bandwagon and fell madly in love with the series, I find it sad that Harry Potter fans are unable to find new book series' to read. If you spend time searching, it's really not that hard to find some amazing series'. Mind you, they may not live up to the awesomeness of Harry Potter, but you might just discover that you love them equally as much. Some books from the same genre which I know of are the following:

"Game of Thrones" by George R.R. Martin: Although this is a popular book series, I will admit, I never heard of them until the HBO Series came out, which personally I thought was amazing. From various recommendations, I keep hearing that the books are equally as amazing.

 "The Seven Realms Series" by Cinda Williams Chima: Those of you who have been following my blog know how much I love Cinda Williams Chima, as I've written about her a few times before. I like to describe this series as a PG version of Game of Thrones; more aimed for teens, and less sex and nudity. I've only read the first book so far, but what I read, I liked.

"Percy Jackson and the Olympians" by Rick Riordon: The story is almost as good as Harry Potter, but the writing style is not as good. Though Percy Jackson's story is a bit more simple when compared to Harry Potter, I can see it possibly having the same fan base. In other words, if you liked Harry Potter, you will most likely also enjoy Percy Jackson.

"100 Cupboards" by N.D. Wilson: Well, I picked up book 1 from the series, but never got around to reading it. When I read the synopsis, I got the impression that the story was full of magic and wonder. 100 Cupboards is the first book in the trilogy, followed by Dandelion Fire and The Chestnut King. 

So there is a list of some of my personal series recommendations which I think Harry Potter fans might enjoy. Keep in mind, that this list is a mix of both children's, teen's and adult books. My fellow Harry Potter lovers: please remember that if you keep an eye out, you can surely find some hidden gems out there.

Teaser Tuesday

I just recently learned about something called "Teaser Tuesdays" and thought it would be fun to participate! This fun little activity is hosted by fellow blogger Should Be Reading
http://shouldbereading.wordpress.com/

Here's how it works:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers

So here it is, my first attempt at Teaser Tuesday!

     She stares at me for a long time, actually looking at me as a person. For a moment I think I sense a chink. Then she snaps back into action. "Is your family taking you to the circus this weekend?"
     "Oh yes," I say with some pride. "Someone comes every Sunday. Like clockwork."

- Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen (p.16)