Year of Learning: Water for Elephants

The month of May brought Water for Elephants. 

This is one of the books I was not sure about, because I wasn't sure about the movie. I saw the movie the first week it came out in theaters and never saw it again. The only thing that I really remember was this was the best performance that I have seen by Robert Pattinson, and that the movie was better that I thought. Other than that I remembered nothing. 

So, when it came to reading that book I thought it was going to be very boring. I thought that it was going to be long and miserable. However, I was wrong. It's has to be one of the most enjoyable books I have read. 

Now, because I am somewhat of a prude the only thing that I didn't not like about the book was the sex. Now, It's not a porno by any means, and other who have read might have just thought normal. However, I didn't need to know some of the fact that was said. However, that is my own personal preference. However, a thrilling tale about a circus is hared to beat. Throw in a good heated man, a love story, and and elephant and you have yourself a great book.

The movie did a really good job with following the book, however, there are some grievances. In the book there are two people that Jacob has to look out for, August and Uncle Al. August is the man married to Marlena, and he is in charge of the animals in the circus. Uncle Al is in charge of the whole circus. In the movie they make August in charge of the whole circus and Al is not even in the movie at all. I didn't like that because it made everything they did in the movie a little less threatening. This would have been noticed by someone who has never read the book before the movie. Without that being a factor some other stuff was changed. Like in the book you could feel the tension from the whole circus where when Uncle Al is not in the movie all of the tension comes from Jacob's story. You also loose out on how incredibly screwed up August is. Just how jealous, how vile, how evil that man gets is really lost in the film. The stories of the side characters, like Camel and Walter, don't seem as important in the movie. They are there and they happened but the development of that family isn't there. The grieve of the end of their stories is not as significant.

 Even though you miss out on all the great stories between Jacob and the other characters, I have to say the movie does follow along really well. I know they had to change it for it to read better of them film, they followed how the book makes you feel rather well. 

I will say that I would watch and read both again. 

Year of Learning: The Devil Wears Prada

So.... As per usual I am behind.

I always seem to get behind not matter what challenge that I am doing but I always seem to catch up. I have.

The Month of April I read The Devil Wears Prada. Now, In reality I borrowed the book from the from the library in April and finally read it in May. I am sorry to say that this book did not capture me like the rest of them have.

We all know that movie rather well I think. We all really remember it because Meryl Streep did such a fantastic job as Miranda Priestly that we loved to hate her in this film. She did such awful things to Andrea in the film that we all kinda wished we had her power but we never really wanted to be that big of a which.

However, this movie does not do justice just how horrid of a women Miranda was.

Miranda has some truly insane demands in the book. They weren't just to make them miserable and "keep them in their place" but she really wanted everything to be utterly pristine. Like the fact she wanted to have breakfast served to her when she walked through the door. If it was not piping hot she would be angry. The kicker is she came into work a different time every morning and never said when. So, they would have to order the same meal every 15 minutes and throw our the old one until she got there.

The movie does not go into that amount of detail. They don't show what it was really like to work for a horrid person. They tried to show it by making Andrea find the unpublished copy of the newest Harry Potter book and giving it to her daughters. Events like this did not happen in the book. Another thing that did not appear in the book was how Miranda liked clothing. Like if she smiled she really loved it, if she liked it she nodded. That didn't happen in the book either.

Now, I watched the movie before I read the book. Even though this is my least favorite book so far this year I have to say that the book is so much better.

When I look back on the movie, I remember the key parts that I mentioned in the book. I really don't remember seeing the movie from the very beginning to the very end before doing this challenge. However, watching the movie I realize that I have seen it all. I thought there was more to it. It feel really rushed, and don't hit the points that it was trying too. They changed so much from the book to the movie that it feels really lack luster. I mean the book had real character development from everyone, except Miranda, and the ending of the book, how Andrea quits her job, is by far more epic than the movie will be.

I know that she hasn't been my favorite book I might read it again one day. I would recommend both the movie and book but I would say you should really read the book first on this one.