Should you read the book or see the movie? Part 6

Part six of whether or not I preferred the movie or the book of things I've recently read...

The Thirty-Nine Steps by John Buchan vs. The 39 Steps (1935 film)-  I've gotta say that I was disappointed with the book and while it isn't his best movie, Hitchcock's film version is still pretty good. Verdict: See the movie.

Fletch by Gregory Mcdonald vs. Fletch (1985 film) - The book was really fun so I was disappointed when I finally saw the film version and realized how unfunny Chevy Chase can be at times. The book was both funny and serious and the film was neither. Verdict: Read the book.

Dune by Frank Herbert vs. Dune (1984 film) vs. Dune (2000 mini-series) - Dune is a pretty dense book with a lot of stuff going on. Trying to condense it into a single film is probably impossible. At least the movie has some good performances and David Lynch makes it memorably weird at times. The mini-series is a bit more faithful to the book but the production just looks too cheesy at times to take seriously. Verdict: Read the book.

Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling vs. Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince (2009 film) and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Parts 1 and 2 (2010 films) - Verdict: Read the book and see the movies.

The Big Sleep by Raymond Chandler vs. The Big Sleep (1946 film) - Both the book and film are rightly considered classics but I have to give an edge to the book. Verdict: Read the book and see the movie.

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy by John le Carre vs Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (2011 film) - A few years after seeing the movie I realized I couldn't really remember too much of it even though I remember thinking that it was okay. The book is okay if a bit dull. Verdict: Umm... either or neither

Book # 15 Lord of the Flies by William Golding

Going into Lord of the Flies I remembered that I had to read it in high school and that I really enjoyed it. Then I got to thinking about the different book covers I had seen for it.... and then it hit me... I had actually read this book a second time sometime after college. I had totally forgotten that I still owned a copy of this book from before we started this project. The only thing that reminded me was the memory of the cover of a really old paperback copy I found at a used book store. That got me thinking about how boring most of the book covers are that I see at book stores now. Anyway about Lord of the Flies...

A bunch of English children get stuck on an island and they slowly turn into savages.  The end.

Reading it again it reminded me a bit of Cormac McCarthy's The Road. I'll have to keep this in mind when I eventually reread that book for this project. The whole books seems filled with possible essay topics... that's probably why everyone has to read it in high school. Still I enjoyed it for what it is and if somehow you haven't read it already I'd recommend it. I'll give it an A.

This is the cover I remember from high school... memorable and hints at the overall story.

The cover of the version I read... ok I guess.

The cover of the old used copy I had... it hints at the themes and emotions without any trace of the plot of the book... probably my favorite cover for this book.

Book # 48 Remembrance of Things Past (Part 6 of 7)- The Sweet Cheat Gone by Marcel Proust

I can't wait to be done with Remembrance of Things Past.. This volume picks up right after the last one with Albertine having broken up with the narrator. He spends the first 100 pages or so obsessing over Albertine's possible affairs and trying to figure out how to get her back. She writes him about reconciling but his response is to say no in the hopes that she begs him to come back. Yeah I'm tired of this guy. So then *spoiler* he receives word that Albertine has died in an accident and still he mostly obsesses about her past affairs and sends a friend out to investigate whether or not they happened. He then spends the last half of the book talking about whatever happened to Gilberte... and her story isn't particularly interesting. Well only one more to go... C+.

Book # 92 - The Ambassadors by Henry James

The most positive thing that I can say about Henry James' The Ambassadors is that I liked it more than the last couple list books I've read (The Captive and To the Lighthouse). Still.... it isn't a book that I'd really recommend.

The book follows a man, Strether, as he goes to Europe in the hopes of talking his fiance's son, Chad, into returning to America. However he sees that the young man has been improved by living in Europe and the good influence of a woman that he has met there. Strether also begins to feel that he's wasted his life so far and that he would be better off in Europe also. So then he must decide if he should really try and convince Chad into returning or not and what effect this would have on his own engagement.

The book started out kind of interesting and established the main plot quickly, but then it just started to drag and go over the same stuff over and over. By the end I was pretty bored with it. Basically imagine the plot of The Talented Mr. Ripley but replace the sociopath with a well mannered widower. Yeah... that isn't quite as interesting now. I'll give it a B-.

Book # 48 Remembrance of Things Past (Part 5 of 7)- The Captive by Marcel Proust

I've had enough of this book series.... Volume one I enjoyed. Even volume two was interesting. But it just goes on and on and on and nothing happens in volumes three four and five. It has not been a fun read. Sure some passages are really thought provoking and beautiful but it is surrounded by so much inconsequential stuff that I don't care. In this volume the first 250 pages are so is just the narrator thinking about how jealous and suspicious he is of his girlfriend... even though he is pretty sure that he doesn't even love her. The next 150 pages is just the narrator talking about his friends lives which is boring because they are all pretty unlikable and are mean to each other. The last 150 pages or so is just him and his girlfriend arguing and finally breaking up. I'm dreading the last two volumes... C+. On a side note the book mentions both War and Peace and Crime and Punishment.