Sunday, January 21, 2018

Books Being Adapted Into Movies Coming out in 2018

Thought it would be interesting to take a look at some books that are being adapted into movies coming out in 2018.  This is not intended to be an exhaustive list, just going to highlight a few based on books I have already read, and a few based on books that I already own or have been meaning to read and perhaps I'll read before the movies come out.

So if you also like to read books before seeing the movies, here are some books you may want to check out before they come out in the movie theater this year!


Friday, January 19, 2018

From the Top 10 Archives - Jen's Ten Favorite Books of 1999

I was asked to post my old top 10 lists on the blog, so this will be the first in a series of blogs where I revisit a top 10 list from the past.  As a reminder, these are books I read in the year in question, not necessarily books that were published that year.


For this one, I'm going to go all the way back to my very first top 10 list, from 1999.

Wednesday, January 17, 2018

Confessions of a Book Hoarder

My name is Jen, and I'm a bookaholic.  Almost everyone knows I love to read, and a fair amount of people know that I love to accumulate books.  But few people know the depths of my book hoarding.


See that photo above?  That's the bookcase in my bedroom.  My bookcase of UNREAD books.  The books I've read are on bookcases elsewhere in my house.  This is all books I've acquired but yet to read.  

Friday, January 12, 2018

Dystopian fiction

Last night, my friend Becca asked for a recommendation of a book in the dystopian/post-apocalyptic fiction category.   This happens to be one of my many favorite genres, so I had a lot of suggestions for her, and I figured it would make a good post too.  I'll be covering other genres in future posts, so if you have any specific requests, let me know!


Monday, January 8, 2018

"Wonder" the movie vs. "Wonder" the book

I went to see the movie "Wonder" with my 9 year old son Jonah yesterday, which got me thinking about what makes a successful adaptation from a book to a movie.


I thought the movie was great, though not quite as a great as the book.  What made the viewing experience  different for me this time was that often when I see the movie version of a book I read, I read the book a year ago or more, sometimes quite a few years, so I might remember just the general gist of what the book is about.  And while I did read "Wonder" for the first time back in 2013, I JUST finished reading it with Jonah, who hadn't previously read it.  For the last month or two, we have read a few chapters of the book out loud before he goes to bed, and we literally finished reading it on Saturday night and then went and saw it in the movie theater on Sunday before it leaves theaters all together.  So, it was unusually fresh in my mind in terms of making direct comparisons between the book and the movie.

Friday, January 5, 2018

Anticipated Books of 2018

I probably have enough books in my possession to last me at least the next 5 years if not more.  But as if that's not enough, here are some books I'm particularly looking forward to reading which are going to be published in 2018.  I'm lucky enough to already have advance copies of a few of these, but will have to wait for the others!  Publication dates are listed in parentheses, and I've listed them in order of currently scheduled publication date.

Tuesday, January 2, 2018

Jen's Top 10 Books of 2017



For many years, I have been compiling a list of my ten favorite books read in the year just ended and sharing with my friends, first through e-mail and then through Facebook as well.  Now that I have a blog, I'm excited not to just share my list here but also be able to go into a little more detail!

As those of you who have been receiving these lists know, it's not necessarily books published in that year, just books I read that year.  Here's my list for 2017, in alphabetical order by author's last name:

Tell Me Three Things - Julie Buxbaum
The Dollhouse - Fiona Davis
The Arrangement - Sarah Dunn
The Dry - Jane Harper
Castle of Water - Dane Huckelbridge
Maybe in Another Life - Taylor Jenkins Reid
Forever Is the Worst Long Time- Camille Pagan
The Garden of Small Beginnings - Abbi Waxman
The Secret Life of Violet Grant - Beatriz Williams
Young Jane Young - Gabrielle Zevin

As always, I love to hear everyone's personal choices for favorites of the year!



And if you're interested in some more random information on these books, keep reading: