Posted by noa on December 27, 2003, at 10:26:08
Does anyone else get the itch to read a book before seeing the movie?
My mom had recommended the book "Cold Mountain" (Charles Fraser) a few years ago when it came out, but I never got to it. Now, with the movie ads all over the place, it occurred to me I should read it because I have this thing about wanting to read books before seeing the movie.
So, I went to the City's library web site and guess what? They are all taken out or on hold. According to the website, there were two copies left--one in the prison library, and the other way across town. So guess what I did? NO. I didn't go to the prison library. I went way across town to the library where they had a copy.
Well, it wasn't on the shelf, as expected. I asked the librarian, and it turns out the only reason they actually have a copy in is that someone had just donated it in the past few days and although it had been added to the catalog, it hadn't even been put on the shelf yet. She went to the back room and put a cover on it and that is how I got the only copy of "Cold Mountain" (me and some lucky prisoner, I guess! Except that I suspect "Cold Mountain" would come out on Dr. Bob's 'readability' scale as not being so accessible to the typical prisoner's reading level.).
Good thing, too, because when at first it looked like I wasn't going to get a copy in the library, I looked it up at an online bookstore, and, just as I'd dreaded, the paperback edition had the movie stars faces on the cover--UGH!!!! I hate that. They did have the older paperback edition with the original cover, but it was three dollars more expensive than the movie-sponsored edition! (I would have actually paid the extra because the movie cover edition really irritates me).
But I have my library copy. I've only read one chapter and it is pretty good so far. I haven't read a book in months because of difficulty focusing for long. I sat in the library and read for an hour (that library had nice seating, too bad it is way across the city from me), and started to find myself getting drowsy. This worries me--can I not read without getting drowsy? Then it occurred to me that I might have forgotten to take my Adderall yesterday morning.
Speaking of books and movies--I read about half of "Girl with a Pearl Earring" (Tracy Chevalier) in late summer, having picked it up at the airport before a long flight home, and was enjoying it very much. I didn't feel it was the greatest book of all time, but I really liked the way the author built in the visual and sensory experiences seen through an artist's eye. At the time, I thought to myself, "this book should be made into a movie" because of how visual it is. Well, I went to see the film "Lost in Translation"(which, btw, I did NOT like)recently and lo and behold, there was a preview for "Girl with a Pearl Earring" starring Scarlett Johannsen (Sp.?) who was also in "Lost in Translation". So, you know what that means? Yep, I better finish reading the book!
"Girl with a Pearl Earring" is a much easier read than "Cold Mountain"--I can read it in a few hours, whereas "Cold Mountain" has a lot of unfamiliar phrases and a style that is more challenging to read.
poster:noa
thread:293740
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/books/20030426/msgs/293740.html