Stardust: Book or Movie?

Stardust: Book or Movie

**SPOILERS**

I first saw the movie Stardust years ago. It was introduced to it by my then husband. I absolutely loved the movie to the point I named my son Tristan after the main character of the movie Tristan Thorn. After finally watching the behind the scenes featurettes I discovered it was based on a novel by Neil Gaiman. I was then determined to one day reading the book and that would lead us to this review.

I finally got to reading the work and I would say it was like a dark fairy tale. it was well written but I was a little thrown off. In the movie his name was Tristan but in the book Neil added an R for Tristran. I suppose it's the same name regardless but it made me need to double check. Even though this novel was pretty good, I would have to admit I enjoyed the movie much better. It was one of those books where you're all "They should have put that part in the book!" or "Why didn't they add that scene to the movie?" constantly. They both did have their fair amount of charm.

**Spoiler Alert**

In the movie they made Captian Shakespeare, who was given another name in the book, was played by the great Robert DiNero who pulls off a hilarious performance and there's a scene that will very well make it impossible to look at him the same way again. however in the novel, he had a much smaller influence in the book. There was quite a good cast of Claire Danes, Michelle Pfeiffer, Henry Cavill who you wouldn't even recognize in his role of Humphrey as well as guest appearances by Ben Barnes, Peter O'Toole, Rupert Everette, and Ricky Gervais.

The Novel was of a teenage age level but I think anyone who loves adventure, fantasy, and slight romance would enjoy this book. Neil is a very talented author who pulls you into his mind's world for a great ride through time and space to another universe throughout the worlds he's created. It's a rather small novel of 248 pages for a quick read but it's a rather intriguing and dark brilliant piece of work. It just isn't as captivating as the storyline and visual stimulation as the movie. As most novels to books, it shares a similar story while changing up many of the ongoing details. Both are definitely worth checking out if fantasy and adventure are your forte.

Wicked Deeds: A Book Review

Wicked Deeds: A Book Review

**Spoilers**

I finished reading another good novel yesterday and I must admit, it's probably my favorite so far. It's part of the Krewe of Hunters series by Heather Graham. Number 23 to be exact. I started this series pretty late in the game but it's a really good read. The characters are fun, the content is edge of your seat compelling there's really not much not to like about this series. There's ghosts, mystery, suspense, crime, a little romance that's pretty subtle. Everything that I personally like in a novel.

Heather has a unique writing style. Sometimes you find words or phrases that just don't fit well. Happens in every one of her books that I've read but she really knows how to suck a person into her books and wanting to know more of the plot within the novel. She's detailed but not too descriptive in her writing She seems to have very interesting story ideas and has a knack for getting her ideas out on paper. I would definitely recommend this author to fellow bookworms.

**Spoiler Alert**

Vickie and Griffin are back and this time it's a series of crimes based around the death of the late and great Edgar Allen Poe. Writers turned up dead in Edgar Allen Poe written scenarios such as the Tell Tale Heart and Fall Of The House Of Usher. The fun is how it all ties into the murder of Edgar Allen Poe as his ghost hangs around Vickie and Griffin  uncovering clues so that he can move on to the afterlife. It really makes you think back on the history of his death as if something similar could have actually happened to him. It's a definite page turner.

This series is always a pleasure to read. It's a wide variety of genres and not too mushy. I had somewhat of a hard time putting this book down due to the plot twists and being eager to know what would happen next. I like that this novel has some paranormal help to the main characters as Vickie and Griffin are able to interact with ghosts which makes them imperative to the Krewe.

Reading Spell

Reading Spell

Turns out my reading stint didn't exactly go away like I had thought. I was just extremely bored with the book I was reading. How I know is because a book I've been waiting to be available at the library finally was. I have been having a hard time putting the thing down. I take it everywhere with me. I love to read it while my son plays on the playground.

It's another Heather Graham novel. Wicked Deeds that was just released in September and is the newest of the Krewe of Hunters series. I'm not quite sure what it is about that series that has me so captivated but I always have a hard time not reading them regardless of the grammatical errors she tends to have throughout each book.

The book that had me bored was Christine Feehan's novel Dark Legacy which is part of a Carpathian series. The content was compelling enough it's just perhaps that it was obvious that it was part of a series and I have a thing about that. Krewe of Hunters seems to catch you up in the beginning of the novel in a way which makes it feel like its own novel and not a carry on. nor is there any cliffhangers at the end. Not that I would really know the content on the Dark Legacy novel I lost interest at the second chapter or so.

I'm so happy my love for reading came back if it even really disappeared at all. It's a great way to escape reality don't you think? I believe so.

A Downhill Occurence

A Downhill Occurrence 

Something rather unfortunate has happened. I'm burned out from reading. For the last few months i'd read books cover to cover back to back from one novel to the next. Maybe i'm now worn out from reading. I hate it though because I used reading as my escape from reality. My reality rather sucks. More than enough family drama to last a lifetime, no social life of any kind outside of work, and occasional restlessness.

Why must this happen to me? This isn't the first time either. I go in and out of spurts of reading but this one I think lasted the longest. I went on a reading stint of about 4 months and now I can't even be bothered to pick up a book without getting bored a couple sentences in. I'm not sure if this is part of my mental illnesses or just my personality as a person.

I get completely obsessed about reading. I'll read all day on my free days and stay up late into the night to get a book finished, constantly go to the library to find books to buy that I plan to read but never actually get to, then all of a sudden it disappears completely and I won't even want to pick a book up and I switch to buying movies at the library instead.

It's almost like I become bibliophobic. I completely forget I have a book case in my room filled with books I haven't gotten around to reading. I can't even stand to start reading again and it's highly annoying to me. I suppose all I can do is force myself through it and read until I push myself into another stint. Does this ever happen to you? How do you get around it or force yourself through these stages?