Book Review- Tell No One

Page. Turner. I could leave it that, but that doesn't help anyone. Tell No One by Harlan Coben is one of the best books I've read in a long time. That's saying a lot considering I don't like books very much (they're growing on me don't worry). I've never been one for a slow paced plot or a romance with a predictable ending. I love unpredictability and a driven, fast paced plot. This book....is that. Perfectly executed in my opinion. Again, I'm no book critic, but I can tell a good egg from a hard boiled one.

To make an extremely long story (literally a story) short, and to not spoil everything, Tell No One is about this guy and his dead wife. Sounds invigorating I know. Well what if I told you, she might not be so dead. David Beck knew his wife was killed for 8 years, and mourned her death for just as long. Out of the blue Beck receives an anonymous email that might protest everything he believed to be true. What he does with his new found information...or lack there of, is for you to find out. When you read this page turner of a novel.

You won't be bored. Coben has a way of pulling you in, even if he's talking about a character you barely know. You're intrigued. You want to know all of the connections. How does this piece fit in? Where does it go? Why is it even here? All things you will wonder as the book progresses.

I won't ruin anything for those who are now wanting to read it because of all of my praise (I know I'm a reliable source, you don't need to tell me). But I will say one thing, Coben knows what he is doing. And boy oh boy what he is doing great.

Reaction to Book Debates

I’ll be speaking on the interview with Jonathan Franzen about adults who read literature written for young adults. I have a lot of respect for the things he had to say on the topic and I think all of it was valid. No matter what he says really, it’s valid, since it’s strictly his opinion. It almost seems as if he is being self-absorbed in the beginning, especially when saying, “If it’s a loss, it’s their loss, not mine”. But I don’t see it as arrogant as it may have sounded. I think when you are in a business where you kind of fend for yourself, like writing, it’s important to have self-focus.

                What I really liked was what Franzen had to say about WHY adults choose to read things with such moral simplicity. He explained that a lot of people have hard lives and the last thing most of those people want to do, especially after “they’ve been jerked around by the world yet again”, is go home and “rub their noses in moral complexity”. I love it because I agree with it 100%. I get that reading can improve your intelligence and all, but I really only enjoy reading when it’s something I WANT to read and that won’t give me a head ache after 15 minutes of trying to understand it.

                On the topic of Jennifer Weiner, he is very straight forward and says what he thinks. I can’t really argue or advocate for anything he says because I’m not well-educated on her, or her work. In other articles I have read about her, the topic is, more or less, focused in a different direction.

Overall I like what Franzen had to say, though opinionated and blunt, isn’t that what you ask for in an interview?

American Psycho - Book to Movie Adaptation

                Starting off with some background, if I may. American Psycho, the novel, is about a man named Patrick Bateman. He is of the elite, working on Wall Street by day, and brutally killing innocent people by night. He kills out of pure hatred for the world he lives in and he kills anyone who lives a life he doesn’t agree with. Horrible. I know.

                Now that the background is covered I can talk about my feelings right? Comparing book to movie, which did I like better? The film. Not surprising for me, I am usually partial to film. The movie was over all much more comical than the book was. Not to make light of what Bateman was doing, or to render it as acceptable. But to make the horrible deeds done in the book slightly more tolerable in the on-screen adaptation. I can understand that some fans of the book would argue they left important aspects out of the movie that were in the book. But on the contrary, when you pay close attention in the movie the screenwriters did a really good job incorporating some of the more violent scenes in a less heated manner in the film.

                An example is one of the more controversial scenes in the novel where Bateman kills “some old fa*ot with a dog”. Book fans say it was overlooked in the movie and should have been included but when you pay attention, in the film when Jean finds Bateman’s notebook, the doodles in the book are doodles of the murders that actually happened in the book. As I said, a way to incorporate the well-known violent scenes in a less harsh manner.

                The book is really, really, really graphic. And at some points I think it’s a little much to say the least. I think the movie did a fine job pulling the overarching theme and making it presentable to the public which is all you can ask for when giving such vulgarity to start with.

"Arrival" Film Adaptaton

I am a very visual person so I really enjoyed being able to watch the movie after reading the story. The issue I ran into was that I made an image of what I pictured the story to look like and I'm the move that's not quite how it played out. That always messes with my mind because I had a set image of it being one way and then it wasn't. If I had to choose one, I would prefer the movie. Only because I am such a visual person.

Don't get me wrong the story was good and it really makes you think, but I feel like you can understand the premise more when it was in the form of a film. Then again, I like movies because they only require a short amount of time and you get the whole story in that period. I’m lazy, so naturally, 2 hours of my time versus days tends to win me over. But as I’ve said, I’m trying to learn to love to read.

The additions I really enjoyed in the movie consisted of the ship and the reasoning behind Ian and Louise’s split. I feel like the ship really gave it that spectacular, incredible and unbelievable feeling that they were feeling in the movie when they saw it. It seemed to make the arrival itself a much bigger deal. I liked having a reason for Ian’s leaving because I think that is a major point in which you gain audience. You pull on their heartstrings. Along with Ian’s reason, having Hannah die at a much younger age also plays with people’s emotions. It really hits people hard watching a younger kid die rather than someone in their mid-twenties, so that was a good move on the screenwriters part.

             Overall I think the story and the movie are both really well done and pull strong meaning. I liked the movie particularly due to the visuals. But I really enjoyed the format in the story and the “aha!” moment you have when you reach the end.  

Film Adaptation

               I, being the stereotypical teenage girl, have only seen the film adaptations that almost every other person has seen too. Harry Potter, Twilight, Fifty Shades of Grey, etc. Fun fact: I never even read Twilight or Fifty Shades, and I only read five and a half Harry Potter books. I can tell you why too. I love movies. I like going to see them, and I like…liking movies. And I have always been afraid that if I read the book, it will ruin the movies for me. Not the other way around like most people.

                Now, I did read all of The Hunger Games books. Then I saw all of the movies. I wasn’t disappointed. I think they did really well adapting the movie to the books. In my opinion, all of the actors that played the characters were chosen wisely and I think the screenwriting was done impeccably. That being the only series of books I’ve ever truly completed, I can’t really speak for other series.

              Something people don’t talk about a lot is TV series. My absolute favorite television show to ever exist is The Vampire Diaries. I didn’t know until season 2 that it was based off of a series of books. When I found out, I looked them up and I almost cried. It was like a disgrace to the television show (to me at least, I’m sure to the author it’s the other way around).  Characters had kids that didn’t have kids in the show, they were all described to look completely different than they did in the show, and it was horrifying. Pretty Little Liars is another television series that was based off of a series of books. Just knowing people that have read it and then seen it, it’s also completely different than the books. Mind you, that show has had 10 seasons and NEVER ends. They just keep making new things up and drag it out because it’s popular. It remained true to the books like 10% of the time, from what people have told me.

                Knowing all of that, I think film adaptations are typically well-received more often than TV series, at least for those who read the books first. Honestly I haven’t read enough books that have been adapted to tell you whether or not it works majority of the time. I’ll tell you how American Psycho goes.

Book Review - The Woman In Cabin 10

Imagine this: you are on a cruise, miles from civilization. You think you hear someone thrown overboard. You see blood. You hear a scream. And all of the proof you gather up…leads to someone that does not even exist. At least no thinks they do. Now imagine that your name is Lo. Now you are the main character in The Woman In Cabin 10.

                I say “when you read” and not “if” because I think everyone should read this book at some point. Not only is it thrilling and will keep you on the edge of your seat. But it also deals with everyday struggles like anxiety and relationships. Things readers can really grab on to and relate to. That’s what I think makes this book so great. For some reason, in this book especially, there is a very strong connection between the characters and the readers. It may be the relatability factor of some of the plot, or it could be Ruth’s way of captivating a reader and holding their attention.

                By no means is it a book you pick up when you want a good laugh or to lighten the mood. Nooo, no, no! It is a book full of strife, tears, fear and suspicion. All of which lends itself swimmingly to the plot and the intentions of the author. Leading me to the question: What are the intentions of the author? My answer to that, as a large fan of the work, is that her intentions are to take you on a trip. To pull you so far into the book you can feel the wind and smell the ocean. To show you that anything can happen to anyone, and sometimes…at the worst time possible. Ruth Ware does an amazing job shining a light on Lo’s life and taking us along.

Now I recommend you go get on that boat! You don’t want to miss it. You’re almost late! GO!

Author Bio - Ruth Ware

                Obviously this chick is pretty cool, since she wrote The Woman in Cabin 10 which is a fantastic book. But that’s beside the point. Ruth Ware was born in Sussex (United Kingdom) and grew up there. Not much is out there about her childhood. Can’t blame her, I can’t even remember what I ate this morning, much less what happened to me as a child. She ended up graduating from Manchester University (Go Spartans!), after which, she moved to Paris.

                She did a lot of things before becoming a New York Times best-selling author.  She was a waitress. I imagine she was the waitress you get at a restaurant that is so well-spoken you sit there  wondering what else they do with their time when they aren’t pouring you a coffee. She also sold books…very fitting. I can only imagine the amount you end up reading when your job is to sell books (a LOT). Now get this, she taught English as a foreign language. IMPOSSIBLE. I can’t even make my cats meow back at me and some people out there can get people to comprehend a completely different language??? Lastly, she was a press officer. If you’re wondering what exactly a Press Officer does, like I was, allow me to explain. A press officer is a senior advisor who provides advice on how to deal with the news media and, using news management techniques, helps his or her employer to maintain a positive public image and avoid negative media coverage. Fun, right?

                Now I’m sure she had a BLAST with all of that, but, her passion is writing. Specifically, thrillers. Her debut novel was called In a Dark, Dark Wood. It came out in 2015 and hit number 8 on the New York Times Best-Seller list. She followed up with The Woman in Cabin 10 in 2016 and hit number 4 on the best-sellers list. Now, if that isn’t accomplishment I don’t know what is.

                She’s new. She’s rising. She’s extremely talented. Look out.