Books | Amy C. Shaw

Double Book & Movie Review: Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

February 1, 2015 • 17 Comments

As you may recall, I am reading Harry Potter FOR THE FIRST TIME and then watching the corresponding movie after each book. So far, I really enjoyed books 1 & 3, thought 2 was decent but felt it suffered from being formulaic, and that I have not been overly thrilled with any of the movie adaptations, but the third has been my least favorite of those so far.

Now I have great news: So far, The Goblet of Fire is my favorite Harry Potter book AND movie!

The Book

This is when the books start getting long, 700+ pages, and I can’t deny that it was intimidating (my longest read last year was 562 pages). However, I hoped with a longer book we would get a lot more details and action. I won’t say that 700+ pages delivered significantly more than the previous books with only 300ish pages in terms of how much happened (well, before the really intense stuff, obviously), but the pacing was usually on point (I did find it lagging or sort of odd in a few spots), and I did like the development. And just like Azkaban, those last few chapters were like OMGOMGOMG for me. I mean seriously, when a certain person met a certain fate and crap was going down I’m pretty sure I said something out loud, like WHAT, or ARE YOU SERIOUS, or who knows what, but the point is I was really into it. It was the point I feel I have been waiting for, that turning point in the series everyone talks about. The book has some flaws, but I really loved this story and just devoured that ending.

Also, Hermione is still my favorite. She’s so much more reasonable than everyone else.

The Movie

Thank goodness, finally, the script didn’t feel strange! There were several added lines that were seriously funny, I liked the addition of more Neville, the omission of the house elves and their subplot, and the things that were changed or condensed actually made sense this time (except I think we could have used a few more minutes of The World Cup and The Dark Mark stuff at the beginning. I like that we skipped the Dursleys entirely though!).

You know what else didn’t feel strange? The directing! I think maybe only once I thought someone was staged awkwardly, and it was far less egregious than the previous movies. I mean seriously, despite my production background, I only think about the direction of a movie/show if it truly stands out, either for being awful or for being great, and the Harry Potter movies have made me think way too much about directing in a not good way. Until now, finally. I know the director changes yet again so I hope I will be as happy with the last few films as I was with this one. At the very least, maybe the screenwriter is finally getting the hang of adapting the books to script.

I will say that this movie gets a 4 for being a worthy adaptation, but I feel I can’t give it higher since it can’t replace the book and I don’t know how many times I would rewatch it on its own.Alright, The Order of the Phoenix is next, about an extra 100 pages, and I know stuff is just going to keep going down. Bring on the action, the drama, and the teenage angst (seriously, these kids are starting to get moody)!

What are your thoughts on The Goblet of Fire (book and/or movie)?

Bookish Wedding Inspiration: Leviathan Trilogy

January 27, 2015 • 10 Comments

There are minor spoilers for the Leviathan trilogy below.

Once upon a time, I thought it might be fun to try creating themed wedding ideas based off of books, and how the main character’s wedding might look with our modern sensibilities, and thus, Bookish Wedding Inspiration was born! This time I wanted to create a wedding for Deryn and Alek. After TWO WHOLE BOOKS of Alek thinking Deryn is a boy named Dylan, in the third book he finally learns who she is, and finds himself falling for her the way she has already fallen for him. This series was my first (and only, so far) foray into alternate history/steampunk and it created a very interesting picture of a different WWI, and I would recommend it if that sounds the least bit interesting to you!

When researching possibilities for this post, I considered the time period, the alternate world/steampunk element, and of course the characters themselves. Hope you enjoy what I created!

Bridal Look

The Dress (Sort Of)

Source

Deryn’s not big on dresses, and while I considered some dress options, ultimately, I thought this was the most fitting: a white, military style coat that can also function as a dress, over riding pants. If you check out the source link, you’ll see just how many military-style, wedding-appropriate options there were from the 2006 fall Dolce and Gabanna line! I thought quite a few of the outfits could work for Deryn on her wedding day, but ultimately, I thought this was the best choice.

Bridal Accessories

Hairpiece/Steampunk necklace

This headpiece evokes the 1920s (I assume this is close to the time Deryn and Alek would marry) and simple elegance. It would also look great on the short hair that Deryn no doubt would be sporting. I love the idea of accessories that evoke the travels Deryn and Alek have embarked on together.

The Bouquet

Source for second bouquet

At first I wanted a simple bouquet, and was inspired by a picture of a wedding on Downton Abbey to go with a few calla lilies. But then I thought, in Deryn and Alek’s world they may have some exotic plant life that we don’t have, plus, it does seem like Deryn would want more personality in her bouquet, if she was even interested in a bouquet. So basically we have the classic choice that probably reflects Alek more than Deryn, and then the more exciting choice that reflects Deryn. Let me know which you prefer!

The Groom

Outfit/Compass cufflinks

Alek of course would need to be dressed in a nice, classic sort of style, and I also wanted it to be along the same vein of Deryn’s outfit. I guess I decided they’re getting married in the winter, since they both have coats! And while I suppose Alek wouldn’t need cufflinks if he was wearing a coat, I like these compass ones nonetheless.

The Location/The Portraits

So when I pictured the sort of place where Deryn and Alek might marry, I pictured a sort of city hall kind of place, a small wedding with just their close friends. I found some great pictures from a couple different weddings at the San Francisco City Hall (built in the 1920’s, I might add) and felt they perfectly fit the bill.

Source

The Sweets

Source

For some reason, this particularl tower of treats seemed like a fitting way to celebrate Alek and Deryn’s marriage!

What would you expect to see at Deryn and Alek’s wedding?

Review: Mistborn

January 22, 2015 • 20 Comments

How to sum up Mistborn…

The end.

Wait, did you want more than that? You want to know my thoughts on the plots, the characters, the world, be convinced that you should read this? Fine. I’ll oblige.

Here’s what you need to know up front: This is 600+ pages of fantasy goodness. This is not for everyone, but if that doesn’t intimidate you, or at least you’re open to the idea, then this book probably is for you. One of my first inclinations of the book after I had started reading was that the story is a bit of a slow burn. Let me emphasize: it’s not a slow, drawn-out beginning with massive info dump and waiting for the story to begin. But the story takes its time to develop. The characters take time to develop. That’s part of what makes this story so worthwhile, because in the end it will impact you in ways a lesser developed story just could not have done. It’s all completely worth it and it’s never boring, even when things are moving slower. I never felt that Sanderson was just feeding me unnecessary filler.

The book focuses mainly on Kelsier and Vin, both born as skaa (slaves, essentially), both gifted, but otherwise pretty different. Vin is a 16 year old girl; Kelsier is a 30-something year old man. Kelsier has spent much of his adult life leading people; Vin just tries to scrape by unnoticed and unharmed. Kelsier has developed his abilities; Vin is only vaguely aware of hers. But when the two meet, Kelsier recruits Vin and takes her under his wing, and though she believes he intends to use her for whatever purpose he has and then dispose her, she slowly learns to trust him and his friends as they work and train together.

After a while, we also get introduced to my favorite character ELEND! It seems I have a thing for young noblemen who are a little defiant (Prince Kai in The Lunar Chronicles, Kiggs in Seraphina, Nikkolai in the Grisha trilogy…), but seriously, he brings books to balls and reads them there! What is not to love about that? And his interactions with Vin are gold. In fact, my only complaint for this book is that I think the development between Elend and Vin ended up being a little rushed (which feels crazy to say about this book); they seem to go from flirtatious banter to relationship suddenly. Not that it was too soon, but there is no explanation that I recall about them talking outside the balls, so I don’t when they established things because suddenly it was like bam, they’re a couple. I just wanted more of those interactions, dang it. But hopefully there will be more in the next two books.

This book is hard to explain because it is a fantasy with an intricate world and magic system, and the plot has a little bit of everything going for it: action, adventure, drama, comedy, romance… But seriously, it was all good. It’s character-driven but the plot is great too. And while the ending for this book was satisfying and does not leave you on a cliff-edge, I am certainly anticipating more. (But Nikki did warn me that I will need to read books two and three back-to-back, so that has been noted!)

By the way, just as a warning, not everything in the ending is happy. But the ending is still good and worth it, I promise. There are feels of all kinds in this book.

So basically, if any of this sounds appealing to you at all, you should read it. I think you’ll love it. I know I’m glad I gave it a shot. And I’m happy to give my first read of 2015 5 stars!

If you’re a Mistborn fan, feel free to gush in the comments!

Content advisory: Mild language, moderate violence

The Top 10 Secondary Characters Who Need Their Own Story

January 20, 2015 • 24 Comments

Top Ten Tuesday topic is a meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. Today’s topic is a freebie!

When this idea popped into my mind, I was worried I had already done a topic like this one once, but the closest I found was My Top 10 Most Memorable Secondary Characters, which I wrote in 2013 and was a list comprised primarily of secondary characters from The Hunger Games. Since then I have read a lot of great books with interesting characters and feel I could create a more varied list, PLUS, make the focus be about the story they could tell. This week’s list is in no particular order.

1. Carswell Thorne from The Lunar Chronicles

Source for Thorne art here

Marissa Meyer gifted us all with a short story about Thorne (that I still have not read!), but seriously, all Thorne fans know only a novel would suffice our desire for more Thorne.

2. Sturmhond from The Grisha Trilogy

Sturmhond is basically the same person as Thorne, and again, we all want more. I would love to know what happens to him after the Grisha trilogy, but I would also love to know more about his life before!

3. Kiggs from Seraphina

I love Kiggs, and I would like to know how he grew up and what made him the way he is.

4. Elend from Mistborn

OK, so I’ve only read book one, and I imagine there’s more of him in the next two books, but I would love to know the details of his royal upbringing, his antics growing up, and what got him started reading those forbidden books.

5. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley from The Harry Potter Series

Again, I haven’t finished all these books either, but I just love Mr. and Mrs. Weasley and I’d love to know their backstory. Did they meet and fall in love at Hogwarts? How did Mr. Weasley end up at the Ministry of Magic? Did they always want a large family?

6. Finnick from The Hunger Games Trilogy

Of course, this list would not be complete without someone from The Hunger Games, and like many fans, I’d love details on Finnick’s backstory!

7. Gemma from The Young Elites

Image on left found on Marie Lu’s The Young Elites Pinterest board

I find the whole thing about Gemma being from an aristocratic family and a malfetto, but not condemned like Enzo, really interesting within the world of The Young Elites, and I want more of her story!

8. Harriet from Emma

I know this ship has sailed, at least for Jane Austen’s perspective, but I would love to know more about Harriet’s life after she married Robert Martin. I was a little surprised when, while watching Emma Approved, I became way more excited about Emma and B-Mart hooking up at the end than Emma and Knightley! It was just really cute! (Those paper cranes!) But when I read Emma, I also found myself really endeared to Harriet there. More please!

9. Caleb from The Divergent Trilogy

I have some unanswered questions about Caleb, and I honestly found him so much more interesting and complex than Tris or Four. I need more!

10. Marguerite St. Just in The Scarlet Pimpernel

I know there are more of these books so there might be more about Marguerite, but I found her really interesting when I read The Scarlet Pimpernel, and my favorite chapter in the book is when she’s at home discovering who her husband actually is.

I was surprised to see this list was mostly guys! But I guess that’s because most of these books focus on a female character. In YA it’s a little more rare to get the guy’s POV, but sometimes I wish I could read their story too!

Which secondary characters would you like to see get their own story?

Discussion: Favorite Authors

December 31, 2014 • 20 Comments

Maybe I’m all alone in these feelings among the book blogging crowd, but I’m curious, does anyone else feel at least slightly panicky when someone asks who your favorite author is/authors are?

I know what some of you are thinking: Oh yes, I do! I have too many to choose from! Well, good for you, but I feel I sort of have the opposite problem.

If you ask me who my favorite author is, I would probably say of all-time probably C.S. Lewis, but right now my biggest amount of love is for Marissa Meyer. I might also mention how much I love Leigh Bardugo, how much Jon Acuff’s last two books have meant to me, and how much I appreciate Jane Austen’s stories even if I don’t love her writing style. After that, I feel I kind of draw a blank, and here’s the other kicker… I still feel like I can’t completely claim these as favorites sometimes.

Leigh Bardugo, yes, as long as I continuing loving what she writes, makes complete sense. I own physical copies of all her books, they are all signed, I met her, and I rated of each books 4.5 stars. That’s pretty consistent with loving someone’s work, I think. Marissa Meyer, on the other hand, I rated her first two books 4 stars each, only own e-book copies of them, but I gave Cress 5 stars, own a physical copy of, and love so much I will push The Lunar Chronicles on anyone who will listen. I think with Marissa, I just love the world she created, I adore every.single.character. (well, all the good/main ones anyway, but there are quite a few so that is an achievement!) and I just think she’s getting better and better with her writing. So even if I don’t have all the swag to be her #1 fan I think it’s legit to say that I love her.

C.S. Lewis. Maybe I mention him to sound intellectual. I wasn’t wild about Till We Have Faces though everything I had heard about it before reading was positive. I don’t even love all the Narnia books (but the ones I do love, I love a lot!). I have read a lot of excerpts from several of his non-fiction works though (I have yet to sit down and read one of them from cover to cover though) and he has made an impact on my spiritual life. So while I don’t consistently love all his fiction (not to mention I haven’t read it all yet), his non-fiction has impacted me, even though I haven’t even read all of those books either.

But all this babbling leads me to my next point, which is that while sometimes I really love something an author writes, it doesn’t mean I do love/will love everything they write. I adored Diana Peterfreund’s For Darkness Shows the Stars and Across a Star-Swept Sea but have hardly any interest in any of her other books because they don’t really sound like me. Now, maybe one day I’ll read them and realize I was wrong, that’s possible, but those two books are SO ME that I don’t feel like the others could measure up. I really liked Rachel Hartman’s Seraphina because of the characters, but that’s the only book I can go off of, and I have no way of knowing if I’ll love her next cast of characters just as much.

And all this talk stems from an email BookBub sent me letting me know I could receive author alerts about when my favorite authors’ e-books go on sale.

But my absolute faves I would rather go buy their physical books. What about authors I haven’t actually even read yet but I’m curious about? What if I want to know when their book is on sale so I can check it out? Why do you have to insist they’re my favorite, BookBub?!

Never mind that BookBub is a website, not a person, and they aren’t actually forming an opinion on me based on my “favorite authors.”

The only question in the bookish world that makes me even more panicky is, “What’s your favorite book?” Really?! Favorite book ever?! Now really, how am I supposed to choose?!

How do you feel about picking a favorite author? Do you have a lot of favorites, or are you like me and feel like you can only truly claim a few?

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