Find your way around!

Wednesday 17 December 2014

American Writers Writing British Characters

Hello! I know it's been a while since my last post, I had massive issues with Wordpress and my two gmail accounts were conflicting on my blogger page - all in all, it's been a complete pain! However, I'm here now and ready to role with my new post on an issue that affects me a lot.

Bloody American writers writing bloody British bloody characters.

Sound familiar?

Every British reader faces the regular struggle of reading a book by an American writer whom has written in a British character. Every sentence that character says will sound a little like this:

"I am going to the bloody shops to buy some bloody shoes because it's bloody cold outside and my car won't bloody start so I bloody have to walk".

Oh. My. Bloody. God. 

Anyone would think that everyone American thinks we're Alan Sugar!

This surge of anger has came from my recent attempt to read James Dashner's The Maze Runner where the character Newt, presumably British or possibly Australian, says 'bloody' far too much. It is a British stereotype that we all say "bloody" a lot like our good old friend Ron Weasley so writers from other nationalities incorporate it in to their work, unfortunately, to the annoyance of the British. It's a stereotype that Americans are all stupid but do you see British writers purposely making their American characters unintelligent? No, you don't. 

Of course, we do say it, of course we do but it's a pain in the arse when it's every other word the character spits out! 

Fiction has always managed to paint pictures of Britain and have given the Americans some crazy misconceptions. Let's iron out a few, just to extend the length of this post!

1) If you've read any of this post, you'll understand that number 1 has to be the word 'bloody' being used in the wrong context, too often and in the wrong part of the sentence. It's frustrating!


2) "British boys are so cute".
No. No they are not. Yes, Harry Potter and all of it's beautiful male array of characters are yummy both on screen and on paper but they are fictitious; there's not a geographical correlation between attractive men and their location on earth. Trust me, this guy is considered a sex lord in many parts of Britain. The attractive men are few and far between. 
3) We all speak like the queen.
7% of the British population speak like the queen. The other 93% speak in multiple variations of English language - chances are, your dream guy won't say "Hello darling, you look beautiful today", they'll say "oi love, yous looks well fit!". They're not romantic, to say the least. 

I hope this has cleared up some of the misconceptions you may have of British people after you read about them, it will save us all a lot of trouble if you find out about it now rather than later!

I do apologise for my lack of innovative posts right now, been so busy and drained in the run up to Christmas due to present buying, college work and working at the bookshop! This will be my last post until the new year and I will be back with a vengeance.

Have a marvellous Christmas and I look forward to being back with you in the new year,

Thanks,

Is x

Friday 5 December 2014

Book to Film: When It Goes Wrong...

We've all freaked out about our favourite books making it to the big-screen and we all share that same dubiousness about how it will be carried out. Will the budget be able to cover it? Will it disappoint or surprise? Will it make me want to cut my eyeballs out?
Unfortunately, the answer to those questions are mostly negative. We've all dealt with the crushing disappointment of our favourite book being slaughtered by the silver screen and feel ashamed of the producers for ruining such an excellent piece of literature. 
Here is a list of the biggest successes and failures to book-to-film adaptations...
  • SUCCESS Harry Potter
Harry Potter is possibly the biggest movie franchise of our life time with the exception of Lord of the Rings. Although there were some slight differences from the books to the film, they did a pretty good job in sticking to the story and selecting a near-perfect cast! JK also wins a medal for HarryPotternot turning the golden trio in to a love triangle and for that, I am forever grateful.
  • FAIL Percy Jackson and the Olympians
No one hates the Percy Jackson movies more than Rick Riordan, the author. One can only imagine how soul-destroying it must be to see your years of hard work turn to crap on screen. Yes, Logan Lerman is very yummy, but he is also not a 12 year old boy like Percy.RR The films could not have taken a more different approach to the story if they tried and it disappointed fans everywhere!

  • SUCCESS The Lord of the Rings trilogy and The Hobbit
The characters are cute, hairy and adorable and there's plenty of action. Another well-cast movie done and another inevitable death for Sean Bean (we don't know why they always kill you seany). The Lord of the Rings seems to always be a family favourite, despite the books being published yonks ago. frodoThey might be long movies but at least they're interesting unlike the books which are apparently very heavy-going. Also, has to be one of my faves purely down to the sound track which is bloody gorgeous *swoons*.
  • FAIL Cirque Du Freak: The Vampires Assistant.
This is possibly the WORST book to film ever made. I watched the movie first and I have to thank to movie for letting me know about the books (which were the books that got me in to reading so thank you Mr Shan). The film was pretty unrecognisable to the book and had its own little thing going on with some cray-cray monkey girl who isn't even a character in the book(!!!?!?!?!?!?).cdf Such a shame when an amazing, promising series like Cirque Du Freak gets murdered by its movie. There was loads of potential to make it great but they cocked it up, as per usual, particularly with the cast which were about 8 years too old to be playing the characters they were playing. Also - another British book being Americanised in to some weird summer teen flick! 

These are just a hand picked selection of my favourite ones to love and hate but there are loads more. Good ones being The Hunger Games (which in the later movies has become better than the books), The Fault in Our Stars, The Princess Bride, Stardust and (as much as it pains me to say it) Twilight. Bad ones being How I Live Now, Stormbreaker, The Importance of Being Ernest and many, many more. 
Maybe one day we'll get to see another good series adaptation that we will connect with like we have to the successful ones! Who knows?
What's the worst book to film you've experienced? Let me know!
Is x
Twitter: @marvellousshelf
Instagram: @issysmarvellousbookshelf

Wednesday 3 December 2014

How to get out of a Reading Funk

You could be the most avid reader and have moments when you just can't get in to your book and you slip in to a reading funk.

Reading Funk

A reading funk is a period of time where reading becomes a chore/daunting task and one ceases to read. Funks can last short or long periods of time and are common in students and those with busy lifestyles.

Tim: Hey Joe, have you read Ready Player One by Ernest Cline yet!?

Joe: Nah man, been studying so much I've got myself in to a reading funk.

Symptoms of a reading funk include:

  1. Sleeping after reading a page of a book




2. Buying too many books to fit on your shelf that you're "going to read when you feel better" so that it's fit to collapse.


3. Watching excessive amounts of TV so you don't have to read



That's just a select few of the effects a reading funk has, they vary from person to person and it's so difficult to pull yourself out of one but never fear, I have some tips to help!

My A levels have been driving me crazy and reading has been the last thing on my mind right now due to the workload I have that seems to never end. I'm in my own funk now, I've been reading The Maze Runner for weeks and am still not even 100 pages in; in all honesty I'm not a fan of Dashner's writing style but the concept is great so I just have to plough through. Unfortunately, books that don't grab you can just elongate the reading struggle and put you off further so try to avoid these type of books!

Here are my top 5 tips to avoid your reading funk!:

1. Choose a book that interests you!
    If you're reading a book just to see what all the fuss is about, there's a possibility you'll be disappointed and apply this same algorithm to other books you read. You're going to convince yourself that everything you read is a disappointment when there are really some great books out there which have very little hype at all!

2. Schedule in some reading time!
   Whether it be an hour or even 20 minutes, put aside part of your day and dedicate it to reading. Don't stop until you've reached your target and if you read longer than expected, don't stop. Book funks are often followed by reading purges so let out the reading animal inside!

3. Ease yourself back in to it!
    An easy read is sometimes all you need! Try something contemporary and small but not something that will bore you like John Green, Jill Mansell or something aimed at a younger audience as it may be simpler to read!

4. Turn off your phone!
    The Internet is a pain; it gets in the way far too much and you'll end up checking twitter and not reading! It also takes away any concentration you may have!

5. Set goals!
    Everything you do in your life is easier if you set goals so aim to read a book a week/month/every 3 days. Make your goals sensible and achievable and stick to them!



Hope that these help you guys! Let me know your tips for getting rid of the post-book-blues! Sorry for the short/lacklustre post too! I'm absolutely whacked and need some sleep!

Is x

Twitter: @marvellousshelf
Instagram: @issysmarvellousbookshelf