Books

Summer Reads: Last Night at Chateau Marmont

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I’m a huge fan of chick lit, but I particularly enjoy reading them in the summer. They are perfect to read on the plane or on vacation because of their light and breezy nature.

I just finished reading Last Night at Chateau Marmont. It is the follow up novel by Lauren Weisberger, who wrote The Devil Wears Prada (another one of my favorites).

Last Night tells the story of a young, married couple dealing with the husband’s skyrocket into fame (he’s a singer). They are having trouble adjusting to his newfound fame and the constant travel he is doing.

I would probably rate the book at 3 out of 5. It fell flat at some times and you could predict the ending from a mile away. I did however enjoy the pop culture references (ie Chateau Marmont in West Hollywood), the peek into the glamorous life of a celebrity, and a reference to the TV show Friday Night Lights.

My chick lit must reads would be: The Confessions of a Shopaholic series (especially books 1 through 3) by Sophie Kinsella, Bergdorf Blondes by Plum Sykes, The Devil Wears Prada, and the Something Borrowed/Something Blue series by Emily Griffin.

What have you been reading this summer? What are your favorite chick lit books? I’d be interested to hear about them, as I’m always looking for good books to read!

Hope you all had a happy Monday!

Half the Sky

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I came across this quote today which I loved:

“Submit to a daily practice…Keep knocking and the joy inside will eventually open a window.” – Rumi

I’m hoping that using this blog as my “daily practice”  will help me in many ways.

Also, came across this touching article about India’s unwanted girls. A month ago I finished reading Half the Sky, which was such an eye-opening book. It talks about the oppression women face across the world.

I’ve lived a pretty sheltered life. Don’t get me wrong: I know terrible things happen in the world, but I’ve never read about them in such vivid detail.

I would highly recommend Half the Sky to everyone (women and men alike) to read! I’ve never had a book change my world view on things until I read it. Honestly, I’m not one to make rape jokes regardless (i.e. “Oh that exam just raped me”) but after reading some horrific stories, I don’t think I ever will!  Just as there is a campaign to stop using the word “gay” synonymous with stupid or lame, I think the same should be done for rape jokes.

I cannot even begin to fathom the pain (emotionally and physically) that so many girls in the developing world go through on a daily basis. I truly commend Nicholas Kristof and Sherry WuDunn for writing such a book, bringing the plight of these young girls and women to the forefront of the news, and more importantly being their voice in this world.

What was one book that completely changed your worldview?

Anyway, good moments:

– Spending time with my baby niece. She is absolutely the cutest and funniest thing. I love that I finally have a baby that is related to me and also lives close by so I can see her fairly often.

-Shopping and eating yummy falafels.

– 3 days until I’m on the East Coast! So excited for my trip. It’ll be nice to get away and experience a change of scene for a while.

Books turned into movies

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Earlier this week, I was wondering when the trailer for Water for Elephants will release. I read the book a while ago and loved it. When I found out that they were making it into a movie, I wasn’t sure what to think.

I love books, I love movies, but the books-turned-into-movies phenomenon has almost always had less than appealing results.

I love the Confessions of a Shopaholic series by Sophie Kinsella, but the movie? Eh. The Harry Potter books are brilliant, yet most of the movies can’t seem to capture that essence. There is no one to blame as books and movies are completely different mediums and often times books just don’t translate well on screen.

The only book-turned-movie that I enjoyed was The Namesake. It was beautifully done. While it didn’t stick to the book, the changes it made enhanced the movie, instead of bringing it down.

In Water for Elephants..the main character is supposed to have red hair, and yet Robert Pattinson is not a redhead. The most important character of the book, Rosie, is renamed Tai in the film. It makes me wonder why the writers change little things like that. Why not just let is be as it is?

Anyway, the official trailer came out yesterday and here it is. It actually looks really good and despite my complaining, I know I am going to watch it in theaters anyway. 🙂

Now I just can’t wait for the trailer for Something Borrowed to come out!

Are there any books-turned-movies you LOVED or absolutely LOATHED? Let me know in the comments!