Tag Archives: Book to Film

Julie & Julia by Julie Powell

Book Review, , , ,
Overview
Image result for julie and julia book cover

Title: Julie & Julia: My Year of Cooking Dangerously
Author: Julie Powell
Rating Out of 5: 5 (I will read this again and again and again)
My Bookshelves: Book to Film, Food, Inspiration, Memoirs
Dates read: 18th – 20th November 2019
Pace: Medium
Format: Novel
Publisher: Little Brown Books
Year: 2005
5th sentence, 74th page: But I did not live in 1961, nor did I live in France, which would have made things simpler.

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Synopsis

Julie & Julia, the bestselling memoir that’s “irresistible….A kind of Bridget Jones meets The French Chef” (Philadelphia Inquirer), is now a major motion picture. Julie Powell, nearing thirty and trapped in a dead-end secretarial job, resolves to reclaim her life by cooking in the span of a single year, every one of the 524 recipes in Julia Child’s legendary Mastering the Art of French Cooking. Her unexpected reward: not just a newfound respect for calves’ livers and aspic, but a new life-lived with gusto. The film is written and directed by Nora Ephron and stars Amy Adams as Julie and Meryl Streep as Julia.

Thoughts

I absolutely loved the movie Julie and Julia, so when I found the book on sale, I was deliriously excited. Possibly a little too excited. But, as it turns out – I was probably all happy and hopped up on my new book purchase for a good reason. Because this novel is also amazing. I just couldn’t put it down. Actually, I think that my partner got kind of fed up with me talking about this non stop for about 24 hours.

Normally when I read a book that has been turned into a movie, I have a clear favourite. 99% of the time that favourite is the book – let’s face it, they just fit so much more in to a book than they can in a movie! That wasn’t the case with this! Both versions had amazing merit, but differed enough that I still couldn’t wait to read about the next insane experience that Julie Powell experienced in her year long quest for… something. She’s not entirely sure what, and neither am I. But I can tell you that it was a brilliant adventure regardless. And that I have to do something, but I don’t know what – well, that’s exactly how I’ve been feeling lately, so it was probably the best book for me to pick up at this point in my life.

One warning I do have about this book – don’t eat it while you’re hungry. Even if you’ve just eaten, you’re going to want to go into the kitchen and just whip up some random meal. At least, for my food obsessed self – I was constantly thinking about food and cooking while reading this. Sadly, I don’t really have the time to try and master French cooking… but it’s made me want to try!

Mostly this book is funny and cute. But, it’s also a great tale of finding yourself and figuring out what you want to do in your next life… or about a mid-life crisis. Either way, I could relate WAAAAAAY too much to this story. So maybe it’s not such a bad thing that I have NO IDEA what I’m doing with my life! Because you can find a random project to pursue and maybe find a little bit more about yourself in the mean time… although, a PhD could be that random project… I’m getting off track now.

 <- Cleaving ReviewOne (Wo)man, One Vote Review ->

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China Rich Girlfriend by Kevin Kwan

Book Review, , , , ,
Overview
Image result for book cover china rich girlfriend kevin kwan

Title: China Rich Girlfriend
Author: Kevin Kwan
Series: Crazy Rich Asians #2
Rating Out of 5: 5 (I will read this again and again and again)
My Bookshelves: Asia, Book to Film, Chic lit, Contemporary
Dates read: 31st October – 14th November 2019
Pace: Medium
Format: Novel
Publisher: Anchor Books
Year: 2015
5th sentence, 74th page: NICK: WTF!

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Synopsis

It’s the eve of Rachel Chu’s wedding, and she should be over the moon. She has a flawless oval-cut diamond, a wedding dress she loves, and a fiance willing to thwart his meddling relatives and give up one of the biggest fortunes in Asia in order to marry her. Still, Rachel mourns the fact that her birth father, a man she never knew, wont’ be there to walk her down the aisle.

Then a chance accident reveals his identity. Suddenly, Rachel is drawn into a dizzying world of Shanghai splendor, a world where people attend church in a penthouse, where exotic cars race down the boulevard, and where people aren’t just crazy rich… they’re China rich.

Thoughts

This is yet another fabulous hit. At least with me. And when I say fabulous, I mean flamboyantly fabulous because seriously… talk about lives of the rich and famous!!!

I spent most of my time reading this book giggling, laughing my head off, and sending random snapchats to my friends in particularly glorious moments. There is just something that is deliciously witty and disparaging about Kwan’s writing that I haven’t found in the longest of times. It has been the perfect fit for my mood lately, and a great summer read with the gloriously warm weather coming in. Easy, fun and so completely unbelievable that you actually believe that these people exist…

China Rich Girlfriend reveals yet another facet to the lives of the rich and famous among Asian and Chinese societies. And, again, Rachel is thrust in the middle of peoples’ issues and hang ups. Almost having her life destroyed in the process. It’s incredibly drama filled, but at least this time, Rachel doesn’t so much act as a naïve lamb going to the slaughter. She’s actually able to stand up for herself and approach the whole situation with her eyes open, no happy little, dream come true delusions this time. Thank goodness. I loved this more cynical version.

This story mostly follows Rachel and her discovery of her new family. As such, Nick tends to take a bit of a step back as a main story character. He’s always there, but not in the limelight as in Crazy Rich Asians. The other two relationships that are followed, and incredibly intriguing are that of Kitty and Bernard. I never thought I’d want to know what happened to them so badly, but it turns out that I had to have their story in my life too!

The third couple that was followed was Astrid and Michael. He was a douche nugget in the movie, he’s a douche nugget in the first book. And by the time you get to the end of the second book, you will seriously be hoping that he is not going to be around in the third… serious douche nugget. But, it makes for great reading, and gives you hope that Astrid may be able to find her own happily ever after, just with a few more bumps in the road…

<- Crazy Rich AsiansRich People Problems ->

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The Zookeeper’s Wife by Diane Ackerman

Book Review, , , ,
Overview
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Title: The Zookeeper’s Wife
Author: Diane Ackerman
Rating Out of 5: 5 (I will read this again and again and again)
My Bookshelves: Book to Film, Memoirs, Non-fiction, War
Dates read: 23rd September – 3rd November 2019
Pace: Slow
Format: Novel
Publisher: Headline
Year: 2007
5th sentence, 74th page: If Jan were dressing beside the terrace door, Antonina wouldn’t have spotted him.

Synopsis

When Germany invades Poland, Luftwaffe bombers devastate Warsaw and the city’s zoo along with it. With most of their animals killed, or stolen away to Berlin, zookeepers Jan and Antonina Zabinski begin smuggling Jews into the empty cages.

As the war escalates Jan becomes increasingly involved in the anti-Nazi resistance. Ammunition is buried in the elephant enclosure and explosives stored in the animal hospital. Plans are prepared for what will become the Warsaw uprising. Through the ever-present fear of discovery, Antonina must keep her unusual household afloat, caring for both its human and animal inhabitants – otters, a badger, hyena pups, lynxes – as Europe crumbles around them.

Written with the narrative drive and emotional punch of a novel, The Zookeeper’s Wife is a remarkable true story. It shows us the human and personal impact of war – of life in Warsaw Ghetto, of fighting in the anti-Nazi resistance. But more than anything it is a story of decency and sacrifice triumphing over terror and oppression. Jan and Antonina saved over 300 people from the death camps of the Holocaust.

Thoughts

This novel is intense, stunning and completely unforgettable. Most of the time I find memoirs relatively easy to put down, but that really wasn’t the case with this one. I looked forward to crawling into bed every night to read a few chapters before turning of the light and laying my head down. There was just something about the writing, the story and the fun tangents throughout that drew me in from the very beginning.

This year I seem to be on a bit of a memoir kick. I’m enjoying memoirs and biographies about WWII in particular. This was a completely different aspect of WWII though. One that I hadn’t really considered – what Poland went through throughout and before the war. The way in which Ackerman writes about this helps to expand my knowledge – she doesn’t just talk about Antonina and her family, but also the people and occurrences around them. It’s a rabbit hole of information that is impossible to forget.

Now that I’ve read this book, I would be fascinated to see how it was dealt with in the world of movies. Sometimes this happens in such a wonderful, natural way… but in others, not so much. I might just have to hunt out a copy to see if it meets the very high expectations that this book has given more…

Most of the memoirs I have read are filled with emotion and personal anecdotes. This one reads a lot more like a historical text. There’s some very dry facts interspersed throughout. Yet, these are balanced by foreshadowing, and the emotion comes from the plight of the people, not from the words. Likewise, Antonina’s comments and diary quotes are scattered throughout to help bring everyone even closer to life. Completely unforgettable and definitely a book I’m going to pick up again and again!

 <- The Salt PathConfessions of a Male Nurse ->

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The Time Machine by H.G. Wells

Book Review, , , ,
Overview
Image result for book cover the time machine

Title: The Time Machine
Author: H.G. Wells
Rating Out of 5: 4 (Really good read!)
My Bookshelves:  Book to Film, Classics, Science fiction, Time travel
Dates read: 11th October – 1st November 2019
Pace: Slow
Format: Novel
Publisher: Cantebury Classics
Year: 1895
5th sentence, 74th page: There were, perhaps, a couple of hundred people dining in the hall, and most of them, seated as near to me as they could come, were watching me with interest, their little eyes shining over the fruit they were eating.

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Synopsis

“I’ve had a most amazing time….”

So begins the Time Traveller’s astonishing firsthand account of his journey 800,000 years beyond his own era—and the story that launched H.G. Wells’s successful career and earned him his reputation as the father of science fiction. With a speculative leap that still fires the imagination, Wells sends his brave explorer to face a future burdened with our greatest hopes…and our darkest fears. A pull of the Time Machine’s lever propels him to the age of a slowly dying Earth. There he discovers two bizarre races—the ethereal Eloi and the subterranean Morlocks—who not only symbolize the duality of human nature, but offer a terrifying portrait of the men of tomorrow as well. Published in 1895, this masterpiece of invention captivated readers on the threshold of a new century. Thanks to Wells’s expert storytelling and provocative insight, The Time Machine will continue to enthrall readers for generations to come.

Thoughts

This novel was nothing like what I expected. Probably because I expected it to be like the movie that I saw when I was much younger. Tip: this is NOTHING like the movie. It’s brilliant, and engaging and not the kind of story that I’m going to forget, but I may as well have had no connection between the movie and the book – because there is really nothing common between the two.

I’ve slowly been working my way through the pile of classics in my shelves. I love reading them, but sometimes they can be a bit of a hard slog just because of the difference in language style. Yet, somehow, even though this was written 1895, it is the most approachable classic I’ve ever read. Something about the language and style is more contemporary than many other classics. Which makes it a good introduction for many who haven’t really delved into the world of classics.

This is an intensely scientific novel. Some of the theories and discussions in here are ones that I’ve read about or heard from other science academics. Mind boggling theories which make time travel sound completely plausible. And terrifyingly likely. Maybe not something that we necessarily want to begin to play with.

The symbolic paths that humanity could take are beautifully represented in this story. if we went the “higher” path described, our society would be governed by prettiness. Yet, if we take the under path, our lives would be ruled by mechanical industry. As to which route we’re going to take… I just hope that global warming doesn’t destroy the world before our ancestors can find out.

 <- The Food of the Gods ReviewThe Island of Dr. Moreau Review ->

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Crazy Rich Asians by Kevin Kwan

Book Review, , , ,
Overview
Image result for book cover crazy rich asians

Title: Crazy Rich Asians
Author: Kevin Kwan
Series: Crazy Rich Asians #1
Rating Out of 5: 5 (I will read this again and again and again)
My Bookshelves: Asia, Book to Film, Chic lit, Contemporary
Dates read: 28th – 30th October 2019
Pace: Fast
Format: Novel
Publisher: Anchor Books
Year: 2013
5th sentence, 74th page: Her parents supported the idea of Astrid having a “cooling-off period” away, but try as she might to maintain a low profile, Astrid effortlessly enchanted le tout Paris with her smouldering beauty.

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Synopsis

When New Yorker Rachel Chu agrees to spend the summer in Singapore with her boyfriend, Nicholas Young, she envisions a humble family home and quality time with the man she hopes to marry. But Nick has failed to give his girlfriend a few key details. One, that his childhood home looks like a palace; two, that he grew up riding in more private planes than cars; and three, that he just happens to be the country’s most eligible bachelor.

On Nick’s arm, Rachel may as well have a target on her back the second she steps off the plane, and soon, her relaxed vacation turns into an obstacle course of old money, new money, nosy relatives, and scheming social climbers.

Thoughts

I CANNOT believe how amazing this book was!!! Totally floored. Totally in love and completely gobsmacked by the awesomeness of this. I am totally obsessed with the movie, so I was kind of expecting to like that better (it rarely happens, but sometimes if I love the movie, the book falls flat). But that was not the case. This book neither ruined the movies for me, or made me never want to read the books again. I now have a double obsession, both for different reasons.

Like the movie, this book is funny, pithy and quite brilliant. Yet, there is a lot more darkness amongst the pages than in the movie. Far more manipulation and horrible activities performed by the elite that are suddenly thrust into Rachel’s life. And a more insidious approach to her relationship than the movie has. This isn’t so rainbows and puppies at the end of the story. But, in being so, it is also way more realistic and, in many ways, relatable (because who hasn’t had issues with in-laws?)

It’s incredibly obvious that Kwan has come from this society. There is a sense of intimate knowledge and understanding of how this community lives that would only be available to an insider. One that was a great piece of cultural information. Even if the anthropologist in me will never have access to such a cultural group, and, after reading this, really doesn’t want to. One of my favourite aspects of this is the fact that there are footnotes explaining all of the language, preferences and activities of the Singapore elite. It gives an extra layer of information and cultural understanding that I previously wasn’t expecting. They’re also funny and a little bit disparaging. Kind of like having the movie version Oliver’s voice as a running commentary throughout.

This book is intense, unique and completely impossible to put down. It’s not one that I will forget any time soon. It is also one that will make you want to pick up China Rich Girlfriend immediately afterwards. At least, that’s what I did. Because seriously man, I wanted to see what happened next!!!

<- More Kevin KwanChina Rich Girlfriend ->

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Looking for Alibrandi by Melina Marchetta

Book Review, , , , ,
Overview
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Title: Looking for Alibrandi
Author: Melina Marchetta
Rating Out of 5: 5 (I will read this again and again and again)
My Bookshelves: Australian authors, Book to Film, Contemporary, Family, Young adult
Dates read: 23rd – 24th September 2019
Pace: Fast
Format: Novel
Publisher: Puffin
Year: 1992
5th sentence, 74th page: ‘I can look after myself,’ I argued as I followed her into the house.

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Synopsis

And what’s this about you and your friends driving around Bondi Junction half-dressed last week?’
‘Who told you that?’
‘Signora Formosa saw you. She said you and your friends almost ran her over. She rang Zia Patrizia’s next-door neighbour and it got back to Nonna.’
Telecom would go broke if it weren’t for the Italians.

Josephine Alibrandi is seventeen, illegitimate, and in her final year at a wealthy Catholic school. This is the year her father comes back into her life, the year she falls in love, the year she discovers the secrets of her family’s past and the year she sets herself free.

I’ll run one day. Run for my life. To be free and think for myself. Not as an Australian and not as an Italian and not as an in between. I’ll run to be emancipated.

Thoughts

This book is amazing! Ground shakingly, life-changingly amazing. Which shouldn’t surprise me. Since I felt that way about the movie when I first saw it as a teenager. After all, it’s about a young Australian girl who is just trying to find where she belongs in the world. Trying to fit in amongst racism and parental expectations. Trying to understand the past and find a way towards a new future. All things that we struggle with ourselves, just with different pressures.

There is so much pressure put on students who are studying year 12. Stupid amounts. I remember my year 12 year, we were all told to put all relationships on hold and just study. That is not a sane, safe or reasonable thing to ask anyone. Let alone a teenager. Josie’s story encompasses that year and the pressures that we all feel about our future, our choices and the external requirements people place on us perfectly. Her sarcastic, attitudinal teenage voice carries the message better than any other story would – and make it far more relatable for someone like me, who was a highly attitudinal teenager.

The relationships in this story are intense. And real. And, when bad things happen, heartbreaking. Enough so that I started weeping in the car. In the middle of summer. With my partner looking on in total confusion. Marchetta manages to create characters that you knew in high school. Dynamics that you too had, even if they were people of a slightly different socioeconomic group, or background. From that moment of first falling in love to letting go of the crush you always had, to seeing the “mean girl” as just another real person… she manages to show the growth and change that we all went through at such an important time in our lives.

Australia is known as a multicultural country, but it’s not always so accepting. Marchetta helps to bring this to life, not only in Josie’s experiences, but the tales of her mother and grandmother. Interweaving three generations of strong women into one story and showing the importance of family takes you on a fantastic journey. Not only through Australia’s cultural past, but also in the making of Josie Alibrandi and bringing all three women full circle to who they are today. And oh, my beating heart… now I just want to read this amazing novel all over again…

 <- Tell the Truth, Shame the Devil ReviewOn the Jellicoe Road Review ->
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The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame

Book Review, , , ,
Overview
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Title: The Wind in the Willows
Author: Kenneth Grahame
Series: Word Cloud Classics
Rating Out of 5: 3.5 (Liked this)
My Bookshelves: Book to Film, Classics, Easy reading
Dates read: 2nd – 6th August 2019
Pace: Slow
Format: Novella
Publisher: Oxford
Year: 1908
5th sentence, 74th page: ‘When they went,’ continued the Badger, ‘the strong winds and persistent rains took the matter in hand, patiently, ceaselessly, year after year.

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Synopsis

Join in the delights and disasters on the riverbank with Mole and his new friends, Ratty, Badger, and fun-loving Toad. There’s never a dull moment!

Thoughts

I found this a hard book to get through. Not because it was bad writing, not because it was bad in any way, shape or form. But I just felt like not much was happening. And, since I recently read Mark Twain, which is kind of similar in its rambling manner, I needed something with a bit more direction to it. So, although I didn’t mind this story, it’s definitely one I will be picking up again in the future when I’m more in the mood for this style of storyline.

Part of me was quite surprised that I didn’t love this book more, I remember Toad and Badger incredibly well from the movie I used to love as a child. And, I think, in hindsight, I probably would have loved this book as a child too. I’ve just picked up some incredibly amazing, more grown up books recently, so wanted to read more of those as opposed to a children’s book that was a little disjointed and mostly about a lot of fun between four great funs. Or at least, that’s how I still experience this.

What I loved about the movies as a child, and what I loved about this book as an adult is mostly the fact that this is a story about friendship and loyalty. The four friends, even though they are incredibly different they still stick together. My friendship group is kind of like this myself, we are so intensely different, yet, we’re always there for each other, no matter what the circumstances…

<- The Prophet and Other TalesClassic Westerns: Zane Grey ->

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Journey to the Centre of the Earth by Jules Verne

Book Review, , , ,
Overview
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Title: Journey to the Centre of the Earth
Author: Jules Verne
Rating Out of 5: 4.5 (Amazing, but not quite perfect)
My Bookshelves: Book to Film, Classics, Easy reading, Science fiction
Dates read: 30th – 31st July 2019
Pace: Medium
Format: Novel
Publisher: Kingsford Editions
Year: 1864
5th sentence, 74th page: I got up from my granite bed and went out to enjoy the magnificent spectacle that lay unfolding before my eyes.

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Synopsis

Professor Otto Lidenbrock’s great adventure begins by chance when a scrap of paper drops out of an ancient book he has just bought. The coded inscription reveals the existence of a passageway leading to the centre of the earth and that the entrance lies within the crater of an extinct volcano in Iceland.

The professor travels to Iceland accompanied by his nephew, Axel, a keen young geologist. Together with a Swiss guide, they descend into the bowels of the earth where an amazing prehistoric world awaits them.

Writting in 1864, Journey to the Centre of the Earth established Verne as a pioneer of science fiction. This edition has been revised and improved for a modern readership.

Thoughts

This is my second Jules Verne story and, if anything, I think it was better than the first. I kind of loved it. It was incredibly fun, engaging and the voice of the narrator was incredibly relatable, even today. The mad scientist for an uncle, the lovestruck nephew (and narrator). Everything about this story and voice drew me in from the very beginning. Which is why I read it so quickly – the voice that told such an incredible story was impossible to get out of my head, even now.

I must admit, I generally skim read classics a little more than the more contemporary and modern tales. Simply because the amount of information that reading every single word provides tends to overwhelm me and I find skim reading stops me from getting bogged down in the details, without losing out on the storyline. The last quarter of this novel, I did skim read a little. But, mostly, I actually read every word like I would with most other novels I pick up. There is just something about the storyline and writing that was far more approachable (maybe because it was translated), and I actually didn’t want to miss a single moment of the storyline.

My biggest problem with this storyline was the fact that I kept on picturing Brendan Fraser in my head when I was reading the story. I’ll give you a hint, the book and the film, not really like one another at all. Normally that would bother me a little and I would find that I prefer one over the other. But I think that the adaptation and the original are both brilliant, equally so. After all, the movie is a modern adaptation and the book was written in 1864. There are many different aspects which make both versions amazing and impossible to put down.

I can’t wait to reread this story in another year or so. I know that there will be so many more themes and aspects in the storyline that I’ll pick up on and that will make me fall in love again and again. After all, that’s one of the things that I love most about classics – they have so many layers and hidden meanings that take me much longer to find and enjoy.

<- More classics reviewsMore science fiction reviews ->
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Follow the Rabbit-Proof Fence by Doris Pilkington

Book Review, , , ,
Overview
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Title: Follow the Rabbit-Proof Fence
Author: Doris Pilkington
Rating Out of 5: 4.5 (Amazing, but not quite perfect)
My Bookshelves: Australian authors, Book to Film, History, Indigenous Australians
Dates read: 8th – 12th June 2019
Pace: Slow
Format: Novel
Publisher: University of Queensland Press
Year: 1996
5th sentence, 74th page: It was at that moment this free-spirited girl knew that she and her sisters must escape from this place.

Synopsis

This is the true account of Doris Pilkington Garimara’s mother Molly, made legendary by the film ‘Rabbit-Proof Fence’.

In 1931 Molly led her two sisters on an extraordinary 1,600 kilometre walk across remote Western Australia. Aged 8, 11 and 14, they escaped the confinement of a government institution for Aboriginal children removed from their families. Barefoot, without provisions or maps, tracked by Native Police and search planes, the girls followed the rabbit-proof fence, knowing it would lead them home.

Their journey – longer than many of the celebrated walks of our explorer heroes – reveals a past more cruel than we could ever imagine.

Thoughts

I watched the movie Rabbit-Proof Fence years and years and years ago. But I only recently found out that it was actually a book. Written by the daughter of Molly, the girl who made all of the strong decisions in their journey. Which of course meant that I had to buy the book straight away. And sink my teeth and brain into this amazing journey. Something that made me uncomfortable to read about, but not as bad as I thought it would make me feel.

This is a must read book for any Australian. It’s a part of our history that is just touched upon, but by Doris writing of her mother’s plight, her family’s history and the colonisation of their country, you suddenly become far more aware of what the First Nations people went through. Although the movie tends to be something that is watched in high school, the book gives a lot more background on the family structure and relationships of the girls. The past and the history of their families and peoples’ before they were even conceived.

I was expecting a lot of angst out of this story. I was expecting a tale that would make me feel guilty, because the movie kind of does. But it isn’t like that. The facts are simply laid out and the determination of Molly is highlighted again and again. It makes you admire her and wonder what would happen if you were in that situation. How you would deal with something that was so unfathomably horrible, and find a way to fix it.

This is one of those books that I’m going to make my children (if I have any) read. It won’t leave my shelf and isn’t one that I’m going to give away. It is an incredibly easy book to read and one that when you close the last page, you just lie there kind of stunned. Stunned at the strength and resilience of one small girl. Filled with admiration of her strength and power. Seriously. Just read this book.

<- Rosa Parks: My StoryThis Will Only Hurt a Little ->

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Legally Blonde by Amanda Brown

Book Review, , ,
Overview
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Title: Legally Blonde
Author: Amanda Brown
Rating Out of 5: 4 (Really good read!)
My Bookshelves: Book to Film, Chic lit, Contemporary
Dates read: 7th – 8th June 2019
Pace: Medium
Format: Novel
Publisher: Sphere
Year: 2001
5th sentence, 74th page: Why might we not want a trial… uh, to start up that soon?

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Synopsis

This blonde is anything but dumb…

Elle Woods, University of Southern California socio-political jewellery design major, is blonde, spoiled and desperately in love with Warner Huntingdon III. But when Warner announces he’s dumping her to go off to Stanford, Elle decides that a little thing like law school won’t come between them. Anything Warner can do, she can do better.

Elle’s Stanford misadventures begin badly, and it seems the one place blondes definitely don’t have more fun is law school. But then Elle’s asked to defend one-time fitness queen Brooke Vandermark on a murder charge. Seizing the opportunity to prove her worth to Warner and her fellow classmates, she vindicates all who are blonde at heart with a tip any Cosmo girl should know.

Legally Blonde was made into the hugely successful 2001 film starring Reese Witherspoon.

Thoughts

I only recently found out that this was a book. And man am I glad that I picked it up. Like the movie, the book is a fun, easy read. Very cutesy and, in many ways, completely unrelatable (I’m not exactly a “Legally Blonde” kind of girl). But it was fun. And easy. And I read it over the course of less than 24 hours. Like I said, it was just so damn cute and easy.

This is one of the few cases were I actually liked the movie a bit more than the book. Reese Witherspoon just does such a phenomenal job of bringing Elle Woods to life. And she’s impossible not to love. The Elle Woods who comes to life on the pages is completely lovable too. But she’s not quite as adorable, and a lot more superficial. Kind of annoyingly so at times. But her optimism and naivety kind of makes up for the stereotypical blonde image…

One of the biggest differences between the book and the film is that many of the characters have different names. Their personalities are also a little more two dimensional, but still relatable. But the law lessons are more intense. You can tell that Amanda Brown actually went to law school. Studied the monotony that is apparent on the page. And she obviously also enjoyed some parts of the law, since these are the bits that are much better explained. In some parts I actually wanted to go to law school myself! But only in some… I like my degree.

Legally Blonde is one of those books that I’ll pick up again and again. It’s the perfect balance of a good storyline, fun characters and accessible language that makes the words just fly by. And, since I’ve seen the movie so, so, so many times, I know what’s going to happen. So it’s perfect for those reading slumps or times of intense pressure where you just can’t quite seem to concentrate fully…

 <- Family Trust ReviewSchool of Fortune Review ->
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