To The Movies: Rodrick Rules (Diary of a Wimpy Kid #2)

When a storyline from a book is turned into a movie, the movie becomes its own text. The basic storyline may be the same, but when changes are made in order to fit the movie within a time limit or to highlight an element or theme that the people involved in the movie feels is important—they make the story their own. I will focus these features on movies made based on books I have read—I want to look beyond whether I think the movie is better or worse than the book. I want to appreciate and review the movie as a companion to the book.
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Genre: Comedy, Family
Actors: Zachary Gordon, Devon Bostick, and Robert Capron
Director: David Bowers
Scriptwriter: Gabe Sachs, Jeff Judah, and Jeff Kinney
Date DVD Released: June 21, 2011
MPAA Rating: PG
Movie Info: IMDB | Website
Order Online: Amazon.com
Rating: 3 stars
Borrowed movie from the library. 

In A Nutshell:
Overall, I felt this movie was much more laugh-out-funny than the first which made it much more enjoyable for everyone in my family.  The message of the importance of family was clear but not so overdone that it distracted from the overall fun of the movie.  I may not rush out to watch this movie again, but I would not avoid it either.

Review:
I appreciated that the movie changed the overall focus slightly by using two different family outings to frame the story.  In the beginning, the family is going to the roller skating rink together.  In the ending, the family is going to the talent show together.  This framing made it clear that the emphasis was the family.

However since this thematic focus was different from the previous movie, I felt this movies lacked continuity from the first to the second.  For instance, where was Angie Steadman?  For a character who had been a major force in Greg's story in the first movie, I am not sure I saw her even one time in the second movie.  Which made me question why the movie creators had made her such a prominent part of the first movie if they had not intended to continue that?

My favorite scene taken from the book into the movie had to be the party--more specifically the bathroom door.  The entire sequence from when Greg and Rodrick changed the door out, to when the father tried to lock the door, to when the mother told Rodrick that sometimes the time she locks herself in the bathroom is the only privacy she has all day (and thus she knows there was a lock on that door) left me laughing out loud.  Those moments alone made the movie as a whole worth watching.    

The moment that absolutely broke my heart was when Rodrick told Greg he may be his brother but he would never be his friend after Rodrick found out that their mother knew about the party.  After all the time they had spent together and Rodrick's tutoring Greg on the fine art of getting away with doing as little as possible (the philosophy that Rodrick lived his life by), I was crushed.  And I felt that that emotion came through so much stronger and more effectively in the movie than it had in the book.

Recommendations:
The next movie coming out is Dog Days (Diary of a Wimpy Kid #3) which comes out in August 2012.  But the Dog Days books is the fourth in the series, so I need to read the next couple of books before August:

Tag Your It...The Award Goes To...

Lately I have had a few of my blogging buddies tag me or give me awards.  This weekend has been my first chance to respond. So here I go.

I was tagged by:





As part of this tag, I have to:

1. You must post the rules.
2. Answer the questions the tagger set for you in their post and then create eleven new questions to ask the people that you have tagged.
3. Tag eleven people and link to them on your post.
4. Let them know you've tagged them!

The questions are:
1. Do you have a book/series that you're so obsessed with to the point that you stalk that particular book or author?
Well, I think my buddy, Jen, will be able to confirm this for you all (in case it was not obvious), but I am quite in love with:
Pride and Prejudice (and a little harsh about some of the remakes--I admit it),
Maria V. Snyder (practically everything she has written that I have read I have loved),
The Hunger Games (everyone I work with will tell you I am taking a day off from work just for the move--and my recovery from being up at midnight)
Divergent (my copy is slowly going through my office and I am constantly asking--what part are you to now?)
 
2. What type of music do you like to listen to the best?
If I have my iPod on, then I am usually listening to a book.  But when I listen to music I tend to favor Matchbox 20 and Daughtry (to the point that people won't let me pick the music on long car trips).

3. What's the worst way to be interrupted so you have to stop reading your book?
Honestly?  "Mommy I have to go pee-pee" (particularly late at night when she should have been long asleep!

4. Name the character that you envy the most.
Yelena--she got Valek.  Enough said!

5. Have you ever gotten more than twelve books from the library/bookstore at a time?
Is that not normal?

6. Come on, 'fess up. Do you judge a book by its cover?
Yes I do.  If someone I know and trust has read it--then I can look past the cover.  But if I am just browsing and the cover does not grab me I won't even pick it up to read the back cover.

7. What's the prettiest cover you've ever seen? What qualities make a good cover?
Prettiest?  Not sure.  I think the one that really spoke to me was Under the Never Sky.
I like striking contrast between colors.

8. What qualities make a good book?
Characters that I can love, that I can relate to, that I care what happens to them!

9. Paranormal or fantasy? (There's a difference. Paranormal is when a person has fantasy-like abilities but it takes place in the real world. Fantasy takes place in a different world separate from ours. So it's basically a world that normal people couldn't see.)
I like them both.  For me it's all about the characters--I do not care where they are, what powers they have or do not have.  I want to care about them!

10. Latest time you've ever stayed up to reading a book?
I was up all night to get the last Harry Potter and then up until late in the night again finishing it!  

11. Do you like series that are continuously about the same person and have the same theme throughout or series that are featuring a different person every time but are still counted in a series because the idea's sort of related better?
I have read good series that are done both ways--but more than anything I want a series that is well planned, where each book has value more than just extending the series.

My Questions (oh goodness here is the hard part!):
1.  What book that you have read surprised you the most?  Why?
2.  What is your favorite genre to read?  Why?
3.  Did you love to read while you were in high school and/or college?
4.  Do you belong to a book club?
5.  How do you like to share your love of reading with others?
6.  Twilight or Morganville Vampires or Blue Bloods (or if none of these what is your favorite vampire story?)
7.  What author can you not get enough of?
8.  Who is your favorite all-time character?
9.  What book would you most like to see made into a movie?  Who would you like to see starring in the movie?
10.  Kindle or Nook? (okay, I admit I am trying to figure out which one I should save up for!)
11.  Describe your dream reading nook.

Okay--I know that there are a lot of my friends who do not like to be tagged or awarded.  I respect that.  But if you want to participate--consider yourself tagged!  If you comment that you have answered my questions I will add a link to this post so everyone can go see your responses and visit your site!
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I was given The Lovely Blog award by:

And 

Mariska's Books and Reviews

I am so honored that they think that The Book Addict is a Lovely Blog.  I have been working very hard since July on this blog.  I love every second of my work on the blog--and I love getting to know more and more readers and talk more and more about books!

I do understand that quite a few of my blogging buddies do not like awards--and I do not want to annoy any of my friends.  I will name some of my favorite blogs--ones that I look at all of the time for inspiration, for help picking my next books, and just for fun.  If you want to participate--please do.  If not, I hope you know that I do appreciate all of the time, energy, and talent you put into your blog.

If you do want to accept the award and give the award to some of your favorite blogs, here are the rules:
1. Link back to the person that bestowed the award upon you.
2. Follow the person that bestowed the award upon you.
3. Pass along to 15 Lovely Bloggers!

1) Jen at Jen Ryland/YA Romantics.  Jen and I have been friends for a long time.  I was so excited when she starting blogging, starting giveaways, and starting telling me about great books.  She is one of my favorite people to talk books with--and we have found that many times we have similar thoughts about books.  That is not always easy to find--so now that I have found it I cherish it!

2) Natasha from Dreamland: A Teenage Fantasy.  Natasha's avatar and nickname is from Morganville Vampires--and I cannot look at my copies of those books without thinking of her wonderful blog, her wonderful comments on my blog, and just overall her.  She has been a great blogging friend to have. 

3) Eileen from Singing and Reading in the Rain.  I love that Eileen has combined her passion for performing with a love of reading and writing.  Plus she reviews songs--and I love reading them.  

4) April from Books4Juliet.  April helped start one of my favorite memes--one that I have kept up with pretty consistently since January--TBR Intervention.  I love being about to follow up with people who are trying to keep up with their TBR piles.  Initially I had hoped that my pile would shrink as my membership in the intervention continued, but I have come to realize that it is fruitless.  I always find a good book just from reading what others are reading or what they thought about what they have read.

5) Dani from Refracted Light.  Dani is another host of the TBR Intervention.  She also has prompted me to look for books I may not have even known existed.  I feel like we have very similar tastes in books.

6) Ayanami from Whatever You Can Still Betray.  Ayanami is another host of the TBR Intervention.  I love the name of her blog--it is one that sticks with me.  It is so unique but not necessarily complicated.  She has also introduced me to books I may not otherwise have looked at--and I have enjoyed them.  

7) Tynga from Tynga's Reviews.  Tynga started another of my favorite meme's: Dare You To Read.  Each week we have the opportunity to dare others to read books (not brand new released books) that we love!  This meme (maybe even more that TBR Intervention) has affected my TBR because I can see clearly how passionate people are about their favorites.  And I love that the books are generally easily available at my local library (because they are not all new releases).

8) Elodie from Once Upon A Quote.  Elodie is wonderful about commenting on my blog--which I love.  And every time I visit her blog I am impressed.  She reads books that intrigue me and her reviews draw me in much the same way I am sure the books she read drew her in.  And honestly--how can you not love that header?

9) Tara from Shhh...Not While I'm Reading.  I love, love, love the title of Tara's blog (what reader has not said that at least once?).  But Tara reads books that are a little out of my comfort zone--but after reading her reviews I am intrigued.  It helps me to grow as a reader to have exposure and interest in books outside my comfort zone so I appreciate that greatly!

10)  Sandy from The Reading Cafe.  Sandy just dared us all to read Outlander by Diana Gabaldon.  I just read the first one in this series earlier this year--and I loved it.  So when I read Sandy's post about Outlander I was hooked on her blog.  Now I just need find to read all of the books in that series so I can have a longer conversation with her about them! 

11) Lis from The Reader Lines.  Despite the fact that Lis has a newer blog--her content and her design are very well done.  I know from starting not too long ago myself how hard that is, so I am very impressed.

12) Brittani from Hope, Faith, and Books.  Brittani has reminded me of some of the books I have been meaning to read--and reminds me constantly why I had wanted to read those books.  She has a beautiful way of reviewing the books that I admire.  

13) Psique from Book Travels.  Psique always has a fun and bright blog.  She loves a little romance when she reads and she is one of my favorite bloggers to visit when I want a little romance in my reading too. 

14) Ron from Stories of My Life.  Ron is a fantasy writer and reader who talks about not-only what she has read but her own journey in publishing.  

15) Kristin from Better Read Than Dead.  Personally, I think the title of her blog speaks for itself, but then her Albert Einstein quote always promotes me to put down my own book and read with my daughter--which is every bit if not more important.  But Kristin reads a lot of the same kind of books I read so I love to read her reviews and see if we thought similar things about the books.  

I hope you will support some of my favorite blogs by visiting them and leaving comments.  And please share some of your favorite blogs with me so I can visit them as well. 

TBR Intervention (10)

Overall--I feel like I set very ambitious goals for last week, so I am calling this week a success even though I am not done with everything.

Last Week

I am 2/3 of the way done with this one.  I have been finding many of the same problems I find with a lot of second books in series--it drags a lot more than the first one did.  But in talking with my friend we learn a lot from this book that is very important in later books and we meet a lot of people who are important in later books.  So in other word it is very important as the series continues.  So I have been working through it, and now that I am in the last 100 pages I can feel it starting to pick up quite a bit!


I finished this one--and I loved it.  Well maybe love is not the right word.  I struggle with describing how I feel about Ellen Hopkins books--they are so well written but it is hard to say "love" with the topics that she covers.  They are gritty, dark, and hard.  But it affected me.  I felt it deeply as I finished it.  More to come in my review.


This one I can say I finished and I loved without hesitation! Although I do not necessarily think it was my favorite Sarah Dessen book--I did love it. I loved Ruby and Nate.  Review to come.

This Week

My first fail of the week is destined to be my first success next week!  I am going to start Fat Vampire as soon as I finish Kitty Goes To Washington.  I cannot read two fantasy books (both of which have a different vampire world created) at the same time.  But this one is going to be next--I promise!

And from the library (and coming due this week--eek!):

This is Ellen Hopkins first adult novel--and I have been so excited to read it.  I am very optimistic that the style that makes her so accessible and honest in YA will do wonders in an adult novel!

Summary (from Amazon):
THREE FEMALE FRIENDS FACE MIDLIFE CRISES IN A NO-HOLDS-BARRED EXPLORATION OF SEX, MARRIAGE, AND THE FRAGILITY OF LIFE.

Holly: Filled with regret for being a stay-athome mom, she sheds sixty pounds and loses herself in the world of extramarital sex. Will it bring the fulfillment she is searching for?

Andrea: A single mom and avowed celibate, she watches her friend Holly’s meltdown with a mixture of concern and contempt. Holly is throwing away what Andrea has spent her whole life searching for—a committed relationship with a decent guy. So what if Andrea picks up Holly’s castaway husband?

Marissa: She has more than her fair share of challenges—a gay, rebellious teenage son, a terminally ill daughter, and a husband who buries himself in his work rather than face the facts.

As one woman’s marriage unravels, another’s rekindles. As one woman’s family comes apart at the seams, another’s reconfigures into something bigger and better. In this story of connections and disconnections, one woman’s up is another one’s down, and all of them will learn the meaning of friendship, betrayal, and forgiveness.

Unflinchingly honest, emotionally powerful, surprisingly erotic, Triangles is the ultimate page-turner. Hopkins’s gorgeous, expertly honed poetic verse perfectly captures the inner lives of her characters. Sometimes it happens like that. Sometimes you just get lost.Get lost in the world of Triangles, where the lives of three unforgettable women intersect, and where there are no easy answers.

And because we all know that I cannot go anywhere without a book on my ipod, my audiobook this week is:

Although--I am listening to the unabridged version! I think that is very important to note.

Summary (from Amazon):
Finding wealthy Elaine Boldt seems like a quickie case to Kinsey Millhone. The flashy widow was last seen wearing a $12,000 lynx coat, leaving her condo in Santa Teresa for her condo in Boca Raton. But somewhere in between, she vanished. Kinsey's case goes from puzzling to sinister when a house is torched, an apartment is burgled of worthless papers, the lynx coat comes back without Elaine, and her bridge partner is found dead. Soon Kinsey's clues begin to form a capital M -- not for missing, but for murder: and plenty of it.

Winner of the 1985 Private Eye Writers of America Shamus Award and the 1985 Anthony Award for Best Novel.

What are you reading this week?

YA Trivia Game (7)

On my best blogging buddies has invited me to join in her Valentine's Week special:

So everyday I will post a trivia question about a Famous YA Couple.  Everyone gets one opportunity a day to answer--and it does not matter if you are right or wrong.  Any answer is worth a chance to win a prize at the end of the week!

The prize: At the end of the week, I will pick one winner to win a $10 Amazon gift card.  I am willing to mail the card internationally if the winner is able to use it.


Now for the fun part--the final question of the quiz!  I will be picking a winner on Tuesday (and announcing all of the correct answers). 

Which Sarah Dessen couple works for Wish Catering?
a) Annabel and Owen
b) Macy and Wes
c) Remy and Dexter
d) Ruby and Nate

Please put your answer here.

YA Trivia Game (6)

On my best blogging buddies has invited me to join in her Valentine's Week special:

So everyday I will post a trivia question about a Famous YA Couple.  Everyone gets one opportunity a day to answer--and it does not matter if you are right or wrong.  Any answer is worth a chance to win a prize at the end of the week!

The prize: At the end of the week, I will pick one winner to win a $10 Amazon gift card.  I am willing to mail the card internationally if the winner is able to use it.


Now for the fun part:
What famous YA couple had the following conversation:
(Person A) “Don't touch any of my weapons without my permission."
(Person B) "Well, there goes my plan for selling them all on eBay,"
(Person A) "Selling them on what?"
(Person B) "A mythical place of great magical power.”
 
a) Jace and Clary
b) Magnus and Alec
c) Will and Tessa
d) Jem and Jessie

Please put your answer here.

Follow Friday (14)

Q: I like unique names for characters and am looking forward to coming up with some when I start writing. What's the most unique character name you've come across?

First, I want to go on record as saying that unique names can sometimes frustrate me. If I cannot easily pronounce the name (or easily determine how to pronounce the name) then it throws off my reading rhythm and slows me down. Rather quickly I translate the name in my mind to something that is easier for me to pronounce as I am reading. So rather than seeing Eglantina, I call the character E or Atlanta. The advantage is that my reading rhythm is not affected. The disadvantage is I have a hard time talking with people about the books because the character names (in my head) are not the ones in everyone elses. Or I spend a lot of time ensuring that my reviews include the correct spelling for the name--not my shortened or simplified version.

But I do like names that are not necessarily common but still very easy--such as Jace. When any of us say Jace, we typically know what character (and consequently what book) without a lot of explanation. Names like John or Mary are so common that we need to be very clear about which John or which Mary or which book that includes John and/or Mary we are talking about.  And I have found that people are really good at picking out these names (and identifying them) as I have been running my YA Couple Trivia Quiz.  

What character names do you find really identify the specific book in your mind without a lot of extra information?

Please stop by my 300 follower giveaway before you hop on through.  :)

YA Trivia Game (5)

On my best blogging buddies has invited me to join in her Valentine's Week special:

So everyday I will post a trivia question about a Famous YA Couple.  Everyone gets one opportunity a day to answer--and it does not matter if you are right or wrong.  Any answer is worth a chance to win a prize at the end of the week!

The prize: At the end of the week, I will pick one winner to win a $10 Amazon gift card.  I am willing to mail the card internationally if the winner is able to use it.

Now for the fun part:
In Wicked Lovely by Melissa Marr, who is Aislinn most likely to pick as her Valentine?
a) Keenan
b) Seth
c) Donia
d) Beira

Please put your answer here.