Monday Check In

Last week...

Writing Related:  I actually managed to get some writing done after more days than I care to admit without getting anything done. I feel like I'm getting back on track. 

Motivational Quote: "Wake up determined. Go to bed satisfied. And somewhere in between eat a cookie." ~ Dwayne Johnson.

What I'm Reading: I started The Sister Effect by Susan Mallery this past weekend. I was looking for something that would be a light, quick read and this book seemed like a good choice. 

Random Thoughts: We had a very mild winter with very little snow and higher than normal temperatures. The first full day of spring brought three inches of snow and it's snowed every day since. We got eight inches last Friday night into Saturday. It was sunny yesterday and a tiny bit warmer so here's hoping that was winter's last hurrah and spring weather will be here to stay.

Random Photo:

The snow threatened our barely there daffodil buds so I cut them and brought them inside hoping they would still bloom. They all did. Please ignore Mrs. Green. She loves flowers and had to check them out.

What's Up Wednesday

 This week...

My Current WIP (Work In Progress):  I only managed 13 pages of new material for the ending I'm rewriting. One of my siblings had laptop issues and needed to drop it off to a repair shop to be looked at. She doesn't drive due to medical issues so I took her to drop it off on Monday and we went back and picked it up on Friday so I lost writing time on those 2 days. 

Quote of the Week: "Procrastination is not your friend." ~ Unknown  I'm repeating last week's quote because I really need to keep it front and center lately.

What I'm Reading: I started reading Murder Lo Mein by Vivien Chien on Sunday. This is the third book in the Noodle Shop mystery series. 

Random Thoughts: I really need to go to the library. I'm running out of books to read. I'm so glad our library is back open, but right now it is open limited hours and not at all on the weekends. With my schedule and the limited operating hours, I don't think I can fit a trip in to go to the library until 8/21 which seems soooo far away. 

Random Photo of the Week:

                          This is my new mantra for life. 😊

Book or Movie?

This past weekend some friends and I were talking about the merits of reading a book before seeing the movie adaptation. Surprisingly, we were split pretty evenly about liking the books or the movies better.

For me, in most cases if I've read the book prior to seeing the movie version I tend to like the book better. But if I see the movie first and then read the book, I tend to like the movie better. I think it's because I'm very visual so if I see a character portrayed a certain way on screen, it's hard for me to picture the character differently in my mind when I read the book.

For example, I saw Forrest Gump in movie form first. In the movie, Forrest is played by Tom Hanks. A thin man of average height who doesn't come across as being intimidating because of his size in any form or manner. However, in the book, the character is described as being 6' 2" and weighing 240 pounds and he's built like a linebacker. I had such a hard time reconciling the way I was picturing Forrest (as Tom Hanks) versus the way he was described in the book that I couldn't read the book. The discrepancy bothered me that much.

Another example is Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum series. I've read all the books so when I heard they were making a movie - One For The Money, I couldn't wait to see it.  To say I was disappointed is an understatement. Why? Mainly because the way I'd pictured certain characters in my mind and how or should I say who portrayed them on screen was vastly different. If you've read any of the books in the series, you know Joe Morelli is described as Italian through and through, yet the actor that portrayed him is Irish and as fair skinned as an Irish person can be. (Being part Irish myself, I know about the fair skin issue.) He didn't look the least bit Italian. And then there's Ranger. Ranger is described as a Cuban former special forces soldier who can handle himself in all types of situations. The person who portrayed him didn't come across that way at all. (On a side note I will admit that while reading the books I'd pictured him looking a lot like Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson and think he would have been perfect in the part.)

How about you? Do you find you like the book or the movie adaptation better? Does it make a difference if you see the movie first versus reading the book first?