Inspirational K

I love that about books too. That’s why I normally opt for fiction novels, versus non-fiction. But isn’t it about time that someone says, “Of course your life will never be as interesting! You’re always just sitting there reading!” 

If we want an interesting, fulfilling life, we must step out of our comfort zone and do the unexpected. We need to take our imagination a step further and make them into realities. 

~K

(Source: halivsworld)

I want to sit at that bench and read.

(via vivant-ensemble)

What a great cause!

(Source: elefut)

(Source: bookoflostthings)

(via bookaddict24-7)

The following is what two people have said in response to my recent post:

aigoochum answered: I am a reader and I know what you are saying.. but I have come at peace that this is the best they could have done with a movie adaptation

carrots4ever answered: i have read the book and i adore love the movie, yes i am disapointed pasts were not put in, but they can not do that. but i loved it still

Yes, movie adaptations are never going to be 100% true to the books. There’s only so much that you can fit within a max of 3 hours—only so many things can be visually done. That’s why they’re called ‘adaptations’. Also, everyone imagines things differently. How I viewed the Capitol, is definitely not how you viewed it. But, I was thinking, they could have done voice overs. They could have filmed more scenes from a first person’s POV, like they did when the tracker jackers stung her. I believe that too many voice overs could kill the movie, but if they could filter out and keep the important ones, the movie would have had a completely different feel. Thoughts to this?

I’m doing the cliche thing here and talking about the Hunger Games. I just have to get it out…

I loved Book I. I don’t think Suzanne Collins is the best writer, but I have to admit that she knows how to tell a story. I was entranced by the book within minutes, and didn’t put it down. For an English major, I am a VERY, VERY slow reader… It takes me weeks, if not months to finish even short novels. But Hunger Games was definitely a page turner. Plus my boyfriend said that he’ll watch the movie Sunday morning with or without me. The competition within myself—to finish the book in time, to prove to him that I can do it—encouraged me to not put the book down. I read from 4-9pm Saturday, and then 11p-5:30am into Sunday. I was so tired though that with 30 pages left, I had to go to bed. Still, my mind was churning—wondering what’s going to happen next. I woke up early the next morning to finish the book. I ended up finishing it at Arby’s while waiting for food. I expected page 367 to have some more text, so I flipped the page in my Nook only to see “End of Book I”. This excited me even more. I couldn’t wait to see the movie.

The theater was packed, which is really rare now-a-days. When the movie began, I trembled. The anticipation was killing me. Many thoughts ran through my head. How will the movie portray the first person perspective of Katniss? Will the movie meet my imagination’s expectations? How bloody will it be? Per my previous post about when children should be allowed to read or watch certain things, even though it’s a YA book, visually, I believe the content could be borderline Rated-R. 

I’m not going to spoil it for everyone who has yet to see the movie. I’m just going to say that I was awfully disappointed. I tried to watch it in two different ways and formulate two different opinions—one from a reader’s POV and second from a moviegoer’s POV. My bf didn’t read the book (he’s not much of a reader), so I was thinking in terms of him. Many things weren’t explained well. Relationships weren’t developed to their fullest potential, which is rather important.  If they cut the part where Katniss is mending Peeta back to health in half, as a moviegoer, you don’t feel as connected with their relationship. And most of all, it’s in third person. You lose so much of the book by not getting what Katniss was thinking about. Her scheming plans, her wit, reasons why things were done. A charm of the book is that what she says isn’t always what she means. But since it’s in third person, you lose the charm and you lose a lot of meaning to the plot.

I’m always open to different ideas and POVs. So, readers and moviegoers who have watched Hunger Games, what are your thoughts?

I’m actually ashamed to admit that I’m just beginning the series! But, I hope to have it finished before the movie comes out. My answer might not be as well-rounded since I haven’t experienced the violence within yet, but I hope that I can provide a little insight to the age-old question of when kids should be allowed to read or watch certain things.

When I read that question, the first thought I had was, when should children be allowed to read Shakespeare? Romeo and Juliet’s read as young as Intermediate School, but it has so many sexual innuendos and violence as well for such a young age.

I don’t believe in censorship in reading either. I think that with reading comes knowledge and wisdom, no matter what you read. At a young age, this might not be comprehended, but I think we give children too little credit. When they’re able to read and understand what they’re reading, I believe that they reach a stage that they realize that what they’re reading is fictional—it’s imagined. Although I love working with my imagination, what the media provides us with visually is more realistic than what we can come up with on the spot while reading. How many times have our children sat by our side in front of the TV when a commercial for a violent action or horror film came on? How many times have we brought our young children to the movie theater to watch Mission Impossible or James Bond? How many times are children in the room when the news is on telling of a random act of murder? Violence is all around us and it really depends how we communicate that violence to our children. If we explain violence in media in a healthy way, i.e. explain to them that a movie’s a movie and as they can see from the movie, bad people have to take consequences for their actions—children will ultimately accept and understand that media doesn’t reflect every day life and that violence is not a positive choice to make.

We can apply the same process for reading. Depending on how you raise your children in terms of entertainment, your children may already understand the moral reality of violence (as per above) or may still need guidance when reading and using their imagination. In this latter case, I would suggest a similar approach. You can take this as an opportunity to spend time with your child. You can both take turns reading paragraphs, or each get a copy, read on your own, and after each chapter or every several chapters, get together to talk about it. That way, you can hear his/her thoughts on the book and see if they’re even fully comprehending the plot, and you can guide them in the right direction if the violence is disturbing them. Take this as an opportunity not to censor your child, but to give them the chance to prove to you that they’re more emotionally and mentally capable than you make him/her out to be.