Percy Jackson Movie Trailer

I am a crazy fan of Percy Jackson And Olympian Series and I am super excited about the movie releasing in Feb 2010 and I had to share this with you guys , so please bear with me. I am sure you watch it on TV all the time but I needed it here because I can watch it constantly to remind myself that it’s true that they finally made a movie out of the book..Yeah  and also because they have Pierce Brosnan as Chiron ( The guy could have been made handsome Poseidon or Zeus if you ask me )    Ok , enough of my rambling , go ahead enjoy the trailers ..

Trailer 1 :

Trailer 2

Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi

Summary from Goodreads:

Wise, funny, and heartbreaking, Persepolis is Marjane Satrapi’s memoir of growing up in Iran during the Islamic Revolution. In powerful black-and-white comic strip images, Satrapi tells the story of her life in Tehran from ages six to fourteen, years that saw the overthrow of the Shah’s regime, the triumph of the Islamic Revolution, and the devastating effects of war with Iraq. The intelligent and outspoken only child of committed Marxists and the great-granddaughter of one of Iran’s last emperors, Marjane bears witness to a childhood uniquely entwined with the history of her country.

My Review:

I haven’t read many graphic novels. Just beginning to explore the genre , so I am not sure if there many memoirs in graphic format but I really liked the way this book turned out.

Marjane Satrapi gives us a close update on what happened to common people during the Revolution in Iran. She sees things changing in school , sees her friends  leaving Iran with their families never to return , sees how the gulf war changed all that people believed about humanity .

It is not preachy. It is the chronicle of her growing up years where she is forced to accept rigorous cultural restrictions in the name of religion . We meet her as a little girl who is very vocal about her opinion, about things around her, a trait she keeps for rest of her life.She is  so inquisitive that her parents have to explain things to her which would have been kept from children her age.We realize she is a rebel from the time she asks if can accompany her parents for the demonstration , she isn’t even 10 at that time. Through her we see how Iran changed , how people were forced to hide their beliefs , change their life style even change the way they thought , if they wanted to live or more importantly wanted to keep their families safe .

I was very impressed with the way , narration held my attention. This is definitely not the best book on Gulf War and the revolution but it is one book which should not be missed out. Satrapi’s Persepolis gives a personal touch to all those subjects ,that  the non fiction books just describe in third person.

Highly Recommended

My Rating: 4.5 out of 5

Chick Flick Weekend

I am sorry this post is coming a little late . I wanted to post it yesterday but was so immersed in reading ” Names My Sisters Call Me ” by Megan Crane that I forgot .

A really non productive Sunday as far as reading goes. But did lots of other stuff that was fun like cleaning my room (ya , I turn into a cleanliness freak when I get yelled at by mom early in the morning ) , cleaning my book shelf  while watching Devil Wears Prada and Legally Blonde I on DVD back to back for like the nth time  , gorging on great South Indian food that mom made for us seeing that we were working like maniacs trying to bring a balance into our room. I call it a Sunday well spent.

I watched three chick flicks this weekend including The Divine Secrets Of Ya Ya Sisterhood.

 

Love the way Meryl Streep says “That’s all”. I cannot think of  anyone else who could say that with more cynicism or should I say that devilish charm .She is a perfect Miranda Priestly , the hot shot , always demanding , never relenting editor- in-chief of Runway . Anne Hathway comes off a little unsure in the role of Andrea .I liked Andrea  Sachs from the book . She was more real. The best in this movie would be Emily Blunt as Emily , the senior assistant  to Miranda who is Andy’s senior . The movie was much milder than the book. At times  I try to imagine what if  it had the kind of ending the book did , how would that have worked out?

With all the faults I find in this movie after comparing it to the book, it still rates as a 5 starrer in my chick flick list. I can watch it any number of times. Do you want to know the exact number of times I have watched this one 26 times

Did you like this movie? What did you think about the movie ending in comparison to the book’s ending?

Please don’t judge me for this

Just when I thought I had enough challenges not just for the coming year but also for next 10 years I go and sign up for another challenge. That’s right , I did it and I am confessing . Wait till you hear the name of the challenge dearies. It is What’s In A Name ? 3 Challenge . Just tell me how could I resist that . So I went ahead  and signed up. The categories are fab too have a look :

Between January 1 and December 31, 2010, read one book in each of the following categories:

1. A book with a food in the title
2. A book with a body of water in the title
3. A book with a title (queen, president) in the title
4. A book with a plant in the title
5. A book with a place-name (city, country) in the title
6. A book with a music term in the title

It is hosted by Beth F and it has a blog of it’s own. So what are you waiting for? Go on, sign up..

Her Fearful Symmetry by Audrey Niffenegger

Summary from Goodreads:

When Elspeth Noblin dies of cancer, she leaves her London apartment to her twin nieces, Julia and Valentina. These two American girls never met their English aunt, only knew that their mother, too, was a twin, and Elspeth her sister. Julia and Valentina are semi-normal American teenagers–with seemingly little interest in college, finding jobs, or anything outside their cozy home in the suburbs of Chicago, and with an abnormally intense attachment to one another.

The girls move to Elspeth’s flat, which borders Highgate Cemetery in London. They come to know the building’s other residents. There is Martin, a brilliant and charming crossword puzzle setter suffering from crippling Obsessive Compulsive Disorder; Marjike, Martin’s devoted but trapped wife; and Robert, Elspeth’s elusive lover, a scholar of the cemetery. As the girls become embroiled in the fraying lives of their aunt’s neighbors, they also discover that much is still alive in Highgate, including–perhaps–their aunt, who can’t seem to leave her old apartment and life behind.

My Views:

I have given it 5 stars rating , but did I absolutely love this book? Let me put it this way , I was sucked into the story from page 1 line 1 , read it all night till wee hours of morning , got scared at a few places , was surprised at few twists , shocked and frustrated as it drew to close and when I finally turned the last page I was mentally exhausted. If a book can do all this to you , I think it would be worth 5 stars don’t you think so?

I think William Styron said “A great book should leave you with many experiences, and slightly exhausted at the end. You live several lives while reading.”  If I take this quote into consideration I think it is  a great book.But this is all subjective.

Getting on with the review :
Audrey Niffenegger’s latest book has a scary theme but a very interesting one. My favorite character from the book would be Obsessive Compulsive Martin. His neurosis gets on to the readers nerves but you will remember him even after the book has ended.

Julia and Valentina , Elspeth’s nieces who inherit her property after Elspeth’s death are so similar to each other in appearance as different are their personalities. I sometimes wonder if authors create this fierce twin and shy twin characters just to pique the interest in readers but this factor always does a lot to the story line.In this story the factor is multiplied two times with two sets of identical twins.

I was shocked literally shocked at the way everything turned out in the end and was so frustrated at some characters that I thought I must have understood the lines wrong while reading sleepless all night , so I even went back few pages to confirm as to what I had read but that’s the way it was. It is a book that will make you sit up and take notice.

When reading this don’t expect another Time Traveller’s wife. It is a very well written book with no hang overs from the author’s earlier work . A word of caution though; you won’t stop reading once you have begun , you might love it or criticise it or hate it  but you will want to finish it in one go Trust me I did .

Highly recommended.

My Rating : 5 out of 5