A Movie That's Better Than the Book??? No Way!

I'm a little late today but I wanted to answer this week's Road Trip Wednesday question because it's a gooder:

What movie have you seen that actually (gasp!) improved on the book?

First, here are a few facts about me and movie adaptations:

1. If a movie is coming out that's based on a book I've heard of but haven't read yet, I'll wait until I can read and see the movie at the same time. Example: I've had One For the Money by Janet Evanovich sitting on my shelf for months but I'm waiting until the movie comes on TV, even though I heard it didn't do very well.

2. With series books/movies, I reread the series every time a new movie comes out. Example: Harry Potter (sniff, won't be able to do that anymore, sniff), Twilight, and Hunger Games. And soon... The Mortal Instruments! And I have to say that while the movies aren't as good as the books in all of the above examples, I still LOVE the movies like crazy. (Except Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. I have serious issues with that movie.)

3. If I LOVED a book, I'll ALWAYS see the movie. I never expect it to be as good, but usually, the movie version makes me love the book even more.

I pointed these things out just to show the basic fact that I am not opposed to books being made into movies. Actually, I heartily and openly welcome them.

So, movies that have improved on the book? Here's some of my top picks:

1. Anything by Nicholas Sparks. For some reason, although I appreciate the books, I love the movies way more. The Notebook, and A Walk to Remember especially. The movies just do so much more for me and I really like the changes made.

2. The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas. I LOVE this movie. Love it. When I read the book, I was a bit disappointed. Mostly because there's a romantic element in the movie that just doesn't exist in the book.

3. Anne of Green Gables by Lucy Maud Montgomery. Don't hate me! Unlike most fans, I grew up watching the movies, NOT reading the books. So when I finally read them sometime in my twenties, I just wasn't enamored by them. I had the story fixed in my head as I knew it from the movies and it was hard not to see it played out the same way.

4. P.S. I Love You by Cecilia Ahern. Much like Nicholas Sparks books, this book was great, but for some reason I loved the movie wayyyy more.

That's all I could think of. Except I need to give an honorable mention to one movie that isn't better than the book, but just as awesome:

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen. The Colin Firth movie is just as amazing as the book is.

Any movie adaptations you think improved on the book?

Teaser Tuesday

Teaser Tuesday, hosted by Miz B. at Should Be Reading, is a weekly bookish meme. Anyone can play along.

Mine this week is from Timepiece by Myra McEntire, a book I've been waiting a loooong time for.  I just wish that while waiting I would have had the time to reread Hourglass. I've only read one chapter of Timepiece so far but I'm not remembering exactly what's going on. Oh well, I'm sure I'll figure it out. Here's my teaser:

Maybe getting drunk and dressing up like a pirate for the masquerade was a bad idea.

Okay, definitely a bad idea. At least the pirate part. (page 1)

Guilt

Who here has ever felt guilt, raise your hands.

Ooh, ooh, me, yes me!!!

I swear, guilt is like an every day thing for me. There's always something I could or should have done that I didn't get done in a day.

For the past two weeks, I've written a little over 500 words on my WIP. Guilt? Yep, there it is, glaring me in the face every time I see people on twitter say how they've written 3,000 words that day, or every time I open my blog and see the same 7k looking pathetically back at me.

But there's a reason I haven't been a stellar writer. My kids. My four kids who now have no school and are home for the summer. We've been playing games like Life and Ticket to Ride, we've been playing in the backyard, my oldest daughter and I are watching the three Anne of Green Gables movies, there are trips to the spray park planned, boating, and maybe the Calgary Stampede. We've been, and will be, busy.

This isn't an excuse. It's just my life. I know I can make time for writing sometime. Most of my measly 500 words came yesterday when all four kids went to the park down the road. When writing becomes my job, I know things will be different. I will HAVE to make time. And that's okay. I WANT that. But for now, they're home. They're with me. They want to do things with me. And I can't feel guilty about spending time with them.

Will I still feel guilty over barely writing? Yes. Definitely. Especially when I read a blog post or hear on Twitter how much you've written lately. Yes you. I will try to carve out any time I can for putting more words to paper. But if my whole summer is spent laughing and playing with my children and I only get a few thousand words written, so be it.

So to guilt I say, and will keep saying: SHOVE IT.

Most Likely To...

I gotta be honest, I don't see this post up on YA Highway, but a few people have answered the question so I'm gonna go for it. Here's today's Road Trip Wednesday question (I think):

What yearbook "most" category (aka superlatives) would your character win?

I really tried to think of what classmates would have said about my characters, and not what they would have said about themselves. So...

Jessica from Daze and Knights and Daze of Thunder would be voted:

Most likely to space out during every major milestone of life.

Ava from Sway would be voted:

Most likely to get married right out of high school.

I'm working on a new WIP which I've been pretty mum about. I tend to do that until I've really gotten going on it, just in case it utterly bombs. Anyway, without divulging really anything, my MC Poni would be voted:

Most likely to become trailer trash.

However, if her best friend Mark were voting, he'd say:

Most likely to save the world.

So there you have it. These aren't exact representations of the characters, rather what people who went to high school with them would have thought.

*Note: pics are of Shanley Caswell, Alexis Bledel and Alexz Johnson

Teaser Tuesday

Teaser Tuesday time! Check out Should Be Reading for all the other Teasers.

Here's mine from Nightshade by Andrea Cremer:

He rose, shutting his laptop and picking up his backpack. "I'm sorry, but I need to leave. There's too much..." He shook his head. "I need some time alone. But I'll be back here tomorrow."

I stayed still as he moved past me, wanting to go with him.

"And Calla." He bent down for a moment, whispering into my hair. "I don't think I'm the only one who's being lied to." (page 217)

Shelving

When do you shelve a manuscript?

I hear of many writers who last year were querying one book but this year they're querying a whole new book. They shelved the previous book after a few requests led to rejections.

I've been querying Daze for... oh, um, well... awhile. But I will admit here and now that I made a common writerly mistake and queried TOO SOON. Lately, I've had some requests. Some have led to R's, others I'm still waiting on. My plan is to give Daze another edit once I hear from these others and then send out another round of queries.

But should I? Or is it time to shelve it?

I know first books are rarely the ones that get published. But in my own defense, I've spent over two years making this book the best I can make it. I feel like this book is the "one." But maybe I'm just too attached? Maybe I need to just let go and I can't.

I feel like after one more round of queries, I probably will shelve it and focus on Sway. That's my plan for now, anyway. But I am wondering, when do you shelve? And what makes you shelve?  

Best Book of June

This week's Road Trip Wednesday question, since it's the last Wednesday of June, asks:

What was the best book you read in June?

Here's what I read this month, including one I'm in the middle of and will most likely finish before this weekend.

You know how much I groan picking favorites right? These were ALL great books. Only one of them I might not recommend simply because while it grabbed my attention in the beginning, it didn't quite hold it throughout, even though I finished it anyway.

I'm gonna give Out of Sight, Out of Time by Ally Carter my best book of the month. I love Ally Carter's books and I love this series. These books are so much fun and I love the whole idea of a school for girl spies. (I said love a lot there but it's true, I LOVE the Gallagher Girls.) City of Lost Souls by Cassandra Clare comes a close second. It's another series I ADORE.

I also want to give a shout-out to Ruby Red by Kerstin Gier because it surprised me. It has a great premise, and I'm into anything Time-travel. But I wasn't expecting a lot because it's a translation. I've read translated books before and couldn't quite get into them, I think because the voice was always a little off. Ruby Red wasn't like that at all and I've found myself still thinking about the book and the characters weeks later.

What was the best book you read in June?