Wednesday, April 4, 2018

March Wrap-Up

-Books-

Secret Garden - Frances Hodgson Burnett

This book was surprisingly good, for a classic. Classic books tend to not hold up over the years, but this one was very easy to understand. I recently saw the musical for it at a local theater, and was impressed by how much they followed the book.

3/5

Bernie Sanders Guide to Political Revolution

Our whole family really like Bernie Sanders, so when we found  a YA version of his book, we were all over it. It talked about the different things we have to work on in this country. Things like Healthcare and Immigration. I agreed with most everything he talked about, and really enjoyed his point of view on these topics.

4/5

Persepolis - Marjane Satrapi

I've been reading a string of very good graphic novels lately and this one didn't disappoint. It's about a girl growing up during the rise of sharia law and how she must cope with it. She's hilarious and spunky; and is one of my favorite literary characters in a good while.

4/5

Lily and Duncan - Donna Gephart

I read this book for a bookclub I'm in and enjoyed it. It follows the two main characters Lily and Duncan. Lily is a transgender girl who isn't accepted by her dad. Duncan is a boy who struggles with an ambiguous mental disorder.

3/5 

-Movies- 

"Finding Neverland"

My sister and I are doing the Peter Pan musical at a local theater, so we decided to watch this to prepare. It's the story of how "" came up with the idea for Peter Pan. It was heartwarming and funny, even though it does have kind of a sad ending. 


3/5

"Ready Player One"

I read Ready Player One last month and was super excited to watch the movie when it came out. I was expecting more than I received. The way the book was written, they could have kept every detail in and perfectly put it into a two hour movie, Spielberg completely overlooked many different points in the story, and even put some product placement within it. I was a fan of the book, but the movie was very disappointing. Thinking of it as a separate story makes it more enjoyable.

3/5

"Love Simon"

Unlike Ready Player One, I was very impressed with the way this movie turned out. It followed the book almost perfectly with a few changes that I didn't really like, but overall, I enjoyed it.

4/5

"Miss Representation" + "The Mask You Live In"

These two documentaries were a extremely educational on the topic of women's and men's issues in America. "The Mask You Live In" focused on the culture behind Toxic Masculinity. "Miss Representation" focused on feminism and the culture behind sexism.

4/5

5 comments:

The Magic Violinist said...

Yay, you had some winners this month! I remember liking the protagonist in Persepolis, too. If you're liking these YA contemporary books and movies (like "Love, Simon"), I have many more recommendations for you . . .

Jimmy said...

I guess I won't feel bad that I've no interest in RP1. I am curious though why you gave it 3/5 and you didn't like it, but you did like Love Simon, and it also got 3/5. (Can you tell I spend my career in a Quality Assurance role so things like that temporarily cause all kinds of confusion.)

You said you agreed with most everything Bernie talked about in his book. I'd be curious where you differed. Well, I'm curious where and why you agreed, too.

Dr. Mark said...

I'm glad March was filled with pretty good to really good books and movies. I remember feeling the same way about most of these, too. I think the plan your mother came up with for picking books each month is working out quite well. And if you need more suggestions of good graphic novels to read . . .

Boquinha said...

Ooooh, I like Jimmy's questions and I'd love to hear more about that, too (with regard to the Bernie book). As for Love, Simon, it looks like he gave that a 4/5, if I'm reading it correctly.

So many good books and movies!! Thanks for the praise, Mark. :) I like this plan, too! (Jimmy, for your benefit - we set up a system where Max reads at least 3 books a month (it's sometimes more, because he can always read MORE than the minimum):

1. A graphic novel
2. A pleasure book of his choosing
3. A book we suggest (usually something everyone should read, or one we think he'll like, etc. - hopefully both!)

I love hearing your thoughts on these books and movies and always enjoy seeing a "month in review" post to sort of visually see it summed up in one post! Full March with some good flicks and good reads!

Boquinha said...

P.S. Didn't you see "A Wrinkle in Time," too?