The 2018 Reading Challenge - #1 - A Book made into a Movie You've already seen

Hello bookworms :)

The first review in 2018 and totally on time yay ;)

The first thing that begins in a good way this year ^^ that´s a good sign for the new year!

So I decided to simply do it all in the order of categories of the challenge

So the first category is - A Book made into a Movie You've already seen

It was pretty hard actually to decide for a book because there are sooooo many I wanted to read ^^

In the end I decided to go for:

The Perks of Being a Wallflower

by Stephen Chbosky

The Perks of Being a Wallflower is a coming-of-age epistolary novel by American writer Stephen Chbosky which was first published on February 1, 1999, by Pocket Books.

Chbosky took five years to develop and publish The Perks of Being a Wallflower, creating everything from his own memories. The novel addresses themes like adolescence, 

including introversion, sexuality, and drug use, while also making several references to other literary works, films, and pop culture in general. 

Although Chbosky's first book was a commercial success, it was banned in some American schools for its content. In 2012, he adapted and directed a film version starring Logan Lerman, 

Ezra Miller and Emma Watson. The film boosted the novel's sales, and the book reached The New York Times Best Seller list.

And again (like last year) a little summary of the book from goodreads:

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"The critically acclaimed debut novel from Stephen Chbosky, Perks follows observant “wallflower” Charlie as he charts a course through the strange world between adolescence and adulthood.
First dates, family drama, and new friends. Sex, drugs, and The Rocky Horror Picture Show. Devastating loss, young love, and life on the fringes. Caught between trying to live his life
and trying to run from it, Charlie must learn to navigate those wild and poignant roller-coaster days known as growing up"

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pic source

I´ll give it a 9 out of 10

I really enjoyed reading this ^^

First of all I thought about how to compare the book with the movie.

I don´t know how often I´ve read a book made into a movie after I´ve watched a movie ;)

Normally its the other way round isn´t it ^^

But I can say that its actually nice in one way but terrible in the other way...definitely ruins a bit of the imaginations since you already have an image of the characters
but on the other side there is no movie which could ruin the book ;)

A good thing for me was that I´ve seen the film ages ago so imagination was not too restricted ;) BUT I remember that I liked the movie and wanted to read the book after watching the film
so here I am, finally doing that ^^ and I really can recommend doing it like this ;) Watch the movie wait a few years and then read the book ;) hahaha

Another thing I did is watching the movie again after reading the book ^^

I really liked the book! The style of it being written in letters and the language is really nice and its a easy and relaxed read
and that´s always a nice thing once in a while and a perfect book to start a new reading challenge with ^^

A fact which always tells me and probably everybody else that a book is good is that I could hardly stop reading! I got so much into the story, into everything happening
in Charlies life that I just always wanted to know what would happen next...don´t know how often I told myself "Only one more of the letters then I´ll stop"...never actually happened ^^

A reason why its so hard to put it down might be that the book or the letters are actually addressed to the reader...that kind of makes you a part of the whole story ^^
Charlie tells you stories about his life and what is happening, how he is feeling and dealing with all the different situations and with and all the problems a teenager faces in everyday life.
We learn about how he tries to be part of the whole school "society", how he gains new friends and what they experience together.

All the characters are amazing...you actually feel so close to everyone and its actually just like a friend of yours who tells you stories and gossip ;)

Just such a nice book, I loved it and really can recommend it ^^

For a little more inspiration and some alternatives ^^

I mean besides obvious ones like Harry Potter books, the Lord of the Rings or The Hunger Games ;)

(all summaries are from goodreads and easily found when searching for the title):

The Help by Kathryn Stockett

Be prepared to meet three unforgettable women...

In pitch-perfect voices, Kathryn Stockett creates three extraordinary women whose determination to start a movement of their own forever changes a town, and the way women
- mothers, daughters, caregivers, friends — view one another. A deeply moving novel filled with poignancy, humor, and hope, The Help is a timeless and universal story about the lines we abide by
and the ones we don't.

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

A story about, among other things: A girl, some words, an accordionist, some fanatical Germans, a Jewish fist-fighter, and quite a lot of thievery
...an unforgettable story about the ability of books to feed the soul. 

Set during World War II in Germany, Markus Zusak’s groundbreaking novel is the story of Liesel Meminger, a foster girl living outside of Munich. Liesel scratches out a meager existence for herself by stealing when she encounters something she can’t resist – books. With the help of her accordion-playing foster father, she learns to read and shares her stolen books with her neighbors during bombing raids as well as with the Jewish man hidden in her basement before he is marched to Dachau. This is an unforgettable story about the ability of books to feed the soul.

-I really love this book-

Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen

An atmospheric, gritty, and compelling novel of star-crossed lovers, set in the circus world circa 1932 illuminated by a wonderful sense of time and place. 

When Jacob Jankowski, recently orphaned and suddenly adrift, jumps onto a passing train, he enters a world of freaks, drifters, and misfits, a second-rate circus struggling to survive during the Great Depression, making one-night stands in town after endless town. A veterinary student who almost earned his degree, Jacob is put in charge of caring for the circus menagerie. It is there that he meets Marlena, the beautiful young star of the equestrian act, who is married to August, the charismatic but twisted animal trainer.
He also meets Rosie, an elephant who seems untrainable until he discovers a way to reach her.

Some more inspiration?

Eat, Pray, Loveby Elizabeth Gilbert

The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold

Divergent by Veronica Roth

...and there are soso many others ;)

of cause this depends totally on which movies you have already seen ^^

Which book did you choose for this category? And Which one is better The film or the book?

Did you read The Perks of Being a Wallflower? Did you like the movie?

With lots of love

♥♥♥

Verena