Day 3 Mini-Challenges
Righto, it's time for the third and final set of read-a-thon challenges!
~~~~~
First, Wicked Awesome Books wants us to play matchmaker: "We all enjoy a good love story (don't deny it!), but sometimes the two (or three or four) characters involved in a love story struggle so much, that I just want to say, 'hey, _____ would be so much better for you!' So in the spirit of matchmaking, I'm setting you with the task of playing cupid and shooting your arrows at two characters from different books."
Whom would I pair up? Call me crazy, but I think Henry Crawford (from Jane Austen's Mansfield Park) and Anne Shirley (from L. M. Montgomery's "Anne of Green Gables" series) would make a fantastic couple. When I started thinking about this question, I immediately thought of Henry Crawford, because I think he's an incredibly fascinating character whose fate in Mansfield Park isn't 100% satisfying. He's clearly not good enough for Fanny Price, with her unflinching moral code...but surely he's too good for his actual fate, isn't he? I've always thought the right woman could redeem him: someone with strong morals, like Fanny Price, but also someone with a bit more imagination and understanding. I think Anne Shirley fits the bill quite nicely; while she would never be with an unworthy man, she is very compassionate toward human weaknesses. So I think she would be a very good match for Henry -- although I do love Anne and Gilbert together, and I'd hate to break them up!
~~~~~
Then, Books from Bleh to Basically Amazing wants us to recommend two books: (1) any great book we think people should read, and (2) our favorite book from this read-a-thon.
1. The Princess Bride by William Goldman. The movie is an '80s classic, and it remains one of my fondest childhood pop-culture memories. But believe me when I tell you, the book is even better. All the things I love about the movie are still there -- the ideal romance between Westley and Buttercup, the villains-turned-heroes Inigo and Fezzick, and the breathless pursuit of the Man in Black -- but the book has so much more to offer. One of my favorite scenes in the movie, the swordfight between Inigo and the Man in Black, is clothed with so much more context in the book, and it makes Inigo's trajectory as a character amazing to behold. There's also a Zoo of Death in the book, which is never even mentioned in the movie, and it's fantastic. If you've seen the movie, you have to read this book!
2. Lola and the Boy Next Door by Stephanie Perkins. Granted, I have only dipped into three different books for this read-a-thon, but Lola is by far my favorite. Yes, it's a YA romance -- and there's even a love triangle, come to think of it -- but it's miles ahead of the vast majority of teen romances. Lola angsts a lot, but I think her inner struggle is very believable, and Cricket is an adorable hero. Both of the protagonists are relatable and very easy to root for. There's not a lot of extraneous plot outside the romance, but that's okay with me. A lot of romance-type novels pretend like they have another plot, and they waste pages and pages trying to convince the reader to care about it, but let's be honest: if I'm reading a romance, that's what I primarily care about. So if you enjoy teen romances, I highly recommend this book, as well as its companion novel, Anna and the French Kiss. (My apologies to everyone who just read my review of Lola...I know it's too much gushing for one day. But seriously, it's a good book!)
~~~~~
First, Wicked Awesome Books wants us to play matchmaker: "We all enjoy a good love story (don't deny it!), but sometimes the two (or three or four) characters involved in a love story struggle so much, that I just want to say, 'hey, _____ would be so much better for you!' So in the spirit of matchmaking, I'm setting you with the task of playing cupid and shooting your arrows at two characters from different books."
Whom would I pair up? Call me crazy, but I think Henry Crawford (from Jane Austen's Mansfield Park) and Anne Shirley (from L. M. Montgomery's "Anne of Green Gables" series) would make a fantastic couple. When I started thinking about this question, I immediately thought of Henry Crawford, because I think he's an incredibly fascinating character whose fate in Mansfield Park isn't 100% satisfying. He's clearly not good enough for Fanny Price, with her unflinching moral code...but surely he's too good for his actual fate, isn't he? I've always thought the right woman could redeem him: someone with strong morals, like Fanny Price, but also someone with a bit more imagination and understanding. I think Anne Shirley fits the bill quite nicely; while she would never be with an unworthy man, she is very compassionate toward human weaknesses. So I think she would be a very good match for Henry -- although I do love Anne and Gilbert together, and I'd hate to break them up!
~~~~~
Then, Books from Bleh to Basically Amazing wants us to recommend two books: (1) any great book we think people should read, and (2) our favorite book from this read-a-thon.
1. The Princess Bride by William Goldman. The movie is an '80s classic, and it remains one of my fondest childhood pop-culture memories. But believe me when I tell you, the book is even better. All the things I love about the movie are still there -- the ideal romance between Westley and Buttercup, the villains-turned-heroes Inigo and Fezzick, and the breathless pursuit of the Man in Black -- but the book has so much more to offer. One of my favorite scenes in the movie, the swordfight between Inigo and the Man in Black, is clothed with so much more context in the book, and it makes Inigo's trajectory as a character amazing to behold. There's also a Zoo of Death in the book, which is never even mentioned in the movie, and it's fantastic. If you've seen the movie, you have to read this book!
2. Lola and the Boy Next Door by Stephanie Perkins. Granted, I have only dipped into three different books for this read-a-thon, but Lola is by far my favorite. Yes, it's a YA romance -- and there's even a love triangle, come to think of it -- but it's miles ahead of the vast majority of teen romances. Lola angsts a lot, but I think her inner struggle is very believable, and Cricket is an adorable hero. Both of the protagonists are relatable and very easy to root for. There's not a lot of extraneous plot outside the romance, but that's okay with me. A lot of romance-type novels pretend like they have another plot, and they waste pages and pages trying to convince the reader to care about it, but let's be honest: if I'm reading a romance, that's what I primarily care about. So if you enjoy teen romances, I highly recommend this book, as well as its companion novel, Anna and the French Kiss. (My apologies to everyone who just read my review of Lola...I know it's too much gushing for one day. But seriously, it's a good book!)