the movie vs. book dilemma

Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist

I really hate seeing the movie before I've read the book. Then, when you read the book, it's totally distracting because you keep comparing the movie to the book. It's especially bad if you just watched part of the movie on HBO a day before reading the book. Unfortunately, with "Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist" by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan, this is exactly what happened to me, because I didn't know there WAS a book when I saw the movie. If you haven't seen the movie yet, READ THE BOOK FIRST. This is ALWAYS the way to go. And in this case, the book was completely different from the movie apart from the basic concept. Both the book and the movie have their merits, and I enjoyed them both, but sometimes the book characters seemed a little more complex and real, especially Nick's ex-girlfriend Tris, which I appreciated.

Alright! For those of you who have neither read the book nor seen the movie, it's about two straightedge, music obsessed, bridge and tunnel kids from Jersey, both of whom are getting over some messy relationships. Know what their names are? Nick and Norah! That's right! Basically, the book is about this long, eventful night they spend together in NYC. I really enjoyed it. It was funny, and witty, and once I stopped comparing it to the movie (it's hard! get out of my head, Kat Dennings and Michael Cera!) I had a lot of fun with it. It's one of those books where by the end you're so jealous of the characters, because you want a night as amazing as that, and additionally, you really wanna know the characters, because they seem like they'd be fun to hang out with. I give it 8 pretzel bites!

KAY

And I'm back.

Old School

Not to be confused with the movie "Old School," this is a novel by Tobias Wolff. I read it right after rereading his memoir "This Boy's Life" for school (Just a note: "This Boy's Life" is excellent and I highly recommend it, but since this time I was reading it for school, I've refrained from reviewing it. I like to keep my school reading separate). "Old School" is about a boy who goes to prep school on scholarship in the 60's. He wants to be a writer, and the book centers around the writing competitions that are held to win a private audience with famous visiting authors.

It was interesting to read the book right after reading Wolff's memoir, and I couldn't help but put him in the shoes of the main character (something you're generally not supposed to do, and an issue that is actually addressed in "Old School"). I know that Wolff also went to prep school on scholarship. I just couldn't help but wonder how much he drew on his own experience. Not for the plot so much, but just the underlying emotions. Anyway, "Old School" was great. It's pretty short, and it keeps you reading. It was fun to read Wolff's depiction of the various famous authors and the experience that comes with reading each of them. The way he talks about writing is really interesting, too. And the short story within the book, "Summer Dance," was really good, at least the pieces we got. It reminded me of Salinger.

My only complaint is that I wish it had ended about 40 pages earlier. Maybe the ending wouldn't have been as tied up, but I feel that the section where the main character is no longer in school gets a little off track and isn't as interesting to read. Overall though, great book. 8 pretzel bites!

KAY