Entries Tagged 'Buried Treasure' ↓

by Captain Lyaf Yarr

Before we start I think I should let readers know that I’ve done both: seen the movie before reading the book and reading the book before watching the movie.  Below are some of the reasons why I am now a firm believer in doing the latter.

1. Explanations. You always get more information by reading the book. Most book to movie conversions leave things out. Going into the theater armed with this information you can make connections and keep up very readily.
2. Imagination. When you read a book you’re visualizing what is happening. In a movie the visualization is done for you. Don’t get me wrong I usually love both, but by reading the book first you get to create it first instead of the other way around.
3. Sense of Accomplishment. Finishing a book is awesome. Making the deadline of reading the book before the premiere is even better. Why deny yourself this? Read it and be smarter than your friends.
4. Rewards. I don’t know about you, but my family rewards me for reading books before it comes out in theaters. I’ve gone to the Harry Potter and Twilight midnight premieres because I read the books. I even got popcorn and soda. How’s that for an incentive?
5. Book is Better??? This one has question marks after it because it’s really up to the individual if the book or movie is better. Generally most people agree that the book is better, but I have to say I love watching the books come to the big screen. It just might be a toss up!

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Originally posted 2009-10-19 03:29:06.

by Captain Lyaf Yarr

As I revealed last time, I’ve done both scenarios: read the book first and seen the movie first. I am a firm believer now of reading the books first and I hate it when people see a movie before reading the book that it was based off of! It’s like cheating. You would never read a book’s ending before starting a book, right?

Here are some more reasons to read books first:

1. You know what it’s about. Before you ever get into the theater you know what’s going on, who’s who, and how it ends. Not all books or movies have happy endings and by reading the book you won’t be surprised if the bad guy gets away to try again with his evil schemes.
2. You know all the details that aren’t in the movie. All movies are different from the book. This is simple fact. You can’t get every nuance in a movie that you can in a book. When I see a movie I can usually tell where they leave off important information that is found in the book and what it is.
3. Book to movie translation is never 100% accurate. If you see the movie first and than read the book then you’ll expect what will happen next based off of the movie. Not always the case. So watching the movie first will spoil both and mess up how you’d think of the book from the get go. You’ll never be able to erase how the conspiracy plot was spoiled by the main character and ruin the fun you’d have had trying to figure it out.
4. It’s cinematic entertainment. (This builds off of points two and three and is not really a negative, just an observation.) A movie is not a book. Most movies are between 1.5-2.5 hours long. In that time, a director must make decisions. He will not only cut information from the movie that was in the book; he may even add to it. Comedic relief, dialogue, and scenes about things that could have happened are the most likely culprits for deviations from canon. It boils down to entertainment value. What works on paper does not always work in film. It’ll keep you on your toes and teach you differences between a script and a book.
5. Character motivations. In a movie not all of a character’s motivations are given to viewers. Sad, but true. In a book, especially a first person narrative, a reader is always privy to what’s going on in a character’s head. Why did they dump their boyfriend? Insecurity, betrayal, stupidity? The reader knows.

So what do you think? Now you have ten reasons to read books before seeing the movie. Do you agree? What do you like to do?

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Originally posted 2009-10-20 03:30:08.

by Captain Lyaf Yarr

I was talking to my sister the other day in the library as we were looking at books and she wondered what made me pick up certain books as opposed to others. Now my reasons might be the same as yours but I thought I would elaborate anyway. Here are my top five reasons for picking up and checking out library books. Or any book for that matter.

1. Book Cover. What’s the first thing you see when you look at a book, but the cover? When I’m in a library I go for the books with pretty book covers and I equate cool covers with good books.
2. Book Title. The title of a book is also very important for checking out purposes. A bland title is less likely to go home with me. It’s pretty obvious a catchy title is going to grab my attention and shout, “Get your card and check me out!”
3. Back Blurb. If I’m not sure about the book after the cover and title I read the back or inside jacket of a book. If it sounds neat I’m prepared to try the book. If it sounds less than interesting it goes right back on the shelf.
4. Friend Recommendation. Most of my friends are not likely to read books, sad as it is, so if they recommend a book I am definitely going to go check it out. Anything my best friend recommends is on my auto-checkout list.
5. Librarian Recommendation. If I’m completely stuck and unsure where to look for good books, I do one of two things. First I quickly scan the librarian staff favorite shelf for any young adult titles. If none are there or if I’ve read them already I go ask the librarian behind the kids desk for some titles to consider. Librarians are very friendly and helpful!

So was I right, was my reasons the same as yours would be? Go ahead and tell me in the comments!

Originally posted 2009-10-06 03:05:01.

by Captain Lyaf Yarr

Plenty of kids that I know find the library to be intimidating. I know that it’s not the case at all. Perhaps this is because my sister over the past few years has ensured regular visits. It’s not unexpected to find us there everyday after school. Libraries are not places of dead silence or bat-like librarians who hover menacingly in the background. With those little myths busted here are five great reasons to head to your nearest library pronto!

1. Plenty to Choose From. Libraries usually have any kind of book you could possibly desire. Interested in fantasy, science fiction, romance, or horror? The library has it!
2. Help on Hand. If you can’t find a certain book, a library has librarians. Use them! They’re there to help you. Just go ask for help instead of leaving empty handed.
3. Closer Than a Store. I fully except that this might not be true in all cases but in my particular case the library is closer to home than a bookstore. It’s easy to get to and hassle-free.
4. Read and Return. If you’re like me you don’t have a very big allowance. Going to a library is cheaper than buying books, especially if you’re not sure you like them yet. You only pay money to a library if you forget to keep up with your due dates, but even so overdue fees are cheaper than the cost of a book.
5. Activities. There’s so much going on at a library besides the books on the shelves. Most have wi-fi, movie rental, games, computers to work/play on, and events. My library just polled on what us kids would like to do for a Twilight themed party. How cool is that? I’m way excited! I hope we do the spaghetti dinner and art show.

So how about it? Will you go?

Originally posted 2009-10-12 03:35:46.

by Captain Lyaf Yarr

A lot of kids I know don’t like to read. They say “why should I read? It’s just a waste of time!” I firmly believe kids should read and not just because I like to do so. Here are my top 7 reasons why kids should read.

1. Kids should read because it improves their vocabulary. Don't believe? Keep an eye out for a post on how Twilight can do that in the near future. Are you thinking you learn vocab in school, so why learn more? Your vocabulary improves faster by reading than if you didn't and you not only are smarter you sound it too.
2. Reading saves energy. It's true! If you choose to read over watching television or playing video games you're saving energy that you would be wasting. So read or pick something that doesn’t waste any electricity.
3. Reading also helps you with other skills such as visualizing. Use that imagination!
4. Kids should read because they will learn interesting, and useful information for an assignments or for fun. For example: books are always my first choice for writing papers. I have learned how fireworks were invented, all about the earth’s layers, Claude Monet, and much much more.
5. Reading helps kids write better. For example you could say, “The cat ran up the tall tree because she was scared;” or “The cat scurried up the towering tree because she was frightened.” Now which one do you think is most interesting? If you guessed the second one you are correct!
6. Reading provides characters as role models and teach kids about social situations too. Let's say there’s a bully at school and a kid is having trouble with this bully. That kid then reads Harry Potter and stand up for himself like Harry does to Malfoy. Neat!
7. My seventh and final reason why kids should read is because, it sets an example for other kids. I love to read, it makes me sad to think a lot of kids are missing out on the stories that have made such an impact on me. So grab your library card and go book browsing!

Originally posted 2009-09-17 03:22:56.