NaBloPoMo - Where do I read?

The question for today

Where is your favorite place to read?

In bed; on my sofa; outside on lunch; at my desk when I need a sanity break.

Basically, it isn't where - it's when.

NaBloPoMo - Favorite book

I read a lot. When I was married, we had an entire room devoted to books. In fact, we had to design the shelves ourselves, to make sure we had enough room.

Now, storage is at more of a premium for me, and I keep my books in my Nook, for the most part. I read books by James Patterson and Janet Evanovich (whose newest Stephanie Plum novel comes out today!).

But my favorite book of all time? To Kill a Mockingbird.

If you're not familiar with the story - you've apparently been living under a rock for your whole life. I can help. You're welcome.

The book is narrated by Scout, a young girl whose given name is Jean Louise Finch. She tells us the story of how she and her older brother, Jem, came to meet up with a mysterious neighbor, about whom the whole town had made assumptions. He turns out to be none of the things they thought.

The backdrop for the story is Scout's father, Atticus, defending a client in criminal court. Atticus is a white lawyer, defending a black man, accused of raping a white woman. In the south, in 1931.

There's a ton of lessons in the book. I'm no English professor, and I won't even bother trying to pretend like I understand all the symbolism or literary techniques used by the author, Harper Lee.

What I learned from To Kill a Mockingbird:

• There is no room in my life for prejudice of any kind.
• Words are powerful and should be chosen carefully.
• "People are people, no matter where you put them." - Harper Lee in a 1961 interview.
• "It's a sin to kill a mockingbird...mockingbirds don't do one thing but sing their hearts out for us." - From Chapter 10. Evil destroys innocence, but it is should still be preserved. We all have a "moral imperative to protect the vulnerable." Help when you can, give what you have.

I've learned a lot of lessons in my life. I can't think of one more important than knowing we're all here to help someone.

Movie Monday: One for the Money

One for the Money is a book written by Janet Evanovich, who is easily my favorite writer. It's not a classic, nor is it what you'd call literature. It's not poetic, or particularly evocative writing. It's not intellectual or really challenging to read. There's no lesson, or moral or even really a point to the Stephanie Plum novels (there are 18 now).

But the books make me laugh out loud. No other book - none - has ever gotten such an honest, true reaction from me.

They're a fun, easy read that leaves you wanting more. The first book was published in 1994, and I think I started reading them around 1998 or so. Believe it or not - my father introduced me.

Fourteen years is a long time. I consider myself pretty invested in these characters and stories. Years ago, I started hoping they would make a movie. I talked about it with other fans, and together we came up with a cast to bring life to our favorite characters.

But now those actors are all too old to play the parts. One even died. So the movie, that came out on Friday, has a whole different set of actors.

That's tough; when you read a series of books, you get an idea of what the characters would look like, and you visualize the setting, and the scenarios. To see it all brought to life on the big screen can be exciting, but also a little scary.

What if they don't get it right? What if the author doesn't consult, or worse yet, her vision is different than yours? The last time I had this issue was with the Harry Potter books. I stumbled upon those by accident, and was immediately hooked. When the first movie came out, I was excited - but also nervous it wouldn't do the book justice. Those movies were so loyal to the books that it was as if they'd been pulled right from my imagination.

I was worried that One for the Money wouldn't do the same. First of all - Katherine Heigl as Stephanie Plum?! That seemed wrong. The actors chosen to play the two leading men (Morelli and Ranger) weren't quite right, either. And Debbie Reynolds as Grandma Mazur?! Awful. Sheri Sheppard as Lula made sense, though.

I went to see the movie yesterday, and it turned out, they were very loyal to the original story. Ranger and Morelli were played just right, even if they don't look exactly like I expected (Morelli's hair wasn't long enough and Ranger wasn't tall enough). Their lines and delivery were flawless - just like I imagined. Even Heigl wasn't that bad - though, I felt like she played Stephanie a little dumb, and I don't imagine Stephanie as dimwit at all, just an average, single gal - whose cars routinely explode.

I was right about Debbie Reynolds as Grandma Mazur. She pulled off the older-lady-with-an-attitude - but she's too young to play the real Grandma. The whole point of the character is that her actions don't mesh with her age - why Betty White wasn't cast for this role is beyond me.

All in all, it was a decent - but not great - movie. It was fun to life brought to my all-time favorite characters. I enjoyed it more having read the book, and anticipating what will happen next. Honestly, for the non-Stephanie-Plum fan - you're better off reading the book, first.