Tuesday, January 12, 2016

Book Lists

It's no secret to say I'm a bookworm (I was one of the people voted Biggest Bookworm in high school). Seems like there's always a book on my list to read, so there's hardly ever been a big gap in my reading time. Well, except when I have some school textbook to go over, which doesn't really count 'cause it takes away a good amount of pleasure reading time.
These are some books I've been reading and some I plan to delve into sometime soon.



THE JUNGLE BOOKS
I just got it for Christmas, a hardcover copy containing both The Jungle Book and The Second Jungle Book. In middle school I'd read the Mowgli stories from the first book online once and had been meaning to read them again because...
(1) they were interesting, and
(2) there's two movie adaptations coming out over the next couple years;
A Disney film coming out in April 2016,
and a Warner Bros. one in 2017 titled Jungle Book: Origins directed by (and starring) Andy Serkis. Now THAT is the one I'm even more excited for, knowing that they're gonna make it even closer to the original text. Still, the I'm sure the new Disney one coming out will be closer in some ways than the 1960s animation, so I guess we'll see what happens.
I finished reading recently, and they are pretty fascinating. I admit some of the stories do drag a bit, but there are a few not-Mowgli-centered stories that are still pretty cool. Rikki-Tikki-Tavi is a good one, about a mongoose going against a pair of cobras to protect the family that's taken him in.
There are quite a few movie-worthy details in The Jungle Books, some of which I guess would be too dark/gritty for a kids' movie (which explains me not knowing some of this stuff).
For example Bagheera the panther has a backstory of his own;

"Yes, I too was born among men. I had never seen the jungle. They fed me behind bars from an iron pan till one night I felt that I was Bagheera - the panther - and no man's plaything, and I broke the silly lock with one blow of my paw and came away; and because I had learned the ways of men, I became more terrible in the jungle than Shere Khan."

I wonder if that will be touched on in the Disney movie this spring. We do see him fighting with Shere Khan in the trailer... The Jungle Book 2016 trailer (4K 2160p HD) Well, if not this one I'm sure the Origins movie will delve into more of those backstories and details. I'm really excited for both, especially now that I'm all caught up.



THE MORTAL INSTRUMENTS
Ok, the City of Bones movie didn't do well, so the Mortal Instruments book series is a tv show called "Shadowhunters" now (which my sister and I have been excited about for a while).
With the first book City of Bones I'm caught up for at least a month, depending on how the show's pacing is; how many chapters generally add up to one episode per week, etc.
After finishing the first book, with the time to spare before picking up the second one, I'm planning on picking up a certain book that I was going to reread but didn't get to because of other texts...



ERAGON
I gave Eragon a try when I was in 7th grade. I remember seeing the movie for the second time with my dad and wanting to read it. But I guess there were too many differences between the book and the film or something, 'cause the book confused me and I didn't finish it (see back then I didn't know filmmakers could change so much stuff in adaptations).
I was going to reread it when I started tenth grade but didn't get the chance, so here I am now.
Since I've gotten better at reading high fantasy books and am getting more curious about the book series itself, I think I'll try it again. Plus Eragon is no bigger than City of Bones, so it shouldn't take very long to read. That's why I figure I'll give this one book a try right away and see if I also want to continue the series.



WEREWORLD
Now Wereworld... is something else... the lords, kings, barons and so forth are shapeshifters (or "therianthropes" as they're called in this world). Picture an eight-foot-tall lion standing on two legs wearing armor and wielding a sword! Wolves, bears, hawks, foxes, panthers, even sharks... the list of different shapeshifter types goes on.
Definitely a complex high fantasy, one that have planned to reread for a while but didn't know when. I was going to reread it after the Mortal Instruments books, but things have changed...
Anyway, that is one important goal of mine to finish at some point. I've got the six-book series on my list here so I'm not just gonna forget about it.


So yeah. These are my current goals in books to read. I'm excited to see where it goes, and glad my winter break isn't over yet so I have more time :)