Confession Saturday: Dear Arthur Dent

Hello, everyone! Confession Saturday is a weekly feature, in which we will have the chance to express our feelings towards certain characters. This time of the week we will choose one character and write to him/her about all the things we would like to say. We can explain why we like or dislike each character, which of his/her actions we don't understand and generally whatever comes to mind. 

Today I'll write a letter to Arthur Dent from The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (1979) by Douglas Adams. This is probably the funniest book I've read and I've just finished a funny books themed read. Arthur finds himself in the center of many peculiar and most of the times surreal situations.

Dear Arthur,

first of all, let me tell you how lucky you've been! The Earth was destroyed and you were one of the few humans (was it only you and Trillian?) that managed to get away in time. The circumstances that made you friends with Ford proved to be the starting point of many great adventures.

It was a shock to see your whole planet being destroyed. It must have been one of the hardest feelings! I'm sure that the home-sickness you felt at that point was unbearable. And being surrounded by unknown things wasn't the greatest help you could have. 

But a tiny bit of myself is jealous of you! You've seen wonders, the space, other planets. You even learnt the answer to the Ultimate Question of Life, the Universe, and Everything! Ok, nobody knows how to use this answer, but you've learnt it. And the mice? You saw their true form, you managed to discover their motives, who would have thought!

At times, I felt that you were the only sane person in your travels, although I have a soft spot for Marvin, as well. How did dinner go at the End of the Universe?

Yours,

Aeriko

P.S. Don't forget your towel!  

Thursday Quotables: Daniel Deronda

Hello, everyone! Welcome to Thursday Quotables! This weekly feature is hosted by Bookshelf Fantasies. Every week we highlight a great quote, line, or passage discovered during your reading each week.

I've started reading Daniel Deronda (1876) by George Eliot for the Classics Club Spin #10. I am completely taken with the writing style of Eliot and I believe that I couldn't be luckier in the spin. Anyway, today I will share with you a small passage about home.

A human life, I think, should be well rooted in some spot of a native land, where it may get the love of tender kinship for the face of earth, for the labors men go forth to, for the sounds and accents that haunt it, for whatever will give that early home a familiar unmistakable difference amid the future widening of knowledge: a spot where the definiteness of early memories may be inwrought with affection, and - kindly acquaintance with all neighbors, even to the dogs and donkeys, may spread not by sentimental effort and reflection, but as a sweet habit of the blood.

Have you read Daniel Deronda? What do you think of this passage? What makes a home to you?

The Reading Book Post, September 15th

Hello, everyone! I've been silent the previous week, but now I'll make it up to you. From the next week, The Reading Book Post will return on Monday and I hope that I'll post some interesting stuff until then (reviews and the infamous new feature I've been talking to you about). But let's see what happened in the literary world the previous week.

• Joy Harjo has been awarded the Wallace Stevens Award for her mastery of poetry. Also, the longlist for the National Book Awards is made public these days. Yesterday, the longlist for the category of Young People's Literature and today those for the category of Poetry. Lastly, the shortlist for the Man Booker Prize 2015 was announced.

• Into the River by Ted Dawe, a coming-of-age novel, was banned in New Zealand. In protest to this, many silent readings of this novel are planned all around the country. 

• Marvel has just announced a new superhero! It will be the first Native American superhero and he will be called Red Wolf. The series is due on December. 

• This year Twilight celebrates its 10th anniversary. For this reason, a new edition of the famous series will be published on October 6th with bonus material. There is not yet a word as to what this bonus material will be, though. 

• Going on a road trip? Author Leila Sales has made the ultimate road trip playlist. The cause? Her new novel, Tonight the Streets are Ours, is centered around one. Enjoy!

• Which Jane Eyre Character Are You? Take the quiz to find out! I got Blanche Ingram, a character I never quiet liked. Which one did you get?

The Reading Book Post, September 8th

Hello, everyone! It's been a pretty busy week, but I just couldn't miss The Reading Book Post. So, although it's not Monday, here it is! Let's see what happened in the literary world the previous week.

• Two authors, Stephen King and Tobias Wolff, will receive the 2014 National Medal of Arts. Also, the 2014 National Humanities Medal will be awarded to four authors, Annie Dillard, Rebecca Newberger Goldstein, Larry McMurphy, and Jhumpa Lahiri.

• But this week there are more award news. The Bratislava Children's Books Illustration Award 2015 was given to Laura Carlin. What lovely illustrations! The National Book Foundation will honour Don DeLillo for lifetime achievement in a ceremony, which will take place in November.

• Any Jeff VanderMeer fans? You can read his short story The Goat Variations. The story is included in the anthology In the Shadow of the Towers: Speculative Fiction in the Post-9/11 World.

• Watch exclusively the beautiful book trailer for Crenshaw by Katherine Applegate. Crenshaw will be published on September 22, 2015. You can also read a small excerpt.

• Time for something completely adorable! Watch this video of a baby that loves literature so much that he starts crying every time a book ends.

• Who Would Be Your Literary Nemesis? Take the quiz to find out! I got   Isabella Thorpe, who did you get?

Books Adapted to/from Video Games (next themed read)

So, the next themed read is officially Books Adapted to/from Video Games. For this list, I chose books that are based on popular video games, but I also included one that inspired a very successful game series.

Ico: Castle in the Mist (2005) by Miyuki Miyabe

When a boy named Ico grows long curved horns overnight, his fate has been sealed - he is to be sacrificed in the Castle in the Mist. But in the castle, Ico meets a young girl named Yorda imprisoned in its halls. Alone they will die, but together Ico and Yorda might just be able to defy their destinies and escape the magic of the castle.

Based on the video game: Ico










Bioshock: Rapture (2011) by John Shirley

It's the end of World War II. FDR's New Deal has redefined American politics. Taxes are at an all-time high. The bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki has brought a fear of total annihilation. The rise of secret government agencies and sanctions on business has many watching their backs. America's sense of freedom is diminishing... and many are desperate to take that freedom back.

Among them is a great dreamer, an immigrant who pulled himself from the depths of poverty to become one of the wealthiest and admired men in the world. That man is Andrew Ryan, and he believed that great men and women deserve better. And so he set out to create the impossible, a utopia free from government, censorship, and moral restrictions on science - where what you give is what you get. He created Rapture - the shining city below the sea.

But as we all know, this utopia suffered a great tragedy. This is the story of how it all came to be... and how it all ended.

Based on the video game series: Bioshock

Assassin's Creed: Renaissance (2009) by Oliver Bowden

Betrayed by the ruling families of Italy, a young man embarks upon an epic quest for vengeance. To eradicate corruption and restore his family's honour, he will learn the art of the assassins. To his allies, Ezio will become a force for change, fighting for freedom and justice. To his enemies, he will become a threat.

Based on the video game series: Assassin's Creed












Alan Wake (2010) by Rick Burroughs

Welcome to Bright Falls - a seemingly idyllic small town in the Pacific Northwest. The perfect place for Alan Wake, a bestselling crime novelist, and his wife, Alice, to relax for a few weeks. Maybe a second honeymoon and the fresh air will cure Wake of his writer's block.

But when Alice goes missing under mysterious circumstances, Wake's desperate search for her leads him into a hell only he could imagine. In the depths of nearby Cauldron Lake, a dark and malevolent presence has awakened from a long slumber. It's reaching out now, turning the townsfolk into mindless killers. Sheathed in shadows, vulnerable only to light, they are Taken.

Wake's journey will lead him to the very edge of madness, and deep within the dark woods, he will come face-to-face with a story he has no recollection of ever writing.

Based on the video game: Alan Wake

The Last Wish (1992) by Andrzej Sapkowski

Geralt of Rivia is a witcher. A cunning sorcerer. A merciless assassin.

And a cold-blooded killer.

His sole purpose: to destroy the monsters that plague the world.

But not everything monstrous-looking is evil and not everything fair is good... and in every fairy tale there is a grain of truth.

Video Game it inspired: Witcher









Have you read any of these? Which is your favourite video game to book adaptation? Which video game would you like to be adapted into a novel?