The Lodger - Marie Belloc Lowndes

Ok, so I'm going to admit I've completely abandoned my rule. I read books and watch the movie. I admit it! I used to avoid one or the other because I didn't like comparing the two. One was always better (most often the book), but as I watch more of these older movies, I'm too curious to keep to my own rule. And so here we are.

In this story, the Buntings take in a lodger. They've been struggling, so they see this as a blessing. He's a bit eccentric, but it's nothing Mrs. Bunting can't handle. At the same time, horrific murders are happening close by. And they seem to be getting closer. Being friends with a young policeman gives the Buntings insight into the investigation, and since he's interested in Bunting's daughter, they see even more of him as time goes on.

I was first made aware of this when I saw a silent film by the same name was going to be in the public domain this year. It was an early film by Alfred Hitchcock, and so I was interested. I haven't seen a lot of Hitchcock's work, but I had liked what I'd seen. I think North by Northwest is my favorite so far. Anyway, I saw this was based on a book and scribbled down the details.

I'm going to talk about the film first, because I hated it. To be fair, not the whole thing, just the second half. There was a weird love triangle in there, and I wanted almost everyone to die at the end (not Joe...everyone but Joe). I wanted to throw my laptop. BUT, I also wanted to know if and how it differed from the book.

I went into the book nervous. Not only was I scared that the dreaded love triangle would rear its ugly head, but the tension in the book itself was really well done. The story was so much better than the movie and made so much more sense. The end was a bit abrupt and unsatisfying, but I'm not going to spoil why. And when I say a bit, I mean slightly.

I greatly prefer the book. In some ways, I wonder if Alfred Hitchcock's name wasn't on the film, would people think it was worth watching? Anyway, this book was really good, and I'm glad I read it. Good Book!

The Jungle is Neutral - F. Spencer Chapman

This is the story of a man who was in the jungle of Malaya for over three years during WWII. He went there to train a guerilla force to act against the Japanese when they invaded. He was listed as missing, believed dead for much of that time. I found it interesting that he was so focused on the wildlife and trying to catalogue the birds he saw. It's sad that many of his diaries were lost.

It's insane the amount of adversity this man had to overcome. In the time he spent in the jungle, he escaped from the Japanese, fought diseases, leeches, and the mental strain of not being able to communicate with command. After all that, when he was able to get out, he didn't give up. He went back and finished the job he set out to do. Amazing.

I liked this book, but I never would have made it in his situation. I can't really express how much I admire this man and how he persevered in the face of everything he went through. During the course of one year, he mentions dealing with malaria for at least one-third to one half of the time. That's crazy. As for the writing itself, it can be a bit repetitive at times, but that's reflective of what he went through. When you deal with malaria numerous times, it's going to be mentioned numerous times. This isn't a criticism, it's just an observation.

I feel like Frederick Chapman didn't really escape from his time in the jungle. He mentions at the end of the book how he moved on and got married. But if you look closely, he also mentions that his friends shielded him when they could, and they noticed he had something of a hunted look when he came back. The saddest part for me was learning he took his own life.

If you're interested in what it was like to try to live and survive in the jungle, this is a great book. It isn't full of stories of sabotage and attacks on the Japanese, so if that's what you're looking for, you may end up being disappointed. I personally enjoyed it. Good Book!

Metropolis - Thea Von Harbou

I've been watching some old films lately, and I stumbled upon one called Metropolis (1927). It was a a silent movie, and when I discovered it was based on a book, I wanted to find out how similar it was. Nowadays, it seems like it's more likely for movies/shows to be vastly different from the source material.

A city is built upon the backs of the working class. They work ten hours in front of the same machines for the elite. One day, the son of the master of machines sees a woman who makes him question everything. He visits the working men, and his whole life changes.

Overall, I liked this book. It was written well and didn't show its age the way some books tend to do. I enjoyed the character progression and the storyline. 

I give the movie credit for staying true to the book for the most part. The end of the movie was a bit on the cheesy side, and after the interesting visuals and decent storytelling, I wasn't sure what happened. The answer: they changed it. They completely eliminated a character that I felt was important, and the ending suffered for it.

Back to the book. I feel it's superior to the movie, but the movie is a marvel on its own and worth a watch. I'm not going to pretend like silent movies are my favorite thing, but I did like this one. It also had the additional bonus of giving me this book to read! Good Book!

Still from the film - each side of workers moved at different speeds but in sync with each other

 

Top Dog - Maria Goodavage

I love dogs. I love working dogs. I've been waiting to read this book for a long time, and was excited to get into it.

Lucca is a hero. There's just really no other way to put it. She was deployed twice to Iraq and once to Afghanistan searching for weapons and IEDs. The beginning of this book was brutal. You're hooked immediately and have to keep going to find out what happened. I laughed, and I cried. I read it in four days, which is pretty good for me these days.

Major respect to Chris Willingham and Juan "Rod" Rodriguez. These two men were willing to tell their stories (which can be emotional at times). I loved how Chris was aware and sensitive to the needs of the people and animals around him. He learned the wrong way to deal with grief and passed that on to others later on. While Chris is the main handler for Lucca, Rod also was very important to the story. Very important.

I want to acknowledge the research of the author. As I was reading this, I was wondering how she knew so much. I didn't see anything at the beginning, but it was at the end. She did numerous interviews between August 2013 and April 2014 and even stayed with the Willinghams for a bit. She got to know the family, and most importantly, Lucca herself. She also interviewed so many people, even very "minor" characters were consulted.

The pictures are at the very end - after the sources. I could've probably looked at a hundred more pictures and not complained a bit. But I think the author chose a good smattering of pictures to cover Lucca's life and the friends she made along the way. Another great choice. The writing is engaging, and I really enjoyed learning about this hero. Great Book!

I'm going to add some spoilers down below the picture. I don't want to give away what happens in the book, but I really want to acknowledge the other heroes. I realize that probably all the dogs mentioned are gone by now, and they all deserve a lot more recognition than they get, but I am just going to do it this way. Forgive me for any mistakes and know that I appreciate every person and dog mentioned. And also, I have great respect for those who serve - past and present.

RIP to the fallen heroes:

Kory Wiens and Cooper

Max Donahue 

Grief

Posha

Bram

Special mention to those who came back with visible and invisible scars:

Alfred Brenner

Fenji

The Lady of the Lake (The Witcher Saga #7) - Andrzej Sapkowski

I've finally come to the end of the Witcher books that I bought. Again, I'm writing these up for my own reference, so they are including spoilers.

Technically there is another book in the series, but it's a standalone and set before this storyline. I'm keeping an eye on it, so the plan is to get to it eventually.

Spoilers! Seriously, there are so many spoilers...

So we finally get the gang together. It takes quite a while, like 2/3 of the book, but it does happen. In the meantime, we get a lot of war. I mean, a lot. The showdown at the end was a rollercoaster for sure. I hated that we took our friends there just to watch literally all of them die. Except for the main three of course. But yeah, Regis, Cahir, Angouleme and Milva...gone. That bummed me out for sure.

The ending itself also struck me as a bit unexpected. I'm not saying it was bad, just not what I thought would happen. After being saved by the unicorn, Geralt and Yennefer are taken somewhere, and then Ciri ends up in the Camelot era. Ok, I was fine with this, but at one point the boat is coming, and someone's like, "They have to leave." And the response is, "I know the legend." Well, I don't! I wish there had been a short explanation, but oh well.

Brief note on the games. I've watched the games. Yes, I'm weird, and I've watched my husband play games since we were dating. I just don't have the coordination to play these things without getting frustrated. Anyway, I'm really drawn to the ones with deep storylines and interesting characters. So apparently the games are supposed to be after the books, but that didn't really work for me. The end of the series was such a great way to wrap everything up, I didn't like connecting the two. Then, I heard it was its own universe, and I was okay with that. And don't get me started on Regis coming back. My husband and I went through that for 20 minutes last night. It was an interesting debate!

The series as a whole is something I would recommend to someone who enjoys the setting, characters and has the time to read through them in a reasonable amount of time. There are so many characters and so many things going on that I had some trouble keeping up. I really did like this series, and I hope that I eventually get to read the "last" one, Season of Storms. Good Book! Fun series!