Happy Birthday, Book Chat!

Can you believe it has been a year since Jessica posted the first-ever Book Chat prompt on Sweet Green Tangerine?? I always thought I had been part of the link-up since the beginning, but when I went back to look at my old posts, I was sad to discover my first participation was actually for the second prompt. So today, I'm going to go back and participate in that very first link-up:

Favorite tragic couple: Chris & Emily | The Pact by Jodi Picoult (I feel really weird saying that considering how messed up the relationship—and entire storyline—is, but I think I am biased because this is one of my favorite books of all time.)

Struck to the bone in a moment of breathless delight.

Photo via Instagram

You know what my biggest first world problem is? I've been out of the country for the two biggest movie releases of my life: The final Harry Potter film and Les Miserables. However, I saw both movies the day after I flew back to the U.S., which means I was able to see Les Mis on New Year's Day. I didn't expect the movie to be better than the play; Les Mis will always be a stage production first for me, then a movie. (And, of course, a book.) However, I was very impressed by the movie and definitely plan on buying it when the DVD is released. It will be a great movie to have running when I'm doing other things around the house. I could easily write pages about the 2012 adaptation, but I'll just share my brief thoughts here:

Teasers are just spoilers in disguise.

Note: I wrote this post way back in June but just hadn't gotten around to publishing it yet. In honor of the release of Les Miserables next month, I figured now was the perfect time to hit publish!

Source: tres-little-birds.tumblr.com via Majo on Pinterest

And by teasers, I mean book jackets and movie trailers. Hear me out: I love previews. I'm one of those people who is actually upset when I miss the previews in a movie theater, and not just because I don't like looking for seats in the dark. I really like trailers, and I used to think it would be amazing to be a trailer producer (a la Cameron Diaz in The Holiday). However, if I know I want to see a movie and already know the storyline, I don't want to see a trailer because I don't want any part of the movie to be ruined for me.

What I learned from Les Miserables.

Jessica hosted a very creative Book Chat today over at her blog, Sweet Green Tangerine. She challenged us to create a musical playlist based on a book, which I think is an awesome idea. I was having trouble thinking of an appropriate to book to use when I finally realized my favorite story is already a musical! So I'm going to put a little spin on this prompt (hope you don't mind, Jessica!) and share with you some life lessons presented in the music of Les Miserables. Enjoy!

Image via Bunthorne's

30-Day Book Challenge: Day 30

Day 30 – My favorite book of all time

Image via Goodreads

Les Miserables. Full disclosure: I don't know if this is my favorite book, but it is definitely my favorite story. I haven't read the book since I was 12, so I hope to be able to revisit it soon with my increased wealth of knowledge and maturity level, but when I read it back in the 7th grade, I remember there being a lot of long, boring chapters about the student revolution. I would get to one of those chapters, realize it was about the war and not my beloved characters from the Broadway adaptation, and skip it. But as far as stories go, Victor Hugo wove quite the tale of personal struggles, romance and societal challenges. I own a paperback version and downloaded a free version on my Kindle, so I definitely need to reread it soon.

30-Day Book Challenge: Day 15

Edited to add: Jessica's Book Chat prompt this week at Sweet Green Tangerine is our favorite male character, so I'm linking up with this old post. I also wanted to share the adorable button she made for today. Enjoy!

  
Day 15 – Favorite male character

This one was tough. I didn't want to pick a Harry Potter character because I've been using that series too much during this challenge. I also considered Dirk Pitt, but I already used his series, too. I just finished a book with a pretty cool male character, but I want to save that book for a later date. Choices, choices. But, I finally had to decide, so I did. And the winner is ...

 

Image via Listal

Sir William Stafford, from The Other Boleyn Girl. This is kind of a weak choice, I admit, because although he is a main character, he isn't super present in the book. I do remember silently cheering for him throughout the whole book though, and he's a stable source of support for Mary. So there, I had to pick, and I did!

P.S. - When I was looking for a picture of William Stafford, I noticed he was played by Eddie Redmayne in the 2008 movie. Why does that name sound familiar? Because he's playing Marius in the upcoming Les Miserables movie! Eek! (The casting choices for which I've already blogged about twice - once last month and again yesterday, oddly enough.)

Help me out here - who is your favorite male character from a novel? What obvious characters am I blanking on?

Update: Les Miserables casting choices.

Remember last month when I went on a bit of a rampage about the Les Miserables casting? (It turned out to be my most-read post of January, actually. Lots of other Les Mis fans out there, I presume?) Well, one of my gripes was that Taylor Swift was rumored to be under consideration for the role of Eponine. Today, I discovered that's no longer the case! Instead, Samantha Barks - who played Eponine in a West End production of Les Mis for a year - has been cast. Now here's an Eponine I can get behind. Can't wait for the movie!

And in case you needed more proof:

Oh, and did I mention how adorable she is? Just check out her reaction when she found out she had landed the part - while onstage for another production. Plus, she's already brunette!

To love another person is to see the face of God.

A few months ago, I accidentally stumbled upon an IMDB listing for a 2012 version of Les Miserables. The only cast members listed at the time were Hugh Jackman as Jean Valjean (how amazing is that?!), Russell Crowe as Inspector Javert (once again - amazing!) and Anne Hathaway as Fantine (I like Anne, but I guess I always pictured Fantine as older ... and blonde). This discovery might seem trivial to the average movie-watcher, but I absolutely love Les Miserables.

I literally grew up with the story and soundtrack of Les Miserables. I even got to see the play on stage when I very young; I still vividly remember the scene where Eponine crawls over the barricade to Marius, her chest drenched in the brilliant red of fake blood. The day before my family moved to California, we played "One Day More" on repeat throughout the whole house. This was when I was 7 years old, and I knew (know!) every word. When I was 11, I read the book by Victor Hugo for a class reading assignment. (Man, were those war chapters dense. But I still have my own copy!) Even today, "I Dreamed a Dream," "Who Am I?" and "At the End of the Day" are go-to songs on my iPod when I'm on a long car ride and need to sing something to stay awake. 

After my initial discovery about the new film, I regularly checked IMDB for updates. After all, if this movie really was (is?) coming out in 2012, how could they not have a full cast listing yet? Emma Watson was later listed as "rumored" to play Cosette (which was super exciting for me!) and Helena Bonham Carter and Sacha Baron Cohen (rumored) were listed to play the Thenardiers. (Madame Thenardier is kind of the Bellatrix Lestrange of Les Mis for me, so that's just perfect!)

Since then, Emma Watson has (unfortunately) been replaced with Amanda Seyfried for the role of Cosette. What?! I'm very disappointed by this. It's not that I was totally set on Emma playing Cosette (I don't know anything about her voice), but there is just something about Amanda Seyfried that rubs me the wrong way. In the same article where I read Amanda would be playing Cosette, I read Taylor Swift might be playing Eponine. What?!?! On My Own? A Little Fall of Rain? How can Taylor sing these as they deserve to be sung?! Plus, isn't Eponine brunette? I guess Taylor can dye her hair for the role, but we all know what she really looks like.

Sorry for my little venting session. I am definitely still stoked to see the movie (opening night, no doubt), but I'm a little disappointed with some of the casting thus far. After listening to the soundtrack for two decades, I have a certain image in my mind, and this just isn't living up to that.

P.S. - The title of this post has been one of my favorite quotes for as long as I can remember. It's currently listed under my quotes on Facebook, but I also remember having it featured on my MySpace profile. Imagine how long ago that was. The quote is, of course, from one of the many wonderful songs in Les Miserables!

Are you familiar with the story of Les Miserables? What do you think about the casting choices?