Top Ten Tuesday: Books that are collecting dust

hosted by The Broke and The Bookish.

I've had some books on my shelf for a long long time and still haven't read them.  Here are ten of them.

1. Dragonflight by Anne McCaffrey - I received this as a gift close to 5 years ago and I still haven't picked it up, not because I don't want to read it, but because there are just so many books to read!

2. The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown - I borrowed a copy of this book from a friend ages ago and had to give it back because I didn't get to it.  Or at least I thought I gave it back.  There is a beautiful copy of this book sitting on one of my shelves and I don't remember how I acquired it.  Needless to say, I still haven't read it, but maybe I should check with my friend about having returned the book.

3. Little Women by Louisa May Alcott - I received this as a gift from my 7th grade English teacher before she retired. Unfortunately, I have never gotten around to reading this one. (I've read all the others she gave me.) I tried reading it a couple of months ago, but I just wasn't in the mood. Maybe this year. 

4. Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë - I also got this book in 7th grade (10 years ago). Okay now that I've done the math I feel terrible. Geez. I should read this soon. 

5. & 6. A Swiftly Tilting Planet and A Wind in the Door by Madeleine L'Engle - I'm not sure how I got these or who they came from, which kind of tells you how long I've had them. I just recently read the graphic novel version of A Wrinkle In Time, so maybe I'll pick them up soon. 

7. The Shack by William Young - This book has been on my shelf since it was first published. I think it's probably my parent's copy but at one point I was planning to read it. I'm not sure anymore, but maybe. 

8. Black Dahlia by James Ellroy - I got this one for my 16th birthday from a friend. I think I haven't read it yet because I'm kind of scared of it. The cover is terrifying and I've heard it's a scary book. 

9. Kissed By An Angel by Elizabeth Chandler - I Literally just found this book on one of my shelves. I know I didn't buy it, so I'm not sure how I acquired it but from the back it sounds like something I would have loved in late middle school - early high school. So I'm guessing I've had it that long. 

10. 13 Reasons Why by Jay Asher 

- This one has been on my shelf for maybe three year, definitely the baby among the others. It's a book I want to read but it keeps getting pushed back by others that just come out of the woodwork. One day I'll get to it. 

Notable Quotable: Madeleine L'Engle (#32)

"Life, with its rules, its obligations, and it's freedoms, is like a sonnet: You're given the form, but you have to write the sonnet yourself."
     --A Wrinkle In Time

Notable Quotable: Frances Hodgson Burnett (#31)

"You learn things by saying them over and over and thinking about them until they stay in your mind forever."
     --The Secret Garden

A Wrinkle in Time: The Graphic Novel

by Madeleine L'Engle (adapted and illustrated by Hope Larson)
published: Margaret Ferguson Books
pages: 392

Meg and Charles Wallace Murry go on an extraordinary adventure to find their father.  With the help of their friend Calvin O'Keefe and the three crazy old ladies that live in the haunted house, they travel across time and space in order to find and help their father.  Along the way, they meet many being and face challenges that test their friendship and their love for one another.  And when all seems lost who will be the one to step up to attempt to solve the crisis and save the universe?

It's been a while since I last read this book and I can say for a fact that the graphic novel version of this story is an entirely different reading experience. Of course, the story is basically the same but having it come to life in the form of art is something delightful and engaging.  I really enjoyed the visual journey that I got to share with the characters in the story.  It felt intimate and strange at the same time.  It's not every day, one sees a childhood favorite turned into a graphic novel.

The art is beautiful, exemplifying certain aspect of the light and darkness in the story itself through the pictures only black and white, with a hint of blue.  All the art is entirely in shades of darkness, the contrast is stunning and brings a new light to the story itself.  Sometimes the art looked like it was carved out of black and other times it felt as though the scenes were carved from white.  I found myself looking at the artwork, caught up in it's simplicity and the care with which each image was crafted.

The only thing I wish I could have seen was more of the story.  Don't get me wrong I really enjoyed this adaptation but I would have loved to see more, or maybe that's me just itching to reread the book now.  Anyway, I am glad I stumbled across it.

Stars: 4/5

Praise:

"This adaptation is fabulous for presenting a fresh vision to those familiar with the original, but it's so true to the story's soul that even those who;ve never read it will come away with a a genuine understanding of L'Engle's ideas and heart."
     -- Booklist, starred review

"Larson has remained true to the sotry, preserving the original chapter format and retaining L'Engle's voice.  Black-and-white artwork is accented with blue, echoing the original cover color."
     -- School Library Journal

"Know somebody who hasn't met Mrs. Whatsit, Mrs Who or Mrs Which?  Larson's colorful panels bring Madeleine L'Engle's brilliant time-travel favorite to life in an exciting new way.  This is page-turning eye candy of the highest order."
     -- James Patterson

This is an Eclectic Read 2014 Challenge book!

Top Ten Tuesday: Books That Will Make You Cry

hosted by The Broke and the Bookish.

These books are the ones that have made me cry the most in recent history, and most of them I cry every time I read them.  They are in no particular order except the first two - those I bawl my eyes out every single time I read them.

1. The Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling (as well as Order of the Phoenix and Half Blood Prince)
2. The Fault in Our Stars by John Green
3. My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult
4. The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
5. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
6. The Help by Kathryn Stockett
7. The Boy in the Striped Pajamas by John Boyne
8. Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson
9. Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy by Gary D. Schmidt
10. The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky

Notable Quotable: E. B. White (#30)

"You have been my friend. That in itself is a tremendous thing."
     --Charlotte's Web