Jane Eyre is a very personal heroine who, once encountered, is hard to forget, and everyone has their own ideas as to how she should be portrayed. The proof is in the dozens of film and TV movies made about her over the past century (see a complete list here). For those who might not … Continue reading Page To Screen: Jane Eyre
East Or West, Home Is Best
Lucy Maud Montgomery was no one-hit wonder, but she also had her share of under-the-radar characters, and one of these is Pat Gardiner of the 1933 novel, Pat of Silver Bush and its 1935 sequel, Mistress Pat. While they may not be as talked about nowadays as Montgomery's Anne and Emily series, these books were very personal … Continue reading East Or West, Home Is Best
Go West, Young Canadian
Janette Oke is one of the premier contemporary authors of Christian literature, and as her novels are mostly set on the Canadian prairies Laura Ingalls Wilder would be her closest comparison. Oke's eight-book Love Comes Softly series has sold millions of copies and continues to be discovered and re-discovered by enthusiastic readers. Six of the … Continue reading Go West, Young Canadian
Page To Screen: The Sarah, Plain and Tall Trilogy
Remember the Hallmark Hall of Fame movies? I used to watch those with my parents all the time, and I don't know about anyone else, but my favorites next to Harvest of Fire was the Sarah, Plain and Tall trilogy. Based on Patricia MacLachlan's novels of the same name, they are prime examples of how to … Continue reading Page To Screen: The Sarah, Plain and Tall Trilogy
Stage To Screen: Peter Pan
Who's up for a trip to Neverland? I know I could sure use one. J.M. Barrie's immortal story has been delighting children and children at heart for over a century with its joyful, sparky melée of pirates, mermaids, Lost Boys, Native Americans (although the story calls them Indians), happy thoughts, fairies, and of course, the … Continue reading Stage To Screen: Peter Pan
The Remake of the Remake
It takes two, baby... There's much more to The Parent Trap than meets the eye. While it might seem like the beloved 1961 Disney film is the original, and in a way it is, it's actually a remake of a 1950 German film, Das Doppelte Lottchen, which was based on a novel of the same … Continue reading The Remake of the Remake
Page To Screen: The Three Musketeers
It's been a long time since we've looked at a literary leviathan, adapted countless times for the large and small screen, part of our cultural lexicon, and something we can't imagine life without. The 1844 Alexandre Dumas classic is an absolute titan in that regard, right up there with Robin Hood, King Arthur and Romeo and … Continue reading Page To Screen: The Three Musketeers
They’re Watching Us
Time to crack open those books... H.G. Wells's The War of the Worlds seems to be the Michael J. Fox of sci-fi in that plenty of other sci-fi stories want to be it really, really badly, and some are more overt about it than others. John Christopher's wonderful Tripod series is definitely an homage to … Continue reading They’re Watching Us
Page To Screen: Nancy Drew
Nancy Drew is iconic to say the least. She's OG. She's been a teenager way longer than Bart Simpson has been a ten year old and has been inspiring readers, boys and girls alike, for decades. She has a very deep bag of tricks at her disposal. Codebreaking? Nancy's on it. Deductive reasoning? No problem. … Continue reading Page To Screen: Nancy Drew
Page To Screen: Little Women
Few books have been as influential to women's literature and for that matter, American literature as Louisa May Alcott's Little Women. There's a saying among Englishers that the American literature canon is more than twelve dead white guys and Emily Dickinson, but I think it should be "more than twelve dead white guys, Emily Dickinson, and Louisa … Continue reading Page To Screen: Little Women
Reading Rarities: The Fun Of It
2022 will be the eighty-fifth anniversary of Amelia Earhart's mysterious disappearance at the tail end of her around-the-world hop. Nowadays, this part of her life garners most, if not all the attention because we want to know what happened, and it's totally understandable. Eighty-five years is a long time to be in suspense (I have … Continue reading Reading Rarities: The Fun Of It
Page To Screen: The NeverEnding Story
I don't know about anyone else, but one of my favorite movies as a tween was 1984's The NeverEnding Story. Jolly pink Luckdragons. Racing snails. Cute young warriors. A geeky kid who loses himself in a book. And we can't forget that cool earworm of a theme song by Limahl and Beth Anderson, the latter of … Continue reading Page To Screen: The NeverEnding Story
Bonjour, Par-ee
I'm doing a standalone book review for once--whaddaya know? I'd like to do more of these, so keep watching this space. Anyway, today's offering is Siri Mitchell's 2005 novel, Kissing Adrien. Go ahead and make Rocky Balboa jokes. You know you want to. Anyway, this Adrien is a guy, and he's been friends with Seattle accountant … Continue reading Bonjour, Par-ee
Reading Rarities: Mount Vernon: The Story of A Shrine
Ever been to Mount Vernon? I have, twice, and it's a fascinating place. Like more than a few other historically significant sites, though, George Washington's home came very close to fading into oblivion, only to be saved by conscientious souls. In this case the benefactors were, and are, the Mount Vernon Ladies' Association, who have … Continue reading Reading Rarities: Mount Vernon: The Story of A Shrine
Reading Rarities: I Take My Religion Seriously
There was way more to Charles M. Schulz than Charlie Brown and Snoopy, and from the mid-1950s until early 1965 Schulz drew monthly or bi-weekly single-panel comics for Youth and Reach Magazines. It's been said that these characters are the Peanuts kids as teenagers, but Schulz tried to keep the two strips as separate as he could. He … Continue reading Reading Rarities: I Take My Religion Seriously
Page To Screen: Cannery Row and Sweet Thursday
Who's been to Cannery Row? For those who haven't, it was a group of fish canneries, flophouses and dive bars on Ocean View Avenue in Monterey, California. It was a tough, wild, colorful place, and its king was marine biologist Ed Ricketts, best friend of John Steinbeck and collector of strange scientific samples. Of course, … Continue reading Page To Screen: Cannery Row and Sweet Thursday
Earth In A Bottle
Today is the thirtieth anniversary of the first Biosphere 2 crew entering their enclosure. It's also the twenty-eighth anniversary of the crew's exit from their enclosure. It's not often talked about today, but it's a fascinating story, and while I don't agree with all the motivations for the project, lately I've been reading and rereading … Continue reading Earth In A Bottle
Taking Up Room 