Posts Tagged ‘memoir’

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Saw the Movie? Read the Book!

Wednesday, March 6th, 2013

These March movies started out as books:

Broken is based on Daniel Clay’s novel Broken.

Lore is adapted from The Dark Room by Rachel Seiffert.

I Am Slave is based on the memoir Slave by Mende Nazer, as faithful readers of this blog surely know.  :-)

Hitchcock is based on Stephen Rebello’s Alfred Hitchcock and the Making of Psycho.
So, a movie based on a book based on a movie, all meta-like – Abed would approve, for sure!

Oz the Great and Powerful is, of course, based on L. Frank Baum’s children’s classic The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.

Thérèse Desqueyroux is based on the same-titled book by François Mauriac.

Jack the Giant Slayer is based on the age-old fairy tales Jack the Giant Killer and Jack and the Beanstalk.

Midnight’s Children is based on Midnight’s Children, the Booker of Bookers, by Salman Rushdie.

And finally, The Host is based on that non-Twilight book by Stephenie Meyer, The Host.

Bonus movies based on books:

Bullet to the Head is based on Alexis Nolent’s graphic novel Du plomb dans la tête, which is not yet translated into English.

&Me is based on Oscar van den Boogaard’s Dutch novel Fremdkörper, which will be re-released this month as And Me.

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Win FREE tickets to the Arab Women’s Film Festival movie I Am Slave!

Wednesday, February 27th, 2013

In the Nuba Mountains of Sudan, 12 year old Malia is snatched from the arms of her father during a raid on their village. Beaten and sold into slavery, she spends the next six years of her life working for a family, then at 18, Malia (Wunmi Mosaku) is sent to work in London. The city swiftly becomes as much a prison as the home in which she is kept; hidden in plain sight, Malia’s desperate situation goes unnoticed or uncared for by everyone she comes into contact with. Stripped of her passport and living in terror of what might happen to her family in the Sudan should she speak out, Malia is trapped in an unforgiving, alien environment. Despairing of the life to which she has been condemned, she has to call on all her strength to make a dramatic escape back to Sudan and to the father who never gave up hope she was alive, and who never stopped searching for her.

I Am Slave is based on Mende Nazer’s autobiography Slave.  It is the opening film for the 3rd annual Arab Women’s Film Festival, held in The Hague from March 8th until March 10th, 2013. Screenwriter Jeremy Brock, who won a BAFTA for his The Last King of Scotland screenplay,  will hold a Q&A session after the screening of the film, together with Mariam’s Chance director Hanadi Elayan.

See it for FREE with ABC!

Thanks to the wonderful folks from the Arab House of Arts (Arabische Huis voor de Kunsten), we will be giving away 2 pairs of tickets to I Am Slave, which screens at the Filmhuis in The Hague on March 8th, 2013, at 16.45 hrs.

What do you need to do?  Answer the following question:

What is the most affecting, thought-provoking, life-altering autobiography you have read?

Mail your answer to win@abc.nl by Wednesday, March 6th, 2013, and be sure to put ‘I Am Slave’ in the subject header. On March 7th the winners will be announced on this blog.

Please note that there is no right answer to the question.  :-)   We are simply curious and will pass on your recommendations to our Autobiography buyers!

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Summer Reading Plans of ABC’s Staff

Friday, July 6th, 2012

Ah, summer…

The word conjures up long, sultry, golden days, to spend at will.  Even if the reality of Dutch summers doesn’t generally match this dreamy image, the expectation is nice! 

One of our favorite ways to spend a summer day is to read a book, put aside especially for the occasion, the anticipation of sitting in peace, or lying comfortably in the shadow somewhere, and devoting all our time and imaginations to the adventure we’ll embark on almost as fulfilling as reading the actual words.  So, without further ado, here are our literary plans for this summer.

Ester:

Planned Reading: The Pluto manga series by Naoki Urasawa and Osamu Tezuka.

Why:  I finally have all 8 parts collected, and I’ll be able to read them all one after the other!

Tom:

Planned Reading: Lonely Planet Romania!

Why: Because that’s where I’m going this year.  I always wonder how people find time to read other books when they’re on holiday. There’s just so much to do and see (and itineraries to be worked out) that I hardly ever touch any other book than my travel guide(s) and perhaps a local paper.

Jouke:

Planned Reading: Norse Code by Greg van Eekhout (don’t let the tacky cover fool you) and Night Angel Omnibus: The Complete Trilogy (The Way of Shadows + Shadow’s Edge + Beyond the Shadows) by Brent Weeks.

Why:  The former because I’m in love with Norse mythology; I’m reading All the Windwracked Stars by Elizabeth Bear right now – beautiful use of language.  The latter because Martijn and (former colleague) Renee are very enthusiastic about it.  It has extensive character- and world-building that are worth the wait, as well as violence, vengeance and political intrigue. The omnibus edition also looks mighty fine!

JeroenW:

Planned Reading: The Dragonbone Chair by Tad Williams.

Why: I first read it (in Dutch) during sixth grade, and I want to reread it, but in English.  I’m looking forward to drowning in the story!

Sophie:

Planned Reading: The System of the World by Neal Stephenson.

Why: I have been steadily plodding my way through the first two books of Stephenson’s Baroque Cycle (Quicksilver and The Confusion), feeling I can’t give them their proper due because real life has been BUSY – yet I’ve not been able to put them aside either, because they are so interesting and funny! I’m hoping to dive into the concluding part with an empty-ish head, to finish off a remarkable trilogy with the attention it deserves.

Mark:

Planned Reading:  The Odyssey by Homer.

Why: I first read The Odyssey on a sailing trip near Greece, after I had just met my wife.  Rereading it always brings me back to that time, sailing around the Peloponnesos in a newly-in-love state of mind.

Sigrid:

Planned Reading: The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoyevsky.

Why: Because a long summer holiday gives you time to read all 900 pages in one go.  This is true for more of the classics, too.

Renate:

Planned Reading:  The Los Angeles Diaries by James Brown (NOT the singer, but a Hollywood writers/scriptwriter).

Why: Simply because it was recommended by a friend of mine.

Martijn:

Planned Reading:  Aloha from Hell by Jim Kadrey.

Why: Because parts 1 and 2 were so good.

Simone:

Planned Reading: Still Life and Heartstopper, both by Joy Fielding.

Why: Fielding’s books have a good mix of crime, fiction and tempo.  Also, use a little book light to read from summer evening into night (we sell them!).  It has a little round pedestal, but you can also clip it onto your book.

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Posted in Ester, JeroenW, Jouke, Mark, Martijn, Recommendations, Renate, Sigrid, Simone, Steven, Tom, What We're Reading | 1 Comment »

Saw the Movie? Read the Book!

Wednesday, May 9th, 2012

Or, as it was known until today, Read the Book Before You See… – but we thought a more true-to-life title was warranted.  :-)

… Salmon Fishing in the Yemen, directed by Lasse Hallström and starring Ewan McGregor, Emily Blunt and Kristin Scott Thomas. Based on the novel of the same title written by Paul Torday.

An Arab sheik has a dream to build a place in Yemen where people can go fishing for salmon. He hires a professional in the UK to find a specialist to help make his dream true.  Creating a place for the fish and transporting the salmon to the Yemen is not that easy, and their journey will change everybody who gets in touch with this almost preposterous idea.

It’s too late to win tickets to the movie now, but keep an eye peeled on this blog for future movie ticket giveaways.

… The Substance: Albert Hofmann’s LSD, directed and written by Martin Witz and starring Stanislav Grof, Martin A. Lee and James S. Ketchum. Not really based on Albert Hofmann’s biographical and scientific work LSD: My Problem Child, it certainly has a relation to the story being told in the film.

The film tells us the story of a drug: the first experiments done by Albert Hofmann on himself, the experiments done in the 1950s by psychiatrists, consciousness researchers and artists. And the question that always kept them all wondering: was it possible to find a chemical path to the human existence?

… The Vow, directed by Michael Sucsy and starring Rachel McAdams, Channing Tatum, Sam Neil and Jessica Lange among others. Based on the true story of Kim and Krickitt Carpenter and published with the same title.

While returning from a movie, a couple’s car gets hit by a truck, injuring the wife very badly. She loses part of her last memories after the accident and doesn’t remember her husband, why she left law school or doesn’t talk to her parents anymore.

… What to Expect When You’re Expecting, directed by Kirk Jones and starring an ensemble cast with Cameron Diaz, Jennifer Lopez and Dennis Quaid among others. Based on the classic US pregnancy bible written by Heidi Murkoff and Sharon Mazel.

The film follows five interconnected couples through pregnancy and how it all influences their lives and relationships, in different areas and levels.

… On the Road, directed by Walter Salles and starring Garrett Hedlund, Sam Riley and Kristen Stewart. Based on the classic book written by Jack Kerouac in 1951 and first published in 1957.

After his father’s death, struggling young writer Sal Paradise journeys across America with friend and hero Dean Moriarty, the living epitome of beat and adventure. They are the portrait of the Beat Generation and their journey results in a fast-paced roller coaster ride with highs and lows throughout the United States.

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You Review: The Blue Door by Lise Kristensen

Friday, April 6th, 2012

Reviewed by Eefje Koppers

Children are resilient. It never ceases to amaze me how their innocence and imagination allows them to experience the worst of circumstances and still find some adventure or even beauty in it. Or how they can become wise beyond their years and assume responsibilities that most adults couldn’t take on. The Blue Door is the story of such a child. Ten-year-old Lise Kristensen has lived a sheltered life in Indonesia with her Norwegian parents, younger sister and baby brother. There is talk of war in Europe and an encroaching threat of the Japanese army, but these stories have little impact on Lise’s life. Until her friends start disappearing.

All of a sudden war is thrust upon them when first Lise’s father is taken away and then the rest of the family are sent to Japanese prison camps. Here, they face hunger, vermin, illness, appalling living conditions, inhumane treatment by the Japanese guards and heartbreaking betrayal by fellow prisoners. Their only respite is a vivid blue door raised on concrete posts on which they can sit during the day to escape the rats and find shelter from the oppressive heat. Lise’s moving memoir tells of her two-year struggle to not just stay alive herself, but also keep her family alive. With her father gone and her mother ill and weak, Lise must take on the role of head of the family. She does this with creativity, cunning and innocence as only a child can do. The Blue Door is a beautifully and sensitively written book about some of the darkest days in human history. It is a tale of survival against the odds and it is a story that deserves to be read. So do! Because we should never forget.

You Review: The latest releases, reviewed by ABC customers.

If you’d like to join in and get free books and ABC gift vouchers, see the original post for more details.

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