Ella Enchanted

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Ella Enchanted was written by Gail Carson Levine in 1997. In 1998 It was awarded the Newbery Honor. In 2004 the beloved novel was turned into a movie starring Anne Hathaway. When it comes to comparing the two it very easy for me to say that the Book wins hands down. I have read the book many times, and love it every time I read it. I was very excited when they decided to make it a movie but then I was let down when it came out. While the basic plot was the same, the overall feelings of the book were not portrayed. I think that the large issue came because the movie came out so much later than the book. The book was a classic when the movie was made, and it is hard to replicate a classic. I would recommend reading the book, because there is much more detail.

Princess Diaries

Since I posted about a Meg Cabot Novel Yesterday, i figured I would continue on with that theme today!

I read about 5 of the Princess diaries books, before i stopped. I was amazed to see that there are 10 books out now. There have also been two movies made based off of the acclaimed series.

In the books we get to experience more of Mia's day to day life and see that even after she becomes a Princess that she has the real world to deal with and sometimes it just is not pretty. As far into the books as I got The grandmother was a scarier woman than in the movie. Mia did not really like her, and she was portrayed as strict and not as loving as the character portrayed by Julie Andrews. I believe that in the last book I read Michael was playing an active part in Mia's life, but in the latest movie he was completely gone. While I did love Princess Diaries 2 it was nothing like any of the books I read. I think that after seeing the first movie, people needed an ending and thus the movie was made. I believe that the largest difference between the books and first movie was the portrayl of the grandmother. In the books there as a woman who I pictured to look more like Cruella de Ville, who did not have a whole lot of love to give. In the movie there was Julie Andrews, enough said. I do not think one is better than the other but there are advantages to reading the book as well as watching the movie.

Gossip Girl Part 2

So today I am going to tka ethe lea and compare the gossip girl characters from the books to those from the show. I am only going to mention the main characters.



Serena: I like book Serena more than I do t.v. show Serena. In the books she is light hearted and fun, but also very ditzy. Recently in the show Serena has proven to just be plain stupid. Running off eith married men, choosing said married man over Nate, dating Gabrielle, being a ho... and so on. In the book her character seems much more genuine and maybe just naive, in the show she just is plain dumb.
Dan: I like t.v. Dan the best. He makes me laugh, and while he does make mistakes, he is usually the all around good guy. In the book I picture Dan as always moody and brooding. He also seems much more creepy at times. While I can tell he is passionate I also have a hard time with the way he displays that. I think he is able to grow more in the show and move away from his starving artist book character. The fact that he and Nate are friends in the show is probably one of the best things ever for both characters.

Blair: Oh man I love Blair, on the show in the book, she is by far my favorite. In the show we see a much more manipulative and mean side to Blair, but you just have to love her, because underneath it all she is sweet and genuine. She is the type of friend I would want on my side. In the book we see Blair as the leader and sometimes bitchym but she is also sweet and at sometimes naive. She loves Nate in both, butin the show she has moved to Chuck. This by far is my favorite part of Gossip Girl this season. I love how they interact together and who she is with him.
Chuck: Oh goodness, what to say about Chuck. I love t.v. show Chuck. In the books he is much more of a background characetr he only appears when there are large events. In the book he is also questionably gay, but so far no one knows. For these reasons I love Chuck on the show. He is such a cocky ass that you just have to love him. Throughout the show he has consistently been the only honest characetr who never tried to be someone else. I love him and Blair together. They are my favorite part of season 3. I also love his Bromance with Nate. He is a good friend as well as a good boyfriend. He is Chuck Bass, you just have to love him.
Nate: Nate Nate Nate, what can I say about Nate. In the books he is a pot smoker which is so not cool. He also dates Georgina who is crazy, which again is not cool. However in the book I just finished he has realized again that he loves Blair which is a plus. I think the character of Nate is sweet, and well he is just plain adorable. He reminds me of a dog in both, and you just have to love him. In the show he is not the one doing drugs, but his father. I think this made me like Nate a little bit more. In the show he has finally acknowledged his love for Serena which is just plain adorable. He is a good guy and while I love his bromance with Chuck, I like his newer friendship with Dan too. In the show I love his man-bangs, they are a highlight of my week. The fact that Chace Crawford plays him is a big bonus in my book!
Vanessa: Vanessa in the book, is much more confident with who she is. She knows what she likes, and she is unwilling to change that. In the show she is a liitle different. She does not have a shaved head, which in my opinion is a bonus, but she also has tended to be included in the drama. I think in the show she plays a much bigger role, because she adds a distinct element to the group. I love her and Dan together, and I hope that in both the show and the book they can work it out. Her main fault in the show is allowing the other girls to get to her and then trying to take them down, Blair Waldorf style.
Jenny: I think besides Chuck Jenny is one of the characters that is completely different in the show than she is in the book. In the book she is a lowly freshman with curly brown hair and huge boobs. She also is a more of a social outcast, and spends her time painting not making clothes. She is a sweet innocent girl, and she just wants to have friends and fit in. In the show she is much much different. On the outside she is a blonde thin girl (This season I think she often looks strung out), who enjoys fashion . She also goes to much more extreme measures to be popular. SHe is currently Queen at Constance, and aan overall Bitch in my opinion. She has gone from the sweet innocent girl to a caniving back stabber worse than Blair. She has also recently turned to dealing drugs. In seasons 1 I loved her in the show, but now I much prefer book Jenny.

Rufus: I think Rufus is a key character in both the show and the book. In the book he works with poets, while in the show he is musician. While he is not quite as present in the books, when he is we see that he loves the kids even if he is a little crazy. For the show they spruced him up a bit and hired Matthew Settle to be the "hott" dad. WHile he has his fair share of drama the feelings are still the same, he loves his children.
Eric: I would choose Eric from the show as my favorite. He is just so adorable. In the book he is the older brother, but I think that having him younger in the show works well. I love that they made him gay it makes the character much more dynamic and likeable. I loved when him and Jenny were friends, but now they are enemies I am not quite sure how I feel. In the book I just finished he almost had sex with Blair which was a little awkward, but like I said I love Eric in the show.

Lily: Lily is not really present in the book. I like that they have added her to the show and linked her romantically with Rufus. It adds for more drama, and new twists along the way. I think that her addition to the cast was genius.

Gossip Girl

For my first comparison of books to shows I decided to do gossip girl. I think for this show I will do two separate posts. This week I plan on talking about plot as well as setting, and so on next week I will take on the challenge of comparing characters.

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The first gissip girl book was written in 2002 by Cecily von Ziegesar. The most recent book came out last November and the group has officialy made it to college. There are 13 books out, one that is a prequel. I have read the first 5 books so far. In the gossip girl books the characters act differently than on the television screen. Many of the chracters smoke on a regular basis, some cigarettes others marijuana. While the plot is still in New York many of the key places are different. There are two separate schools Constance Billiards for girls as well as St. Judes for boys. Gossip Girl does not seem quite as menacing in the book. She posts sitings and talks about the goings on but she does not seem to be out to ruin people. She also takes fan mail. The teens also attend functions with their parents quite often.

Gossip Girl the series first aired in 2007. You can now catch it on the CW Monday nights at 9:00 p.m. The show is on its third season and the cast has moved on to college. In high school they were all together instead of in two separate schools. You would not find them smoking on the street corner, but you could easily find them in a fancy club sipping martinis. Now that they are in college the charaters live in Dorms, apartments, and pent houses. There is much more drama on the t.v. show. The characters temd to get into much more trouble, and find themselves relying on eachother to bail them out. On the show Gossip Girl is menacing. She sends out posts to try and turn people on eachother, and she often succeeds. I think that there is also more sex in the television show even though the book is not far behind.


I began watching the show before I read the books, so I like it more. I also think that I like the way the characters are formed in the show. Being able to see them interact is much more interesting. The general principles of the book are showm in the show but much more of it takes place in New York, where in the books they often are on vacation. Next week I will talk abouyt characters which will be much easier!