As You Wish Behind The Scenes

Happy New Years!  What better way to start of this fresh and shiny new year then to finish a brand new book?  How about three books?!?  Yep, I finally actually took my days off to read instead of picking up shifts lol.  So get ready for some ramblings my friends.  Let's start with...As You Wish: Inconceivable Tales from the Making of The Princess Bride by Cary Elwes and Joe Layden.  Since it is more of a non-fiction book the rambling may be a bit different then normal, but let's give it a go shall we?

In essence this is a behind the scenes/memoir of the making, releasing and results of one of the best movies ever The Princess Bride which is based on the book The Princess Bride by William Goldman who also wrote the screenplay.  I love the book, I love the movie, I love Cary Elwes (Westley) so pretty much happiness all the way around.  The book is written from Mr. Elwes point of view and we follow him from the beginning.  We hear about his audition, how nervous he was and how wonderful Rob Reiner  (Director) was/is (we hear this about 1000 times so it must be true :-) )  He moves on to the intense and insane amount of training he and Mandy Patinkin (Inigo Montoya)  had to go through, not only initially, but in between every take during filming to be ready for their epic fencing scene.  It is described as the best in the book so therefore the two were expected to be up to snuff.  We are with him when he meets the beautiful and enigmatic Robin Wright (Buttercup) and the two hit it off in perfect movie chemistry.  Wallace Shawn (Vizzini) apparently is terrified of heights and failing in his role.  Christopher Guest (Count Tyrone) and Chris Sarandon (Prince Humperdink) add there two cent's about playing the villain's in this amazing show.  Billy Crystal (Mad Max) and Carol Kane (Valerie) kept the cast in stitches during their brief days of improvised filming.  I think though it's the stories of Andre the Giant (Fezzik) and his astounding gentleness that will really get to people who read this book.  Through out the filming we learn on how Cary Elwes was injured twice...once because of his own questionable choice of hopping on an ATV, and once when he insisted on having Christopher Guest actually hit him on the head with a sword...not really understanding how heavy it actually was.  Cary tells us about the dinners that they all shared in each others rooms, and even more about how great Rob was.  We get stories from on set, especially the stunts required for the Fire Swamp scenes.  All of this is supplemented with little blurbs from other cast and crew members tucked in through out the book.  The book ends as most of the casts gets together for the 25th anniversary amazed and thrilled at how much a part of peoples life their movie has become.

World Building - Obviously this is non-fiction, so what we are looking at is how well the author conveyed his environment, and our friend did a great job at that.  At any given time I could tell where and even when we were in the process of the film.  I think sometimes it is harder to convey a real place then an imaginary one because you can't take near as many liberties with your descriptions.

Story - It was pretty cool to see a person who was pretty much in almost every scene of the movie tell us what actually went on.  Mr. Ewles gave us all of it from audition through the 25th anniversary so no time was left out.  That being said I felt that there was a lot of repetitiveness overall and that things were reiterated ad nausea.  This was reinforced by the blurbs of the others that should have added to the story, but instead felt like a borderline word for word repetition of what the author had already said.

Character - Mr. Ewles gave us a lot of insight into the crew and cast of the film.  I felt like I got to know the people behind one of my favorite films better.  Billy Crystals parts were hilarious and made me love him even more.  I have always heard stories of Andre's gentleness, but getting to know his history and his struggles added even more of a glow to this guy.  The only real thing I found lacking was the effusive praise that went on in the book.  Everybody loved everybody so much, no body irritated each other, everybody was perfect...I understand that this was really not a rowdy bunch and that they all behaves for the most part...but the over the top continual and repetitive love fest got a little old.

Editing - The flow of the book was really good.  You always knew where in the process you were so as far as that went good editing.  The tone as I've mentioned (and am now of danger of being guilty of myself) was just so repetitive.  You would feel like the story was about to move on and then BAM we were once again reiterating the wonderfulness of everybody.  I feel like the editor (or maybe the ghost writer) should have found a way to mix it up a little.

The Gift - I know I have mentioned it in a previous post...but I've got to again mention the coolness of how I got this book.  My amazing Mamma took months and I'm sure no small amount of money to obtain a copy that was signed by the Dread Pirate Roberts/Westley/Cary Elwes himself.  This alone would have made it pretty awesome.  The fact that this is a) a book about b) one of my favorite movie that is c) based on one of my favorite books and d) is signed by an actor I adore who e) wrote said book in point a.  So pretty much the worlds most perfect gift.

Book/Movie - Aside from getting some insight into the making of the film...this book made me crave a rewatch of the movie and a reread of the original book.  Upon watching the movie again, it was cool to see some of the secrets that were revealed in the memoir.  You can bet I paid special attention to the fight scenes.  I also need to reread the book.  Hearing about the passion of the author when it comes to what he considers his favorite work...in let's face it, is a hugely accomplished body of work, makes me eager to enjoy it with a new perspective.

Lovefest - Ok Ok Ok, I know I just spent half this rambling complaining about the repetitive love fest...but on a totally different note...it's kinda cool to know that the cast and crew seemed to genuinely enjoy the experience.  You watch movies like this and hope that everything about it was magical, and to find out that it seems like it actually was...well it kind of gets me right in the feels.

Overall Impression - The absolutely awesome amazing way I obtained this book will always give it a very special place in my heart and on my bookshelf.  That being said...I would have loved it even more if it was a bit better written/edited.  Without hesitation I recommend it to ANYBODY who loves the movie (so pretty much any real human with any sort of heart) and can't get enough.  I give it 10 out of 10 on a nostalgia Cliffs of Insanity Scale and a 6 out of 10 on rereadability R.O.U.S. scale.  Happy Reading Everybody!

It's Like They Know Me!

Hello All, I hope everybody had a great whatever they choose to celebrate (or not) this season.  I was as always spoiled rotten.  Seriously folks my family and friends know me so well it's not even funny.  This year's haul included my Kindle Fire from the Hubbin so I can not only read any book at any time, but it is so high tech and usable I can actually write a lot of my posts on it  YAY HUBBIN!  Mammasan went WAAAAAAAAY above and beyond and got me the ultimate combo gift.  It is the book  As You Wish: Inconceivable Tales from the Making of The Princess Bride  by Cary Elwes...who I may have wanted to marry since I first saw the movie The Princess Bride.  To make it even more epic...she some how managed to have it signed by the Dread Pirate Roberts himself, Mr. Cary Elwes!!!!!  A small freak out may have commenced upon opening of said gift.  My baby sis of course found the best collection of books that not are only readable, but look amazing on my bookshelf.  I got a bunch of other cool stuff too...'cause you know...spoiled, including a Game of Thrones inspired card and an epic hand drawn dinosaur that goes RAWR...'cause we all know that is exactly what they say...no screeching here lol.  Anyways  I am looking forward to some quality reading time so if I go MIA I'm probably curled up in my reading chair with a huge stack of books.  Happy Reading Everybody!

Painting Update

Look what my insanely talented Mamma is doing for my birthday!!!!

So awesome!!!! Can't wait to see it finished...have I mentioned how much I LOVE my book nook!  Happy Reading Everybody!

Mamma And The Bookstore

MY MAMMA IS HERE!!!!!!  Sorry I'm a wee bit excited.  This is the woman who taught me to read and then has continually encouraged my reading through out my whole life.  Since my Mamma now lives in the middle of nowhere Montana...no seriously it is about as small town as it gets...she rarely gets the pleasure of just hanging out in a bookstore.

 So today we went, gathered up a bunch of books, got some coffee and proceeded to read, talk, read, recommend books to each other, read and then buy books to read when we got home.  With the perfect fall weather and no real schedule to follow, it was a couple hours of blissful heaven.  Happy Reading Everybody!

Bookdragon

We all know I LOVE reading  and we all know I LOVE dragons so....

Thanks Mamma for finding this gem.

Happy Reading Everybody!

Seriously Useless...(Not Really)

So I just asked my Mamma for a post topic and she had nothing...so you get this instead.

Because that is just the mood I'm in.  Happy Reading Everybody!

Hidden Treausres

As if books are not awesome enough, check this stuff out.

I want a whole bookshelf full of these!!!!!  I wonder if I can get Mamma to learn to do this for me.

Mamma Shorts

My Mamma is here for a visit YIPEEEE!!!! We immediatly set about talking on one of our favorite subjects. Books.  This time though we got into an even better conversation.  Seems we have both been having some really lucid dreams that feel almost like stories.  So we poured a couple of Captain and Cokes and proceeded to discuss turning our dreams into short stories.

The result is a notebook full of short story idea's and a couple of slightly tipsy girls.  I'm am totally stoked for the rest of her trip which includes a day at the bookstore and at least one day nothing but coffee and reading.  Happy Reading Everybody!

So Many Children

Happy Mothers Day (a couple days early).  One of the things I remember growing up is when my Mamma would take the four of us out, everybody would ask how many were hers.  The look on their faces when she claimed all four of us was priceless.  Now to be fair my Mamma has always looked MUCH younger then she actually is...and in all honesty acts like one of the kids more often then not.  That paired with the fact that she had four children in an age where anything over two was considered a lot was always good for a conversation starter.  Here are some of my favorite books about other mamma's with large families.

All-of-a-Kind-Family

This was a favorite in our house growing up.  This collection of stories about a family with five girls and a patient mother struck home with three out of four of us kids.

Mrs. Purdy's Children

This hard to find book about a family that just keeps adding children was one I remember from my childhood days.  I think every time my Mamma had another kid she got the same kind of comments as this Mother of the Year.

Ten Kids, No Pets

A huge fan of the Babysitters Club series, this book by the same author features a large family who's kids just want a pet.  I remember before we got our dog, using my siblings as pets to show my parents I could take care of one.

Little Women

The four girls plus their neighbor who is more of an adopted brother reminds me very much of my own family.  This is a family full of imagination and spunk and always in some sort of mostly harmless trouble...just like mine.

The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe

This is the very first book that I personally identified with, and the fact that it featured four sibling probably had a lot to do with it.  To this day all four of us remember casting ourselves in the roles (gender swapping Edmund) and making up our own Narnian adventures.

I love love love being part of a large family.  I love that we all read and share our passion of books.  We can all thank our Mamma for her tireless efforts to instill a love of reading in all of us, of constantly dragging us to the library, for instituting reading time, and now that we are all grown up having regular bookshop coffee time and a suitcase full of books when she comes to visit.  I love you so much Mamma and from your big giant family WE LOVE YOU!  Happy Reading Everybody!

In Good Book Form

Getting back from my trip this week and unpacking all of the spoily goodness that it entailed, I thought I would quickly show you one of my favoritist gifts I got. (yes I know I am making up words today)  My Mamma found somebody who shapes old books into letters and shapes and this is what I got

Sorry for the crappy picture, but Mamma is the photographer, I'm just the reader :-)  Anyways I thought these were pretty cool (the K is for my nickname, the V is for the Hubbin).  It's a great way to get a book and some decor in the same form.  She got some great ones for my siblings too...but I didn't get pics of those :-(  Oh well, I'm sure you smart people can probably find them on your own.  Happy Reading Everybody!

On Solid Ground Again

I made it home finally!  I have a 102 degree temp, an ear infection, and I miss my boys like crazy, but I am home!  I had a great trip filled with laughing, playing, and reading.  Here are some of the highlights of my Chicago trip.

Lil G is reading now!!!!  I am a super super proud aunt.  I got to snuggle with him while he read to me from his level 5 book.  He could also read some of the basic words from the aquarium signs, which showed him an actual application of his reading skills, which made him very excited and me want to cry with proud happiness.

Blackbeard

L Bub is also very into books, any time a grown up sits down for any reason he runs to his book shelf, grabs a book and sits on your lap all expectant.  He can point out pictures knows characters.  It's really cool to see a kid so young, so into books.

Curious George

The biggest part was our trip to one of my favorite places in the world, the Shedd Aquarium!  I was trying to temper my expectations of a 2 and 6 year old's reactions.  I figured the older one would have fun for a while, and the younger one would not understand what was going on, but I was pleasantly surprised when both boys were over the moon excited the whole time.  Lil G (6) was able to read and learn about the fish and animals and would gently lead his little brother around by the hand.  L Bub is apparently a fan of fish and would sit on the floor and wouldn't leave until he had poinred out EVERY fish in EVERY tank :-)  We hit the gift shop in the end for some toys and books, which made me the favorite, but the whole experience was just awesome.

National Geographic Little Kids First Big Book of the Ocean

My last day with the boys was marked by reading, playing, egg dying and the aquisition of even more books from Nana (my Mamma).  It was a lot of fun to spoil the boys, and being a bit spoiled by Mamma myself was very cool.

Shedd Aquarium

I love visiting with my family, I love traveling, I love watching the little boys grow up and explore their world, I love reading with them to expand their horizons and I can't wait to do it all again.  Happy Reading Everybody! (All the books I put in the blog are ones we got on this trip)

Book Chick

Happy Happy Happy Birthday and eternal reading to my Mammasan!

Chicken Page Print

Happy Reading Everybody!

Confession

Ok folks, I have a confession to make.  Sometimes when I've have a really long shift and I am just to tired to move...I steal post idea's from my Mamma. Like this super awesome cool picture.

Yep, any time I'm stuck I go running to my Mamma, who has a whole stash of perfect SBWG idea's that totally sum up me.  On the plus side she knows I do this and she is a willing accomplice, I just thought it was time to come clean and share the credit...except for the really cool posts, those are all me :-)  Ok time for bed.  Happy Reading Everybody!

Catching Up

Hello All and welcome to my BIRTHDAY MONTH!  The month where the whole world does what I say, sends me books and leaves me alone so I can read my books.  Of course there is more to life then my birthday (or so they tell me) so this post is all about catching up so we can start our month of awesome!  I made it back from my lil sis's wedding in one piece.  I had a great time with my whole entire family and had some great times with my nephews.  Baby L is obsessed with books and melted his aunties book worm heart when he started kissing every page that we read.  Me and Lil G agreed to start reading Peter Pan over Skype, which is fitting because I call him my little Peter Pan.  I also got a great book related gift from my Mamma, which I will show off once I have it installed.  I finished a couple of books on my way back and realized when I got home that my To Be Rambled pile is getting as tall as my To Be Read pile so get ready for some of the following rambles.

Codex Born

Code Name Verity

The Importance of Being Earnest

Tuesdays at the Castle

The Fairy Godmother

Elemental Magic

Along with attempting to get some of these ramblings done, we of course have to move on to our October spooky reading.  This year I think I am mostly gonna focus on spooky stories, mostly in a short story form, so keep an eye out for those interspersed through out the next month.  Also if you have any good suggestions for some good old fashioned ghost stories, send them right over.  Ok I'm gonna go get some of this done before I start my next set of 14 hour shifts, wish me luck!

Family Festivities

I'm off to see the family!!!! Lil sis is getting married to the wonderful man who is also an awesome daddy to their kiddo's Lil G and Baby L.  The whole family is gonna be there which means madness, mayhem and all kinds of great memories.  This also means a ROAD TRIP, which means READING TIME!  WHOOOHOOOO! Not going to do my normal list 'cause I have absolutley no idea what I'm bringing with me this time.

 I do know however that I am bringing some Curious George for Baby L and a whole bunch of super hero books for Lil G.  I am excited to get to read with my little guys, be part of my Lil sis's big day, and talk books with my Mamma, Lil sis and Baby sis!  Posting will be a bit spotty as I will be gone and then when I get back, I head rigth back into a zillion hour work week, but I will do my best to keep on top of things.  Happy Reading Everybody!

Friends And Family And Books

Had the best month ever when it comes to books.  Not only did I finish up a couple of absolutely amazingly magical books (get ready for some super rambly rambles) but I got to talk about them with some of my favorite peoples.  Of course you all got stuck reading my excited post on how much fun I had talking books with baby sis, so there was that.  Last week one of my fellow EMT's from the firehouse stopped by and we went through my book shelves book by book and discussed them all...even the Hubbin's books.  She ended up going home with a bunch of my books which makes me excited to discuss them when she is finished (hurry up, I know you have nothing better to do then read non school books :-) )  Hubbin of course is always up for a book discussion and this week we talked about them in relation to the more logical sciences and progress (Think H.G. Wells and Jules Verne).  To top of this month of literary awesomeness I just spent three hours Skyping my Mamma, comparing books, suggesting books, and getting book recommendations.  I love how blessed I am when it comes to people to talk, discuss, suggest, get idea's and so many other things related to my book loves.  Thanks to everybody and my readers (some of which are the same people :-) )  who let me go on and on about my literary love.  Happy Reading Everybody

Book Garden

Hello All!  Mother's Day is just around the corner and since many of my memories of my Mamma include working in her numerous gardens, here are some idea's to add a literary twist to you garden.

Book Planters

A unique way to use old books

Book Bricks

These bricks add a unique twist to your garden

Literary Signpost

This DIY signpost is perfect for any literary garden

Alice In Wonderland Garden statues

These statues bring a bit of whimsy to the garden

Pond Book Nook

Of course no garden is complete without a perfect place to read!

Now everybody get out there and help your mothers in their garden, or kitchen, or studio or wherever it is these amazing ladies need us :-)  Happy Mothers Day to the bestest Mamma ever!

Barnsie Treat

One of the best things about my Mamma coming to visit is the amount of time we get to spend in Barnes and Nobles.  She lives in a teeny tiny town of 1000 in White Sulfur Springs MT and does not get to see the inside of a book store very often (thank God for the internet!).  So when she comes to visit I like to try and block off at least a couple of hours for her to spend there.  Of course being the wonderful daughter that I am I couldn't possibly let her sit there alone, nope I am a good daughter and sat with her the whole three hours :-).

 We love to show each other books, talk about books, argue about books, laugh about books, reminisce about books and then realize we have been doing this for three hours, panic because we are supposed to be somewhere and then continue to pile up our to buy stack on the way to the register.  Ah memories being made.  Needless to say I had a great time with my coffee, my books and my Mamma yesterday :-)
Where does your poor rural relative like to go when they come visit?  If you are the poor rural relative, where do you like to go visit?  Why would anybody ever live somewhere that far from a bookstore?!?

Reading...It All Started With My Mamma

Hello all,  we have a special guest today in the form the amazing, one of a kind, weird and wonderful Mamma!  Today I you get to read an exclusive interview about how my Mamma became a book lover and passed that love on to me and the rest of her children.  So here we go.

Q: What time did you get up this morning?
A: 4:03 am
Q: And what were you doing up at 4:03 am?
A. I just needed a Coke really bad so I could finish my book
(side note:  See I'm not the only crazy person in this family!!)
Q: What are you reading right now?
A:  The Girl Who Came Home, by Hazel Gaynor
Q:Do you like it?
A:Yes, it's a novel about love stories on the Titanic
(side note:  She is a hopeless romantic
Q. When did you first learn to read
A:  I remember Dick and Jane in first grade with Ms. Lewis, think of the word pinched and that is Ms. Lewis.
Q:  Did you love at first page?  Or did it grow on you?
A.  I just remember my favorite day was library day, but I do remember let's get past this simple Dick and Jane stuff, lets go!
Q.  Why did love reading so much
A. I lived in a rural area where my basic escape from chores, siblings (she had 7) and loneliness was books...now mind you we didn't have money for books so during the school time no problem, but the summer time was like the Dust Bowl Drought of '32!  Until this lovely librarian invited me to come every Wednesday and she met me in the dark empty school library and let me check out a weeks worth of books.
Q. Aw that is awesome!  What was your favorite kind of book growing up.
A. Travel books, stories of people of foreign countries.  In fact I would get so into them that I would get in trouble in school because I would tell them that is where I went on summer vacation.
Q. What do you like to read now?
A.  I try to mix it between biographies and junk fantasy.  I also have a terrible habit of reading a book right before the movie comes out and then hating the movie
(side note. Glad I come by that honestly)
Q.  Do you remember teaching me how to read?
A.  Teaching or allowing you how to do what you knew already?  I knew you were ready to read when you would read me words from the newspaper...you were four.  So we made flashcards...and by the next day the flashcards were useless because you were on to books.\
Q. Do you remember how you punished me after I learned to read?
A.  I would send you to your room to sit on my bed...which you would have gleefully done except I removed every single book from your room
(side note.  This was a fate worse then death before I learned to hide books...)
Q. Now that you have grandkids...who you like more then your own children, how important is it to teach this next techno driven generation how to read and more importantly how to love reading?
A.  Yes I did by my grandchild an ipad...but I have bought him tons of books and we lay in bed at night and read them over and over until he starts telling me the stories back, and that is how I know he is going to be a book lover...just one more Nana he says, just one more.
Q. How do you feel about this blog?  Do you actually read it?
A.  I read it all the time, but I don't comment all the time because I don't want people to think I'm THAT mother :-)  I have actually read books you have recommended from this site.

And that my friends is a little glimpse into how Super Bookworm Girl came to be.  I am so glad that she is here and that she imparted her love of books to me.  I am glad that we can discuss books and squeal like little girls over our shared love.  Now we are off to get some coffee and an adventure of our own...who knows maybe we will write a book about it some day.

I Heart Books (And My Mamma)

It is a glorious day today, the sun is shining, the temps are rising, I totally was up all night outside on one of the longest coldest calls ever, I have had no sleep, and best of all it is my Mamma's birthday.  That is right folks today is the day that one of the most amazing people entered into the world and made it a much better place.  For her birthday she likes to collect hearts from everybody she knows so here are my contributions...in book form of course.

16th Century Denmark Heart Book

15th Century Book of Hours (French)

 CHANSONNIER of JEAN de MONTCHENU 15th Century 

Small Prayer Book from the 1580's

Because for some reason when I think of my Mamma I think of mustaches...and no she does not have one, she is drop dead gorgeous...not that mustaches are not attractive...

I hope you have a Happy Birthday Mamma, thanks for teaching me not only how to read, but to love each and every word I come across.  My life has been much richer, happier, and nerdy(in a good way) because of you.  LOVE YOU!