Nintendo Book Tag

Its Monday! And you know what! Things are looking great. This weekend resolved a ton of stuff on my mind. I know that on Friday, I was just talking about it. However, this comes with its own stuff which I’ll talk about in a separate post soon, maybe I’ll vlog it..who knows!

Either way, we’re changing things up. Because of NaNoWriMo, I subscribe to the WordNerds Youtube Channel. Back in August, they did  for their Vloggers’ Choice segment a Nintendo Book Tag! This is their video HERE and the original of this tag is from Sam’s Nonsense HERE. I haven’t done any Tags in a long time but seeing as I’ve been really in the gaming thing lately, I feel inspired to give this a go. However, we are doing a fun post on it for Game Warp with an actual gaming twist.  Here, I’m going to try my luck as intended for books. Some challenging stuff here but let’s give it a go!

Nintendo Book Tag

• NES: A Classic Book You Want To Read

I’m not one that loves war stuff but The Art of War is a book I’ve always wanted to read about strategy. What makes The Art of War very impressive is that his strategies apply to everyday life and not just war. It applies to business and the concepts behind it draw many parallels to the present. Chinese people love to toss around the really popular strategy in everyday life so I’ve always learned some stuff here and there but I feel its also enriching to embrace the works of my own tradition. With that said, when I read this want to read Classic…it wasn’t famous Western works that popped in my head but a bunch of Classic Chinese works that I’ve never found time to read, mostly because I’m born in Canada so while I can read Chinese, its an incredibly slow process, especially with traditional Chinese writing style.

• Super Nintendo (SNES): A Sequel You Liked More Than The First Book

Maybe I’m cheating a little here. Not if they mean like sequel as in like the immediate second novel. Regardless, I love The Prisoner of Azkaban. Its one of my fave sequels and one that I love a ton in the Harry Potter series and definitely much more than Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone. Its just incredibly magical and has this darkness that keeps it really fun. I still remember a lot of it and I haven’t went back to read the Harry Potter in many, many year (although hopefully one day).

• Nintendo 64: A Book that Revolutionalizes the Way You Look at the World

Maybe it seems like an odd choice but I sometimes read non-fiction books, albeit rare, and this one has by far been one of those very inspiring ones. I read this one as one of the earlier reviews in the earlier days of the blog. You can find the (crappy) review HERE.

Quiet is a really fantastic book that looks at the world from analysing the power of being an introvert. I’ve been an introvert all my life and because of that, my parents have always felt that it’ll make me less competent and always found ways to try to make me more sociable and outgoing. I guess feeling that you are less makes you less confident but Quiet takes a nice reasoning behind the introvert and even those who are introverts but are pseudo-extroverts. Anyways, it changed my view and made me see the value of being an introvert.

• Game Cube: A Popular Book that Did Not Go Over Well with You

Sigh…What do I say to all you John Green fans? He’s just not my type of writer. The Fault of Our Stars is very quotable but that doesn’t make it a great book. My opinion and you know what this book’s plot is? Its a typical Korean drama series. You probably can find a ton of them on Netflix now. Its the classic Korean drama formula that all got brought to light with Autumn in My Heart. Not saying that its bad but its using the same tricks. You can find the review HERE. In this review, you will see that there was an update and my original 3.5 wa a 4 (since Goodreads doesn’t do half stars) but its really somewhere nicking a 3 and it keeps dropping the more I think about it, so I’ll stop. I probably should do an updated review on why.

• Wii: A New Favorite

The Illuminae Files is officially my new favorite series in general. I burned through  Illuminae and then picked up full price Gemina and then read through that one in a hurry. You can find the review for Illuminae HERE and Gemina HERE. This series really take a beautiful turn and uses reading to a third person point of view and gives us wonderful twists and characters and development and mystery, action. Its a gripping sci-fi novel and its a must-read.

• Nintendo Power: Your Favorite Graphic Novel Series (or other series you want to read)

I’ve only read the first book in this Fables series but it was incredibly awesome. You can find the review HERE.

If you are talking about series, I have been quite into the renewed Archie ones. You can read the first volume review HERE.

• Super Mario: A Character You Would Like to Squish Like a Goomba

Typical that John Green makes it twice on my tag, right? My choice of character is Margo Roth Spiegelman. I really didn’t like Paper Towns. Its incredibly boring and what I hate most is the pointless of this main character who just seems really unlikable and rather manipulative. I remember reading this book and thinking that if this book ended the way I was expecting it would (and it did), that I’d hate this character even more. So yeah…I’m not here to give spoilers so I won’t. There are characters, I think further and see their mental journey and that they were meant to be that way, but Margo Roth Spiegelman was just boring and pointless. Perhaps this one meant for a villain character that I wanted to squish, but this is my choice.

If it was a character that I’d like to squish like Goomba (because of his villainous ways), I’d pick the I Am Number Four series villain, Setrakus Ra.

• Zelda: A New Fantasy Book that You Would Consider a New Modern Classic

I honestly have no idea how many people know about The Night Circus. I read this one before the book reviews started here however, I did read this because The Night Circus was born from a NaNoWriMo project. Its honestly a fantastic little fantasy book about magicians and circuses and rivalry and the way destiny messes with these two young magicians who are in love. Its really a great story and a page-turner. If you haven’t read it and love fantasy, this one comes highly recommended on my list.

• Samus Aran: Your Favorite Sci-fi Book (or sci-fi book you want to read)

Since I’ve already talk about Illuminae which is very sci-fi which is one of my faves, I can’t wait to read Obsidio, the next book in The Illuminae Files series however it only releases in March 2018. For something that has already been released. If you have been following here, I’ve professed my love for the I am Number Four series over and over again. The entire book series has been very strong. It has some variation but overall, they are really solid. The series has all released as of last year but being the procrastinator that I am, I’m still desperately waiting to pick up the last 2 books in the series, The Fate of Ten and United as One.

• Pokemon: Book Editions That You Want to Collect

Currently, I have Calvin and Hobbes and Something Under the Bed is Drooling but I want to get all of these beautiful comics. They always are the reason why I sit down and take a break from cleaning the bookcase because I spot them and get caught up. The memories and the friendships and just Calvin and Hobbes are fabulous and fun.

• Donkey Kong: A Book with Original Characters

I feel that nothing is quite as charming as reading the short 80 or so pages of The Little Prince. It has a little prince from a faraway asteroid and a talking flower. He journeys to meet a stranded aviator. He meets these interesting characters and there is just so much to learn about this book. The Little Prince is a special character and sees through many things. He’s deep and interesting.

• Nintendo Fandom: Favorite Nintendo game(s) or game you really want

While Nintendo Switch has just been released and there are some cool titles already out, my heart is still set on getting together some money to pick up a Nintendo 3DS so that I can play these titles. My favorite gaming franchise is Professor Layton and Phoenix Wright and I still have two games to catch up with the Ace Attorney franchise and then they got together and did a game, which was the turning point of when I decided I needed a 3DS eventually (and that was back in 2012). Its still on my mind every single day.

That’s it for this Nintendo Book Tag!
Join in if you’d like in your own post or in the comments below!
Even if you aren’t a gamer, these categories are still fun to think about. 
Happy Monday everyone! 

Book Review: The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupery

Oscars is finally over and we’re back to somewhat normalcy here.  Ultimate 80s Blogathon still has the priority for the next two weeks however I’ll be catching up on all those book reviews I’ve been meaning to post. Trust me, for someone who should be slowing down on reading and focusing on other stuff, it had the opposite effect and I’m actually reading more. Anyways, that’s just me.

However, The Little Prince was an impulsive read because I wanted to remember the book and just whether I felt the same magic I did when I was a child reading it or being read to.  The afternoon before we headed to the theatres to check out the movie, The Little Prince, I took an hour out and did just that. The cover I’m using here is not the version I used because mine is a really old one that one of my mom’s pen pals sent to her decades ago but it looks similar.

Let’s check out this rather short book (86 pages and that’s including pictures)!

The Little Prince
by: Antoine de Saint-Expury

Moral allegory and spiritual autobiography, The Little Prince is the most translated book in the French language. With a timeless charm it tells the story of a little boy who leaves the safety of his own tiny planet to travel the universe, learning the vagaries of adult behaviour through a series of extraordinary encounters. His personal odyssey culminates in a voyage to Earth and further adventures.-Goodreads

The Little Prince is technically a book for children but I wonder if I ever actually got the idea of what it meant. I sometimes even wonder if I read the book to the end instead of just in parts.  Reading it through as an adult is a rather awakening experience.   As a blogger, I live in a world of imagination and creativity.  Everyone in the blogasphere is creative in their own way.  We are pretty much writers and reviewers and we express ourselves every time we publish a post.  A part of us is in another world of dreams and imagination.  From experience a lot of us appreciate moviemakers or writers that are able to put a twist to whatever story.  The Little Prince is the epitome of creativity and imagination.  He embodies the idea of never growing up and staying naive but absorbing what the world has done through the eyes of a child and then we are contrasted with the views of The Aviator who is an adult and never really quite understood the adults and their doings for matters of consequence, as he puts it beautifully. The Little Prince is a journey of realization that our inner child is a part of us that many have forgotten but always resides there to help me remember the simpler things.

Its hard to talk about The Little Prince because most of it is felt.  Its lessons that The Little Prince and The Aviator picks up as the story goes along.  The Little Prince teaches us to see between the lines and that there is hope in a lot of nothing (like the hope in the desert is finding the well). At the same time, he teaches its younger audience the value of patience that its what builds friendships and what it is to “tame” someone and makes them important and unique in our lives. It teaches us that actions are far more important than words.  Its also teaches us that seeing past the simple minute things also means that you see more than others do. It shows us that the world is full of flawed people, they gain unpleasant traits like conceit, foolishness, greed, etc. however, they also have their stories and purposes. And most of all, there are obstacles in all our paths and sacrifices we must make.  It gets a little heavy for a children’s book but it also works well for both adults and children relatively well as each will pull something different from it.

The Little Prince doesn’t really need to be said anymore.  I only remembered being mesmerized by The Little Prince or what little knowledge I got from the book when I was a little girl.  Reading it again was a refreshing feeling.  It is a bittersweet book in many ways but if you think about it a little harder, maybe the author’s trying to tell you that there are two sides of any situation.  We can choose to embrace our inner child, believe in the more positive way to look at things and just have hope that there is a better tomorrow.  I might be stretching it too far but we all interpret books in our ways based on our own experiences.  That is what makes this so fantastic.  The Little Prince is just a beautiful book that really surpasses any test of time.

Have you read The Little Prince? 

The Little Prince (2015)

Have you ever read The Little Prince? I remember it being one of the first books my mom gave me when I was young.  Its been so many years that I haven’t read it.  From the moment I saw the trailer of The Little Prince, I just fell in love with it and it shot up my list of to-see films.  The problem was that The Little Prince didn’t have a set date as to when it was hitting theatres in the Montreal area.  By accident, I was checking out hours for Pride and Prejudice and Zombies and it had hit theatres just this past Friday.  Imagine the joy I had! Hello, movie theatre and the best part is my husband volunteered to go with me even if its not really something he knows anything about.  Right before we went to the theatres, I even found time to read the book also! On that note, you should be expecting a review of that soon.

Let’s check it out! 🙂

The Little Prince (2015)

Director: Mark Osborne

Voice Cast: Jeff Bridges, Mackenzie Foy, Rachel McAdams, Marion Cotillard, Riley Osborne, James Franco, Paul Rudd, Benicio Del Toro, Ricky Gervais, Paul Giamatti

A little girl lives in a very grown-up world with her mother, who tries to make sure she’s prepared for it. Her neighbor, The Aviator, introduces the girl to an extraordinary world where anything is possible, the world of The Little Prince. – IMDB

I don’t think any story has ever captured youth and being a child like The Little Prince.  The novel, I mean.  I guess its why I was a little nervous about how this would turn out.  Reading the novel before I went to see this movie was a good move though.  It wasn’t necessary to understand the story at all but it does justify the need for having a side story of the Little Girl and her meeting The Aviator next door who tells her the story.  Some of the art was taken from the book which helps us connect the stories.  The best part of The Little Prince has to go to using CGI for the modern day story and The Little Prince’s story of his travels was done with stop motion animation. I loved the contrast of that because it gives it a storybook feeling for the recounting of the story.  It was a lovely touch.

Before we talk about the next point, go back up to the voice cast names up there. The talent embedded in this movie is amazing.  Marion Cotillard played The Rose and her elegant voice matches that role completely.  Then we have The Fox who was James Franco.  I feel like Jeff Bridges hasn’t been in any commendable live-action movies in a while but his voice for The Aviator was just fantastic.  As was the voices for young actors doing The Little Prince, Riley Osborne and The Little Girl  by Mackenzie Foy.

Another aspect that was done really well for The Little Prince was the music.  It was beautiful from the score to the soundtrack. My favorite has to be this one called Equation.  I watched it in English so it had the English version but I love this French one even more!

Light-hearted, soft, warm, sweet, cute.  These are all terms I’d associate with The Little Prince.  It knows when to tug at our heartstrings also with the little side story regardless of its The Little Prince or the parallel of The Little Girl finding her youth when her mom has truly been raising her to look into the future as a grown-up before she’s even experienced enjoyed being a child. The Little Girl really finds herself with the story of The Little Prince and spending time with The Aviator.  Their friendship together is really a sweet one and grows in a beautiful way.  It uses gentle hints at the more dreary things that as an adult we can understand.  The Little Prince plays around a little with the original though by inserting their own little adventure of The Little Girl and The Aviator and extends to her going out to find The Little Prince.  I won’t expand on what happens after there as to keep it fresh.  I’m a little hesitant on how that part is contributing to the story itself but it did hold its message well enough.  I’m not sure if it keeps the subtle message that the novel The Little Prince was trying to say and for that, I’m not exactly sure die hard fans of the book might like this change, but while I question that decision, it didn’t stop me from fully falling in love with the characters and catch myself tearing up at certain parts. I’m not one to nitpick on making adaptations exactly like their source material and for that, I could enjoy this one quite a bit.  It adds something extra while telling the beautiful story of The Little Prince that we are familiar with.

Overall, The Little Prince is a beautiful animation.  It handles the source material well and adds something different to help us resonate the message it holds.  With a masterful mix of computer graphics and stop motion animation, it brings a new touch. The voice cast is stellar and brings life to each of its character.  The unexpected friendship between The Little Girl and The Aviator is a special one that connects well. At the same time, it never makes us forget about the heart and imagination of being a child.  While I feel that the last segment felt a little weird and the part where maybe it might make some fans of the book hesitate to enjoy this movie as much as others, it did its best to expand upon the source material in their own way and for that I enjoyed the heart behind it. The Little Prince is definitely worth a watch if you enjoy beautiful animation and soundtracks mixed with an imaginative story.

Have you seen The Little Prince? Did you ever read the novel? What are your thoughts on it?