The Best Book to Movie Adaptions

What could be better than the perfect book? How about the perfect book-to-movie? Ok, we all know there are few, if any, perfect movies that have been made from books, but we decided that we needed to discuss which ones are our favorites.

My good friends, Ali and Alix, went live to discuss ALL THE THINGS about our favorite book-to-movie adaptations. They also talk about the WORST ones (**Mortal Instruments, cough, cough**).  Some of the movies discussed are “Me Before You”, “Wonder”, “The Fault in Our Stars”, “Divergent”, “Beautiful Creatures”, and “The Hunger Games”.

I have to agree with Alix on “Pride and Prejudice”. The movie is still one of my favorites (I love the Colin Firth version). What are your favorite or worst book-to-movie adaptations? Do you agree with Ali and Alix?

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Books=Love

XoXo,

Robin

About the Author: Robin M. King is the author of three young adult novels (Remembrandt Series), devourer of books, and lover of brownie batter.

DIY: How to Turn a Tapestry into a Blanket

I love tapestries. They are fun to hang on walls and to use as curtains or tablecloths, but I was so excited when Debra from LitJoy Crate suggested that we turn the tapestry from LitJoy's Year 4 Magical Crate into a blanket!

Isn’t this tapestry gorgeous? I love the detail of Hogwarts in the background. With a sewing machine and a few supplies, including batting, thread, and fabric to back it, you can do it too! Debra finished hers in under an hour (even with a few mistakes on the way, which I know she did on purpose, just for us novices).

If you loved this tutorial, you have to check out the Debra’s blog at Housewife Eclectic. She has a tons of recipes and tutorials, many of which are Harry Potter-inspired because she’s a Potterhead, like many of us!

If you’d like to find out more about LitJoy's Magical Edition Crates, follow them on instragram @litjoycrate! You can also check out their Harry Potter-inspired products in their Magical Collection.

The Best Books for Middle Graders (ages 8-13 years old)

One of the best things about being surrounded by mom bosses is that I have great “product testers” for books and products. Debra at LitJoy Crate helps choose the middle grade books (books for ages 8-13 yeard old) and she has a middle grader so it was natural to do an unboxing with her daughter, Sofie! They talk about some of the favorite middle-grade books while they unbox the All Systems Go! Middle Grade Crate, which they still have in their shop.

Some of the book suggestions they give for kids in 3rd to 7th grade are:

• Elementals: Ice Wolves by Amie Kaufman (we still have an awesome crate that includes this book!)
• The Magic Misfits by Neil Patrick Harris
• Because of Winn Dixie by Kate DiCamillo
• Kingdom Keepers by Ridley Pearson
• The Lightning Thief (Percy Jackson and the Olympians, Book 1) by Rick Riordan
• Tuesdays at the Castle by Jessica Day George
• The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate
• Diary of a Whimpy Kids by Jeff Kinney
• Fablehaven by Brandon Mull
• Dealing with Dragons by Patricia C. Wrede

You can watch their video below to get book suggestions as a well as some sneak peeks for our next Middle Grade Crate (which is personally my favorite).

What are some of your favorite middle grade books? I’d love to know your favorite authors as I continue to bring you middle grade recommendations every year. 

Also, if you missed our post last month, we have more middle grade book suggestions in our post LitJoy Love: The Best Fantasy Books for Middle Graders.

Books=Love

XoXo,

Robin

About the Author: Robin M. King is the author of three young adult novels (Remembrandt Series), devourer of books, and lover of brownie batter.

The Best Book Club Books

Book clubs are our favorite kind of clubs. We might be a little bit partial because co-owners Alix and Kelly met because of Delicious Reads, our crazy fun book club we have been a part of in Utah.

We are going on twelve years now! I joined the club soon after it started. Kelly was really the one who got the whole ball rolling and she has tons of tips on how to form your own club here. Choosing books has changed over time, but right now we pick books for the whole next year in October of the previous year by creating a Good Reads list and then letting members add books they want to read and vote on them. During our November Book Club Retreat (yes, we have a slumber party with books), everyone can come and give more suggestions and then we finalize the list. To keep our book club well-rounded, we always choose books from several different genres including a classic, a young adult, a middle grade, an adult, a fantasy, a biography, a historical fiction, a new release, a self-help, and more. Because we all love young adult, we will sometimes do a few in that genre, as well as in the adult or fantasy too. It’s fun to get outside the box and read something different. We tend to go all out for our book clubs, but our discussions are the best part!

In this LitJoy Live, Kelly and Alix talk about some of our favorite picks in years past as well as books we can’t wait to read as a book club.

Some of the books Alix and Kelly suggest for book clubs are:

• Scythe by Neal Shusterman
• The Thirteen Tale by Diane Setterfield
• The Boys in the Boat by Daniel James Brown
• Nightingale by Kristin Hannah
• The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
• Dark Matter by Blake Crouch
• And more (watch the video above)!

Delicious Reads Book Club – We love picking a variety of books every year!

I'd love to hear about all your book club ideas! Share them with me so we know which ones you love. Also, be sure to check out any of LitJoy Crate's past crates or books (they literally spend hours reading and choosing books each month). Happy Reading.

Books=Love

XoXo,

Robin

About the Author: Robin M. King is the author of three young adult novels (Remembrandt Series), devourer of books, and lover of brownie batter and cheesy superhero shows