I have made it. I finally have.
I have started reading The Perks of Being a Wallflower.
This book has been advertized so much I don't think I could've seen more of it if it hung outside my front door day and night. Seriously.
I'd been wanting to read this for months, waiting to find out what the fuss was all about, and now I've finally started it.
What bugs me about this book, though, is that I didn't find out about it myself.
Now you have to know a peculiar thing about me: I like finding things on my own. I like being able to say, "oh, no one told me to watch/read this. I found it by myself and loved it."
I guess I kind of like the pride I take in saying that.
And now I can't.
As I've said, Perks has been advertized and commercialized very much in the last months. I guess it has to do with the movie coming out (which I'm going to watch as soon as I finish the book).
And that's the thing about things going mainstream.
That they kind of lose a bit of that sparkle they had before. I'm not saying a movie makes a book worse, but somehow it takes the imagination out of it. And it attracts those people who wouldn't be interested in it otherwise.
Example.
Twilight.
Don't booh me now, please. Listen up. Twilight was not an exceptional book, but it's not as bad as some make it sound, either. The thing about it, though, is that going mainstream it also aquired some of those fans that I personally would not be proud to call fans. What I mean is that now there's a bunch of people who fake themselves literary experts, and at the fatidic question, what's your favorite book? (which, by the way, is a very stupid question, if you ask me), they answer TWILIGHT without a shadow of doubt.
And the readers community is all one big, fat facepalm.
But why was I saying this? Oh, yeah, The Perks of Being a Wallflower being made into a movie.
No, I am not in any way saying this book is as bad as Twilight (principally 'cause I haven't even finished it yet so I can't say). What I'm saying is that with the movie coming out it will aquire a lot of fans who do not actually like the book for the right reasons, but because it's just the movie.
I don't know if you get why I mean so I will try to say it more clearly.
People will like it because its popular and they will not get the true meaning that's behind it, and the geniality of it all.
It happens.
A lot of times, it happens.
But that's the way things goes, so I guess I can't complain much. I should just be glad that a nice book is receiving attention, I guess.
So yeah, I have currently just the passed the half book line and I'm nearing the ending. I'll tell you in a new post what I thought about the book! and if you have read it, or if you plan to, or even if you don't, comment or say something and tell me what you think about it. :)
Thank you for reading,
Elena
I totally get what you want to say. Lots of times happens. But I guess it can goes in both ways- 1. you loose the true meaning of the book -but 2. the book can finally receive the attention that its deserve. I know LOTS of people loved this book! I still need to read it though, and I will. But the trailer of the movie? Oh my freaking god, it's amazing. I've seen it at least 10 times because I loved it so much. And when I first seen it I wanted to read the book right away, because it was just that good. So really, I need to start reading this book so I can see the movie :P :)
ReplyDeleteI haven't watched the movie yet, so I don't know about it. :/
ReplyDeleteBut I agree with you one side. In some cases a film does work in favor of a book, getting more people to know about it.
So yeah, I guess there are both good and bad sides in making it into a movie. As with all things, after all. ;)