The Book Report: August

The path to my book of the month recommendation was curving. I spent some time on the trainer this summer, doing intervals on days when I knew I wouldn't otherwise be able to ride because of scheduling conflicts. It isn't elegant, or sexy in cyclist terms, but trainer time gets the job done, and in a controlled environment no less. Most days I would flip on a documentary to appease the nerd within, but one day I scrolled through Netflix while I warmed up and saw Silver Linings Playbook.

I had been skeptical, mostly because I try to avoid movies and books that are over-hyped. Silver Linings Playbook fell into that catagory, however Jennifer Lawrence costars, and I think she's pretty great. My only point of reference is shameful: The Hunger Games movies. I digress.

A couple of clicks, and I was watching the story play out. I remembered reading someplace that the movie was based on a book, and felt intrigue rising as I slaughtered myself over and over in zone 5a. I finished the workout part of the way into the movie, and stopped it immediately. I grabbed my Kindle, downloaded a copy of the book, and vowed not to watch the rest until I was finished reading.

My two cents: I think this may be a good way to approach book-into-movie titles. Watch the first in the series, or watch the first twenty minutes of the movie, so you have the outlines of characters painted in your mind. Actually, that's a terrible idea. Always read the book first. But if you find yourself gatewayed into something like this, it's not all bad, to have J-Law and the fellow from the movie acting out the roles in your mind.

The book is excellent. I am also generally wary of modern pop fiction, but found the mild suspense of the main character's condition enticing, the interaction of characters realistic and believable, and the subject matter important. Mental health problems are not shameful, no more so than a broken leg should be an embarassment. We have to address this socially, and normalization through pop fiction is fine by me.

The movie, after reading the book, pales by comparison. The performances are great, but the script feels lacking when held up against the original piece, and that is hard to deal with.

My advice:
Watch the first half hour of the movie... until the first time the main characters argue in the diner.
Read the book.
Skip the rest of the movie.

Would I recommend this book to a friend: Undoubtedly.
Warnings: If you're not into f-bombs, maybe skip this. But I think it's an effing awesome read.