Footnotes
I always wince a little bit when a book I enjoyed has been optioned for a film adaptation. The results are often bad or deplorable, such as Striptease or Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil (why did Clint Eastwood even try?). Sometimes they’re just weak, like the first two Harry Potter films. The third HP film was a vast improvement, basically because the new director, Alfonso Cuaron, was willing to excise large portions of the novel. Of course, there are always magnificent adaptations, namely The Lord of the Rings trilogy. Ghost World, even though they dropped all references to the cryptic “ghost world” graffiti, was another fine film. In very rare cases, the screenplay actually improves on a novel. American Psycho was a surprisingly well-done screenplay and film, considering the complete load of crap the novel was.

One of my latest favorite reads, Killing Yourself to Live, has been optioned for film. I await with equal parts dread and eager anticipation.

Meanwhile, read “When the Film Outshines the Novel”, an essay on this dilemma. (Unfortunately, it’s a NYT link, you’ll need to be registered. Yeah, I hate that, too.)

---

Green people are encouraging readers to purchase Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince from Canadian sources, because that edition will be printed on recycled paper. The covers of the versions sold in Canada (which are the same as the UK versions) are actually much more graphically interesting than the American editions. (Scroll down the pages to see all the covers.) Although, why is there an “Adult Edition” available in Canada and the UK? It has a more “serious” cover design, I suppose. All that’s additionally available in the US is a slipcovered “deluxe edition.”

---

ZineBook of Note: On Subbing by Dave Roche

In his introduction, Dave suggests, “I think this book is best if you read it in intervals…”, and he’s absolutely correct. This is Dave’s diaries of four years of working as a substitute Education Assistant with special needs students in the Portland area. It’s a very harrowing read, and I empathize with both Dave and the students he’s trying to help. It seems like they both get the short end of the stick (it’s a really short stick) from the system. Dave gets sent to the wrong assignments, treated rudely by teachers and staff, often not given any direction (or even keys to open classrooms he’s supposed to be in). He really wants to do a good job and help the students, but he hits a lot of bureaucratic walls. The students also seem to get knocked around the education system in the city quite a bit. Are the programs even going to be helpful for them in the long run? Reading this book is often unsettling, which is why it’s best to take it in small amounts. A good read, nonetheless.

On Subbing / $4 / 128pgs. Available from Microcosm Publishing, 5307 N. Minnesota Avenue, Portland OR 97217-3826
- posted by Synd-e @ 10:12 PM