read – Kyle Challancin

Favorite Book to Film/TV Adaptation

Published on June 10, 2017June 10, 2017 by kylechallancinLeave a comment

The Walking Dead

One of my favorite shows on television is The Walking Dead—I’m a big sci-fi, dystopia fan, and zombies are an always fun, often disgusting time. The show is based off of a series of comics by Robert Kirkman, a series I didn’t start getting into until way after the show. I’ve been reading the comics in the 6-issue bind-ups and I’m only on volume seven, but they’re great. It’s cool to see the differences they’ve made with the show—characters added or taken out, storylines differing—and they’re really quick reads. I’ve been buying them when on sale and picking a weekend to enjoy a few issues. As an adaptation, it’s really incredible. I think the show takes a lot of risks and is incredibly well-made—the effects work alone is worth watching.

The Hobbit

I’m a huge fantasy fan, and though I haven’t yet read The Lord of the Rings trilogy by JRR Tolkien (I’ve seen all the films), I read The Hobbit a few years ago and loved it. Because I never saw the first trilogy in theaters, only later when on DVD, I’m glad I was able to see The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey and The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug in theaters (I missed the third movie while it was in theaters, but have it on DVD) because these films were so incredible to watch on a big screen. The adaptation of the book was really well done, though I’m not certain an entire trilogy was necessary—the structure of the book seemed more like a two-parter. At any rate, it’s one of my favorite adaptations.

The Hunger Games

I’ve only seen the first two films in the quartet (for no other reason than neglecting to see them in theaters at the time, always forgetting, and just never remembering to pick them up on DVD), but I’ve read all three books, and The Hunger Games is one of the best adaptations I’ve ever seen and certainly the best YA adaptation. It’s so perfectly adapted, getting everything just right, being as faithful as possible to the source material, having a really awesome style, and having some killer performances, especially from Jennifer Lawrence. Though, as a film, I enjoyed the second one more, but as an adaptation, the winner is the first in the series.

A Single Man

After hearing about the film starring Colin Firth, I read A Single Man by Christopher Isherwood one summer day and liked it—but then I saw the film and loved it so much more than the book. The film is very stylistic and Colin Firth’s performance is incredible and heartbreaking and I could watch it again and again. Honestly, it’s the rare occasion where the adaptation is several times better than the original book.

The Magicians

The Magicians is one of the coolest, fun shows on television right now. It’s funny and magical and disturbingly creepy at times—it’s like all the best parts of Harry Potter and The Chronicles of Narnia but for adults. It’s based on a trilogy of books by Lev Grossman, and though I haven’t read them yet, I have the first and plan on reading it this year. This is the only adaptation on my list that I haven’t read yet, but because I love the show so much, I’m assuming I’ll love the books even more.

Atonement

As one of my favorite films of all time, Atonement definitely needs to be mentioned even though I’ve never read the book—though I plan on it! The film is beautiful; every scene, every shot is stunning. And the performances are incredible—Keira Knightly does some of her best work, as does James McAvoy, and Romola Garai gives one of my favorite supporting performances—and of course Saoirse Ronan is so young and so brilliant in the film it astounds me. Everything from the style, the era, the score—which I still regularly listen to—is just perfect to me. And I’m sure the book will be just as incredible.

Top Ten Favorites Books

Published on May 13, 2017May 13, 2017 by kylechallancinLeave a comment

Though I haven’t read as many books as I’d like to have by this time in my life, I’ve read a lot compared to most people I know. Compared to most readers, I’ve read close to nothing. But the point is, since I posted my Top Five Favorite Films, I thought I’d do the same for my favorite books…except it’s actually my Top Ten because I couldn’t decide on only five and some of them are series…so it’s more like a lot. Anyway, here they are in no particular order:

A Darker Shade of Magic by VE Schwab
The Shades of Magic trilogy is my favorite book series of all time, by my favorite author, Victoria VE Schwab. It’s an adult fantasy series about four connected Londons in parallel worlds with varying degrees of magic. A one-of-a-kind magician who can travel between them from one London and a pickpocket from another meet, travel through worlds together, and general chaos ensues. Schwab’s writing is incredible, the best I’ve ever read and these books are dark, fun, and exciting.

Vicious by VE Schwab
Another book by my favorite author, Vicious is about two college students who deduce that superhuman abilities can derive from near-death experiences and do it to themselves in order to gain such powers. Jumping back and forth in time, the book explores the dynamics of superheroism and villainry from an interesting perspective.

The Archived by Victoria Schwab
Yet another Victoria Schwab book—I swear there’s more than just hers on this list. The Archived is the first in a series of two YA books about a girl who is a Keeper for the Archive, an otherworldly library where the dead are shelved like books, and must keep those dangerous dead, called Histories, from entering back into our world. It’s like a light fantasy and murder mystery book all in one. The sequel, The Unbound, is also a favorite—and I’m still holding out for a third book, no matter how long it takes.

Saga by Brian K Vaughan
This series is actually not technically books, but comics. I’ve never been a huge fan of comic books, only recently getting into them—thanks, in part, to this series. I’ve been reading the six-issue bound volumes as they come out, reading mostly in the summer—which is my favorite time to read graphic novels and comics. Saga is about two soldiers from opposite sides of a galactic war falling in love, having a child, and going on the run from the war and those that want them, and their half-breed child, killed. It’s like a full-on adult Star Wars space odyssey with some of the most incredible artwork, which creates a vivid landscape for an awesome, kick-ass story about a blended alien family.

The Name of the Star by Maureen Johnson
I fell in love with The Name of the Star and its two sequels (I believe, as of writing this, a fourth is on the way) a few years ago. It’s the story of a teen girl from the South of the US going to London to start her new life at a boarding school at the same time as the city relives the horrifying events of the Jack the Ripper murders as someone begins to mimic them. The book somehow balances being funny and creepy perfectly—the main character is relatable, Maureen Johnson’s writing is both dark and hilarious, and the book’s plot is often-times creepy and fully intriguing, with twists and surprises I didn’t expect.

Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel
This book surprised me—I hadn’t expected to love it as much as I did and I hadn’t expected to finish it so quickly. I read it in only two days; I couldn’t put it down. The story goes back and forth through time, before and after the night a famous actor dies on stage from a heart attack at the same time the world begins to fall from a deadly virus. All the characters have some connection to the actor, the main character having been in the same play as a young child actress, later growing up to travel through the desolate land of the northern midwest with a theater troupe called the Traveling Symphony, who plays for the small communities having survived the pandemic. It’s a beautifully written, poignant novel about the little things we’d lose just as much as the large things during such an event.

We Were Liars by E Lockhart
First: This book has a terrible title. I mean, a fine title that just doesn’t fit the book. That’s the my only complaint about it. This book is my favorite summer read I’ve ever read—and that’s what it is. A summer read. Read it in the summer only, trust me it makes for a better experience. Also, don’t read into the book at all, don’t look it up, don’t spoil yourself. Don’t even read this paragraph, just skip it. This is all I’ll say: The book’s about a family who have summer homes on a private island and it’s suspenseful and beautifully written. That’s it. If you love YA and suspense and beautiful writing, READ IT.

The Forest of Hands & Teeth by Carrie Ryan
This is a book that I read a long time ago, in high school, and have sort of forgotten all about it—time for a reread, I guess. However, I do know that I loved it and everything about it. It’s a very unique spin on the zombie genre, with a similar vibe to M. Night Shyamalan’s The Village crossed with The Walking Dead. It’s been on my favorites list since then, so even though I remember so little, I still have it on my top ten because I do remember that it was great and I loved it.

Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo
I’m a huge fan of Leigh Bardugo and her work. The Grisha Trilogy she wrote is one of my favorites YA series and Six of Crows is part of the same world. I thought that the Grisha Trilogy was so fantastic and then I read Six of Crows and was blown away. It’s even better than the trilogy and is so unique. It’s set in the same “Grishaverse” so several people within the world have special powers, but in this book, the focus is more on a different set of skills: thievery and conning. A gang of young criminals work together on an impossible heist and it’s a blast. It’s one of the most fun books I’ve ever read. It’s just a straight up cool Ocean’s Eleven-esque fantasy book.

The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater
And finally, though this list is not in a particular order, The Raven Cycle is my favorite YA series of all time. It’s just the greatest series ever. I love the characters, the world Maggie Stiefvater has created, and the entire series itself. The Raven Boys and its sequels tells the story of a group of private school teenage boys and a girl named Blue, obsessively searching for the legendary Raven King, who is likely buried nearby, in hopes to be granted a wish—all with the help of the psychic family of women Blue’s grown up with and set in a town situated on a “ley line” of magical energy. It’s a book series I wish had come out while I was in high school, because I would’ve been all over it obsessed—I mean, I still was while in college, but still.

2017 Favorites: February

Published on March 5, 2017March 5, 2017 by kylechallancinLeave a comment

This past month of February, I’ve enjoyed several new things that I want to share. I have a perfect variety of favorites this month: a YouTube channel, a book, a song, and a film. Here are my February favorites:

Aubrey Aiese’s YouTube Channel

I’ve been subscribed for a while to Aubrey’s channel, HurricaneAubrey, and have enjoyed her videos a lot. She took a long hiatus on her channel, but eight months ago she’s uploaded several videos and vlogs that I found so wonderful to watch (I marathoned her latest on a playlist I made of videos I’d missed over the last few month because of being busy). She’s an artist (she does all the lettering for Lumberjanes!) and lives with her boyfriend, also an incredible artist, in Portland. Like in the video here, she vlogs about her life and the places she goes and the work she’s doing. It’s fun and light and even inspirational to see the life of another artist, how they work and live. I love watching these types of videos from other artists and designers and illustrators, it’s fun to see how other people in your general field of work live and work.

The Bad Beginning

A long time ago, in like the fifth grade, I read the first book in Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events. I never finished the series for some reason, even though I enjoyed the book, but I loved the film with Jim Carrey. Now that there’s a Netflix series of the books, I decided to reread the first book and read the rest of the series in time with watching the show. I haven’t started the show yet, as I just finished the first book, but now that I have, I’ll be watching the first two episodes (as the show goes two episodes per book) and will read the rest of the books probably along with watching the show. So this year, I plan on reading the first four books to watch the first season. The book itself, after not having read it in almost fifteen years, is incredible. I mean, it’s terrible, but a really great read. I can’t wait to continue with the rest of the series and finally learn what happens.

Sick of Losing Soulmates – dodie

I recently discovered this song by dodie, a singer song-writer and YouTuber. Sick of Losing Soulmates is one of the most beautiful songs I’ve ever heard. The lyrics are lovely and emotional, dodie’s voice is soft and wonderful, and the video is A+ incredible.

A Single Man

One of the best films I’ve watched, A Single Man is a beautiful adaptation by Tom Ford (I read the book last summer) and has one of the best performances by Colin Firth I’ve ever seen. The cinematography and the sets are gorgeous, the entire aesthetic of the film is beautiful, highly stylized and vibrant. It makes the day-long story of a man (after having lost the love of his life, Jim, in a car accident) going about his day with the plan of killing himself at the end of it less bleak, though not any less sincere. It’s an incredible, tragic, beautiful film.

Books + 2017 Reading List

Published on January 25, 2017January 25, 2017 by kylechallancinLeave a comment

Books are a large part of my life—I read them, I write them, I buy them constantly (probably too much). I dedicate a lot of my space to books: I’m always carrying one around, bringing one to family events and long car rides, and I have a moderate collection (the most recent count was 250+) so most of my room is full of books. I love books. Books are great, man. Hop on this train.

Since finishing school and focusing more time on art and design, I decided to rearrange my space. Moving my office and all my art supplies and the giant drafting table I use into my bedroom has made it seem much smaller, but I’m starting to like it. I’ve spending a lot more time in it now that all my things are in one place instead of the office downstairs and the drafting table/art supplies in the other room. Moving is what I’ve been doing in my spare time (taking several days I should’ve been writing or working) the entire month of January. And as of today, the 25^th, I’m still not completely done—I have a pile of art supplies on the floor and my desk is a mess. The point is, I took this time to not only rearrange my life, but my books too. I scanned their barcodes with the Goodreads app to create a list of all the books I own—which I could add to every time I bought or was gifted another book. (This is how I learned I owned over 250+ books, a few of which were duplicates, I don’t know how or why.)

I wanted to categorize the books I owned and see how many books I have by different people, like female authors, LGBT+ authors, POC authors, and any combination of those, and see how diverse my collection is—I have a guess that it isn’t as diverse I would like them to be, something I need to work on. But I also want to look at the characters and stories within those books and categorize them by the same, which I think would have more diversity because it’s what I’m drawn to read. Anyway, I plan to use the Goodreads app to help do that now that all of them are in one place and I can search for them easily. (This especially helps with friends and family for gift reasons—they can go on my profile and find that list to search which books I already have!)

Speaking of books, I’ve compiled a list of books that I want to read this year. As I’ve said of my goals for 2017, I have a goal to read 35 books. Though I’m usually more aggressively specific about when I read each book—I used to decide which specific books I would read within each month at the very start of the year, which made it difficult to follow and less fun, so now I’m taking a more relaxed approach. I just have a single, long list in no particular order (though some land roughly when they are released and/or a time of year I’d like to read them—like I want to reread the first for A Series of Unfortunate Events books sooner so I can watch the Netflix show and all those comics/graphic novels are probably during the summer, which is when I like to read them.)

Also, I know there’s 37 books on the list, I promise I can count. I’m just planning on wanting to skip one or that I won’t get to a few or I might want to swap out with a different book. See, totally relaxed.

2017 Reading List:

Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke
Burial Rites by Hannah Kent
The Bad Beginning by Lemony Snicket
The Reptile Room by Lemony Snicket
The Wide Window by Lemony Snicket
The Miserable Mill by Lemony Snicket
Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo
A Conjuring of Light by V.E. Schwab
Rooms by Lauren Oliver
This Savage Song by Victoria Schwab
Shadow Scale by Rachel Hartman
Beowulf by Seamus Heaney
Lady Midnight by Cassandra Clare
Lord of Shadows by Cassandra Clare
The Emperor’s Blades by Brian Staveley
The Graces by Laure Eve
The Female of the Species by Mindy McGinnis
Z: A Novel of Zelda Fitzgerald by Therese Anne Fowler
The Strange Maid by Tessa Gratton
The Fellowship of the Ring by J.R.R Tolkien
Vermilion by Molly Tanzer
Behold the Bones by Natalie C. Parker
Lumberjanes, Volume 3: A Terrible Plan by Noelle Stevenson
East of West, Volume 3: “There Is No Us” by Jonathan Hickman
The Walking Dead: Volume 7: “The Calm Before” by Robert Kirkman
The Walking Dead: Volume 8: “Made to Suffer” by Robert Kirkman
The Walking Dead, Volume 9: “Here We Remain” by Robert Kirkman
Pax by Sara Pennypacker
The Magicians by Lev Grossman
Wildwood by Colin Meloy and Carson Ellis
The Copper Gauntlet by Cassandra Clare & Holly Black
The Bronze Key by Cassandra Clare & Holly Black
Conversion by Katherine Howe
Her Dark Curiosity by Megan Shepherd
The Sweet Far Thing by Libba Bray
The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson
Pride & Prejudice by Jane Austen

2016 Reading Update — November-December

Published on December 31, 2016 by kylechallancinLeave a comment

Oh how optimistic I am about how much reading I’ll be able to get done in a given amount of time. I read 24 books this year. That’s all. I changed my target on Goodreads to 24 only because I hate having it say I failed, but my original goal had been 50, then 45, then 40, then 35, then 30, and I finished 2016 with only 24. Less than half of the original goal of 50.

I’ve learned a lot of things this year: Sometimes, I just don’t read a lot and that I set myself up for failure with too high of goals. So next year, I’ll be lowering my goal. But I’ll also be increasing my reading time by making it more of a priority instead of a last minute item on my to do list to skip. I’ll be making it first, reading every morning and afternoon.

Anyway, here is what I read since November: