Alphabetical Movie – John Carter

When it comes to evaluating a movie in terms of how well it meshes with the source material, I’m not a great judge.  I read all the time but almost everything I read is non fiction.  I like reading about history, religion, nature and a host of other topics.

I also love reading fiction but here’s why I don’t:  I can’t stop.

I don’t want to know what is going to happen in the middle of the story.  I want to know how the story ends.   In order to know that, I need to slog through the middle and I want to do that as quickly as possible.

Because I’m not a speed reader, the practical result is that I stay up from one to three hours later when I’m reading fiction because I want to finish the book.  The Harry Potter series, for instance, resulted in a great many nearly sleepless nights as I continually convinced myself I’d turn in after just one more chapter.

I probably read no more than two or three fictional narratives a year because I’m well aware I have no self-control.

This, of course, means that I’ve not read books by several friends of mine.  I feel badly about this but hope they understand it’s nothing personal.  I haven’t read The Hunger Games either.

I have two copies of Brain Keene’s “Ghoul.”  Two!  If he returns to CONvergence next year, I’ll probably have three!

From what I understand, it’s a great book.

But look, I only read as much of “The Science of God” as I can stomach and then turn off the light and go to sleep.  If I start reading Keene’s book, I’ll end up falling asleep at my desk because I stayed up all night finishing it.

And yes, I am currently reading “The Science of God.”  No, there is no way it is better than Brian’s book. Yes, I know I just got done saying I haven’t read Brian’s book.  Yes, I’m quite certain his book is better than “The Science of God.”

Yes, I need to make better life choices.

Or do I?  I think getting sufficient sleep is a pretty good life choice.  There’s a reason I’ve avoided becoming a hard core gamer and it has everything to do with getting enough sleep.  I’m well aware of my tendency to obsess.

That’s why my primary escape vehicle is the movies.  I love a good television series but a year of “Dexter” will take me  around twelve to fourteen hours to watch.  A movie only takes me two.

And I would prefer to finish them both in one sitting.

That’s why I’m two seasons behind on “Dexter.”  I really need my sleep.

To be fair, that’s only two lost nights of sleep but once I start down that path, forever will it dominate my destiny.

The point that I’m trying to make with all of this is quite simple:

I liked John Carter. It may have been an absolutely horrible adaptation of the book but that’s OK.

Because I haven’t read it.