A Book to Film, and my lame tie-in story.

I went to see The Hangover last week, and saw a trailer for a new comedy based on a book which is still sitting on my bookshelf UNREAD that a friend gave to me maybe two years ago.

Yes, this humorous novel from Ecco Press by Larry Doyle, was given to me as a gift from my friend Kim who said something to the effect of, "This reminded me of your writing - but I know you can do better if you just stick with it."

Sure, I'm an editor, but I've always dabbled in writing, all my life, and I've been meaning to pick up the book and read it already [Kim - apologies, I never meant any insult.] In fact Kim knows I haven't read it because we're still part of a writing group we affectionately named WRITE CLUB, several years ago. In fact, we've met on and off for close to 8 years I think.

Also please know I mean no offense to the author, of whom I am in no position to judge as I still haven't read the book yet, especially as he has done what I have not which is get a novel published, something which I'm not actively pursuing at the moment [although it is one of my life goals]. He was also a writer for The Simpsons, so no slouch there. I very much look forward to the read.

His book, originally published in hardcover in 2007, will not need any help from me, as I hope it sees a nice resurgence in sales as the movie gets closer to release date which is right around the corner as July 10th [according to the IMDB page on the film]. But, I am more than happy to discuss it here, as I plan to read it soon - better late than never. And as I pack up books to move to a new house, this is one of the books I'll be leaving on my shelf until the move, as a reminder to dive right in.

I openly admit, I am sometimes a slacker. Ask my friends, ask my wife. Hell, the name of this blog is Bookrastination, a not-so-subtle play on procrastination [of which I am the king]. This'll prove how much of a slacker I am, as I grabbed the book off the shelf to double-check the publication date, I noticed I had the front flap used as book mark, I was only on page 10.

Well, I'm glad to see someone saw something special in this book which is about a high school nerd who puts it all on the line during his graduation speech, enough in fact to develop and make it into a film. I vow to read it before the movie comes out, and I hope a lot of people do the same. I got about three weeks.

I must end with mentioning that the fantastic jacket illustration and interior chapter illustrations are by none other than Evan Dorkin [a magnificent comic book creator and very, very talented man].

If anyone has anything to say about this book/movie/story, please feel free to comment below, I'd love to hear your angle.