From the Bookshelf of Once Upon a Time...…

The Princess Bride

William Goldman

Start date: January 1, 2023

Finish date: January 31, 2023

Discussion leader: Adriel

Why we're reading this: January 2023 Group Read
09/22/22 nominated by Nicole

[close] January 2023 Group Read
09/22/22 nominated by Nicole

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What Members Thought

Jan 02, 2011 Mia rated it it was amazing

Shelves: favorites, fantasy, humor, made-into-film, fairy-tale, medieval, romance

I am so mad. I am INFURIATED. I am madder then the moment I found out one of my all time favorite movies was actually a book first. Do you know the betrayal I felt? It is so hard to read a book once I've seen a movie, let a alone practically memorized a movie. I've spent the past few years RESISTING the urge to watch The Princess Bride so I could erase the movie from my brain and finally read this book (I broke twice, I think the longest stretch I've gotten was three years and since I am watchin I am so mad. I am INFURIATED. I am madder then the moment I found out one of my all time favorite movies was actually a book first. Do you know the betrayal I felt? It is so hard to read a book once I've seen a movie, let a alone practically memorized a movie. I've spent the past few years RESISTING the urge to watch The Princess Bride so I could erase the movie from my brain and finally read this book (I broke twice, I think the longest stretch I've gotten was three years and since I am watching the movie again this weekend I said, okay, Mia, get on with it, read the damn thing). I expected to slough through it with the usual walking through syrup feeling when I am reading something that I have not read before--but nope. Even after the asides (that I decided I liked, even though sometimes I didn't, whatever! it was like being read to and wanting to kick the person because they stopped, but who skims?)--I got to the meat of the story. Barely different! Lines from the book are in the movie (most of my favorites), but OH MY GOSH. What a dang DELIGHT to read, the movie bits were as amazing as they are in the movie, quippy and fast, and some things are better!

So what is my big problem? The reason I am so mad? The reason I am INFURIATED?

The thing ends.

It stops. The book does not continue for six million pages telling me all about Inigo, Buttercup, Fezzik, and Westley's adventures. WHAT IS THAT? And then I sit through more asides (fake, not fake? THE LINE STRADDLES) and then we get Buttercup's Baby this first chapter fake-out that ALSO ENDS and is an epilogue, but also not and more importantly it is NOT A FULL BOOK.

I always say that the sign of a good book is that I want more when it ends, but I think that's a lie, or else this is the best book I have ever read, because I am spitting I'm so mad that there's not more of it. It's like the author had a life to get back to or something and didn't realize I wanted every detail of the quartet's lives up until they all die of old age or gain entrance into Valhalla.

SHEESH. ...more

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