THE HOST

[Dana, SuperMod]

I just recently read this book. I was nervous since it is by Stephanie Myers, but it was wonderful. The movie was free on Netflix and it was HORRIBLE! Everything about the book that I loved was destroyed in the movie. One of my biggest complaints, the movie was all about the love triangle, whereas the book was about SO MUCH MORE! They turned this well written book into a glorified repeat of Twilight!

[Sam]

See I didn't mind the movie but like you I loved the book. I use to love the Twilight books but can't stand the movies to the point I can't bring myself to re-read the books (which is sad). I can understand your point about the triangle because it really was four individuals not three. plus i was imagining Ian to be older... so many to points to really pick at.
To stop myself hating the movie I kind of have to look at it as different from the book... hard to explain but i see them as completely different and so enjoy both :)

[Dana, SuperMod]

I can totally understand you keeping them separate. I have to do that with ELLA ENCHANTED!

I don't know if I saw Ian as being older so much as imagined him being harder to crack. In the book it took me a while to realize that he did in fact like Wanda. It seemed more genuine in the book for sure, and in the movie it just made me mad really!

I have to say I was also SUPER disappointed in how the violence in the book was handled. Okay...that sounds bad! haha What I mean is, it did not seem like the fight with Wanda and Kyle was as intense as it needed to be. It was such a big moment in the book that she saved him, and then lied that he was not trying to kill her. By making her wounds not as extensive it was not as impressive that she saved him. Also, her being hurt there is what really made Ian choose for good between her and his brother.

[Sam]

Dana wrote: "I can totally understand you keeping them separate. I have to do that with ELLA ENCHANTED!

I don't know if I saw Ian as being older so much as imagined him being harder to crack. In the book it ..."

YES! i mean how can they think that a bump on the head could change someones thoughts to accepting (and loving) a race that took over your world!

[Dana, SuperMod]

Speaking of things that effected her thoughts on humans...Walters death!! It was such a pivotal thing in the book. It helped Jared start to see Wanda as more than a worm, and helped her understand more about what it really meant to be human. For the first time she had really strong emotions and they were not from Mel, they were Wanda's alone!

[Sam]

I know like how she said she wanted to be buried with Walter when she dies! I was crying so much at that! I really need to read the book again! haha

[Dana, SuperMod]

I could cry right now just thinking about it!!!! I read it like maybe 2 months ago... And I have been dying to re-read it! I don't know that I will give the movie another watch, maybe once to see the little things I might have missed the first time, but the book is so wonderful! One of my favorite things was when she was in the soccer cave mourning the death of the other hosts she saw in Docs office, and Ian came and sat with her. It was so touching that he would just sit there with her. Really precious and amazing!

[Sam]

so moving! hated the movie adaptation coz Jeb had to voice 'there are faster ways to die than starving yourself!' I mean she couldn't move thats how weak she was in the movie and took her longer to recover! just to get into her mind set that thats what everyone still thought of her! after everything she had done for them.

[Dana, SuperMod]

Yeah! I get that when a book is written from first person so much can be lost since we are not hearing their thoughts, but they could have still covered so much if they did not try to make the whole span of the movie happen in like a week! UGH!

How did you feel about the actress picked to play Wanda at the end?

[Sam]

Haha she totally looked like how i pictured her! short and cute! I do love the main Wanda Saorise Ronan as an actress. First film I really remembered her in was the lovely bones. Now i haven't read the book but did enjoy the movie... believe its on my list to read but that list grows daily! haha

[Sam]

I remember very vaguely a sci fi alien movie when i was younger about the ability to touch a book and have instantly read it. If i had a power thats one i want! I cant remember the movie tho! :(

[Dana, SuperMod]

I still have not seen The Lovely Bones, but read the book. It was a heart wrenching read, so I'm really rushing to see the movie....

I found the Wanda they picked a little to harsh. I love that actress, but she has really strong facial features and I found the description of Wanda in the book at the end to be really annoying and tiny and frustrating, so I was expecting something much more extreme at the end I guess.

One big thing that also drove me nuts about the movie was the way Mel tricked Wanda into going to the desert. I liked in the book how she left with the idea to already go and find Jarred and Jamie thanks to the dreams and memories she had been having. It was the first sign that she could be a "decent human," if you will...

[Dana, SuperMod]

Sam wrote: "I remember very vaguely a sci fi alien movie when i was younger about the ability to touch a book and have instantly read it. If i had a power thats one i want! I cant remember the movie tho! :("

In science we learned about osmosis in middle school I think it was, and I have been dying to be able to learn and read that way ever since!!! hahaha

[Sam]

Dana wrote: "I still have not seen The Lovely Bones, but read the book. It was a heart wrenching read, so I'm really rushing to see the movie....

I found the Wanda they picked a little to harsh. I love that a..."

Man i really need to read the book again :)

[Dana, SuperMod]

Me too! My sister and I were talking about it the other day, she had read it a few times now. I just quit the book I was reading (free Kindle book so I'm not too disappointed). I can't decide if I will start reading The Host again or if I will read a new book first... so tempting!!!! haha

[Sam]

wish i could read now but i'm at work :( I hate being between books. Sometimes the last book you read was so good you just can't think of picking up another.

[Dana, SuperMod]

For real!! I am going though all the books on my kindle and cannot decide what to read. I don't want to start a new series right now, but so many of the YA books I have are series.... And it seems like most books I read are from series... I guess I just like getting as much of the full story as I can, staying with the characters for a LONG time! If I don't find something decent to start before bed tonight I will for sure start The Host again in the morning. A good backup plan for sure!

[Sam]

oh so many good books... but they're series. Did you ever read any of Melina Marchette's books aka looking for alibrandi? Best books of hers are The Lumatere Chronicles! love love loved them.

[Dana, SuperMod]

I will have to check them out for sure! Much like you my list of need to read is so big! Hence why I am timid in starting The Host again. I feel like I need to get through some on my list before I re-read... We will see if that actually happens or not thought!

[Sam]

haha I know exactly what u mean! I'm trying to get though my actual book to read pile but keep buying Kindle books :)

[Dana, SuperMod]

I think they should rename Kindle to ENABLER, since it just makes everyone buy way too many books they will never read but cant help it since they are only a click away!!

[Sam]

HAHA thats an awesome idea! totally is my enabler coz at least with actually books u can see how bad your getting when u have no more room to put the books hahaha

[Dana, SuperMod]

Yes!! Exactly!! I started deleting read book off my Kindle so I only have ones to read left, and I still have over 200, not to mention all the ones I want to buy but can't since I need to actually have money to pay rent and buy food!

[Sam]

I haven't deleted any from my device as it is supposed too hold like 1500 and i'm prob only half way full... man I wonder how full it really is. Maybe I shouldn't know hahaha

[Sam]

ok just looked 501... but some are guides and dictionaries... ok not that many :) oops!

[Dana, SuperMod]

Wow! Not I don't feel too bad! hahahaha I know they hold a lot, but I got rid of the ones I was done with so I could sort through what I wanted to read next more easily. Some might make their way back onto my Kindle if I want to read them again, but for now they just sit in my cloud hanging out. :)

[Sam]

Yeah i'm pretty bad... i keep them there but make sure to keep them 100% so i know i've read it already! as I've downloaded the Kindle app for my phone. trust me when i say I'm sad. i have a list of books (in case something bad happens like a fire). i keep telling myself thats the reason but really i just like lists!

[Dana, SuperMod]

My friend who is also in this group also has a list, but hers is online in a spreadsheet format. She shared it with me and I was shocked and proud and jealous all at once! I love lists, but I don't think I could re-play what to read enough to do that... I don't know what mood I will be in when I finish one book and am ready to go into the next. Kind of like wanting to re-read The Host. I actually wanted to re-read it right after I saw the movie, which was the same day I finished the book!

[Sam]

yeah i have only shared my list with 2 ppl and well from their reactions i'm too embarrassed to show anyone else :) I lost some books when i was living in the UK when i sent them home and they never arrived. so that started my list going.. and going.. and going!

[Dana, SuperMod]

I moved from Ohio to Washington State about 5 years ago and hated trying to move than many books, so as soon as I got my kindle I started changing over everything to digital. There are a lot of book I still do not have at the moment that I used to own and will one day want to re-read, but for now I don't miss them too much. I think total right now I only own about 20 books in paper form. Some people hate digital books, but when I move again one day I won't have to pack my 200+books...so it's ideal for me for sure!!

[Sam]

haha I have that many books its not funny... I have my own library! I have been dreading packing them up as looking for an apartment to buy right now in Canberra, Australian Capital Territory (ACT). looking for a 2 bedroom so one may have my many shelves of books :) dream to one day have a library with a ladder attached that slides along like a real library... that will never happen! :) only in dreams. plus when i read a really good book like to pass onto friends.

[Dana, SuperMod]

My sister was glad when I moved out of her house after college so she could fill my old room with books. She has at least 3 if not 4 book shelved double or triple stacked with books, and even more still boxed up for storage. And, she is always buying more on both kindle and paper! In fact, I thought she might buy less paper books once she got her kindle, but I don't think that's been the case at all!

[Dana, SuperMod]

Okay, I thought of another thing that really bothered me about The Host movie, I know there are a TUN I could list! The thing that I really didn't like though was that she just so happened the pick up the holding tube thing for the hosts when she was at the doctor that one time. It just so happened to be in her purse for when they needed it. It was just one more way they made the plot go too fast, and also made her decision to leave her host body seem more like a whim rather than something she spend a LOT of time really thinking about and deciding and planning for!

[Sam]

ok yeah that bothered me too but i kept in mind the internal dialect not being present... but yeah that was a tough sell! if only they gave Wanda a different voice to Melanie they could have easly managed! haha ok i dont know if it would have been easy but surely it wouldn't be that hard???

[Dana, SuperMod]

I feel like she could have even had a conversation about it... Maybe to Ian while he was alseep or something. Or with Jarred since he wanted her gone in so many ways, but at the same time was finally starting to understand it all and seemed almost partially content to have Wanda stay with Mels body. There was just to much in the book thanks to all the way people felt and even acted because of how they were feeling. Like Jarred all but arguing with Ian about Wanda since he was treating her as Mel in so many ways still.

[Sam]

I really want to read this again! hahaha

[Dana, SuperMod]

I have the book I am reading right now, and then one I got at work today that was damaged and we were about to throw it out. So, I took it home to read next then give to a camper who also wants to read it. I also brought home at least 3 other books including Moby Dick, so I might not get around to reading The Host for a little bit! I really want my sister to join this group, I know she would have a LOT to add about all kinds of books, esp this one!

[Sam]

haha well what would be a big draw for her to get her to join... shall u use me by telling her I said something she would react to... :)

[Dana, SuperMod]

LOL! Good idea! Tell her you thought the book was terrible compared to the movie, and that you wished Wanda would have been sent into space like the other hosts in the end! ;)

[Sam]

haha ok point me in the right direction... and i'll get her into this conversation :)

[Dana, SuperMod]

I sent her a text yesterday and then wrote on her facebook wall today. If I did not live across the whole country I would go to her house and all but do it for her! haha

[Ebba]

The thing I missed the most in the movie was the part when Ian finds out that Wanda wants to die and he drags her out of the room and punch Jared on the way, and later cries against Wandas belly (I'm not sure it was her belly but I think so). I think that's a really important part of the book!

[Dana, SuperMod]

I can't remember that part off the top of my head.... I think for me the scene I missed the most was when Wanda kid in the cave for 3 days. I think it was just this beautiful thing how Ian sits with her and just let's her be upset and morn over the loss of her fellow alien without getting annoyed with her. It was one of the moments when it showed that their relationship was more solid than just some basic crush.

The movie really made the whole story just a chick flick with a weird twist of her being an alien, when really we don't even find out that Ian likes her until half way through the book!

They missed the park so completely on this one, which is sad since it was a way WAY WAY better book than the Twilight Series but people who only see the movie will never know that!

[Dana, SuperMod]

I read that in 2013 Meyers said she was working on the second book in the Host series. I personally don't feel another book is needed... I love the story, but I think it ended at a good place. Anyone else have a thought on the matter?

[Ebba]

I totally agree but I want to know more about Ian's and Wanda's relationship!

[Dana, SuperMod]

Yes, their relationship was great, WAY more deep and genuine in the book than in the movie. But, I don't know that their relationship alone would be worth making another book... There would have to be a lot of other stuff going on to make it as good as the first one... and I don't know if I think that will happen... I just really don't want the series to turn into another Twilight, just focused on the crappy love story....

[Louisa]

I didn't enjoy the movie that much, the first time that I tried to watch it I stopped halfway through. Eventually I managed to watch the whole thing!

[Dana, SuperMod]

Did you read the book first?

I don't like the movie, but since I don't have time to re-read the book right now I have been thinking about watching it just so I can remember everything about the book again as I watch and get annoyed at how crappy the movie is!! hahaha

[Louisa]

I read the book after the film and I enjoyed the book a lot more! I'm going to re-read it over summer though

[Dana, SuperMod]

Oh good! I almost watched the movie first, and I think if I did I would not have read the book... I have been dying to re-read the book ever since I finished it! It was really well done! It was a little of a slower read for me the first time through, so maybe I will read it while also reading some new ones too.... I need more hours in the day!!