New Booklist on BookGuide: Into the Wild

Interested in stories about ill-fated expeditions into the unknown. Did you read Jon Krakauer's book, Into the Wild, about Chris McCandless and what led him to his tragic fate in the Alaskan wilderness?

If so, then you'll want to check out the recent Into the Wild booklist addition to the libraries BookGuide readers advisory resources. Carrie R., from the Bennett Martin Public Library downtown, offers up some recommended reading suggestions for those who are fascinated by this reading category!

Check out this new booklist on BookGuide at the following link:

Into the Wild

Wild (on DVD)

Wild
[DVD Wild]

Cheryl Strayed’s blistering autobiography Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail was one of my absolute favorite reads three years ago, and when I heard that it was being turned into a biographical film to star Reese Witherspoon as Strayed, I was filled with both hope and trepidation. The book was such a personal story, and opened up so much of Strayed’s troubled life, in its exploration of how a 1000+ mile hike on the Pacific Crest Trail allowed her to purge some demons and come to terms with loss, that I wasn’t sure a film would be able to honestly capture that emotion.
Admittedly, I am a fan of Reese Witherspoon, and she does turn in a marvelous, nuanced performance in Wild. However, the book is far more powerful, in part because the filmmakers had to telescope the book’s events and cut out several key moments from Strayed’s experiences. The cinematography is terrific, the supporting cast was fine. And the storytelling gimmick of jumping backwards and forwards in time is (for the most part) effective. However, the film just felt somehow…disconnected…from the emotional events that seemed so powerful in the book. If you haven’t read the book, I do recommend this film. However, I recommend reading the book (or listening to the audiobook, as I did) even more!

[ Internet Movie Database entry for this film ] | [ official Wild web site ]

Recommended by Scott C.
Bennett Martin Public Library

Have you watched this? What did you think? Did you find this review helpful?

New reviews appear every month on the Staff Recommendations page of the BookGuide website. You can visit that page to see them all, or watch them appear here in the BookGuide blog individually over the course of the entire month. Click the tag for the reviewer's name to see more of this reviewers recommendations!

Staff Recommendation - Dangerous Beauty

Dangerous Beauty: Life and Death in Africa - True Stories From a Safari Guide

by Mark C. Ross [599.096 RosYr

Reading Dangerous Beauty is like sitting around a campfire in the savannah listening to Mark Ross talk about his experiences leading safaris. His words paint crisp images of close encounters with lions and elephants on his safaris. He describes trailing lions in his Land Cruiser. As soon as they get near the animals, Mark and his clients get out the vehicle and edge within camera range of these magnificent beasts. He recalls the excitement of watching the mass migration of thousands of zebras and wildebeests in the Serengeti. He talks about the heart-stopping moment when he lured a stampeding elephant away from his clients. He remembers the night that he was sleeping by a campfire and was jostled awake because he was being drug along the ground in his sleeping bag. A Hyena had grabbed a corner and was pulling him away from the camp. Mark yelled, scaring the Hyena off. His friend Leon, who was sleeping next to him, was no help. He was too busy laughing. Mark, unhurt, carried his sleeping bag back to camp. He reminisces about growing up on an Illinois farm where he became fascinated with nature. His love affair with Africa started on Sunday nights watching Wild Kingdom on TV. As a wildlife biology major in college Mark got an opportunity to study in Kenya. He finished his degree but East Africa with its vast expanses and open skies pulled at him and he moved to Kenya and became a safari guide. Mark recalls taking clients to Uganda to see the mountain gorillas. He described slow climb up the slippery, 7,000-foot trail in the Impenetrable Forest and their pleasure at seeing the shy creatures. Their terror when they returned to camp were captured and held hostage by Rwandan rebels. -- recommended by Donna G. - Eiseley and Walt Branch Libraries

Have you read this one? What did you think?

Ten new reviews appear every month on the Staff Recommendations page of the BookGuide web site. You can visit that page to see them all, or watch them appear here in the BookGuide blog over the course of the entire month.