Orange Is the New Black

Title: Orange Is the New Black
Author: Piper Kerman
Source: bought on Amazon
Rating: ★★★☆☆
Review Summary: Although this book certainly satisfied my desire to learn about different aspects of the human experience, I felt less connected to the author than I have when reading my favorite memoirs.

When Piper Kerman was young and stupid, she let an older girlfriend talk her into delivering a case of drug money. Although she was smart enough to get out of that relationship and went on to build a good life with a husband and a job, her past eventually caught up to her. This memoir describes the year she spent in a women’s prison as a result.

Jane Eyre – A Bookish Movie Review

For my watching of Jane Eyre,  I just grabbed what was on the shelf at the library and ended up with this BBC miniseries. It was about 5 hours long and stuck very close to the book. I’m not sure if this is typical of BBC productions, but the acting often struck me as over the top and rather theatrical. It wasn’t bad, but it was definitely different.

Proving that you simply can’t please everyone with an adaptation despite the mostly meticulous following of the book, there were still a few things I thought important that got left out! There wasn’t anything specific I feel the need to complain about though, as overall this was a very faithful adaptation. Strangely, even with most events kept intact, I felt something was missing. A lot of this story is about what Jane thinks and feels, as she explains the story to you in the book. In the movie, her thoughts weren’t always clear and I think it lost a lot of the depth and beauty of the book as a result. I might try another adaptation in the future, but this one made me feel like this was a story that’s just better told by a book.