Comments on Musings of a Bookish Kitty: From Book to Film: Push to Precious

Julia - I really am not that familiar with ...

2009-11-26T11:00:00.491-08:00

Julia - I really am not that familiar with Mo'Nique, other than the brief interview I saw her in with Oprah. She does sound like a nice person. Nothing like her character in Precious. :-)

Teddy - It is such a good movie. Lucky you getting to see it early! I hope you will enjoy the book when you get to it.

I haven't read the book yet but I loved the mo...

2009-11-22T23:28:29.027-08:00

I haven't read the book yet but I loved the movie. I saw it before it was released, at the Vancouver International Film Festival. It has packed audiences and rave reviews.

As soon as I got home after viewing it, I added Push to my TBR.

Yes, Oprah have :) You know I find it amazing how ...

2009-11-22T20:24:50.488-08:00

Yes, Oprah have :) You know I find it amazing how Mo'Nique can act. I mean I have not see the movie yet but I've heard many said Mo'Nique play "evil" so well. But in real life she is the most sweetest, caring and funny person I've ever seen.

Yvonne - Thank you! Iliana - Thank ...

2009-11-22T10:08:28.868-08:00

Yvonne - Thank you!

Iliana - Thank you. I hope you are able to see the movie. I'd love to know what you think.

Stacy - I knew I had to read the book when my friend mentioned the movie was based on a book. I'm so glad I did.

Jen - I sure hope so! Mo'Nique especially was awesome in the film--she does evil well.

Julia - Oprah's been really pushing this movie, hasn't she? I saw her interview with Mo'Nique and Gabby earlier this month.

Aarti - Thank you. I actually had most of this post written right after I finished reading the book last month, so it fell into the pre-slog period. :-) I just added in my thoughts about the movie after I'd seen it.

I hope you like the movie when you see it!

Frances Hunter - Thank you for your kind words! I always worry when there's so much buzz about a movie or book that it won't live up to all that praise. In this case though, it did. At least I think so.

Marie - This book definitely had slipped un...

2009-11-22T09:57:47.974-08:00

Marie - This book definitely had slipped under my radar. I am glad my coworker asked me about it and encouraged me to read it.

Linda - Thank you. I'll be curious to know what you think of the movie when you see it, Linda.

My copy's making the rounds at my office too.

Thank you for the info about the author interview and the book being based on a real person. I'll have to see if I can find it somewhere online.

Bellezza - I had about four quotes I was considering using, but I liked that one the best. Plus it ties into the title.

I really liked Precious' teacher and the care and attention she took with her students.

It took me a second to get used to the vernacular when I first began reading Push, but I soon stopped noticing. At some point though, I realized just how much the writing had improved--Precious was learning and her writing got better as a result. I thought that was a great touch.

Jill (Softdrink) - I might not have noticed this one had my coworker not mentioned it to me this past summer. Then I began seeing and hearing about it just about everywhere. It's like suddenly noticing everyone's driving your new car.

Alice - I hope you will like it if you read it, Alice!

Kathleen - It is powerful and definitely worth reading and watching.

Tracy - Oh yes! I love the ArcLight. I like that you can pick your exact seats. :-) I just wish it wasn't so far away . . .

Amy (7 Tails) - Thank you. "Raw" is a good descriptor for the book. It definitely is that. Precious' story is heartbreaking--she had such a difficult life. She's such an amazing character though. Despite it all, she somehow manages to keep going.

Lu - Thank you, Lu. Push really was a hard...

2009-11-22T09:39:05.025-08:00

Lu - Thank you, Lu. Push really was a hard book to review, I agree. Like you, I found the story to be so heartbreaking. And it kept getting worse for dear Precious.

I definitely think this book would be a great one to read for a class. While the story itself is worthy of discussion, I think Sapphire's writing is worth exploring as well. I could see the poet coming out many times throughout the book.

J.S. - Thank you, J.S. Books like this are so difficult, especially when you consider that there are children going through all that Precious went through. I had the same reaction to The Bluest Eye when I read it. In both cases, it took me awhile before I was ready to read something else.

Kathy - If you do see the movie or read the book, definitely take plenty of tissue with you.

Staci - Thanks, Staci!

Kristie - Thank you, Kristie. It was a tough read, but very worth it. My copy of the book is making the rounds in my office right now. Everyone wants to read it. :-)

Florinda - I'm really picky about books like this given my job, but occasionally I come across one I just have to read. This was one of those books for me. It is very disturbing and I imagine it will be one of those a person has to read while in the right mindset.

Terri - Heavy books like this and the one you are reading can be exhausting, can't they? Lighter fare is definitely in order!

Melody - It is a powerful book, and well worth reading.

Thanks for the insightful review of Push and Preci...

2009-11-20T10:07:25.353-08:00

Thanks for the insightful review of Push and Precious. I had been hearing some of the buzz but didn't know what it was all about. Your review really helped me! What a harrowing tale of undeniable power ... I'm not sure I'm up for it.

Wow, what a wonderful review! I'm glad you ar...

2009-11-19T13:45:04.301-08:00

Wow, what a wonderful review! I'm glad you are out of your blogging slog (even though I completely understand hibernating for a while) because this post is so thorough and thoughtful. I am hoping to see this movie over Thanksgiving. It sounds so moving.

I have heard about this movie ever since Oprah Win...

2009-11-19T11:40:32.694-08:00

I have heard about this movie ever since Oprah Winfrey mention it. I never realized there a book base on that movie. I will have to check out the book and read it. But I am looking forward to seeing the movie, it sure sound like an emotional powerful movie. Thanks for sharing your thoughts/review on this :)

I think the movie may have a good shot at a couple...

2009-11-18T17:13:02.280-08:00

I think the movie may have a good shot at a couple of Oscars. I'm glad you liked the book so much!

What a wonderful post! I had no idea Precious was...

2009-11-17T17:59:16.622-08:00

What a wonderful post! I had no idea Precious was based on a book, but now I want to read and watch them both :)

This was wonderful to read, Wendy! I read the nove...

2009-11-17T14:05:48.052-08:00

This was wonderful to read, Wendy! I read the novel years ago, probably just when it first came out, so my recollection of it is very fuzzy but I do know that at the time it was very powerful. I really want to see the movie and am glad to hear it's gotten such good reviews.

Excellent review!

2009-11-17T04:10:55.349-08:00

Excellent review!

I wondered if Push/Precious was based on a true st...

2009-11-16T21:01:03.682-08:00

I wondered if Push/Precious was based on a true story & my husband and I talked about it. We realized that it actually doesn't matter because there are too many stories similiar to Precious' story across the country and the world.
I imagine the book is a little raw and harsh but that;'s the way it is. I will read this book (soon, too, because I'd like to talk to you about it!) but I am a little afraid of it because, as inspiring as Precious is, I know her story is also heart-breaking and bewildering. No matter how many times you hear how awful the circumstances are that some people, some children live in, it still surprises and shocks you the next time. Well, me anyway!

Thank you for a wonderful post. I'm exhausted or I would write more. But I'll be in touch soon!

This definitely sounds like a difficult read, but ...

2009-11-16T20:44:31.552-08:00

This definitely sounds like a difficult read, but probably really worth it. I'd like to the see the movie, too! BTW, I love the Arclight, don't you? I'm spoiled after buying tickets online and not having to wait in line. Also you can get a decent meal in the cafe :)

I look forward to reading the book and then seeing...

2009-11-16T19:52:56.535-08:00

I look forward to reading the book and then seeing the movie. Based on the trailer and your review, it is a powerful film!

This is definitely on my radar now, Wendy! I like ...

2009-11-16T19:23:13.732-08:00

This is definitely on my radar now, Wendy! I like the story and I want to read it. Thanks for the review!

Where have I been? I'd never even heard of the...

2009-11-16T18:26:32.829-08:00

Where have I been? I'd never even heard of the movie, and I've only seen the book mentioned a few times. Thanks for bringing this one to my attention.

What a powerful quote you started us out with! Wow...

2009-11-16T18:20:39.534-08:00

What a powerful quote you started us out with! Wow. I am inspired by stories of teachers who inspire their students. That my offset my immediate reaction to horror at speaking/spelling in the vernacular, being the grammatical fanaticist that I am. Or, long to be. ;)

What a fantastic review you wrote! Now, I definit...

2009-11-16T16:54:30.238-08:00

What a fantastic review you wrote! Now, I definitely have to see the movie.

My copy of the book has been making its way around our school to the other teachers and it's been interesting talking with them about it.

I caught half of an interview with Sapphire and I think I heard her say that the book is based on a real girl. I was disappointed not to hear the whole thing.

I haven't seen the movie yet, but I read the b...

2009-11-16T16:39:23.276-08:00

I haven't seen the movie yet, but I read the book when it came out over ten years ago and I thought it was incredibly powerful. I'm glad it finally made it to the screen and I'm sure I'll see it eventually. Thanks for writing about it!

I hadn't heard of this too. It sounds like a p...

2009-11-16T16:07:12.385-08:00

I hadn't heard of this too. It sounds like a powerful read and thanks to your lovely review, I'll have to look out for this book. :)

I hadn't heard of this one yet. I'm curren...

2009-11-16T14:22:30.926-08:00

I hadn't heard of this one yet. I'm currently reading Tender Morsels by Margo Lanagan and probably won't be up for another book on this kind of topic for awhile, but I did make a note of it. Thanks for the review of both the book and movie, Wendy!

I flipped through the book at Borders a couple of ...

2009-11-16T14:03:00.843-08:00

I flipped through the book at Borders a couple of weeks ago, and I'm not sure I'm up to it at this point. I'm not sure I'm ready to be that disturbed. However, your through discussion and strong praise of the book (and the movie) both carry a lot of weight with me, and I think this is going to stay on my radar for a while now.
Thanks for the reviews, Wendy!

This sounds like a good one, but possibly very tou...

2009-11-16T13:27:17.003-08:00

This sounds like a good one, but possibly very tough to read. I probably check it out eventually. Thanks for the great review Wendy!