"No matter how dreary and gray our homes are, we people of flesh and blood would rather live there than in any other country, be it ever so beautiful. There is no place like home."

Finished #334, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz today and I absolutely devoured it. I read a total of 135 pages today. I couldn't put it down, or rather, I didn't want to. I have been such a fan of the film since I was a little girl and I played Dorothy in my elementary school production of The Wizard of Oz, but I've never read the book before. Shame on me, I know, because I'm an English teacher. But, now I've rectified that huge mistake and I can't wait to read the rest of the series!

There wasn't anything I didn't like, but one thing that was a little odd to me is that Dorothy is a rather flat character. Judy Garland gave her so much more to love than was included in the novel. Not that I didn't like Dorothy, she was just a little bit boring, much more boring than the rest of her companions. Even Toto was more interesting than Dorothy in some chapters.

Things I liked:

1. I loved the way Baum used color in the novel. I liked that each place that Dorothy went had a specific color associated with it. I also really liked that the Emerald City wasn't really green. It was an interesting twist that I didn't really expect. It was just another thing that made the people of Oz believe that the Wizard was this great magician that he actually isn't.

2. The irony of each of the companions wanting something they already have (brains, a heart, and courage). Each of those characters already have the thing they seek. The Scarecrow is constantly coming up with ideas to help the group, the Tin Woodman is very caring (he even cried and consequently rusts himself when he accidentally steps on a small bug) and the Cowardly Lion was always willing to protect the group.

While I was reading this book, I was reminded of a lot of details from Wicked (the novel). I have just started reading Wicked again and I am really excited to see all of the connections between Baum's original Oz and the expanded Oz that Maguire created.

I can't wait to read this book to my kids! Everyone should read this book!

"I may not be a smart man, but I know what love is."

This one isn't on my list, but I've wanted to read it for a long time since I'm such a fan of the movie. Last month I read, well listened to, Forrest Gump. It was just as endearing as the movie if not more.

Things I liked:

1. First of all, the man that read it did a great job in the dramatization. His southern drawl was excellent and he read as if he were an "idiot," in his words, not mine.

2. I loved all of the extra adventures that were in the book that weren't in the movie. Forrest gets to be an astronaut and live with a tribe of cannibals and play harmonica in a band and he becomes a chess champion and an actor and a professional wrestler.

3. I liked that Jenny's son was NOT Forrest's baby, but that she named him Forrest Jr. since they were such close friends.

4. I like that Forrest ends up playing in a band after he becomes a successful businessman. He has made it in the world and realizes he was happier just playing his harmonica, so that's what he does.

Things I didn't like:

1. Mostly that he had a potty mouth. I was kind of expecting the Forrest from the movie when I read it, but the book Forrest was quite a bit more vulgar than the film one.

2. Also, this isn't something I didn't like about the book, but now that I've read it, I wish the movie would have been more accurate and I wish it would have followed the book a little more closely.

Overall, I loved it. If you are a fan of the film, you should read the book.