I'm a book reviewer now!

     So after a conference with a fickle wifi connection, 8 hours on the road, a massive headache that left me incapacitated, and a penchant for watching Ugly Betty on Netflix until 4 in the morning, I'm finally back for one of my final posts.  I'm the worst at keeping up with a schedule.  So here's an informal annotated bibliography for the sources I used and books I read during this project.

1. Wicked by Gregory Maguire
...We already know how I feel about this.  A great book for character development and fantastical worlds, but little in the way of plot.  Not my favorite in the adaptation world of WOZ.

2. The Wonderful Wizard of Oz Graphic Novel adaptation by Eric Shanower with art by Scottie Young
     I adored this as an adaptation of WOZ.  It was a beautiful imagining of Baum's original vision.  I believe it would be incredibly useful in a variety of settings, especially in a classroom.  It remains true to the plot, without leaving much out and would be so great for those with any kind of learning disability.

3. Film Adaptation and Its Discontents: From Gone with the Wind to The Passion of the Christ by Thomas Leitch
     This book was a little bit hard to read through as a sit down book, but it was incredibly eye opening to the adaptation process.  Leitch is a film studies professor at the University of Delaware, and his book focused mostly on the process that is adaptation.  He references a variety of films which span the genres.  There are many direct comparisons between original sources and their adaptations, focusing mainly on the problems with adapting a text.

4. A Theory of Adaptation by Linda Hutcheon
    Hutcheon's book on adaptation was a much easier read.  Her style of writing had a little less jargon and some personality.  While Leitch focuses on the problems of adaptation, Hutcheon suggests that adaptation is a necessary part of storytelling.  Adaptation has become a process that is innate.  We must continue to tell these stories as they are a part of our psyche.  She even discusses Campbell's monomyth! Yay!  She not only discusses film adaptations but the multitude of possibilities that new media brings to the adaptation table.
5. The Wizard of Oz as American Myth: A Critical Study of Six Versions of the Story, 1900-2007 by Alissa Burger
     This was my FAVORITE book throughout the whole term.  I haven't been able to find any confirmation for the thought, but I have the feeling that it was a doctoral thesis/dissertation.  Burger is now a professor at Bowling Green State University and her specialty is literature and cultural studies.  This book focuses on the most popular adaptations of the WOZ world, being the MGM version, The Wiz, Wicked the novel, Wicked the musical, Tin Man.  Rather than focusing solely on how the adaptations compared to Baum's original story, Burger focuses on what each adaptation says about the culture in which it was produced.  Which, if you hadn't noticed, was exactly what I was wanting to explore!  She focuses on a variety of topics, such as the concept of home and feminine depictions.  I loved this one even though it was a little hard to slog through at times.


And that's it guys!  My book reviews.  I hope they're helpful.  Have fun reading!

-M.