The Running Bibliophile

The Witches by Roald Dahl: Honest Book Review, Themes, and Movie Comparison If you grew up loving spooky stories, there’s a good chance you remember the 1990 film The Witches . Recently, I found myself thinking about that movie again, and it led me down a nostalgic rabbit hole that ended with me finally reading the book for the first time. The first time I watched this movie was in middle school after renting it from a video store for a slumber party. I remember being completely terrified. So terrified, in fact, that I made my dad sit down and watch it with me and my friends. That reaction was unusual for me, especially since I’ve been watching horror movies since I was seven years old, starting with Poltergeist . For years, I thought The Witches was just a movie. I had no idea it was based on a novel by Roald Dahl. Somehow, I missed his books entirely as a child ... something I still find surprising. So reading The Witches as an adult felt both nostalgic and eye-opening. Quick ...

The Devil Wears Prada  by Lauren Weisberger follows recent college graduate Andrea “Andy” Sachs as she moves to New York City with her best friend Lily, determined to break into the competitive world of publishing. After blanketing the city with her résumé and facing rejection after rejection, Andy finally lands what many consider the opportunity of a lifetime: a job “a million girls would die for” as the junior personal assistant to the formidable Miranda Priestly, editor-in-chief of the fictional high-fashion magazine Runway. What begins as a stepping stone into the publishing industry quickly spirals into a demanding, all-consuming role that tests Andy’s ambition, integrity, and relationships. As she becomes more entrenched in the glamorous yet cutthroat world of fashion, her personal life begins to unravel, leaving her to question how much she’s willing to sacrifice for her career. When The Devil Wears Prada hit theaters, I knew I had to see it, and I wasn’t disappo...

With Crooked House coming out in theaters soon, I knew I had to reread the book before watching the movie, and I was glad that I did. I didn't remember anything about the book going into it, but as I read, bits and pieces started coming back to me. Reader beware ... this mystery is one of Agatha Christie's stand alone books that is not part of any of her popular detective series ... so no Hercule Poirot & his little gray cells, no Miss Marple, and no Tommy & Tuppence. Agatha Christie's Hercule Poirot series is my favorite so at first I was a bit disappointed that he wasn't in this particular book. The book begins with the narrator, Charles Hayward, meeting Sophia Leonides in Egypt during the European War, which we know better as World War II. Charles instantly falls in love with Sophia but since it is too soon for him to propose to her, they make plans on meeting in England once the war is over to see if they are both still available and interested in eac...