Reading

I've noticed many people post about books they are reading, so I decided to follow suit, since I just finished reading one. So, last month on my friend Shaun's:

birthday, my friend Sarah:

bought him:

Which was a movie from their childhood that was made in 1982. Which was the year we were all born, and the dvd says "25th anniversary edition" which kind of makes one feel old, because you are also the 25th anniversary of yourself (or in Shaun's case, 26th anniversary...). Here is the trailer for the movie:

So, anyway, I had never seen this movie before. Everything I knew about unicorns and wizards was from Harry Potter so it was nice to have a new view on some things. The movie is pretty bizarre, but has a great cast. While watching the credits, we learned it was based on book, and the author had written the screen play for the movie. The book (according to the extras) had a huge following and I wanted to read it to see how close it was to the movie, and mostly to see if Prince Lir actually says "I'm a hero." So I did read it. And it was more interesting than the movie. If you have seen the movie, you will be glad to know that these lines were straight from the book:
"Ah, turn blue." (Schmedrick to a lock that was teasing him)
"Have a taco." (Molly Grue to Schmedrick)
"I'm a hero." (Lir to Lady Amalthea) Only in the book, it goes a little more like this:
"I am a hero. It is a trade, no more, like weaving or brewing, and like them it has its own tricks and knacks and small arts...The happy ending cannot come in the middle of the story."
...Schmedrick asked, "Why not? Who says so?"
"Heroes," Prince Lir replied sadly.
So, if you watched The Last Unicorn when you were 5 and want to have things explained that you never understood, they are all in this book. Lir really isn't pompous about being a hero, he just is one. Schmedrick actually has a curse on himself that he is immortal until he learns how to be a real magician. And the battle between the unicorn and The Red Bull is explained much better. When the cat starts talking it isn't so bizarre, it seems normal. Also, the big tree Schmedrick gets tied to does not have giant bosoms in the book. The people who commented on YouTube agree, the book is better than the movie. I think it also would have been better if I didn't already have images from the cartoon in my head.

post script: I have been listening to Wuthering Heights, so I do also read adult books, just so you know.