The 80s Movie Tag | Book Tag

I was tagged by the lovely Jenna @ Bookmark Your Thoughts to do the 80s Movie Tag. It’s taken me a little while to get to it, but it looked like fun, so let’s just jump right in!

1. A Nightmare on Elm Street: A book that kept you up all night

I know I mention it all the time, but no book has managed to creep under my skin quite like Bird Box by Josh Malerman. And for the record, it’s so much better than the recent movie adaptation.

2. The Princess Bride: A wonderfully quotable book

Carrie Fisher is the queen of zingy one-liners that are hugely quotable, in both her fiction and non-fiction. Here are some examples, most of which are from her most famous memoir, Wishful Drinking, to illustrate my point:

“Resentment is like drinking poison and waiting for the other person to die.”

“It’s a man’s world and show business is a man’s meal, with women generously sprinkled through it like overqualified spice.”

“You know how they say that religion is the opiate of the masses? Well, I took masses of opiates religiously.”

“I’m a PEZ dispenser and I’m in the abnormal Psychology textbook. Who says you can’t have it all?”

“If my life wasn’t funny it would just be true, and that is unacceptable.”

“Sometimes you can only find Heaven by slowly backing away from Hell.”

“I’m very sane about how crazy I am.”

“Take your broken heart, make it into art.”

3. Ferris Bueller’s Day Off: A character who loves breaking the rules

Fred and George Weasley definitely come to mind for this!

4. When Harry Met Sally: A couple that took an eternity to get together

I genuinely can’t think of anything for this… I suppose that shows how rarely I reach for books with a prominent romance plotline.

5. Back to the Future: A book involving time travel

I’m going to pick one from my TBR for this: The House on the Strand by Daphne du Maurier. The idea of du Maurier combining her rich gothic atmosphere with time travel is intriguing to say the least.

6. Pretty in Pink: A character with a unique style

Sebastian from the graphic novel, The Prince and the Dressmaker by Jen Wang. He’s a member of the French aristocracy in the 19^th century, but with the help of a talented seamstress, he moonlights as Lady Crystallia, a sought-after fashion icon. It’s an incredibly charming story with heartfelt queer representation that never falls back on the use of labels.

7. The Karate Kid: Favourite book involving the training/mentoring trope

I’m not sure it’s necessarily my ‘favourite’ to feature this trope, but the first that came to mind is Starfish by Akemi Dawn Bowman – and it does utilise it unashamedly. It’s about a biracial teen with serious anxiety issues who moves away to escape a difficult homelife, and to pursue her love of art. She meets Hiroshi, who helps to nurture her artistic talents, whilst also helping her to make peace with her Asian ancestry. (Also, I’ll take any excuse to show off this cover.)

8. Die Hard: A book with a trip that doesn’t go as planned

In Final Girls by Riley Sager, the lead character went on holiday with five friends, and returned as the only survivor; the others having been brutally murdered in a slasher-like massacre. Saying things didn’t go as planned is quite the understatement.

9. Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Arc: A book with the central character’s name in the title

Dolores Claiborne is an engrossing and poignant, yet suitably horrifying character study by Stephen King. The whole thing reads like an extended monologue, as Dolores attempts to clear her name of one murder, whilst confessing to another. She makes for a very compelling anti-heroine, and King uses her perspective to question whether murder can ever be justified.

10. Dirty Dancing: A female character who comes out of her shell

Clara from House of Glass by Susan Fletcher has lived a very sheltered life. Plagued by ill health and fragile bones, she has been kept indoors nearly all her childhood. When her mother dies, and her passion for botany gets her a job offer to establish a glass house at a remote country manor, she leaves home and starts making her way in the world for the first time. Her lack of social experience, coupled with a thirst for knowledge that comes from a youth spent reading, and a stubbornness against those who underestimate her, soon sees her drawn into a gothic mystery.

11. Top Gun: A death that took you by surprise

RIP Hedwig. Gone but never forgotten.

12. ET: An ending that left you both happy and sad

The first thing that came to mind was A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness. The emotional payoff is so satisfying, but incredibly sad.

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There we have it! Thanks again to Jenna for tagging me. Since it’s taken me a while to get round to doing this, I’ll leave it open to anyone who fancies giving it a go.

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