Reading a good book is always good!

BOOKS MADE INTO MOVIES

“Time flies and there is little to spare” that is what many people say. However, there must be moments of pause, so one can think about things other than job, duties and responsibilities. To do so, some few activities like hooking up on a dancing lesson, staying and home and sleeping in, watching a good film, or surfing the web can be useful if you want to relax. This list is rather short of course, but there is one more activity that must be added and that can truly help you forget all your worries, and if your choice is good, it can certainly guarantee lots of fun, excitement and entertainment: reading a book!




As they say “beauty is in the eye of the beholder”, so what a good book is depends on each person. There are different kinds of genres, and endless options to choose (everybody can find something they like). Yet, dear reader, as we live is a fast pace society, some questions arise: When was the last time you read a book that was a real page turner? What was it like? Do you remember what it made you feel? Why? Hopefully, the memories of a good book are fresh in your mind. If not, here is a list of great books that you can read and enjoy.





PS: Knowing that life goes fast, all the books that you see in this list were made into movies (so if there is no time to read the whole book, you can watch the movie… however, no movie can match what your imagination does while you are reading).

BOOK TITLE AUTHOR MOVIE TITLE
Age of Innocence (1920) Edith Wharton Age of Innocence (1993)
Alive (1974) Piers Read Alive (1993)
Angela’s Ashes (1996) Frank McCourt Angela’s Ashes (1999)
Angels and Demons (2000) Dan Brown Angels and Demons (2009)
Beautiful Mind (1998) Sylvia Nasar Beautiful Mind (2001)
Black Hawk Down (1999) Mark Bowden Black Hawk Down (2001)
Bourne Identity (1980) Robert Ludlum Bourne Identity (2002)
Bridges of Madison County (1992) Robert J. Waller Bridges of Madison County (1995)
English Patient (1992) Michael Ondaatje English Patient (1996)
Forrest Gump (1986) Winston Groom Forrest Gump (1994)
Get Shorty (1990) Elmore Leonard Get Shorty (1995)
Green Mile (1996) Stephen King Green Mile (1999)
Hannibal (1999) Thomas Harris Hannibal (2001)
Harry Potter J.K. Rowling Harry Potter
Hours (1997) Michael Cunningham Hours (2002)
L. A. Confidential (1990) James Ellroy L. A. Confidential (1997)
Last of the Mohicans James F. Cooper Last of the Mohicans (1992)
Lord of the Flies (1954) William Golding Lord of the Flies (1990)
Lord of the Rings J. R. R. Tolkien Fellowship of the Ring Fellowship of the Ring (01)
Two Towers Two Towers (2002)
Return of the King Return of the King (2003)
Mystic River (2001) Dennis Lehane Mystic River (2003)
Pianist (1999) Wladyslow Szpilman Pianist (2002)
Sum of All Fears (1991) Tom Clancy Sum of All Fears (2002)
The Godfather (1969) Mario Puzo The Godfather (1972)

BONUS: Go to http://www.filmsite.org/afi400quotes.html, hear the quotes, and guess the movie :)

What is the safest way to travel?

Cars, trains, airplanes?

The means that you use for travelling depend on several factors, being safety one of the most essential ones. However, there are many other things people consider before travelling; the most important among these are the budget and also where you want to travel. In case of travelling within the city, trains and cars are used. However if you want to go to another city or country, you have the choice of travelling in a plane, train or automobile.

If you compare the three means just from the point of view of safety (not taking into account other variables such as distance or budget), you are going to fid that then airplanes planes are the safest way to travel. Or the last decades, plane safety has considerably improved to the point that today it is six times better than what it used to be 20 years ago. These positive changes (in safety) can be credited to the advanced technology, tough competition and strict and regular industry audits and quality control checks. According to the Aviation Authorities, planes are the safest way to travel also because they have the least number of fatalities on per kilometer.

In spite of the safety, accidents do occur - but these are rare, and the annual number of deaths in plane accidents has decreased over the past ten years. There are many cases when fatal accidents have occurred and people became frightened of travelling in planes, but at the end of the day, planes still remain the safest means of travelling.

Trains are a convenient way of travelling and transporting goods. The number of accidents involving trains has increased over the past years (the most recent one happened in Italy about a week ago). The major causes of accidents for trains are derailment, driver's error, explosions, and collapsing of bridges. One of the important factors contributing to the increasing train accidents is the increased speed of trains.

As compared to planes and trains, cars have the greatest statistics for accidents and fatalities all around the world. More than half the car accidents occur due to mistakes on the driver's part, resulting in a large number of accidents. The most common causes of automobile accidents are drug intake, reckless driving and intoxication.

In case of trains and planes, there is less room for any negligence on the driver's part because it is the driver who is responsible for hundreds of lives. The authorities keep a close check on the driver's alcohol intake and other health factors. According to research, in the case of plane accidents that have occurred all around the world over the last five decades, 30% of accidents were caused due to pilot error, while all the other accidents were caused due to mechanical, weather or some other condition.

Ultimately, it is not always safety that we think about while travelling. Cars are the least safe means of travel, but they are still most widely used. The way people travel depends on their own choice, resources and preferences.

Adapted from: http://ezinearticles.com/?Planes,-Trains-and-Automobiles---What-is-the-Safest-Way-to-Travel?&id=1599733