I read both of these books about five years ago, in college, so the
particulars are a little hazy. I’m almost positive I enjoyed both of
them. Now they’re Major Motion Pictures, and the books have been
re-released with actors on the covers. Since my short-term memory was
badly damaged by the parts of college where I wasn’t in class, I can
only judge the possible worth of the movie adaptations by these new
covers.
I don’t like how the guy starring in Into the Wild looks
like Jack Black. I can’t take him seriously because he’s got a goofball
face. However, he is eating out of a can on top of an old bus in the
woods, which wins points for its rugged individualism.
The Hottest State has a guy and girl sitting on a bed. He’s
reading a newspaper and she’s playing a guitar. The fact that there’s a
capo on the guitar suggests she was actually playing something, not
just posing, which is real. I like real. The male actor, though, also
looks like a goofball.
The winner: The Hottest State, because Ethan Hawke directed
the movie based on his own book. I’m guessing Sean Penn totally fucked
up the Krakauer book. 