Did you know it was Tuesday today? All day?
Well, I forgot, and so I forgot to make my list for Top Ten Tuesday: Top Ten Books I’d Like to See Made into Movies!
I thought this was a fun topic, so I’m doing it a little bit late. Read my list, read the lists of all the fine folks at the Broke and the Bookish, and tell me which books you’d like to see on the silver screen.
1. Ender’s Game
by Orson Scott Card. I recently listened to the audio book of this and fell in love. “This would be a great movie,” I thought. Clearly I am not alone. I’m sure this one made lots of lists this week, and it is being made into a movie right now. I’m in.
2. The Tripods Trilogy
by John Christopher. Okay, this is three books. But once they’ve made The White Mountains, obviously the world will be clamoring for The City of Gold and Lead and The Pool of Fire. Classic YA sci-fi, could classify as dystopian, yet refreshingly free of romance. (And disappointingly free of heroic girls, or many girls at all.)
3. The Magicians
by Lev Grossman. Narnia plus The Secret History plus Bright Lights, Big City, with some Harry Potter riffs for good measure. I loved this book for about 300 pages, and then I fell out of love, but I would still definitely be interested in the movie version. (And I plan to read the sequel.)
4. The Little House books
by Laura Ingalls Wilder. Okay, I know there is a Disney miniseries, and, of course, that TV show. But I want a real movie. I want it to capture perfectly my experience of reading these books as a child. I want it to look just like the Garth Williams illustrations, but probably I want it to be live action. I want there to be a lot of fiddle music, and Pa’s stories, and a lot of food and dresses and long winters and buggy rides and tin cups and horses and woodworking and schoolhouses and Indians and all the things that make these books great. That’s not a tall order, is it?
5. The Mysterious Benedict Society
by Trenton Lee Stewart. This could truly be fun for the whole family. Great characters, great story, and of course, the potential to make the other books in the series into movies, too.
6. Ready Player One
by Ernest Cline. I loved this book, which I believe is crying out for a sequel, and a movie adaptation, too.
7. The Giver
by Lois Lowry. Seriously. Why is this not already a movie? Now seems like a good time, with the current YA dystopia fever going around. Again, potential for sequels! Come on, Hollywood. Get on board.
8. Something by Agatha Christie. I know these have been BBC-ed quite a bit, but doesn’t Dame Agatha deserve the big screen? I would love to see a really well done feature film, maybe even a contemporary adaptation. I can’t decide if a Poirot or Marple mystery would be best, or one of the “light thrillers” that might not hang together perfectly but is still a lot of fun. Miss Anderson had this on her list, too, so we must be onto something!
9. The Golden Compass
by Philip Pullman. Technically, this has already been made into a movie, but they did such a poor job that I would like a do-over. They could keep the same cast, just . . . change almost everything else.
10. Breakfast at Tiffany’s
by Truman Capote. I love the Audrey Hepburn movie, but I would also love to see a movie version that is truer to the novella. (Spoiler: the ending is not kissing in the rain.) Jennifer Lawrence, are you free?
Your turn! What books would you like to see at the movies? Or, what are some of the best or worst book-to-movie adaptations you’ve seen?
Never Done It That Way Before 
yes i agree that breakfast at tiffany’s book and movie version are different, but they both have strengths and weaknesses. i love the idea of the love interest between “fred” and holly.
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Yes, I love them both! But I was very surprised when I read the book.
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There’ve been a surprising number of movies bounding about recently that, to my surprise, were born out of novels. “The Road” was magnificent, but I hadn’t realized “True Grit” started life as a book, and apparently even “Cowboys and Aliens” was a graphic novel. Who knew?
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I guess there’s nothing new under the sun! This reminds me that I would like to read True Grit–it’s the only Coen brothers movie I truly like besides O Brother, Where Art Thou? and maybe Fargo.
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My two picks are totally different. I think “People of the Book” by Geraldine Brooks would be an amazing movie. I’d love it if a director like Tarsem Singh directed it because the imagery in the book is gorgeous and the story is just beautiful. My other pick is probably unfilmable; it’s Mark Z. Danielewski’s “House of Leaves”. It’s a crazy, scary, deep, philosophical/theological nightmarish tome, but it’s so vivid that I’d love to see someone try to film it.
I’ve heard rumors the past few years that “The Giver” has been optioned to be filmed, but that it just can’t seem to get off the ground, which is ridiculous, because everyone around my age read it in school and LOVES it (myself included).
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That is a fascinating pair of books, Sarah. I haven’t read either, but they are definitely going on my list.
It makes sense that The Giver has been optioned, and no sense that they can’t get it off the ground. I would totally make all my confirmation kids go see it. Twice.
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I am reading Little House to my children now. My MIL found almost the entire set, the 1952 edition, at the second hand store in New Ulm. We are on Farmer Boy. My husband has enjoyed reading them this time through too. He is interested in homesteading and likes the discussion of how the work was done.
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How fun! I think I will get one or two of the “My First Little House” picture books for Zoe for her birthday–we are not quite ready for the real thing. I have to say that I always enjoyed the descriptions of the food and dresses (and sleigh and buggy rides) more than the descriptions of farming. But maybe I’ll get more out of those parts now that I know some farmers!
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My fourth grade teacher read the Tripod trilogy aloud to us. Thanks for jogging my memory!
Have you read Gathering Blue and The Messenger? I don’t think they’re officially sequels to The Giver, but are similarly dis/utopian and are worth checking out if you love the Giver as much as I do.
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What a good read aloud! My fourth grade teacher read The BFG, and he laughed so hard at all the fart jokes he could barely get through it. (He was probably about 22. I loved him.) I have read those other books, and I think they do all connect, but you can also enjoy them on their own. This post and the comments are making me want to read all three again!
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I so want to see the Laure Ingells Wilder books made into movies!!! 🙂 I grew up on them too, and me and my friends used to play “Little House on the Prairie” games- I believe there are even a few photos somewhere! 🙂
Thanks for reminding me- I so have to read these to my daughter in a couple years’ time! 🙂
I’m enjoying your Blog. Congrats on being Freshly Pressed!! 🙂
Love from Rach.
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Love it! We played a lot of pioneer girl games, too, although we were our own characters, Clorinda and Winifer (like Winifred, but not actually a name). I am Very Excited to read these with Zoe one day.
Thanks for reading! I enjoy writing it, too.
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Pingback: Top Ten Top Tens! | Never Done It That Way Before
I read the first Magicians book – and while there was so much to like, I didn’t like the characters. However, I am actually loving the tv adaptation! Have you seen it? 🙂
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Yeah, it’s hard when you can’t really root for anybody. I have NOT seen the TV adaptation, but you’re making me want to!
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