I didn't want to gum up the Books Read thread with this, but I'm in a spot where I'm looking for my next thing to read and the answer isn't obvious. I've been thinking about dedicating some time to reading the books that eventually led to a movie adaptation.

So the question is: what's your favorite book that eventually became a movie?

I've seen Jurassic Park thrown around as one of the better ones. I just finished Dune.

Help me build my list.

"The Once and Future King"- "sword in the stone" is based on the first part of that book

"Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil"

Those are the first 2 to pop into my head, I'll think of others

I'm not sure what made me think of these, other than the books were excellent:

All the Light We Cannot See (netflix limited series, if that counts)

Where the Red Fern Grows

I'll try to think of some others.

And +1 on Jurrasic Park.

A lot of choices from John Grisham to select, but I'd start with The Firm.

Another vote for Sphere
Meg
Friday Night Lights
Enders Game
The Martian
Ready Player One

Shawshank Redemption

I know, not a book (novella) but still one of the best adaptions...

Different Seasons collection had three adaptations...

Jaws

How about Mario Puzo's "The Godfather?"

It's a pretty easy read and an interesting way to get a little more detail on the story.

I'm not sure that I have a favorite book made into a movie, at least not just one.

The list would be the Lord of the Rings trilogy, Jurassic Park, Dune, and Jaws as my favorites.

I love Tom Clancy's books but have not considered the movies to be the best for various reasons. His books were far too detailed to translate well to the cinema, for one, requiring big parts to be left out in the movies. Then filmmaking decisions such as casting Harrison Ford (too old for the role) or elevating a very minor character featured on one or two pages of the book, Patriot Games, into a major character in the movie (this was a character identified via satellite imagery by her tits as the place where the terrorists were conducting training ops in North Africa). The Hunt For Red October is actually a very good movie, but is not nearly as good as the book.

2010 - Arthur C Clarke actually wrote 2001: A Space Odyssey alongside Stanley Kubrik filming the movie, not quite a novelization but also not an original novel. The sequel, published in 1982, was definitely an original novel. The movie came out a couple of years later. While it brought a different tone to the original movie, the sequel was an underrated movie from late in 1984, and is one of my favorites from the era.

Starship Troopers - the book is great. The movie sucks ass.

Stephen King - most of his books have been made as TV miniseries it seems, but I really did like the two part movie version of IT. Stanley Kubrik's The Shining is a damn fine movie, but differs quite a bit from the book.

The Hobbit - great book. I don't even want to get into how bad the movie trilogy was, other than when I saw Peter Jackson planned another trilogy full of 3+ hour movies, I knew it was going to be bad because the book really suggested a single movie of about 2 hours in running time.

Bram Stoker's Dracula - great book that has inspired a bunch of Dracula movies. I love the 1931 movie, and I also love the 1992 movie.

War of the Worlds - another great book that has inspired a few cinematic versions of the story, none of which have truly captured the book as written. I love the 1953 movie. Spielberg's 2005 take on the story was closer to the book in some ways, but like the original movie, was not the book in visual form.

Not a novel, but a novella - Who Goes There? This is a 1938 story that has inspired 3 movies - 1951's The Thing From Another World, 1982's The Thing, and 2011's prequel The Thing. The 1951 movie is a loose inspiration that stops being Who Goes There? after establishing the cold environment of the story (although they changed it from Antarctica to the Arctic for that movie). John Carpenter actually nailed the original story with his 1982 movie, down to character's saying dialogue that was in the written story published damn near 50 years previous. The only thing he left out was a mind-reading idea from the original story. The prequel is pretty much a rehash of the 1982 movie, set in a Norwegian camp in Antarctica with an ending that flows right into the beginning of Carpenter's masterpiece.

Fleen said:

---

Shawshank Redemption

I know, not a book (novella) but still one of the best adaptions...

Different Seasons collection had three adaptations...

---

Besides Shawshank Redemption, the other adaptations were Apt Pupil and Stand by Me. Apt Pupil was pretty average, but Stand by Me is a classic.

The other story in the book is called The Breathing Method. Neat story, but I'm not sure it would make a good movie.

Wow - -I posted this early this morning and then got busy...love seeing all the replies!

Quote:

---

If you've somehow never read Jurassic Park, read that. Then you could do a dive through all the Chricton books, which most were made into movies, but the books were all way better.

---

I haven't and it's been on the list, so it's likely where I'll start!

Quote:

---

I'm not sure what made me think of these, other than the books were excellent:

All the Light We Cannot See (netflix limited series, if that counts)

Where the Red Fern Grows

---

I read AtLWCS back in 2019 and LOVED it - the writing was so good and the way he intertwined the stories...masterpiece. Actually haven't seen the Netflix series...need to fix that

WTRFG was one I read in school when reading was a required chore rather than my top hobby...I remember liking it, even then. Sounds like I may need to revisit. Somewhat related, have you ever read Cold Sassy Tree? Similar feel. It's on my bookshelf and I almost started it last night and didn't pull the trigger.

A couple of people mentioned LOTR - this intimidates me in that it's such a commitment. I spent the first 6 months of 2024 with A Song of Fire and Ice (Game of Thrones) and I'm not sure I'm ready to dive back into a time commitment like that. I always say I'll break up the books with easier reads in between, but my OCD won't let me.

Quote:

---

Not a movie technically, but the answer to this is clear for me, as it's one of my favorite books I have ever read…

Lonesome Dove

---

Surprised to see this is the first post to turn blue....I'll add it to the list.

Quote:

---

Another vote for Sphere
Meg
Friday Night Lights
Enders Game
The Martian
Ready Player One

---

Didn't realize FNL was a book
I read Project Hail Mary...same author as The Martian, right? I thought PHM was good, but it didn't blow me away like it seems to have done with a lot of people. Wasn't in love with his writing style.

Quote:

---

How about Mario Puzo's "The Godfather?"

It's a pretty easy read and an interesting way to get a little more detail on the story.

---

I've actually never seen The Godfather movie **ducks**

The book of the Martian is good, and will make you realize that for parts of the book they were extremely faithful. It'll also make you super glad that they kind of skim over some of the issues he has with the long rover journey. That part of the book really drags for me.

Also, to recommend one no one has said yet, I Am Legend is a quick read, but will make you hate what they did with the movie.

No Country for Old Men, The Great Gatsby, The Prestige, A Christmas Carol, All Quiet on the Western Front

The Perfect Storm
No Country for Old Men

Great adaptations imo. With No Country almost being perfect. What a book...but what a film too.

Not movies but I have two books on my must read list that were turned into TV series. You may have already seen the tv versions (I have not), but the books are suppose to be beyond excellent. The Haunting of Hill House by (Shirley Jackson), and Wayward Pines (Blake Crouch)

Edit: One more on my too read list that was made into a movie. The Memory Police (Yoko Agawa). It comes with some mixed reviews but there are some reviewers I respect that loved the book. Up for consideratation

True Grit.

Loved the book and it was made into two really great films.

Another good example is the Nicolas Pileggi book Casino: Love and Honor in Las Vegas. Good book Scorsese made into an even better film. Pileggi's Wiseguy book wasn't as good but Scorsese turned it into Goodfellas.

El Gallo Blanco said:

---

The Perfect Storm
No Country for Old Men

Great adaptations imo. With No Country almost being perfect. What a book...but what a film too.

---

NCfOM is probably the best adaptation of a book I've seen.

Both the book and movie are fantastic.

Read Wayward Pines earlier this year…highly recommended! Didn't realize they were making a tv series!

Wolfpac 08 said:

---

Read Wayward Pines earlier this year…highly recommended! Didn't realize they were making a tv series!

---

Already had. 2015/2016 starring Matt Dillon.. Have no idea if it was good or not

I've always held Jurassic Park in rarefied air on the book to movie adaptation list. Because the book was great, the movie was great, but as far as the adaptation goes the movie doesn't hold a candle to the book. In fact, going back to the rarefied thing, I think it's one of the very few that if you had read the book first it would have taken away from enjoying the movie, instead of providing better clarity....like most books to movie adaptations.

StinkyPinky said:

---

Wolfpac 08 said:

---

Read Wayward Pines earlier this year…highly recommended! Didn't realize they were making a tv series!

---

Already had. 2015/2016 starring Matt Damon Dillon. Have no idea if it was good or not

---

I recall being excited for the TV series after reading the books but was pretty disappointed. But that was also 10 years ago(!) so memory could be a bit hazy.

LandArchSA said:

---

StinkyPinky said:

---

Wolfpac 08 said:

---

Read Wayward Pines earlier this year…highly recommended! Didn't realize they were making a tv series!

---

Already had. 2015/2016 starring Matt Damon Dillon. Have no idea if it was good or not

---

I recall being excited for the TV series after reading the books but was pretty disappointed. But that was also 10 years ago(!) so memory could be a bit hazy.

---

Haven't read the books but the series started pretty strong and got pretty rough by the end of season 1. Season 2 I watched a couple episodes and bailed because it was so bad.

I think doing it on network tv wasn't the right format. If they're doing it on a streaming service then that will probably be a lot better.

LandArchSA said:

---

StinkyPinky said:

---

Wolfpac 08 said:

---

Read Wayward Pines earlier this year…highly recommended! Didn't realize they were making a tv series!

---

Already had. 2015/2016 starring Matt Damon Dillon. Have no idea if it was good or not

---

I recall being excited for the TV series after reading the books but was pretty disappointed. But that was also 10 years ago(!) so memory could be a bit hazy.

---

Thnx for the correction. Reviews look lackluster for it.

StinkyPinky said:

---

Wolfpac 08 said:

---

Read Wayward Pines earlier this year…highly recommended! Didn't realize they were making a tv series!

---

Already had. 2015/2016 starring Matt Dillon.. Have no idea if it was good or not

---