20 Books That Should Be Movies

I love reading books probably as much as I like watching movies–actually, I just enjoy watching great movies as much as I love reading great books. My love of films came early–I started watching movies in theatres by age 3, with Bambi as my first movie-going experience. It is still one of my earliest memories–the terror of the fire, the loss of his mother, the panic of the dark theatre. I can even remember crying throughout the film. Despite being scared and sad, I still loved it, as I’ve always been a bit of an Emo, even though that word wasn’t around in 1974.

Reading came to me at age 4–shockingly, even though my mom was working and going to college while also being mentally ill, she (along with help from my beloved great-grandmother), taught me to read and write at that young age. I can remember walking around the complex we lived in (alone, but it was the 1970′s, and again, she was mentally ill and now pregnant and married to an idiot who never wanted me around), bragging to all the other mothers how I could spell and even write my full name in cursive. (Being an Italian, this was no easy task.) The other mothers would bring out a piece of paper for me to demonstrate, as well as a book to read. Even back then, I was a bit dramatic, but I suppose that comes from being around a mother on an unmedicated manic high most of the time.

I fell for books hard, loving and devouring novels such as Black Beauty and every Judy Blume book ever written about 30 times each–no exaggeration. When I got a bit older and started realizing they were making books into movies, I thought it was the coolest thing ever, or at least until I saw Flowers in the Attic. As an adult, I got irritated when a film was worse than the book–and as we all know, books are almost always better than the movie version. I’ve learned to either read a book with potential movie buzz as soon as it comes out, or wait to read it long after the film version premieres. This is why I still haven’t read the Harry Potter books–I just can’t spoil those lovely films for me.

Every time I read a book, I decide in my head if it will become a movie, and try to picture just how good of a movie it will be. I knew Fight Club was going to be amazing–and it was, quite possibly better than the book. Sometimes, movies even beat the book for me, as with The Prince of Tides and Dances With Wolves, which are two of my favorite movies of all time. I’ve read a lot of good books, and I’ve always wondered why so many of them never get made into movies, especially when many movies are so crappy these days. Then again, I’m more of an indie film fan than an action film fan, but we all know Hollywood is just about making money these days, which is why we have franchises and super heroes shoved in our faces every summer and winter. As a former movie theatre manager, I can even begin to tell you how disappointed I am with the lack of original or adapted screenplays these days.

I have been thinking about writing this post for a long time now, and I’ve narrowed down my list to 20 books that should be adapted into movies right away. I know the right people will never read this list, but at least now both you and I can agree that some if not all of these books should be made into movies a.s.a.p.

Haunted by Chuck Palahniuk–If people love horror movies so much, then why in the hell hasn’t someone made this into a movie yet? This was the only book of Palahniuk’s that I couldn’t stomach. Actually, I had to stop reading it for an entire month, because I was so freaked out about that first story about the boy in the pool whose masturbation habits led to the loss of most of his intestines. This was the story that had people fainting at readings all over the country–and to even imagine that first story on-screen makes me shudder, but in a good way.

The Solace of Leaving Early by Haven Kimmel–I adore Haven, especially after meeting her a few years ago, but her book being on my list has nothing to do with that. She’s a talent that writes in every genre (she’s working on 3 books as I write this), and her tragic first novel is so good that the Oscar-winning director of The Graduate, Mike Nichols, optioned the book to be made into a film. I’m just wondering when in the hell is he getting around to making it?

 

The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova–The Ann Arbor, Michigan native spent 10 years perfecting her first novel, so naturally it began the first debut novel to hit #1 on The New York Times bestseller list back in 2005. Kostova’s round-the-world exploration of Vlad the Impaler (a medieval ruler that the legend of Count Dracula is based upon) is simply breathtaking. And, for the record, I hate books and movies about vampires! This film version was supposed to happen, as Sony bought the rights, but where in the hell is it?

One Thousand White Women: The Journals of May Dodd by Jim Fergus–I love historical fiction, so I was lucky that my mother-in-law recommended this book to me. It is based on an actual historical event, and is told via diary and letter from about a young woman who travels to the American West (along with 1,000 other women) to marry a Native American. If only I had the money, talent and skills … I’d make this book into a movie myself!

My Losing Season by Pat Conroy–Nobody else could convince me to read a book about basketball other than Pat Conroy. This book is so good, despite being centered around the sport I hate the most. It’s not only about basketball, it’s about Conroy’s life, and I always love a good tale of an underdog and his friendships, challenges and experiences during one of the toughest times of his life. This book is based on Conroy’s senior year at The Citidal. Brad Pitt was supposed to produce it, but I guess he is too busy raising kids to get the ball rolling.

My Name is Memory by Ann Brashares–The first in a trilogy, this book is unlike anything I’ve ever read before. I laughed when I re-read my review of this book, as I said the following: My Name Is Memory is one of those rare books that you know will be hugely successful, get made into a movie, and the author will be sitting around chatting with Oprah and Ellen about it in the not-so-distant future.  People will be recommending this book to each other for years.  Don’t be surprised when your book club picks it next year, just remember I told you they would! It is part romance, part historical fiction, part fantasy, part semi-paranormal romance, part Y.A., part adult fiction, and time travel-esque. I could talk about it forever here, but for space purposes, just trust me–you wanna see it on the big screen.

Last Night in Twisted River by John Irving–This novel reads as if it is based on John Irving’s actual life. Ever since I saw the film “The World According to Garp” at age eleven I have wondered to myself what exactly did John Irving survive in his past? I absolutely love John Irving, and we all know what a brilliant writer he is. I would love to see this tale of a father, son and grandson, and the fifty year-long friendship they have with a mysterious logger, Mr. Ketcham.

Remarkable Creatures by Tracy Chevelier–Tracy Chevalier fascinates me and turns me on to everything she writes about. I feel this is her best work–for instance, how powerful is the first line of this novel? “Lightening has struck me all my life.  Just once it was real.” Remarkable Creatures has everything I’d want to see in a movie–discrimination against women, fantastic fossil discoveries and the drama surrounding them, Mary Anning’s tragic family life, the friendship between Mary and Elizabeth Philpot, the Philpot sisters personal woes, and the scientific finds that prove the world existed for longer than a few thousand years as previously thought. Don’t know who Marry Anning is? You’ve been talking about her your whole life–She sells sea shells down by the sea shore. Mary Anning is the girl from the famous tongue twister.  Mary was also the first female 19th-century paleontologist who found a few fossils from the Jurassic period.  She had no education, no training, just the skills her dad managed to pass on to her in a short few years worth of lessons.  Young Mary made her first find between the ages of ten and twelve, and discovered many important fossils, such as the ichthyosaur and plesiosaur.

Denial: A Memoir of Terror by Jessica Stern–Ms. Stern is one of the world’s foremost experts on terrorism and post-traumatic stress disorder, and she has had the rare opportunity to investigate her own unsolved adolescent sexual assault at the hands of a serial rapist.  Jessica Stern examined the horrors of trauma and denial that often comes along with it in her incredibly well-written and moving memoir. This book is not only about Jessica Stern and her rape, it became the story of many people and how one person’s denial affects every else.

Ghostbread by Sonja Livingston–Sonja Livingston is a gifted storyteller who can make her horrific childhood seem relatable and even funny at times without minimizing the pain and fear she experienced while growing up in poverty in western New York near Appalachia. Her tale is riveting, as she is one of seven children whose mother moved her group of mixed-breed and starving children from the slums of Rochester, New York to an old farming town, to an Indian reservation near Buffalo, New York, and finally back to another dead-end inner-city neighborhood. Sonja’s mother had them living in apartments, tents, motel rooms, cars and shacks. I think this book would shine a bright and much-needed light on childhood starvation in America.

We Are All Welcome Here by Elizabeth Berg–Everyone loves Elizabeth Berg, but I fell for her when I learned that a fan wrote to her and asked Berg to write a novel based on her mother’s life story–and Berg did it! This is a fantastic and moving story about a young divorced mother who is raising her 13-year-old daughter Diana in Tupelo, Mississippi in 1964. What makes it so compelling is that Paige Dunn has polio and delivered her baby from an iron lung! Paige requires round-the-clock nursing and can only mover her head. As you can imagine, Diana is forced to care for her mother more than she wants to. Can you even imagine how dramatic of a film this book would make?

Juliet, Naked by Nick Hornby–This book has all the classic themes of a Hornby novel–music, manic fandom and messy romance. Do I even need to tell you more? It’s Nick Hornby, for Pete’s sake!

The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay by Michael Chabon–When a writer this good writes a novel this good, I expect it to become a movie right away–yet, I’ve been waiting for years to see this epic tale of magic, miraculous escapes, evil nemeses, and a Jewish golem. It has everything I want to see in a film–love and war, dreams and art, and longing and hope. After a quick check to IMDB, I see this is in development, but that isn’t good enough for me–I want it right now!

A Piece of Cake by Cupcake Brown–I  love a good memoir, and A Piece of Cake was one of the most powerful memoirs I’ve ever written. Cupcake Brown, her real name, writes about overcoming the death of a parent, childhood abuse, rape, drug addiction, miscarriage, alcoholism, hustling, gang-banging, near-death injuries, drug dealing, prostitution, and homelessness. The best part of this memoir? The end, because you’ll never believe how her life story ends!

Wench by Dolen Perkins Valdez–Did you know about Tawawa House near Xenia, Ohio? It was open from 1852 – 1855 and it was a resort for Southern gentlemen and their “slave entourages.” Not only did these men come to a free state to vacation with their slave concubines, but their behavior closed the resort in just four years. Out of this crazy place came the Ohio African University which eventually was renamed Wilberforce University, our nation’s oldest private African-American University. Guess who are believed to be among the first students? The offspring between the slave owners and the slaves. Wench is the story of four slave women “wenches” who meet at Tawawa House. Lizzie, Rennie, Sweet have become friends over the years during their vacations, but when they meet a new slave wench named Mawu, life as they know it changes forever once Mawu puts the idea of running away to become free in their heads. When they see free slaves for the first time, not only walking the streets of Ohio, but also vacationing at a nearby resort called Lewis House for colored folk, they are amazed to learn that black children are allowed to read and even play the piano, let alone get served by white folks, sit without doing work, and have bowls of fruit and cigarettes available for consumption.

The Catcher In The Rye by J.D. Salinger–All I can say here is isn’t about time, already?

Love Is A Mix Tape by Rob Sheffield– Sheffield’s unique memoir (complete with playlists) is built upon the music that affected him during the time he spent with first wife, before she hit her leg and died of a pulmonary embolism in her twenties. All Sheffield and his wife had in common was music, which makes this novel all the more bittersweet. Even though Sheffield’s life with Renee ended much too soon, though one can’t help feeling that he will survive–along with the aid of his beloved music. I believe with all my heart this film could be the next Juno.

The Blind Assassin by Margaret Atwood–The book begins with that classic line, “Ten days after the war ended, my sister drove a car off the bridge.” Shocking, yes, but I had no idea what else was going to come, which made it all the more exciting by the time I finished the book. Who could imagine Atwood would introduce a novel within a novel. Entitled The Blind Assassin, she writes an amazing science fiction story of 2 lovers set in the 1930′s and 1940′s.

Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret by Judy Blume–If you are a female, then you will understand why this book has to get made sometime in out lifetime. Why, oh why are we denied this book on the big screen? In the right hands, it could be a masterpiece.

The Women’s Room by Marilyn French–Sure, this book was already made into a TV movie in 1980, but people my age (and younger) will never have the chance to see it otherwise. My favorite college professor recommended it to me back in 1990, and even though I was a feminist, I strangely hated it at first. But then, just as I was ready to give it up, it shocked and engaged me. No wonder it became a bestseller back in the late 1970′s!