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April 2021 ReadUps: Book-to-Screen Adaptations
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The Martian by Andy Weir is another of my favorites. I loved the book, and I think they did a great job with the movie, too. It captured the tone of the book really well, and the action was really fun to see on-screen.
For the third question: one adaptation that I wasn't crazy about was Pride and Prejudice and Zombies by Seth Grahame-Smith. I thought the book was really funny, but the movie missed the mark for me. I think it tried to take itself too seriously and didn't have the satirical tone of the book.
I do so appreciate this question, and I am pleased to be a member of this forum. I gave this a good think, and I do believe that I have settled upon my favorite book / movie adaptations.Well, I guess my absolute favorite adaptation would be Wonder Boys by Michael Chabon. The movie was indeed grand, but the book was just that much better. Chabon has this wonderful ability to humanize his characters; he makes them relatable to me. No matter how odd, or bizarre, his characters, I seem to find them accessable.
Also, I must mention The Shipping News by Annie Proulx. Uniquely in my opinion, the movie captures the emotional tone of the novel; both being quite the sad struggle. Proulx continually explores both poverty and ambition within her novels, and if indeed you have not read her work, I highly recommend that you do so.
The movie adaptation that I thought was rather unappealing compared to the novel was the David Lynch adaptation of Dune by Frank Herbert. What was unique about this science fiction book was that Herbert speculated that mankind into the future would actually become more religious, and fanatical; not less so. The Fremen within the novel were a beastly, obsessed people hellbent upon their own religious prophecies. I do not feel as though the movie captured this underlying narrative.
This was fun, and I look-forward to interacting with everyone more.
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Thank you for sharing these suggestions! I had heard of the Wonder Boys movie, but I had no idea that it was based on a book by Michael Chabon. I have never read any of his books but have had some on my to-read list for a while. Do you think Wonder Boys is a good Chabon book to start with, or is there another you recommend? I am adding Annie Proulx to my list as well, so if you have a suggestion for which to start with for her, I would greatly appreciate that, too.
Dune is another book that is on my to-read list. I'm glad to know that the movie was not a very good adaptation so I likely won't bother with it. I didn't know much about the plot before reading your post, and now I'm even more intrigued by the book. The idea of mankind become more religious in the future is fascinating! I love using fiction to explore ideas that seem to contradict what we see (or what appears to be a trend) in our world. There are many times throughout history when trends have reversed, so anything could happen in the future. I like when authors break out of the modern mindset and explore some of those possibilities.
Howdy Heather.Both The Shipping News or Wonder Boys are a great beginning for either author.
I had always thought that Annie Proulx excelled within short fiction, but her exquisite speculative narrative Barkskins was just wonderful literary gluttony Mark Twain style; both discuss human folly.
Michael Chabon has a book entitled The Mysteries of Pittsburgh that would be a great example of his ability.
If you enjoy William Goldman then I do believe you would enjoy either Stardust or Gormengast. Both of these novels have that Victorian vibe found within The Princess Bride; of which I really enjoyed.
I did not really care for The Martian much; or the movie. I have not read Pride and Prejudice and Zombies: The Classic Regency Romance - Now with Ultraviolent Zombie Mayhem!, but I eager to do so. I think that you have motivated me to do so. I am down with the zombie, and I will read this after I finish Annihilation; which is most surreal, and addresses the coming genetic revolution.
Yes, Dune the book destroys the movie. Frank Herbert was one of those rare authors like Stanisław Lem, or perhaps M. John Harrison; all of whom could really !@#$ speculate with wonderful prose.
This was fun, and I glad that you host this forum, Heather.
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I'm adding the Proulx and Chabon books you suggested to my list, as well as "Stardust" and "Gormengast." I've read a few other Neil Gaiman books and really enjoyed them, so I'm starting with "Stardust." Luckily it's on the shelf at my library branch right now!
I think "The Martian" is one of those love-it-or-hate-it books; the tone is definitely not for everyone. I'd say "Pride and Prejudice and Zombies" falls in that category too, though its tone is different from "The Martian." For me, it was one of those things that is so ridiculous that you love it. I didn't much care for any of the spin offs I read, though (Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters, Mansfield Park and Mummies: Monster Mayhem, Matrimony, Ancient Curses, True Love, and Other Dire Delights, etc). I guess it's one of those things where the joke is only funny once.
You are indeed most welcome, Heather.I think it grand your intention to motivate interest among readers towards our local library; readers unite. I have read that the success of a society is actually dependant upon the number of libraries within a society. The more libraries, and good library staff, the more people are inclined to patron them, and maybe pick up a book. This effect is accumulative.
I think it great you responded to Stardust. I really fancy Neil, and I have been with him since the Sandman; within my early teenage years. I had always thought that Neil wrote about very complex spiritual matters in a very simple way; he presents you with simple, surreal information, and allows you to draw your own conclusions at the end. Everytime I read a Gaiman novel, I always feel fulfilled for a few moments at the end.
I seldom visit the library actually. I am quite the Google Playstore book junkie, and my collection is growing fast. I have damaged my eyes reading so much, and I can increase the font size of the book upon my tablet. I have added Pride and Prejudice and Zombies to my cart, and I will buy the download next month. Thank you for the recommendation. After I finish Annihilation, and Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, I will read the Adventures of Vladimir Tod Eighth Grade Bites by Heather Brewer. I occasionally do enjoy youth fiction.
If you have any more recommendations please share them. This is fun, Heather.
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One of my absolute favorite adaptations is No Country for Old Men. I finished the book in the parking lot of the movie theater, and can tell you that the movie storyline and dialogue is almost exactly verbatim to the book. Impeccable.
An interesting book-to-screen experience is watching the movie Adaptation after reading The Orchid Thief: A True Story of Beauty and Obsession. It's based on the book but does some super-meta stuff by writing the screenwriter into the story and then going completely off the rails of the original source midway through the film. It touches on the subjects in the book, but is mostly a wacky look at the screenwriting process. Nic Cage plays the screenwriter and Meryl Streep plays Susan Orlean. It's a fun ride!
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Miranda, thank you for sharing your titles! I haven't read "No Country for Old Men," but I have read a few other McCarthy titles, and I thought the "No Country for Old Men" captured the feeling and tone of his writing perfectly. I'd like to read the book, but the movie creeped me out so much that I'm still working up the nerve. I had no idea that the film Adaptation is based on "The Orchid Thief"! I saw the movie a long time ago but don't remember much about it. I've thought for a while that the book looked intriguing.
Howdy MirandaI had seen the movie Adaptation some years ago, but I had no idea that this movie was based upon a book. I have an appreciation for odd, and if the book is as odd as the movie, then I will probably enjoy this narrative.
I attempted to watch the movie No Country for Old Men, but the beginning scene was so violent that I had stopped watching. I am just not down with human suffering. I appreciate the recommendation though. After I read Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, I will read No Country for Old Men. I do appreciate a good recommendation from a fellow book-lover.
Hey Heather
You have read the Vladamir Tod series? Well, that is just groovy. I wish to read the series all the more now. I do enjoy a good vampire story. Honestly, the last vampire series that I read was the True Blood Collection; which was just fun.
Thank you for the compliment; I appreciate you. I went ahead and downloaded Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. Google Playstore had this book for only $1.99. So, I am reading the book now. This story is hilariously bizarre, and I am enjoying the work immensely. Thank you, Heather. And, thank you for hosting this forum; this is fun.
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So, I am reading Pride and Prejudice and Zombies now. I will read Vladamir Tod next, and then onto No Country for Old men. Groovy guys. If anyone has any more recommendations, I am most certainly game to read them.
I'm a huge fan of adaptations of classic novels. When I first started reading classics I would watch the movie first to understand the plot and get to know the characters and that would help me as I would try to wade through the language. Now I just love the creativity of each adaptation and the different things they bring to life about the story. My favorite Jane Austen adaption has to be the 2009 Emma mini-series, but I really love the cinematography of the Pride and Prejudice movie with Keira Knightly. In terms of more radical reimaginings, Clueless as a retelling of Emma is absolutely brilliant and, although I am not a zombie fan, I actually really like Pride, Prejudice & Zombies for what it is. Moving away from Jane Austen, the Much Ado About Nothing directed by Joss Whedon is absolutely amazing and the cast does a great job bringing the dialogue to life and making it all understandable.Moving to more modern adaptations, I really enjoyed the Hunger Games movies and the creative ways they adapted it from a first person novel to a wider view what's going on in that world. I'm also really looking forward to the Shadow and Bone adaptation that's going to be one Netflix soon. I'm realizing that when I was mostly reading YA there was a ton of adaptations of books I was reading. Now there's still plenty of adaptations but maybe mysteries and thrillers are more of the focus now. But then sci-fi has also been popular with Ready Player One, The Martian, and Annihilation. Can any of you recognize a pattern of what genre is being adapted the most right now?
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In the last couple of decades, fantasy seems to be the most popular genre for adaptations (Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter, Game of Thrones, etc.) but it's nice to see some other genres getting the screen treatment lately.
Seems like mystery and suspense have always been pretty popular adaptations but there seems to be a resurgence, both with suspense stories like Gone Girl, and traditional mysteries like Murder on the Orient Express. I recently enjoyed the TV series The Flight Attendant, and Behind Her Eyes is on my watch list--both suspense adaptations.
Audiences have always loved movies based on a true story, so another genre that seems to be evergreen popular is narrative nonfiction. Memoirs and true crime especially get the screen treatment the most often. If you look at lists of movies based on true stories like this one, most of those true stories were written and published in a book first.
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I agree with everything that's been said about the trends so far. It's really interesting to see how that works. It seems like Harry Potter set off a series of fantasy adaptations, then Hunger Games inspired a lot of science fiction, and mystery has had a resurgence as well. I think comic adaptations have always been popular, but even more so in recent years. As special effects have improved, it's even more exciting to see these stories on the screen.
Here's another question for everyone: What's a book that hasn't been adapted for the screen that you think should be? Would it be better as a movie or a TV show? Who would you cast in it? One that I would like to see is The Last Policeman by Ben H. Winters. This book takes place in the near future. An asteroid is heading for Earth, and astronomers have concluded that it will hit in six months and likely destroy all human life. Civilization begins to collapse as people abandon their jobs, and many commit suicide. But detective Henry Palace continues trying to solve crimes, and he begins to investigate a suicide that seems suspicious. I really enjoyed the combination of standard who-done-it and the existential questions about how we find purpose in our lives, the value of truth for its own sake (absent of long-term consequences), etc. I think it would be fun to see this explored on screen. I keep thinking that Benedict Cumberbatch would be a good fit for the lead role, probably because of his work in Sherlock. There was talk of developing the book into a TV series, but there hasn't been any updates on that for a few years.
The Last Policeman sounds like it would be a really interesting adaptation for screen. I can already imagine them doing a lot of interesting things visually to set the world and tone.I would love to see The Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer adapted as a tv series. It's a science fiction retelling of fairytales and it's multi POV format would already work great for tv. It's also really action/adventure heavy and I can only dream of how fun and amazing it would be as a tv series. I would love to see Chloe Bennet (from Agents of Shield) play Cinder.
Greetings EveryoneWell, I read Pride and Prejudice and Zombies; dark, but interesting. The vocabulary within the narrative was accessible, and I thought the work had a youth fiction feeling. I think the author should rework something like Doctor Zhivago by Boris Pasternak; that would be funny. Perhaps the Bolshevik Revolution with demons, and Greek gorgons?
Now, I am reading Vladmir Tod. The work thus-far reminds me of something like Nickelodeon Drake & Josh meets Interview with the Vampire meets Lifetime Television adult drama. I recommend the book. Next, is No Country for Old Men; I put the download within my Google cart for next week.
Yeah, I think the overwhelming success of graphic novels during the previous two decades has really driven Hollywood to produce science fiction as a safe financial bet. Millennials appear to really be down with the fantasy / syfy genre. There will always be a market for the stereotypically more mature production, but the demographics, and tastes, within America are obviously changing.
The characters I would love to see adapted into a movie, or syndicated series, are the characters from the Sandman comics by Neil Gaiman, but I would prefer that they not be from the already published works; rather I would love to see Gaiman produce the series, and allow other authors to explore his characters with fresh stories. Paramount allowed novelist Michael Chabon to help produce Star Trek Picard, and I think the narrative the most human, and altruistic, production of Star Trek yet made.
I agree with the idea of watching an adapted movie before the book is read. Sometimes, I will gain a greater understanding of the source material by doing so, and sometimes, watching a movie first will cause me to have a greater appreciation for the book when read. This happened when I watched the 2002 Solaris remake by Soderbergh before I read the Lem book. So, yeah; I do this sometimes too.
When I am done with No Country for Old Men, I will need another recommendation. Does anyone have any youth fiction recommendations? I go through phases with books; Manga, adult fiction, graphic novels, and right now I am into youth fiction. I read The Giver by Lois Lowry a few weeks ago, and I sincerely enjoyed the story. I think I may just like to read, and write.
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I also like your idea about Sandman comics, Boniccal! I wish that they did that more often: take a world that exists in book(s) and make new and exciting stories for the screen. It allows fans of the book to explore the setting that they are interested in while still experiencing new stories that surprise them.
For YA recommendations, along the lines of The Giver, there's one I liked called Starters by Lissa Price. It's the first in a two-book series; the sequel is called Enders. In takes place in the near future, and older people can "rent" the bodies of younger people so they can experience being young again (they temporarily transfer the consciousness of one person to another's body). The protagonist is an orphan and needs money to care for herself and her brother, so she signs up. Then she realizes that the person who is taking over her body is going to kill someone. It's kind of a thriller, with a lot of interesting things to think about.
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Books mentioned in this topic
Starters (other topics)Enders (other topics)
Solaris (other topics)
Interview with the Vampire (other topics)
The Giver (other topics)
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Authors mentioned in this topic
Michael Chabon (other topics)Neil Gaiman (other topics)
Susan Orlean (other topics)
Mark Twain (other topics)
Michael Chabon (other topics)
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Hello everyone,
April's ReadUps topic is book-to-screen adaptations! Here are some questions we can discuss:
What are some of your favorite books that have been made into movies or TV shows?
What are your favorite movies or TV shows that are based on books?
What are your least favorite adaptations? (You loved the book but didn't like the movie or TV show)
If you'd like to read a book this month that's been adapted for the screen and need ideas, check out our book-to-screen shelf here on Goodreads, book-to-screen ebook collection on Hoopla, and/or book-to-screen audiobook collection on Hoopla.