FLASHBACK FRIDAY ~ May 29, 2015 ~ FOR THE LOVE OF READING ~ MOVIE ADAPTATION EDITION ~

FLASHBACK FRIDAY ~ May 29, 2015 ~ FOR THE LOVE OF READING ~ MOVIE ADAPTATION EDITION ~ this is a follow-up to my Wednesday (but really Saturday's) QOT...W ~ FOR THE LOVE OF READING ~ BOOK EDITION ~ My "Book Edition" post talks about some of my favourite, all-time books and book series'. This post will continue along those lines and discuss books that have been made into movies. I LOVE to read!! But I am also thrilled, for the most part, when my favourite books are made into movies. I have never been one to really try to imagine a face or a likeness for characters or scenes that I read about. I will take in the general description, but that's about it. For me, it's more of a general knowledge and understanding than an exact picture that I see in my mind. So, I find it nice to have a face or descriptive location to go with the books that I read. (Although it is still important to use our imaginations to picture some of the characters and places when we read)! I am often torn though on which I would like to do first, read the book or watch the movie. If I see the movie first, then I would have a face to go with the names and possibly even relate better with the characters and the setting. If I read the book first, I can use my imagination and form my own opinions as to the characters (we all know that sometimes just a look can sway our impression of somebody). There are many pro's and con's for each, but I think in the end, I would prefer to read the book first. Have you noticed how many books lately have been written seemingly with the "intention" of being made into a movie?? I've spoken to a few librarians and booksellers and they all have commented that they believe a lot of the authors nowadays are writing with the hope, anticipation and even expectation that their work will be chosen to become a major movie release. There are even some authors who have been commissioned and approached with the sole purpose of writing a novel knowing it will be destined for the big screen. Many of these authors have already had several of their written works adapted for screen. Not counting William Shakespeare, whom we know probably has had the most books/plays made into movies/tv shows/short films/etc. The most obvious and famous (at least in my limited experience) would have to be any and almost all of the books by Nicholas Sparks and of course, the many, many books by Stephen King that have been made into movies. I was really surprised to find that there are a whole lot more movies based on books than I knew or even imagined. A few recently released movies that have been adapted from a book come to mind. "Gone Girl", "Fifty Shades of Grey", and "Maze Runner" are just off the top of my head. But the list also includes: A Most Wanted Man ~ John Le Carr A Walk To Remember ~ Nicholas Sparks American Psycho ~ Bret Easton Ellis Apocalypse Now ~ Michael Herr Atonement~ Ian McEwan Babe (the Sheep-Pig) ~ Dick King-Smith Beautiful Creatures ~ Kami Garcia Blade Runner ~ Phillip K. Dick Bridget Jone's Diary ~ Helen Fielding Brokeback Mountain ~ Annie Proulx Carrie ~ Stephen King Children of Men ~ P.D. James City of Bones, The Mortal Instruments ~ Cassandra Clare Divergent ~ Veronica Roth Doctor Zhivago ~ Boris Pasternak Dracula ~ Bram Stoker Drive ~ John Sallis Eat, Pray, Love ~ Elizabeth Gilbert Ella Enchanted ~ Gail Carson Levine Fallen ~ Lauren Kate Far From The Maddening Crowd ~ Thomas Hardy Fifty Shades of Grey ~ E.L. James Fight Club ~ Chuck Palahniuk Girl Interrupted ~ Susanna Kaysen Gone Girl ~ Gillian Flynn Great Expectations ~ Charles Dickens Harry Potter ~ J.K. Rowling Holes ~ Louis Sachar If I Stay ~ Gail Forman In The Heart of the Sea ~ Nathaniel Philbrick Jurassic Park ~ Michael Creighton Life of Pi ~ Yann Martel Little Women ~ Louisa May Alcott Lord of the Flies ~ William Golding Lord Of The Rings ~ J.R.R. Tolkien Memories of a Geisha ~ Arthur Golden My Sisters Keeper ~ Jodi Picoult No Country For Old Men ~ Cormac McCarthy One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest ~ Ken Kesey Pride and Prejudice ~ Jane Austen Schindler's List (Schindler's Ark) ~ Thomas Keneally Serena ~ Ron Rash Shutter Island ~ Dennis Lehane Silence of the Lambs ~ Thomas Harris Stand By Me ~ Stephen King The Book Thief ~ Markus Zusak The Chronicles of Narnia ~ C.S. Lewis The Da Vinci Code ~ Dan Brown The Fault In Our Stars ~ John Green The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo ~ Stieg Larsson The Giver ~ Lois Lowry The God Father ~ Mario Puzo The Graveyard Book ~ Neil Gaiman The Great Gatsby ~ F. Scott Fitzgerald The Help ~ Kathryn Stockett The Hobbit ~ J.R.R. Tolkien The Host ~ Stephanie Meyer The Last Song ~ Nicholas Sparks The Lightening Thief, Percy Jackson and the Olympians ~ Rick Riordan The Lovely Bones ~ Alice Sebold The Maltese Falcon ~ Dashiell Hammett The Maze Runner ~ James Dashner The Notebook ~ Nicholas Sparks The Perks of Being a Wallflower ~ Stephen Chbosky The Princess Bride ~ William Goldman The Shawshank Redemption ~ Stephen King The Shining ~ Stephen King The Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants ~ Ann Brashares The Time Travellers Wife ~ Audrey Niffenegger The Unbearable Likeness of Being ~ Milan Kundera To Kill A Mockingbird ~ Harper Lee Twilight ~ Stephanie Meyer Vampire Academy ~ Richelle Read Warm Bodies ~ Isaac Marion Water For Elephants ~ Sara Gruen Wuthering Heights ~ Emile Bronte I know that's a lot, but when you consider that it hasn't really been all that long since the creation and development of moving pictures, me listing the top 75 or so, is peanuts compared to the grand scheme of things! I was virtually dumbfounded that my ABSOLUTE, ALL-TIME, HANDS DOWN, WITHOUT A DOUBT, FAVOURITE BOOK-TO-MOVIE adaptation hadn't appeared on ANY lists that I have searched!! And it is "The Green Mile" by Stephen King. It was first published as six mini novelettes, (which is what I read) but I believe it has since been published as a full novel as well. There has NEVER been, and I doubt will ever be, a more accurate, true-to-the-book, adaptation ever published, printed, or released. I read the mini novelettes first, and a few years later, the movie was released, (as a two VHS cassette set, which should tell you how old I am ~ LOL). They could not have picked a better cast to fill the roles of the characters in the book. And each and every actor was so bang-on, amazingly and incredibly accurate to the character they were meant to depict, it truly was unreal. I have NEVER seen a movie based on a book where the actors so closely matched the characters that I pictured in my mind as I read the book. If you haven't read the books, you should, and then watch the movie, you will be as astounded as I was!! I will end this post by listing "my" most anticipated book-to-movie adaptations that have recently been or are expected to be released in the next couple of years. Some of these I can hardly wait for (and will hashtag), and wish I could snap my fingers and have them now! (Although this list is mostly movies that I would like to see, I've also included movies based on either the book and author, or the cast of characters. "*" will denote books I've read, "~" will denote movies I want to see, and "~*~" means both and that I can't wait for it to be released!). A Hologram For The King ~ Dave Eggers ~ Unknown A Thousand Splendid Suns ~ Khaled Hosseini ~ Unknown A Walk in the Woods ~ Bill Bryson ~ Unknown (~) American Sniper ~ Chris Kyle ~ Unknown (~) Ashes In The Snow (Between Shades of Grey) ~ Ruta Sepetys ~ Unknown Blood Red Road ~ Moira Young ~ Unknown (~*~) Chaos Walking ~ Patrick Ness ~ Unknown (~) Dark Places ~ Gillian Flynn ~ Unknown (~) Don't Point That Thing At Me ~ The Mordecai Trilogy ~ Kyril Bonfiglioli ~ January 23 Every Secret Thing ~ Laura Lippman ~ May 15 Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them ~J.K. Rowling ~ 2016 Frankenstein ~ Mary Shelley ~ October 2 Hush, Hush ~ Becca Fitzpatrick ~ Unknown Inferno ~ Dan Brown ~ December 18 Insurgent ~ Veronica Roth ~ March 20 (~*~) Into the Forest ~ Jean Hegland ~ Unknown Into The Heart of The Sea ~ Nathaniel Philbrick ~ December 11 Into Thin Air ~ Jon Krakaur ~ September 18 Legend ~ Marie Lu ~ 2016 Love, Rosie (Where Rainbows End) ~ Cecelia Ahern ~ Feb 6 (~) Madame Bovary ~ Gustave Flaubert ~ June 12 Matched ~ Ally Condie ~ Unknown (~*~) Maximum Ride ~ James Patterson ~ Unknown Miss Peregrine's Home For Peculiar Children ~ Ransom Riggs ~ July 31 (~*~) Mocking Jay ~ Suzanne Collins ~ November 20 (~*~) Pan ~ J.M. Barrie ~ July 24 (~) Paper Towns ~ John Green ~ June 19 Paranormalcy ~ Kiersten White ~ Unknown Pride and Prejudice and Zombies ~ Seth Grahame-Smith ~ Unknown Room ~ Emma Donahue ~ Unknown (~) Shiver ~ Maggie Stiefvater ~ Unknown (~*~) Still Alice ~ Lisa Genova ~ Jan 16 The 5th Wave ~ Rick Yancy ~ 2016 The Chronicles of Narnia, The Silver Chair ~ C.S. Lewis ~ 2016 The D.U.F.F. (Designated Ugly Fat Friend) ~ Kody Keplinger ~ Feb 20 (~) The Forest of Hands And Teeth ~ Carrie Ryan ~ Unknown The Great Gilly Hopkins ~ Katherine Patterson ~ Unknown The Infernal Devices: Clockwork Angel ~ (Cassandra Clare ~ Unknown The Jungle Book ~ Rudyard Kipling ~ Unknown The Last (Spooks) Apprentice (Seventh Son) ~ Joseph Delaney ~ February 6 The Longest Ride ~ Nicholas Sparks ~ April 10 (~) The Martian ~ Andy Weir ~ November 25 The Price of Salt ~ Patricia ~ Unknown The Revenant: A Novel of Revenge ~ Michael Punke ~ Dec. 25 The Scorch Trials ~ James Dashner ~ September 18 (~*~) The Scorpio Races ~ Maggie Stiefvater ~ Unknown The Secret in their Eyes ~ Eduardo Sacheri ~ October 23 The Testing ~ Joelle Charbonneau ~ Unknown (~) The World Made Straight ~ Ron Rash ~ January 9 True Story; Murder, Memoir, Mea Culpa ~ Michael Fenkel ~ Apr 17 Uglies ~ Scott Westerfeld ~ Unknown (~*~) Unwind ~ Neal Shusterman ~ 2016 (~*~) Where Rainbows End (Love, Rosie) ~ Cecelia Ahern ~ February 6 I am sure that there are probably many that I am missing or have overlooked, but here is a list from Movie Insider that although all movie release dates are TBA, they do list the movie titles and month of release date. (Some of the books on my list and this list are the same, but follow this link for a more detailed list: http://www.movieinsider.com/movies/-/2016/. See you at the theatre (or the library)!! #Flashback #FlashbackFriday #MemoryLane #Memories #RememberWhen #WeekendWanderings #Orcanut #BooksToMovies #RaiseAReader #BookAndMovieLoversUnite #Movies #NewMovieRelease #TheBigScreen #Actors #CharactersInABook #Screens #BookOrMovieFirst #MoviesBasedOnBooks #FaceToGoWithAName #TheGreenMileStephenKing #BloodRedRoadMoiraYoung #InsurgentVeronicaRoth #TheScorchTrialsJamesDashner #ShiverMaggieStiefvater #TheScorpioRacesMaggieStiefvater #UgliesScottWesterfeld #UnwindNealShusterman #MatchedAllyCondie #PeregrineHomePeculiarChildrenRansomRiggs TooManyMoviesToHashtag