LET’S TALK | BOOKS THAT WOULD MAKE GREAT MOVIES OR SHOWS

Linking up for the first time with one of my newly-discovered fave book blogs for a weekly series called “Let’s Talk.” This week’s topic is one that I’ve been meaning to write about anyway – so it seemed like a great opportunity: books that would make great movies or TV shows.

I have a feeling this is going to be a long post, so you might want to pause here and go make yourself a snack or a cup of coffee. Go on, you’ll thank me about 15 minutes from now.

Before I get started, let me just say that this isn’t as easy as it sounds. Just because I love a book doesn’t mean it’ll translate well onscreen (*ahem* Even Cowgirls Get the Blues *ahem*). Some stories – particularly those with a magical realism element, just don’t work when you try to make them into a literal interpretation.

That said, there are TONS that would be amazing. So here’s my list:

1. Boy Nobody (by Allen Zadoff) and the Agent 21 series (by Chris Ryan). These are both thrillers that involve teens in roles that we’ve never thought of them in before: spies and assassins. I’m fascinated by this concept, and I love a good heart-thumping adventure.

2. The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion. I loved the characters in this book, and I’d love to see them come to life.

3. The Alphabet Murders series by Sue Grafton. You know, A is for Alibi, B is for Burglar… those books. Mostly just because I love mysteries. And there are so many of them – it’d be a great TV series.

4. The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman. I love, love, LOVED Coraline. I picture this done a similar way, but a bit more dark and brooding, cos, you know, GRAVEYARD.

6. Microserfs by Douglas Coupland. They did a very short-lived TV series of one of his books, JPod (shot at my university, btw) that I loved and was very sad to see cancelled. I think Microserfs would be a great one to put on film – the characters are so interesting and varied, and there’d be so much potential to do more with them. Or they could just bring back JPod. Either way.

7. News of a Kidnapping by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. This is his non-fiction account of Pablo Escobar’s abduction of 10 prominent Colombians (mostly journalists) in an attempt to evade extradition to and prosecution in the US. I was completely gripped by this book and read it with as much rapt attention as any good crime novel. Because of the historical element I think it would make fascinating watching.

I’m sure there are tons more, but that’s all I can think of for now. Want to share your opinions? Head over to I Swim for Oceans and link up!