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The 10 best movies based on memoirs, ranked according to imdb.

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They say that truth is stranger than fiction, but, in many instances, the truth can be much more fascinating, as well. That's probably why memoirs serve as the basis for so many of Hollywood's most celebrated films. Many go on to win Oscars and become box office sensations.

RELATED: 10 Best Movies Based on Books (According to Rotten Tomatoes) 

From perilous adventures to passionate romances, the 10 movies on this list prove that everyone has a story to tell. Using the score assigned from IMDb, here are the 10 best films based on memoirs, ranked.

Julie and Julia (2009): 7.0

Julie Powell, an unhappy wife living in a tiny New York City apartment, decided that she was going to cook all 524 recipes in Julia Child's famous The Art of French Cooking . Powell went on to blog about her culinary adventures, and, soon, her website developed a huge following, and Little Brown and Company approached her about a book deal.

Julia Child famously scoffed at Powell, calling her endeavor a "stunt," and the film adaption even features Child's reaction. Despite being controversial, the movie, which starred Maryl Streep and Amy Adams , grossed over $129 million at the box office, and Streep was nominated for Best Actress.

Wild (2014): 7.1

After the death of her mother at a young age, Cheryl Strayed fell into a deep depression which lasted for years. She found herself using heroin, cheating on her husband, and, ultimately, getting pregnant with one of her user buddies. Desperate, alone, and miserable, Strayed decided she had nothing left to lose.

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She would hike the Pacific Crest Trail, which spans 2,653 miles from Mexico to Canada. She decided that, if she died, she had nothing else to live for anyway, and, if she lived, she would get clean and rebuild her life. The book and film were hailed by audiences and critics alike.

Beautiful Boy (2018): 7.3

Beautiful Boy stars  Steve Carell and is based on two memoirs. The first was Beautiful Boy: A Father's Journey Through His Son's Addiction , told from father David Sheff's view. The other was  Tweak: Growing Up on Methamphetamines, written Nic Scheff, David's son. The two books chronicled Nic's spiral into the world of meth, crime, homelessness, and, ultimately, his journey towards lasting sobriety.

Girl, Interrupted (1999): 7.3

At the end of the 1960s, teenager Susanna Kaysen had a nervous breakdown and attempted to overdose on aspirin. After the suicide attempt, she was sent away to a psychiatric hospital. Her memoir, Girl, Interrupted, tells the story of her time at McLean Hospital in Massachusetts and the people she meets, the adventures she has, and her journey towards recovery in an America that was still just beginning to understand mental illness . Angelina Jolie's performance was praised, and she went on to win the Golden Globe, Critic's Choice, and Oscar for Best Supporting Actress .

Molly's Game (2017): 7.4

The film Molly's Game is based on the memoir of the same name by Molly Bloom. Bloom was on her way to becoming an Olympic skier until an accident dashed her dreams. Years later, Bloom found herself running an illegal , ultra-high-stakes poker tournament at the back of the infamous LA club The Viper Room.

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After the FBI caught on, it was discovered that her poker games were attracting athletes, actors, socialites, and even the Russian mob. In the film adaptation, Jessica Chastain portrayed Bloom.

127 Hours (2010): 7.6

While hiking at Canyonlands National Park, Aron Ralston accidentally got his hand trapped in a slot canyon. After being stuck for multiple days, he was forced to self-amputate his own hand with a dull multi-tool. His book became a smash hit, reaching #1 on the NTY Bestsellers List. The film adaption starred James Franco and went on to get nominated for six Oscars, including Best Actor and Best Picture.

The Theory of Everything (2014): 7.7

The Theory of Everything was adapted from Jane Hawking's memoir, Travelling to Infinity: My Life with Stephen , which was about her life with famed physicist Stephen Hawking. The film explores Jane and Stephen's relationship that began as college students in Cambridge and reveals Hawking's dichotomous life, juggling his diagnoses of a motor neuron disease with his brilliant and flourishing career in science.

October Sky (1999) - 7.8

October Sky is based on NASA engineer Homer Hickman's memoir Rocket Boys . The movie starred Jake Gyllenhaal and Laura Dern and was about Hickman's youth in rural West Virginia. Hickman, along with some of his friends, took an interest in aerospace, with the support of his science teacher, Miss Riley.

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The boys go on to create a rocket that's entered into the National Science Fair, launching the engineering career of Hickman, who would later find himself at NASA.

The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (2007) - 8.0

The Diving Bell and the Butterfly  tells the story of Elle editor Jean-Dominique Bauby writing his memoir The Diving Bell and the Butterfly , a book that's about the events that lead him to write The Diving Bell and the Butterfly . Those events center around Bauby's massive stroke that left him with Locked-In syndrome, paralyzing over 95% of his body. To write his book, Bauby had to use a scribe. The process was incredibly slow, but the book became a worldwide bestseller.

Catch Me If You Can (2002) - 8.1

Steven Spielberg's Catch Me If You Can is based on Frank Abagnale's memoir of the same name, where he reveals his life of crime and cons. Abagnale cashed over $2.5 million in faulty checks and impersonated numerous individuals, including a teacher, a doctor, and even a Pan Am pilot. The FBI eventually caught on and literally chased him around the world. The movie is a cat-and-mouse chase across the globe starring Tom Hanks and Leonardo DiCaprio.

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35 Best Movies Based on Books That Are Actually Worth Watching

There are a lot of movies based on books. There are very few good movies based on books.

That's not a knock on Hollywood–it can be challenging to fit a novel's worth of plot and character development into a few hours of entertainment. That's why the best films based on books often feel more like a companion piece than a true retelling of a best-selling paperback. Some, like the 2019 movie adaptation of Little Women , play with the story or add in new scenes to appeal to a modern audience. Others benefit from the glitz and glam that Hollywood brings. Netflix's film version of To All the Boys I've Loved Before , for example, comes with an engaging soundtrack that elevates the romance onscreen.

Below you'll find some of the best movies based on books available for streaming right now. We also included the real-life novels that inspired them so you can add to your reading list. No chance of boredom here. (Need more? We've also got a guide to the best movies based on romance novels .)

All products featured on Glamour are independently selected by our editors. However, when you buy something through our retail links, we may earn an affiliate commission.

1. Lady Chatterley’s Lover (2022)

The book: Lady Chatterley's Lover by D.H. Lawrence

D.H. Lawrence's novel about an affair between a gamekeeper and an upper-class woman is notorious for its explicit descriptions of sex—so much so that the book was banned for obscenity in several countries. Onsreen, stars Emma Corrin and Jack O'Connell have a natural chemistry that only adds to the steaminess.

Available to stream on Netflix

2. Pride and Prejudice (2005)

The book: Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

Jane Austen's classic story of love and bad first impressions has been adapted many times over. But this film version, starring Keira Knightley and Matthew Macfadyen, takes a more realistic approach than other film versions. As a result, enemies turned lovers Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy come to life onscreen.

Available to rent on Amazon Prime Video

3. If Beale Street Could Talk (2018)

The book: If Beale Street Could Talk by James Baldwin

James Baldwin's 1974 novel If Beale Street Could Talk , about a young woman trying to clear the name of her boyfriend after he was wrongfully accused of a crime in New York, is an incredible read. So only someone with a vision like Barry Jenkins, who wrote and directed this adaptation, could bring it to the big screen. The Oscar-nominated film received numerous awards, including a best supporting actress win for Regina King's performance.

Available to stream on Hulu

4. The Wizard of Oz

The book: The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum

What can be said about The Wizard of Oz that you don't already know? The 1939 classic starring Judy Garland enhances L. Frank Baum's children's fantasy novel through its innovative use of Technicolor, memorable performances, and a beloved score that includes “Over the Rainbow.”

Available to stream on Amazon Prime Video

5. Little Women (2019)

The book: Little Women by Louisa May Alcott

There's a reason Little Women has been adapted for film seven times. Louisa May Alcott's semiautobiographical novel about sisters Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy has stood the test of time, and it's still just as relatable now as it was in 1868, when it was published. The most recent remake stars Laura Dern, Meryl Streep, and Saoirse Ronan and is arguably the best interpretation of Alcott's story.

Available to buy on Amazon Prime Video

6. Crazy Rich Asians (2018)

The book: Crazy Rich Asians by Kevin Kwan

Where do we even begin with this one? The fashion! The romance! The drama! Constance Wu and Henry Golding lead the romantic comedy about a Chinese American woman who travels to Singapore to meet her boyfriend's family. Sounds simple enough, right? Wrong. His family is one of the richest and well-known families in the country, and his mother is not exactly welcoming of her son's new romance.

Available to stream on HBO Max

7. Gone Girl (2014)

The book: Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn

We could write a dissertation about Gone Girl, and it still wouldn't be long enough to dive into the complicated issues tackled in the movie. Here's what you need to know: The David Fincher–directed mystery movie is about a husband who becomes a suspect in his wife's disappearance. The thriller tackles parenting, manipulation, misogyny, and most of all, marriage. When it comes to movie adaptations of books, this is near the top of the list.

8. A Simple Favor (2018)

The book: A Simple Favor: A Novel by Darcey Bell

Nothing's simple about A Simple Favor . Perhaps the best part of the crime thriller is Blake Lively and Anna Kendrick's odd yet enthralling dynamic. You'll be scratching your head from start to finish as you try to figure out what exactly is going on in the film.

9. Sense and Sensibility (1995)

The book: Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen

Another Jane Austen movie makes the list because…well, there are just so many good adaptations of her work. Emma Thompson and Kate Winslet lead this film about a sensible and reserved older sister, Elinor, and her romantically inclined and eagerly expressive younger sister, Marianne.

10. The Devil Wears Prada (2006)

The book: The Devil Wears Prada: A Novel by Lauren Weisberger

Meryl Streep plays the coldest, scariest, most intimidating boss at the fictional fashion magazine Runway . Anne Hathaway's character is clueless and unfashionable, and fancies herself a serious journalist. Their characters clash yet somehow find a way to work together. The movie is elevated by the performances, and you might find yourself surprisingly moved at the end.

11. The Color Purple (1985)

The book: The Color Purple by Alice Walker

The story of Celie (played by Whoopi Goldberg) is one that will stay with you. The movie is based on the novel of the same name by Alice Walker and portrays the problems Black women faced during the early 20th century, including domestic violence, poverty, racism, and sexism. Celie's journey spans a 40-year time period.

12. The First Wives Club (1996)

The book: The First Wives Club by Olivia Goldsmith

We love everything about this movie: the acting, the humor, and the friendship of three reunited friends. The film follows the women, played by Bette Midler, Goldie Hawn, and Diane Keaton, deciding to get revenge on their ex-husbands after the death of a close friend.

13. To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before (2018)

The book: To All the Boys I've Loved Before by Jenny Han

Laura Jean and Peter Kavinsky's romance is sure to go down as one of this generation's most popular love stories. The trilogy of teen romantic comedy books by Jenny Han turned Netflix movies are popular for a reason. Yes, there are some common tropes used in the plot. However, the film adaptations somehow still feel fresh, unique, and effortlessly heartwarming.

14. The Harry Potter series (2001–2011)

The book: The Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling

Who could have known that the boy who lived would start an international phenomenon? Readers and audiences of all ages have been obsessed with the Wizarding World for decades, and it's easy to see why: The friendship, the magic, the excitement and the humor are as enthralling in the movies as they are in the books.

Available to stream on Peacock

15. Hidden Figures (2016)

The book: Hidden Figures: The American Dream and the Untold Story of the Black Women Mathematicians Who Helped Win the Space Race by Margot Lee Shetterly

If you're in the mood for a feel-good movie, then look no further. Taraji P. Henson, Octavia Spencer, and Janelle Monáe star in this movie about the three Black women who worked at NASA during the early years of the space program. They were an integral part of launching astronaut John Glenn into orbit. This true story is most likely not one you learned about in school.

Available to stream on Disney+

16. The Silence of the Lambs (1991)

The book : The Silence of the Lambs by Thomas Harris

Anthony Hopkins plays Hannibal Lecter, who famously asks Jodi Foster's character, “Well, Clarice…have the lambs stopped screaming?” If you don't know what that means, there's only one way to find out: Queue up the classic thriller for movie night.

17. The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999)

The book: The Talented Mr. Ripley by Patricia Highsmith

This sexy classic is actually part of a series about the Tom Ripley, a social-climbing mimic who will lie, cheat, and even murder his way up the ranks of wealthy midcentury Manhattanites. The movie features Gwyneth Paltrow, Matt Damon, and Jude Law at their golden, glowy, youthful best, and a striking performance from the late Philip Seymour Hoffman.

18. It (2017)

The book: It by Stephen King

This chilling horror classic has terrified generations. In a small New England town, a group of unlikely friends find themselves caught in the clutches of a mysterious shape-shifting killer who takes the form of whatever you fear most.

19. The Princess Diaries (2001)

The book: The Princess Diaries by Meg Cabot

The ultimate glow-up! Mia Thermopolis is an awkward, nerdy high school outcast who discovers she's actually royalty in this modern twist on the Cinderella story. Peppered with observations about friendship, love, and growing up, the books are as funny as the movie. The young adult book series, written like a diary, will make you fall even more in love with Mia than the film adaptation did. Don't be surprised if you find yourself wanting to wear Doc Martens after reading.

20. The Joy Luck Club (1993)

The book: The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan

The Chinese American immigrant experience is explored in detail in this adaptation of Amy Tan's novel, which follows a group of women living in San Francisco's Chinatown as they support one another through heartbreak and triumph.

21. The Princess Bride (1987)

The book: The Princess Bride by Willam Goldman

This beloved classic is like five fairy tales combined into a sparkling family comedy that's much easier to follow than the book it's based on. Featuring a host of quirky character actors and quotable lines, this is essentially a meme factory from before there was such a thing. Don't fight Grandpa; it's time for a love story (you'll get that reference once you watch the movie).

22. Election (1999)

The book: Election by Tom Perrotta

This dark comedy about the ruthlessness of politicians features a breakout performance from a young Reese Witherspoon and taught a generation to recognize the Tracy Flicks in their lives. It's become a catchword often hurled unfairly at women with ambition, but it also accurately describes the kind of earnest yet hollow striving we see in so many people, no matter their gender, today.

23. The Shawshank Redemption (1994)

The book: Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption by Stephen King

The highest-rated movie on IMDb, this classic is parodied (and homaged) all over the place, a favorite of both fans and critics. It's a drama, to be sure, but as far as prison stories go, watchable and even a little hopeful.

24. Atonement (2007)

The book: Atonement: A Novel by Ian McEwan

Beware: This story is a bummer. Though famous for its library sex scene and the debut of a young Saoirse Ronan, Atonement is mostly a war story, and a devastating one at that. No one gets away clean in this tale of love, loss, lies, and regret.

25. Jurassic Park (1993)

The book: Jurassic Park: A Novel by Michael Crichton

This blockbuster keeps getting rebooted for a reason: It's just cool to watch dinosaurs chase people! Yes, there's a lesson here about overstepping the bounds of science and hubris in the face of nature, but mostly, T-Rex go chomp-chomp.

26. The Godfather trilogy (1972–1990)

The book: The Godfather by Mario Puzo

The greatest achievement in the history of American cinema? This crime epic has been praised for its performances, filmmaking, quotable lines, and archetypal characters. It's rich with symbolism and history, but actually a straightforward and pleasant watch. Never meandering or slow, the story is gripping, if devastating.

27. The White Tiger (2021)

The book: The White Tiger: A Novel by Aravind Adiga

This film adaptation of Aravind Adiga's 2008 novel follows a man named Balram Halwai (Adarsh Gourav, in his first leading role) who was born into poverty and uses his wit and cunning to build a successful career as an entrepreneur.

28. The United States vs. Billie Holiday (2021)

The book: Chasing the Scream: The First and Last Days of the War on Drugs by Johann Hari

Andra Day was nominated for an Academy Award for best actress for her portrayal of legendary singer Billie Holiday in this biographical film, which was based in part on Johann Hari's book about the history and impact of drug criminalization.

29. Room (2015)

The book: Room by Emma Donoghue

Both the book and the film adaptation of this intense story follow a kidnapped young woman and her son, who we learn was born in captivity. When they finally escape their abuser, the child gets to experience the outside world for the first time in his life.

30. Emma (2020)

The book: Emma by Jane Austen

Jane Austen's novel, about a spoiled heiress who amuses herself by meddling in the lives of her neighbors, has been adapted to film before. But the 2020 version, starring Anya Taylor-Joy in the titular role, is one of the best thanks to its excellent casting, whimsical costume and set design, and modern approach to the source material.

31. Clueless (1995)

Yes, Emma again! One of Jane Austen’s best books, it also inspired this coming-of-age teen comedy starring Alicia Silverstone, Stacey Dash, Brittany Murphy, and Paul Rudd. Says screenwriter and director Amy Heckerling, “I loved [ Emma ] when I read it in college—it’s the most modern story with the most perfect character, the most lovable, flawed person that you’re rooting for. Then I looked at what could make the bones for the present day high school teenagers, and if I ever thought like, wait, how would this happen, I would just go back to Emma and there were the answers.”

32. The Perks of Being a Wallflower (2012)

The book: The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky

Movie adaptations across all genres exist, and that includes YA Emma Watson, Ezra Miller, and Logan Lerman lead this coming-of-age drama about a shy teenager experiencing the many highs and lows of freshman year of high school.

33. The Lord of the Rings series (2001–2003)

The book: The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien

Epic fantasies naturally translate well to the big screen, but nobody does it like this movie series . And now you can follow up your rewatch by diving into Rings of Power, a new TV show that's set thousands of years before the events of The Lord of the Rings .

34. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000)

The book: Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon by Wang Dulu

Directed by Ang Lee, this epic was a critical and commercial success with 10 Oscar nominations, including one for best picture and a win for best foreign language film.

35. The Paddington movies (2014, 2017)

The book: The Paddington books by Michael Bond

We didn't think Paddington, a beloved fictional character in children's literature, could get any cuter—and then we saw him on the big screen. In fact, Paddington 2 ranks among our favorite movie sequels of all time. If you can watch it without crying…how?

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12 Great Movies You Didn’t Know Were Based on Nonfiction Books

With the Academy Awards right around the corner, it’s not surprising that many beloved and award-winning movies are based on novels. But you may be shocked to realize just how many films are inspired by nonfiction books. From tales of true crime to riveting memoirs of astounding lives, this list features 12 of our favorite compelling nonfiction works that have inspired some truly great movies.

In the book that inspired the award-winning movie The Theory of Everything —starring Eddie Redmayne and Felicity Jones—Stephen Hawking’s first wife, Jane Wilde Hawking, depicts the ups and downs of their marriage—from the high price of fame to the difficulties in being married to someone who requires 24-hour care. This is a moving and honest memoir that is resoundingly extraordinary.

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This breathless and riveting saga is an in-depth depiction of the tragedy that later inspired Herman Melville’s MOBY-DICK. Following the catastrophic sinking of the Essex by a sperm whale, which left survivors to drift in the ocean for more than three months, this is a story of survival, endurance, and man versus nature. The epic film adaptation was directed by Ron Howard and stars Chris Hemsworth.

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A bitingly original graphic novel, MY FRIEND DAHMER follows the author’s tentative friendship with his high school classmate Jeffrey Dahmer. Derf Backderf thoughtfully explores the darkness that was festering inside his friend even as a teenager. With stark illustrations and riveting prose, this is a true-crime book unlike any other. The recent adaptation stars Ross Lynch and Anne Heche.

Because he interviewed survivors, Walter Lord’s 1955 expert account of the Titanic ’s sinking is still considered one of the most accurate depictions of the tragedy. Breathlessly written as a minute-by-minute account, A NIGHT TO REMEMBER brings the final hours of the ship vividly to life. A haunting and masterful work.

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What happens when a seemingly healthy young woman wakes up in a hospital bed with no idea of how she got there? A medical memoir of grappling with an ultra-rare disease and the pain of misdiagnoses, BRAIN ON FIRE—and the film adaptation, starring Chloë Grace Moretz—will move, alarm, and ultimately inspire you.

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A gripping and often terrifying memoir from a key player in one of the tensest moments in the twentieth century—the Cuban Missile Crisis—THIRTEEN DAYS is an insider look at the Cold War. Robert F. Kennedy’s prose is stark and powerful, and though a short read, it will stay with you long after you finish it. It later inspired a suspenseful thriller, starring Kevin Costner.

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Discover the astonishing true story of a woman who went from waitressing to running a private high-stakes poker game that attracted the ultra-famous and wealthy. From confronting the Russian mob and rubbing elbows with Hollywood titans to having to face the United States government, MOLLY’S GAME is a thrilling memoir of living life in the fast lane. The Aaron Sorkin–written film stars Jessica Chastain and Idris Elba.

Travel to the historic streets of Savannah in this novelesque true-crime story. When a male prostitute is found shot in the home of an antiques dealer, the subsequent trials and media circus turn the Old South upside down. Filled with eccentric characters and surprising twists, this is an unputdownable book. Clint Eastwood directed the adaptation, starring John Cusack, Jude Law, and Lady Chablis.

Shots rang out in Savannah’s grandest mansion in the early morning hours of May 2, 1981. For nearly a decade, the shooting and its aftermath reverberated throughout this beautiful and isolated remnant of the Old South. John Berendt’s sharply observed and suspenseful account of this landmark murder case is a sublime and seductive reading experience.

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The ever-timely book that is famous for taking down a president, ALL THE PRESIDENT’S MEN is often regarded as the pinnacle of investigative journalism. You may think you know the story of Watergate, but this book will take you behind the scenes and, with breathless pacing and in-depth research, along the many shocking twists and turns of the scandal. Robert Redford and Dustin Hoffman starred in the classic film.

Published just months before President Nixon’s resignation, ALL THE PRESIDENT’S MEN revealed the full scope of the Watergate scandal and introduced for the first time the mysterious “Deep Throat.” Woodward and Bernstein’s explosive reports won a Pulitzer Prize for The Washington Post, toppled the president, and have since inspired generations of reporters.

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A poignant and powerful biography of a complex and brilliant man, A BEAUTIFUL MIND follows the career of mathematician John Nash, his struggles with schizophrenia, and his eventual rise to win a Nobel Prize. More scholarly than merely dramatic, A BEAUTIFUL MIND nonetheless reads like an engaging novel—which inspired the award-winning film, starring Russell Crowe and Jennifer Connelly.

Nasar’s biography of mathematical genius John Nash is a drama about the mystery of the human mind and the power of love. By the age of thirty, Nash was a legend—and already suffering from paranoid schizophrenia. Remarkably, Nash triumphed over adversity, won world acclaim and a Nobel Prize.

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The book that inspired Martin Scorsese’s Goodfellas —starring Robert De Niro, Ray Liotta, and Lorraine Bracco—is the captivating and often shocking story of mafia gangster and eventual FBI informant Henry Hill. Combining hard-hitting journalism with extraordinarily mesmerizing prose, WISEGUY is a behind-the-scenes look at the power and corruption of the criminal world.

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An enlightening exploration of a group of bitterly different men who helped change American history forever, TEAM OF RIVALS is so much more than just a biography of the sixteenth president. Expertly researched and completely absorbing, this book depicts the extraordinary difficulties Lincoln faced in his effort to save the country. It inspired Steven Spielberg’s film Lincoln , starring Daniel Day-Lewis, Sally Field, and Tommy Lee Jones.

The acclaimed political biography that helped inspired Steven Spielberg’s “Lincoln,” Doris Kearns Goodwin provides a truly engaging and fresh exploration of not only Abraham Lincoln’s life but also his acumen in bringing out the best in his cabinet of rival Republicans. Brilliantly conceived and expertly written, this is a thrilling biography of the most momentous presidency. . . . Page Count: 754

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The Best Movies Based On History Novels

Immersing oneself in the world of historical movies based on books is akin to taking a time machine through history, shedding new light on gripping stories that have left indelible marks on society. These films capture the essence of historical fiction, blending cinematic artistry with accurate portrayals of events and people from days gone by. With a deep repository of historical movies based on books, audiences are treated to vivid adaptations that transport them to different eras while providing thought-provoking insights into true stories. 

Emphasizing the diverse range of best historical fiction movies available, these films showcase the remarkable talent of filmmakers in transforming meticulously researched novels into vivid works of art on screen. From hard-hitting biographies to sweeping tales of heroism, each movie masterfully evokes the emotions and significance of its source material. The emphasis on historical accuracy ensures that these adaptations not only entertain but educate and inspire, bringing long-gone narratives to life in stunning detail. 

Cinematic adaptations of history novels have produced some unforgettable films that not only entertain but leave an indelible impression on audiences with their engaging storytelling and historical accuracy. For instance, Schindler's List is renowned for its harrowing depiction of the Holocaust and Oskar Schindler's extraordinary efforts to save over a thousand Jews. The film, based on Thomas Keneally's novel, captures the horrors and humanity of this dark chapter in history through masterful storytelling and unforgettable performances. Similarly, Steven Spielberg's Lincoln focuses on the arduous journey of the 16th President, Abraham Lincoln, as he sought to abolish slavery and achieve equality for all, adapted from Doris Kearns Goodwin's acclaimed biography. Another exceptional example is Apollo 13 , which brings to life the incredible mission that saw astronauts overcome near-disastrous circumstances during their venture to the Moon, based on the book Lost Moon by astronaut Jim Lovell and journalist Jeffrey Kluger. These examples represent just a fraction of the outstanding historical movies based on books that breathe life into the past. 

With their unique power to create connections across time, the best historical movies based on books captivate the imagination, conjuring vivid portraits of bygone eras that resonate deeply with audiences around the world. Meticulously crafted and grounded in thorough research, these films not only stand as testaments to the brilliance of the original novels but serve as striking reminders of history's capacity to enlighten and move. By exploring the best historical movies based on books, audiences can savor unforgettable storytelling that illuminates the richness of our shared heritage.

The Godfather

The Godfather , an exceptional gangster film, was adapted from the phenomenal book of the same name by author Mario Puzo. Starring an impressive cast including Marlon Brando, Al Pacino, and James Caan, this masterpiece delves into the internal affairs and power struggles infusing the Italian-American Mafia, having an enduring impact on cinema and pop culture.

• Released : 1972
• Directed by : Francis Ford Coppola

Schindler's List

Schindler's List is a powerful and heart-wrenching film fashioned from Thomas Keneally's historical novel, Schindler's Ark . This cinematic gem, which brought to life the tale of Oskar Schindler and his efforts to save Jewish lives during the Holocaust, features captivating performances by Liam Neeson, Ralph Fiennes, and Ben Kingsley.

• Released : 1993
• Directed by : Steven Spielberg

The Godfather Part II

Equally revered is The Godfather Part II , a gripping sequel and transcendent movie based on Mario Puzo's iconic novel. In this film, Al Pacino and Robert De Niro's compelling performances truly chronicle the rise of the Corleone family in the mafia world.

• Released : 1974

Forrest Gump

Forrest Gump , as adapted from Winston Groom's novel, manages to tug on the heartstrings with an uplifting story of love, friendship, and perseverance. Tom Hanks' masterful portrayal of the eponymous character along with a strong support cast bolsters the movie's popularity and success.

• Released : 1994
• Directed by : Robert Zemeckis

Glory shines as a film adaptation of the stirring historical novel A Call to Arms by James McPherson. Set amidst the Civil War, the film's breathtaking cinematography and sterling performances by Matthew Broderick, Denzel Washington, and Morgan Freeman showcase the valor of African-American soldiers.

• Released : 1989
• Directed by : Edward Zwick

Gone with the Wind

Gone with the Wind , an irrefutable classic, stems from Margaret Mitchell's lauded novel. Vivien Leigh's iconic portrayal of Scarlett O'Hara, coupled with Clark Gable's magnetic presence, paints a vivid picture of the American South during the Civil War, securing the film's place in cinematic history.

• Released : 1939
• Directed by : Victor Fleming

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The 100 Greatest Film Books of All Time 

THR’s list of must-read tomes — determined by a jury of more than 300 Hollywood heavyweights including Steven Spielberg, David Zaslav, Liza Minnelli and Ava DuVernay — proves there’s one topic the supposedly reading-averse industry can’t get enough of: itself.

By Scott Feinberg

Scott Feinberg

Executive Editor of Awards

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There has long been an assumption that people in the movie business — and Hollywood specifically — aren’t exactly well read. “Millions to be grabbed out here and your only competition is idiots,” Herman Mankiewicz telegrammed Ben Hecht upon his arrival out West in 1926. Meanwhile, 2023 awards contender American Fiction includes the laugh line, “Nobody in Hollywood reads. They get their assistants to read things and then summarize them. The whole town runs on book reports.”

But THR , suspecting that’s painting with too broad a brush, and aware that many usually busy people had some time on their hands during the first simultaneous strike of actors and writers in 63 years, reached out to hundreds of distinguished members of the global film community and asked them to share their picks for the greatest books related to film — autobiographies, biographies, novels, how-to, making-of and every other sort — factoring in quality, impact and influence. They each received a “ballot” listing some 1,200 notable titles, plus slots for write-ins.

Among the 322 respondents were directors (including Steven Spielberg, Ava DuVernay, Oliver Stone, John Waters and Celine Song); actors (Liza Minnelli, Alec Baldwin , Laura Dern, Colman Domingo and Sarah Paulson); producers (Jerry Bruckheimer and Amy Pascal); writers (Tom Stoppard, Paul Schrader and John Mulaney); executives (David Zaslav, Sherry Lansing, Michael Barker, Tom Rothman and Bela Bajaria); documentarians (Ken Burns, Sheila Nevins and Errol Morris); animators (Floyd Norman); composers (Nicholas Britell); agents (Toni Howard); the heads of the Academy, Academy Museum, Golden Globes, BAFTA, MPA, AFI, American Cinematheque, Black List, Alamo Drafthouse theater chain and Sundance, Toronto and Karlovy Vary film festivals; journalists (Maureen Dowd, Graydon Carter, Roxane Gay, David Remnick, Lynn Hirschberg, Michael Wolff and Lawrence O’Donnell); film critics; academics; and, yes, a host of top authors of film books.

There have previously been “greatest film books” surveys of some of these constituencies, but never all of them, and never of this size and scope. It’s with the hope that THR readers will be inspired to check out these books and learn more about the art form and business that we cover that we proudly present — in order from fewest votes to most — the 100 greatest film books of all time ( click here for a printable checklist ), as chosen by the people who would know best.

98 (tie).  Transcendental Style in Film: Ozu, Bresson, Dreyer

By Paul Schrader 1972 • University of California Press • Criticism/Theory/Essay 16 votes

The man who would go on to write Taxi Driver , co-write Raging Bull and write and direct First Reformed penned this study of spirituality in film as his UCLA film school thesis. It zeroes in on three filmmakers whose work, he argues, investigates the “mystery of existence.” Read it here .

Related reading: The World Viewed: Reflections on the Ontology of Film , by Stanley Cavell

98 (tie).  Haywire: A Memoir

By Brooke Hayward 1977 • Alfred A. Knopf • Autobiography 16 votes

The daughter of agent/producer Leland Hayward and actress Margaret Sullavan, aided by famous family friends whose memories she solicited, reflects on what became of her seemingly picture-perfect family: her father left, her brother was institutionalized, her mother and sister committed suicide and she was left a single mother desperate to spare her kids from similar heartbreak. It was a #1 New York Times bestseller. Read it here .

Related reading: A Private View , by Irene Mayer Selznick

98 (tie). Film as a Subversive Art

By Amos Vogel 1974 • Weidenfeld & Nicolson Ltd • Criticism/Theory/Essay 16 votes

The founder in the ’40s of New York’s Cinema 16 film society and co-founder in the ’60s of the New York Film Festival, Vogel “exerted an influence on the history of film that few other non-filmmakers can claim,” according to his New York Times obit. In this volume, he continued his life’s work of highlighting non-mainstream films that he felt deserved a larger audience. Read it here .

Related reading: I Seem to Live: The New York Diaries, 1950–1969: Volume 1 and I Seem to Live: The New York Diaries, 1969–2011: Volume 2 , by Jonas Mekas

88 (tie).  Wishful Drinking

By Carrie Fisher 2008 • Simon & Schuster • Autobiography 17 votes

Fisher, in her first memoir, adapted from a 2006 one-woman stage show, the Hollywood survivor wryly comments on growing up the daughter of two eccentric movie stars, being cast in Star Wars at 19 and struggling with alcoholism, addiction and mental illness. “I feel very sane about how crazy I am,” she says at one point, and at another “If my life wasn’t funny it would just be true, and that is unacceptable.” Read it here .

Related reading: Shockaholic , by Carrie Fisher

88 (tie).  Walt Disney: The Triumph of the American Imagination

By Neal Gabler 2006 • Alfred A. Knopf • Biography 17 votes

There have been many Disney biographies, but none as well researched or written as this one. It lays out how Uncle Walt came to drawing as an escape from a joyless childhood, goes in-depth on the making of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs , captures how the man and his studio were forever changed by a 1941 strike and reveals that it wasn’t until Disneyland opened that he ever had much financial security. Read it here .

Related reading: Disney Animation: The Illusion of Life , by Ollie Johnston & Frank Thomas

88 (tie).  Negative Space: Manny Farber on the Movies

By Manny Farber 1971 • Studio Vista • Criticism/Theory/Essay 17 votes

This collection of 45 pieces that Farber wrote for The Nation or Artforum between the late ’40s and the early ’70s showcases his independent thinking (he gravitated to unpretentious “termite art”) and unique style of writing. NPR said it’s “on every critic’s bookshelf, and it’s amazing how often it’s been quoted, borrowed from, strip-mined or used as a launching pad.” Read it here .

Related reading: Farber on Film: The Complete Film Writings of Manny Farber , by Manny Farber, edited by Robert Polito

88 (tie).  The Moon’s a Balloon

By David Niven 1971 • Hamish Hamilton • Autobiography 17 votes

In the laugh-out-loud — and factually suspect — first installment of his memoirs, the British Oscar-winning actor and bon vivant reflects on his delinquent childhood, abbreviated military service and rise to prominence in pre-WWII Hollywood. It became a huge bestseller. Read it here .

Related reading: Bring on the Empty Horses , by David Niven

88 (tie).  A Killer Life: How an Independent Film Producer Survives Deals and Disasters in Hollywood and Beyond

By Christine Vachon, with Austin Bunn 2006 • Simon & Schuster • Autobiography 17 votes

This third book by the giant of indie cinema, which derives its name from her production company Killer Films, addresses why she abandoned early directing aspirations, discusses her work with Todd Haynes and the evolution of queer cinema and recounts challenges she encountered while guiding to fruition great indie films like Boys Don’t Cry and Far from Heaven . Read it here .

Related reading: Shooting to Kill: How an Independent Producer Blasts Through the Barriers to Make Movies that Matter , by Christine Vachon

88 (tie).  The Friedkin Connection: A Memoir

By William Friedkin 2013 • Harper • Autobiography 17 votes

The New Hollywood filmmaker, who died in August, dishes on the challenges of making classics like The French Connection and The Exorcist (and his regrets for risking people’s safety), his infamous ego and stubbornness (he passed on Star Wars ) and a 1980 heart attack that made him look at things differently. Read it here .

Related reading: Leading Lady: Sherry Lansing and the Making of a Hollywood Groundbreaker , by Stephen Galloway

88 (tie).  David O. Selznick’s Hollywood

By Ron Haver 1980 • Alfred A. Knopf • Coffee Table 17 votes

Haver, the longtime director of LACMA’s film department, was obsessed with Gone with the Wind — he saw it some 150 times at a time before it was easily accessible — and worshipped Selznick. He devoted five years to this massive book, which the LA Times called “as elaborate as any Selznick production,” and which reportedly cost $1 million to print. Read it here .

Related reading: GWTW: The Making of Gone with the Wind , by Gavin Lambert

88 (tie).  Dark City: The Lost World of Film Noir

By Eddie Muller 1998 • St. Martin’s Griffin • Coffee Table 17 votes

Employing amusing slang and gorgeous stills and posters to highlight relevant films and people both well-known and underappreciated, the “czar of noir” — now film fest curator and a TCM host — tells the story of a genre of post WWII films that has a French name, but is primarily American. Read it here .

Related reading: King of the Bs: Working Within the Hollywood System , by Charles Flynn & Todd McCarthy

88 (tie).  Catch and Kill: Lies, Spies and a Conspiracy to Protect Predators

By Ronan Farrow 2019 • Little, Brown and Company • History 17 votes

Farrow documents his efforts to expose Harvey Weinstein’s sexual crimes, recalling obstruction from employers, intimidation from Weinstein allies and conversations with his sister, who has alleged that she was sexually abused, about how to interact with other survivors. His reporting helped to launch the #MeToo movement and won him a Pulitzer Prize. Read it here .

Related reading: She Said: Breaking the Sexual Harassment Story That Helped Ignite a Movement , by Jodi Kantor & Megan Twohey

88 (tie).  Cassavetes on Cassavetes

By Ray Carney 2001 • Faber & Faber • Interview/Oral History 17 votes

Carney conducted 400 hours of interviews with Cassavetes and then, after the indie filmmaking trailblazer’s 1989 death, spent more than a decade interviewing everyone who knew and worked with him, getting to the bottom of his desire to make films, production techniques and disinterest in mainstream success. The author describes his book as “the autobiography Cassavetes never lived to write.” Read it here .

Related reading: Robert Altman: The Oral Biography Book , by Mitchell Zuckoff

83 (tie).  The Star Machine

By Jeanine Basinger 2007 • Alfred A. Knopf • History 18 votes

During Hollywood’s Golden Age, studios more or less owned the actors and actresses they had under contract, changing their names and appearances, shaping their on and off screen images, building them up or throwing them aside. Basinger gets into the mechanics of how that star system worked, using in-depth case studies like Lana Turner, Tyrone Power and Deanna Durbin. Read it here.

Related reading: The Fixers: Eddie Mannix, Howard Strickling and the MGM Publicity Machine , by E.J. Fleming

83 (tie).  The Making of The Wizard of Oz: Movie Magic and Studio Power in the Prime of MGM — and the Miracle of Production #1060

By Aljean Harmetz 1977 • Alfred A. Knopf • Making Of 18 votes

This pioneering “making of” book dissects all of the elements that resulted in an MGM classic. Harmetz, who’d become the New York Times ’ Hollywood correspondent, interviewed dozens of surviving cast and crew and emerged with incredible stories — why “Over the Rainbow” was almost cut, where the ‘Munchkins’ were found, how the studio hid Garland’s physical maturation, how the Wicked Witch ‘melted,’ etc. Read it here .

Related reading: The Making of Casablanca: Bogart, Bergman and World War II , by Aljean Harmetz

83 (tie).  The Conversations: Walter Murch and the Art of Editing Film

By Michael Ondaatje 2002 • Alfred A. Knopf • Interview/Oral History 18 votes

The novelist Ondaatje and the sound/film editor Murch met and hit it off during the making of the film version of The English Patient and conducted five “conversations” over two years about how Murch confronted various challenges over the course of his illustrious career. John Boorman wrote, “This book should be required reading for anyone working in film.” Read it here .

Related reading: A Long Time Ago in a Cutting Room Far, Far Away: My Fifty Years Editing Hollywood Hits ― Star Wars, Carrie, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, Mission: Impossible and More , by Paul Hirsch

83 (tie).  Conversations With the Great Moviemakers of Hollywood’s Golden Age at the American Film Institute and Conversations at the American Film Institute With the Great Moviemakers: The Next Generation

By George Stevens Jr. 2006 & 2012 • Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group • Interview/Oral History 18 votes

Stevens, the son of a legendary director and founder of AFI, presents, with commentary, transcribed highlights from seminars held there with filmmakers — many but not all American. The first volume features pearls of wisdom from the likes of Harold Lloyd, Federico Fellini and Satyajit Ray, the latter from younger legends including George Lucas, Meryl Streep and Steven Spielberg. Read it here .

Related reading: The Men Who Made the Movies , by Richard Schickel

83 (tie). By Myself

By Lauren Bacall 1978 • Alfred A. Knopf • Autobiography 18 votes

Betty Joan Perske, “a nice Jewish girl from New York,” was discovered by Howard Hawks at 19, changed her name and became a star thanks to her sultry turn in To Have and Have Not opposite Humphrey Bogart, who she’d marry. This memoir, which recounts her many ups and downs before and after, including Bogie’s death and a relationship with Frank Sinatra, was chosen for a National Book Award. Read it here .

Related reading: The Lonely Life , by Bette Davis

76 (tie). Valley of the Dolls

By Jacqueline Susann 1966 • Bernard Geis Associates • Novel 19 votes

Susann’s first novel, which follows three young women with showbiz dreams whose lives take unexpected turns, not least because of “dolls” (a nickname for upper and downer pills), was described by The Washington Post as a “trash read” and “everything that is wrong with America” — but it was #1 on the New York Times bestseller list for 22 weeks, spawned a 1967 film and has sold 31 million copies. Read it here .

Related reading: Dolls! Dolls! Dolls!: Deep Inside Valley of the Dolls, the Most Beloved Bad Book and Movie of All Time , by Stephen Rebello

76 (tie).  Spike Lee’s Gotta Have It: Inside Guerrilla Filmmaking

By Spike Lee 1987 • Fireside Books • Making Of 19 votes

Spike Lee’s 1986 feature directorial debut She’s Gotta Have It put him on the map. This is the story — derived from a diary that he kept during the year and a half he worked on the film, as well as a Billboard interview — of how he hustled and defied considerable odds (and a photo lab that threatened to auction off his negatives unless he settled his debts) to see it through. Read it here .

Related reading: Do the Right Thing: A Spike Lee Joint , by Spike Lee with Lisa Jones

76 (tie). Powerhouse: The Untold Story of Hollywood’s Creative Artists Agency

By James Andrew Miller 2016 • HarperCollins • Interview/Oral History 19 votes

Miller, our most impressive oral historian since Studs Terkel (he’s also chronicled SNL , ESPN and HBO), got some of Hollywood’s tightest-lipped people — CAA agents past and present, including Michael Ovitz and Ron Meyer — to open up, revealing the intelligence, ambition and greed at the center of an operation that caused studios to spend wildly on talent, changing the types of movies it made financial sense to make. Read it here .

Related reading: Who Is Michael Ovitz? The Rise and Fall (and Rise) of the Most Powerful Man in Hollywood , by Michael Ovitz

76 (tie). My Lunches With Orson: Conversations Between Henry Jaglom and Orson Welles

Edited by Peter Biskind 2013 • Metropolitan Books • Interview/Oral History 19 votes

As in This Is Orson Welles , Welles is in conversation with a younger filmmaker, this time at tape-recorded lunches at Ma Maison during the last three years of his life. Bloated by overconsumption and ego but deflated by the industry, he is at his wackiest: rude to Richard Burton, spouting conspiracies about the Nazis killing Carole Lombard and fearful of contracting AIDS from a hug.

Related reading: Afterglow: A Last Conversation with Pauline Kael , by Francis Davis

76 (tie). Montgomery Clift: A Biography

By Patricia Bosworth 1978 • Harcourt Brace Jovanovich • Biography 19 votes

Bosworth, who profiled Hollywood types in magazines and books for decades, did her best work crafting this portrait of a gifted actor who was sexually conflicted and was haunted after a car accident robbed him of his once flawless beauty. She spent five years on the project and, as the New York Times noted, “seem[ed] to have talked to everybody who ever had anything to do with Clift.” Read it here .

Related reading: Rainbow: Stormy Life of Judy Garland , by Christopher Finch

76 (tie).  Hollywood: The Oral History

By Jeanine Basinger & Sam Wasson 2022 • Harper • Interview/Oral History 19 votes

This brick of an 800-page book features quotes pulled from hundreds of seminars held at AFI over the decades, which are masterfully curated so as to create the appearance of a conversation between people from across the professions of the film industry about a variety of times and themes. The New York Times described the authors’ work as “structural origami.” Read it here .

Related reading: People Will Talk , by John Kobal

76 (tie).  Hawks on Hawks

By Joseph McBride 1982 • University of California Press • Interview/Oral History 19 votes

McBride met Hawks in 1970 and, at the urging of François Truffaut, convinced him to sit for several interviews over seven years for a Hitchcock/Truffaut -style book about his half-century career. Hawks memorably discusses his attraction to stories about male friendship and to strong female characters, and his perplexing The Big Sleep (“I wasn’t going to explain things, I was just going to try and make good scenes”). Read it here .

Related reading: Howard Hawks: The Grey Fox of Hollywood , by Todd McCarthy

72 (tie).  Scorsese on Scorsese

By Ian Christie & David Thompson 1989 • Faber & Faber • Interview/Oral History 21 votes

Three interviews in England and another in Scotland, all conducted in 1987, provide the majority of material in this profile of one of America’s most significant filmmakers of the past 50 years. The master speaks about growing up in Little Italy, his cinematic influences and the making of all of his films through The Last Temptation of Christ . Read it here .

Related reading: A Personal Journey with Martin Scorsese Through American Movies , by Martin Scorsese & Michael Henry Wilson

72 (tie).  Rebel Without a Crew: Or How a 23-Year-Old Filmmaker with $7,000 Became a Hollywood Player

By Robert Rodriguez 1995 • Dutton • Making Of 21 votes

Best known today for the Spy Kids franchise, Rodriguez started out as indie as you can get, raising money for his 1992 Spanish-language debut feature El Mariachi by participating in medical studies. It ultimately sold to Columbia, grossed seven figures and put him on the map. This book draws from his old diary and includes his full screenplay.

Related reading: Thinking In Pictures: The Making of the Movie Matewan , by John Sayles

72 (tie).  Mommie Dearest

By Christina Crawford 1978 • William Morrow & Co. • Autobiography 21 votes

A year after the death of Joan Crawford, one of the biggest stars in Hollywood history, came this shocking book, authored by an adopted daughter who she had disinherited, alleging that Crawford had been mentally unstable and abused her during her childhood. (“No wire hangers, ever!”) Disputed by some of Crawford’s other children, it was nevertheless made into a 1981 narrative film. Read it here .

Related reading: Joan Crawford: A Biography , by Bob Thomas

72 (tie). A Life in Movies

By Michael Powell 1987 • Alfred A. Knopf • Autobiography 21 votes

One of the greatest British filmmakers shared this detailed account of his first 43 years, which discusses his childhood, breaking into the movies under Alfred Hitchcock, working for Alexander Korda and making The Red Shoes for J. Arthur Rank, while living a colorful life outside of work. He died three years later, but the second installment of his memoirs was finished by his widow, Thelma Schoonmaker. Read it here .

Related reading: Million-Dollar Movie: Volume II of a Life in Movies , by Michael Powell

69 (tie).  George Hurrell’s Hollywood: Glamour Portraits, 1925-1992

By Mark A. Vieira 2013 • Running Press • Coffee Table 22 votes

Coffee table books don’t come more stunning than this one, thanks both to the images taken by Hurrell, a game-changing portrait photographer, and the presentation of them by Vieira, a photographer in his own right and the author of more than a dozen impressive books. The author and subject actually met and worked together on a book project back in 1975; Hurrell died in 1992. Read it here .

Related reading: Photographs , by Annie Leibovitz

69 (tie). 5001 Nights at the Movies

By Pauline Kael 1982 • Holt, Rinehart and Winston • Criticism/Theory/Essay 22 votes

While some prefer Kael’s longform work, many a film lover struggling to decide what to watch next has made great use of this collection of her short capsule reviews that appeared in The New Yorker ’s “Goings On About Town” section. The New York Times declared that they “read like mini-Barthes essays: provocative, polished and idiosyncratic.” Read it here .

Related reading: Pauline Kael: A Life in the Dark , by Brian Kellow

69 (tie). 85 Years of the Oscar: The Official History of the Academy Awards

By Robert Osborne 2013 • Abbeville Press Publishers • History 22 votes

The first book by Osborne, an actor turned journalist (he wrote for THR ), was 1965’s Academy Awards Illustrated , a dispassionate history of the organization behind the Oscars, which then enlisted him to write its official history, which was released in 1979. The last of his six updates to that one was published in 2013, by which time he was a beloved TCM host. He died in 2017. Read it here .

Related reading: The Academy and the Award: The Coming of Age of Oscar and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences , by Bruce Davis

66 (tie). Spike, Mike, Slackers and Dykes: A Guided Tour Across a Decade of Independent American Cinema

By John Pierson 1996 • Hyperion • Business 23 votes

Pierson, a producer’s representative, explains how he has helped filmmakers with no profile at the time to get their work made, sold and seen by the world, sharing stories about Lee’s She’s Gotta Have It , Moore’s Roger & Me and Linklater’s Slacker , plus Hoop Dreams , Clerks and many others. Chats with Kevin Smith serve as interstitials between chapters. Read it here .

Related reading: How I Made a Hundred Movies in Hollywood and Never Lost a Dime , by Roger Corman with Jim Jerome

66 (tie).  Shock Value: A Tasteful Book About Bad Taste

By John Waters 1981 • Dell • Autobiography 23 votes

The Baltimore-based “Pope of Trash,” the subject of a new exhibit at the Academy Museum, herein shares the stories behind his early films like Pink Flamingos , and the worldview that has guided his unusual work: “To me, bad taste is what entertainment is all about. If someone vomits watching one of my films, it’s like getting a standing ovation.” Read it here .

Related reading: Mr. Know-It-All: The Tarnished Wisdom of a Filth Elder , by John Waters

66 (tie). Film Form and The Film Sense

By Sergei Eisenstein, translated by Jay Leyda 1959 • Meridian Books • Criticism/Theory/Essay 23 votes

Eisenstein, in his 54 years, made six films, most notably 1925’s Battleship Potemkin , which was highly influential on other filmmakers. His influence also extended to his writing: The Film Sense , a 1942 essay, discussed montage. Film Form , comprised of 12 essays of theory and analysis, followed in 1949. Years later, they were translated and combined this book, which The New York Times called “essential reading.” Read it here .

Related reading: Beyond the Stars: The Memoirs of Sergei Eisenstein , by Sergei Eisenstein, edited by Richard Taylor, translated by William Powell

64 (tie).  Story: Substance, Structure, Style and the Principles of Screenwriting

By Robert McKee 1997 • HarperCollins • How To 24 votes

As was memorably portrayed by Brian Cox in Adaptation , McKee is a real character who teaches a massively influential seminar on screenwriting that was the basis for this book, which every screenwriter has on his or her shelf. In case you haven’t heard, he hates voiceover narration and loves “inciting incidents.” Read it here .

Related reading: Save the Cat! The Last Book on Screenwriting You’ll Ever Need , by Blake Snyder

64 (tie). The Great Movies , The Great Movies II , The Great Movies III and The Great Movies IV

By Roger Ebert 2003, 2006, 2011 & 2016 • Three Rivers Press (first two) and University of Chicago Press (second two) • Criticism/Theory/Essay 24 votes

These collections of incisive and personal essays that Ebert wrote for the Chicago Sun-Times allow admirers of his writing and thinking to read what are essentially his reviews of standout films that predated his career as a critic, as well as his fresh evaluations of standout films that he had previously written about. The final edition was published after his death. Read them here , here , here and here .

Related reading: The Great Films: Fifty Golden Years of Motion Pictures , by Bosley Crowther

61 (tie).  Without Lying Down: Frances Marion and the Powerful Women of Early Hollywood

By Cari Beauchamp 1997 • Scribner • Biography 25 votes

Beauchamp, a PI turned politico turned prolific writer on Hollywood, shines a seminal light on women who carried considerable weight in nascent Hollywood, especially Marion, who was Hollywood’s highest-paid screenwriter, won two screenwriting Oscars (and used them as doorstops) and knew everyone. The title comes from Marion’s lifelong search “for a man to look up to without lying down.” Read it here .

Related reading: Off with Their Heads!: A Serio-Comic Tale of Hollywood , by Frances Marion

61 (tie).  Something Like an Autobiography

By Akira Kurosawa, translated by Audie E. Bock 1983 • Iwanami Shoten • Autobiography 25 votes

In a memoir modeled after Jean Renoir’s My Life and My Films , the Japanese master behind Rashomon and The Seven Samurai gets candid about childhood struggles, the suicide of the older brother who introduced him to films, his country’s hesitance to embrace him and his philosophy that “There is nothing that says more about its creator than the work itself.”  Read it here .

Related reading: The Japanese Film: Art and Industry , by Joseph L. Anderson & Donald Richie

61 (tie). My Autobiography

By Charlie Chaplin 1964 • Simon & Schuster • Autobiography 25 votes

Arguably the greatest creative force Hollywood has ever known, and one of the most famous men who ever lived, wrote his memoir while in exile from the U.S. due to the Red Scare. In the massive bestseller, he recounts his Dickensian childhood, the origin of his Little Tramp character and, with questionable accuracy, interactions with virtually every famous person of his time.

Related reading: The Movies, Mr. Griffith and Me , by Lillian Gish

59 (tie). My Last Sigh

By Luis Buñuel, translated by Abigail Israel 1983 • Alfred A. Knopf • Autobiography 26 votes

With the tremendous and uncredited assistance of his go-to screenwriter Jean-Claude Carrière, the most celebrated Spanish filmmaker ever offers musings on his life and work, but also on booze, death and dreams. A surrealist whose career began with a film in which an eyeball is sliced open, he declares, “I love dreams, even when they’re nightmares, which is usually the case.” And he took his last sigh that same year.  Read it here .

Related reading: Every Man for Himself and God Against All: A Memoir , by Werner Herzog, translated by Michael Hoffmann

59 (tie). The Last Mogul: Lew Wasserman, MCA and the Hidden History of Hollywood

By Dennis McDougal 1998 • Crown • Biography 26 votes

McDougal, formerly of the L.A. Times , conducted 200 interviews to determine how a man who came from nothing grew MCA into the world’s largest talent agency, ran the Universal studio and became the most powerful person in Hollywood history. Some aspects of his story are less savory than others, and the preface begins: “Lew Wasserman did not want this book published.”  Read it here .

Related reading: The Agency: William Morris and the Hidden History of Show Business , by Frank Rose

57 (tie).  The Studio

By John Gregory Dunne 1969 • Farrar, Straus and Giroux • Business 27 votes

Dunne managed to secure unrestricted access to the 20 th Century Fox lot for a full year, spanning May 1967 through May 1968, during which the business was rapidly changing. His portraits of studio chief Richard Zanuck, Doctor Dolittle producer Arthur P. Jacobs and others provide an unparalleled look into the lives and creative considerations of Hollywood power players of the time.  Read it here .

Related reading: The Magic Factory: How MGM Made An American in Paris , by Donald Knox

57 (tie). Godard on Godard

By Jean-Luc Godard, translated and edited by Tom Milne 1972 • Viking Press • Criticism/Theory/Essay 27 votes

This portrait of Godard, a film critic (for Cahiers du Cinéma and elsewhere) before he was a filmmaker (ushering in the French New Wave), gathers reviews and essays that he wrote about other filmmakers and their work as well as interviews that he himself later gave about his own films. The included works collectively span 1950 through 1967.  Read it here .

Related reading: Everything Is Cinema: The Working Life of Jean-Luc Godard , by Richard Brody

51 (tie). Notes: The Making of Apocalypse Now

By Eleanor Coppola 1979 • Simon & Schuster • Making Of 28 votes

Francis Ford Coppola encouraged his wife to film a documentary about the making of Apocalypse Now , which years later came out as Hearts of Darkness . But first, she made a book of the notes she took throughout the chaotic shoot, which saw one star show up hugely overweight and another suffer a heart attack, was delayed by weather and military conflicts and went way over budget and schedule.  Read it here .

Related reading: The Cleopatra Papers: A Private Correspondence , by Jack Brodsky & Nathan Weiss

51 (tie). From Caligari to Hitler: A Psychological History of the German Film

By Siegfried Kracauer 1947 • Princeton University Press • Criticism/Theory/Essay 28 votes

Kracauer, a critic who fled Germany in 1933, looks back on films of the Weimar era for clues about how the Nazis rose to power and argues that “through an analysis of the German film, deep psychological dispositions predominant in Germany from 1918 to 1933 can be exposed,” he wrote. Arthur Schlesinger Jr. called it “the most ambitious attempt to use films as a historic source.”  Read it here .

Related reading: Hollywood’s Spies: The Undercover Surveillance of Nazis in Los Angeles , by Laura B. Rosenzweig

51 (tie). The Devil Finds Work

By James Baldwin 1976 • Dial Press • Criticism/Theory/Essay 28 votes

The great writer and thinker reflects on the role that movies played in his life and thoughts — as a kid (he was comforted that Bette Davis also had bulging eyes), as an adult moviegoer (sniffing at naïve films about race like In the Heat of the Night ) and as a screenwriter (recounting his attempt to script a film about Malcolm X).  Read it here .

Related reading: The Bluest Eye , by Toni Morrison

51 (tie). The Dark Side of Genius: The Life of Alfred Hitchcock

By Donald Spoto 1983 • Little, Brown and Company • Biography 28 votes

The first of many biographies penned by Spoto, published three years after the Master of Suspense’s death, reflects the inner conflict of an author who greatly admired the filmmaker’s twisted work, but who also recognized that it was to some degree reflective of his own repressed and sadistic behavior towards certain collaborators, especially The Birds and Marnie star Tippi Hedren.  Read it here .

Related reading: Alfred Hitchcock and the Making of Psycho , by Stephen Rebello

51 (tie). The Citizen Kane Book

By Pauline Kael 1971 • Little, Brown and Company • Making Of 28 votes

This book includes Citizen Kane ’s shooting script but is primarily notable for including Kael’s 50,000-word essay “Raising Kane,” which first ran in back-to-back issues of The New Yorker in 1971. In it she argues that Herman J. Mankiewicz, not Orson Welles, deserved primary credit for the film’s screenplay. Her claims, which were fueled by Welles ex-pal John Houseman, were later challenged by a host of other journalists.  Read it here .

Related reading: The Making of Citizen Kane , by Robert L. Carringer

51 (tie). Cinema Speculation

By Quentin Tarantino 2022 • Harper • Criticism/Theory/Essay 28 votes

The Oscar-winning filmmaker’s second book in a two-book deal (following his novelization of Once Upon a Time in Hollywood ) is, as the New York Times put it, “as much a filmgoing memoir as a work of criticism,” exploring the movies of the 1970s that shaped him. He champions unsung titles ( Rolling Thunder ), takes issues with classics ( Taxi Driver ) and even pays homage to a favorite film critic (Kevin Thomas).  Read it here .

Related reading: The Films in My Life , by François Truffaut

50.  This Is Orson Welles

By Peter Bogdanovich & Orson Welles, edited by Jonathan Rosenbaum 1992 • HarperCollins • Interview/Oral History 29 votes

Welles, an admirer of Bogdanovich’s biography of John Ford, urged Bogdanovich, who was a quarter-century younger and on the rise in Hollywood, to write a similar book with him. Their conversations, which address things like the butchering of Welles’ The Magnificent Ambersons , began in 1969 and continued intermittently over 15 years, during which both men experienced personal and professional ups and downs.  Read it here .

Related reading: John Ford , by Peter Bogdanovich

48 (tie). Sculpting in Time: The Great Russian Filmmaker Discusses His Art

By Andrey Tarkovsky, translated by Kitty Hunter-Blair 1987 • University of Texas Press • Autobiography 30 votes

This collection of writings, lectures, interviews and stills, which was published shortly after Tarkovsky died of cancer at the age of 54, addresses the inspirations, challenges and meaning of the seven feature films that he completed in his lifetime — which had prompted widespread questions and debate among many cineastes — and his complex feelings about the Soviet Union.  Read it here .

Related reading: Kuleshov on Film: Writings by Lev Kuleshov , by Lev Vladimirovich Kuleshov, edited by Ronald Levaco

48 (tie). Five Came Back: A Story of Hollywood and the Second World War

By Mark Harris 2014 • Penguin Press • History 30 votes

Harris’ sophomore effort, like Pictures at a Revolution , centers on five central elements, this time not films, but A-list Hollywood directors who served during World War II, namely Frank Capra, John Ford, John Huston, George Stevens and William Wyler. It brilliantly explores how they and their filmmaking were changed by their time overseas.  Read it here .

Related reading: Hollywood Independents: The Postwar Talent Takeover , by Denise Mann

47. Get Shorty

By Elmore Leonard 1990 • The Delacorte Press • Novel 31 votes

The great American crime novelist, who spent years working in Hollywood before becoming a household name, tells the story of Chili Palmer, a loan shark who pitches an idea for a movie to a producer from whom he has come to collect a debt, in this dark-as-night comedy. It was made into a 1995 film starring John Travolta and, in 2017, a TV series.  Read it here .

Related reading: The Black Dahlia , by James Ellroy

46. Naming Names

By Victor S. Navasky 1980 • Viking Press • History 32 votes

Navasky, the longtime editor of The Nation , embarked on a “moral detective story” to figure out why the Hollywood blacklist happened and how it impacted people, spending seven years conducting 187 interviews with people who were blacklisted (such as Dalton Trumbo) and who named names (including Elia Kazan and Budd Schulberg). It won a National Book Award.  Read it here .

Related reading: Tender Comrades: A Backstory of the Hollywood Blacklist , by Paul Buhle & Patrick McGilligan

45. Life Itself

By Roger Ebert 2011 • Grand Central Publishing • Autobiography 33 votes

The Pulitzer Prize-winning critic, battling cancer that would kill him in 2013, reflects, in characteristically beautiful prose, on falling in love with the movies, his relationship with his late TV sparring partner Gene Siskel (“how meaningless was the hate, how deep was the love”) and the support of his loving wife, Chaz (“a wind pushing me back from the grave”). Steve James adapted the book into a 2014 documentary.  Read it here .

Related reading: The Measure of a Man: A Spiritual Autobiography , by Sidney Poitier

44. Lulu in Hollywood

By Louise Brooks 1982 • Alfred A. Knopf • Autobiography 34 votes

Like a comet, this American actress with a trademark black bob burned brightly (she was one of the biggest stars of the 1920s, especially in the German films Pandora’s Box and Diary of a Lost Girl ) and then was gone — until she resurfaced late in life as a writer. This collection of essays captured the frustrations of being a liberated woman in early Hollywood.  Read it here .

Related reading: The Kindness of Strangers , by Salka Viertel

43. Notes on the Cinematograph

By Robert Bresson, translated by Jonathan Griffin 1975 • Éditions Gallimard • Criticism/Theory/Essay 35 votes

The French filmmaker, a hero to the New Wave filmmakers who followed, shares a wide variety of notes, ideas and philosophies — some more profound than others — about film-related topics ranging from silence versus sound to professional actors versus nonprofessional “models.” It offers a lot for filmmakers to contemplate.  Read it here .

Related reading: Kino-Eye: The Writings of Dziga Vertov , by Dziga Vertov, translated by Kevin O’Brien

42.  A Biographical Dictionary of Cinema [aka The New Biographical Dictionary of Film ]

By David Thomson 1975 • Martin Secker & Warburg Ltd • Criticism/Theory/Essay 36 votes

One of the most prolific authors of books on film, Thomson, a Brit who has long lived in America, is best known for this giant and often updated tome, which is comprised of thousands of biographical sketches about people associated with film in one way or another. His takes are often contrarian, and always thought-provoking.  Read it here .

Related reading: The Whole Equation: A History of Hollywood , by David Thomson

38 (tie).  Toms, Coons, Mulattos, Mammies and Bucks: An Interpretative History of Blacks in American Films

By Donald Bogle 1973 • Viking Press • Gender/Race/Sexuality 37 votes

Now a veteran professor and frequent TCM guest widely regarded as the preeminent scholar on African Americans in film, Bogle made his first mark with this landmark examination of the stereotypical ways in which Black people have been portrayed throughout film history. It was described by the New York Times as “a quietly revolutionary book.”  Read it here .

Related reading: Hollywood Chinese: The Chinese in American Feature Films , by Arthur Dong

Read an excerpt from Bogle’s new book, Lena Horne: Goddess Reclaimed .

38 (tie).  The Name Above the Title: An Autobiography

By Frank Capra 1971 • Macmillan • Autobiography 37 votes

Capra, a three-time best director Oscar winner, writes about immigrating from Italy, growing up in poverty and, against all odds, becoming a Hollywood filmmaker responsible for all-American classics like Mr. Smith Goes to Washington and It’s a Wonderful Life . It’s a great read, but many details now seem suspect; indeed, the New York Times declared that it “appears to have been a lie practically from beginning to end.”  Read it here .

Related reading: Frank Capra: The Catastrophe of Success , by Joseph McBride

38 (tie).  Hit and Run: How Jon Peters and Peter Guber Took Sony for a Ride in Hollywood

By Nancy Griffin & Kim Masters 1996 • Simon & Schuster • Business 37 votes

Griffin and Masters, co-workers at Premiere (Masters is now at THR ), teamed up to tell the story of the Japanese company Sony taking over the Hollywood studio Columbia and then entrusting it to a pair of eccentric producers (they attended therapy together, the book reports) who presided over flop after flop, and whose massive compensation and eventual kiss-off money jolted Hollywood’s economic ecosystem.  Read it here .

Related reading: High Concept: Don Simpson and the Hollywood Culture of Excess , by Charles Fleming

38 (tie). The Big Goodbye: Chinatown and the Last Years of Hollywood

By Sam Wasson 2020 • Flatiron Books • Making Of 37 votes

Wasson, at just 42, has already written seven outstanding books, none better than this examination of the making and cultural context of this 1974 masterpiece directed by Roman Polanski and produced by Robert Evans, both of whom spoke with him for the book. His research reveals that writer Robert Towne had an uncredited collaborator and that Polanski changed Towne’s ending to reflect his own fatalism after Sharon Tate’s murder.  Read it here .

Related reading: Rock Me on the Water: 1974 — The Year Los Angeles Transformed Movies, Music, Television and Politics , by Ronald Brownstein

37. Down and Dirty Pictures: Miramax, Sundance and the Rise of Independent Film

By Peter Biskind 2004 • Simon & Schuster • History 38 votes

Having written about the ’70s in Easy Riders, Raging Bulls [#2], Biskind employs a similarly chatty style to tell the story of the rise and decline of the indie film boom of the ’90s, setting the scene with 1989’s sex, lies and videotape , which premiered at Robert Redford’s Sundance and was distributed by the Weinsteins’ Miramax, both of which are central players throughout.  Read it here .

Related reading: Cinema of Outsiders: The Rise of American Independent Film , by Emanuel Levy

36. Who the Devil Made It

By Peter Bogdanovich 1997 • Ballantine Books • Interview/Oral History 39 votes

Bogdanovich, who grew up obsessed with classic films, interviewed legendary filmmakers both before and after he became an A-list director himself. This volume compiles his smart conversations with 16 of them, including Hitchcock and Howard Hawks, the latter of who said of his taste in directors, “I liked almost anybody that made you realize who in the devil was making the picture.”  Read it here .

Related reading: Who the Hell’s in It: Conversations with Hollywood’s Legendary Actors , by Peter Bogdanovich

35.  What Is Cinema? [Volumes 1 and 2]

By André Bazin, translated by Hugh Gray 1967 & 1971 • University of California Press • Criticism/Theory/Essay 40 votes

Bazin, a French film critic who co-founded Cahiers du Cinéma and championed “objective reality” (forcing a viewer to decide what’s important via methods like deep focus), opines in volume one about “Ontology and Language” and “Cinema and the Other Arts” and in volume two about “Cinema and Sociology” and “Neorealism: An Aesthetic of Reality.” He died at just 40 of leukemia.  Read it here .

Related reading: Signs and Meaning in the Cinema , by Peter Wollen

34. Postcards From the Edge

By Carrie Fisher 1987 • Simon & Schuster • Novel 42 votes

In a debut novel that was clearly shaped by her own battles with alcoholism and addiction, Fisher tells the story of Suzanna Vale, an actress who recently suffered a drug overdose and is struggling to get her life together. “It’s like I’ve got a visa for happiness, but for sadness I’ve got a lifetime pass,” she remarks at one point. Fisher later adapted it into the screenplay for a 1990 film.  Read it here .

Related reading: American Dream Machine , by Matthew Specktor

32 (tie). Play It as It Lays

By Joan Didion 1970 • Farrar, Straus and Giroux • Novel 43 votes

Inimitable Didion’s second novel centers on Maria, an L.A.-based actress and single mother whose daughter is institutionalized and who is having an existential crisis of her own, often driving the highway, seemingly in search of something. Deeply haunting (“I know what nothing means, and keep on playing”), it was adapted into a 1972 film and was chosen in 2005 as one of Time’ s 100 best English-language novels since 1923.  Read it here .

Related reading: Less Than Zero , by Bret Easton Ellis

32 (tie). Agee on Film [Volumes 1 and 2]

By James Agee 1958 & 1960 • McDowell, Obolensky • Criticism/Theory/Essay 43 votes

Considering that he died of a heart attack at just 45, it’s remarkable how much great work Agee did in his lifetime. Volume one contains film reviews he wrote for Time and The Nation (they required completely different styles) and volume two contains his three screenplays ( The African Queen and The Night of the Hunter among them). And he also wrote Let Us Now Praise Famous Men and Pulitzer Prize winner A Death in the Family .  Read it here .

Related reading: The Pleasure Dome: Graham Greene — The Collected Film Criticism 1935-1940 , by Graham Greene, edited by John Russell Taylor

30 (tie.)  The Player

By Michael Tolkin 1988 • Atlantic Monthly Press • Novel 44 votes

Inspired by the Iran-Contra hearings to contemplate “the modern sociopath,” Tolkin set his black-as-coffee comedy in the business in which he grew up (his father, Mel, was a top TV writer) and worked with great frustration, and around Griffin Mill, a neurotic studio exec who fears that his job may be in jeopardy — and turns to murder. It was adapted by Robert Altman into a cameo-filled 1992 film.  Read it here .

Related reading: The Return of the Player , by Michael Tolkin

30 (tie). Picture: A Story About Hollywood

By Lillian Ross 1952 • Rinehart & Company • Making Of 44 votes

The New Yorker staff writer spent more than a year in Hollywood chronicling the MGM production The Red Badge of Courage from start to finish — observing director John Huston on set, tensions between execs Louis B. Mayer and Dore Schary at the studio and speaking with Loew’s chief Nick Schenck in New York — for a five-part series in the magazine, which was later turned into this book.  Read it here .

Related reading: The Jaws Log , by Carl Gottlieb

29. Indecent Exposure: A True Story of Hollywood and Wall Street

By David McClintick 1982 • HarperCollins • Business 46 votes

McClintick, a Wall Street Journal reporter, broke the story of “the Begelman affair” — when Columbia Pictures production president David Begelman forged checks and embezzled money, but was protected by his superiors — and then expanded it into a book that was unlike any before it, and became the model for many that have subsequently tried to capture the corrupting influence of money and power in Hollywood.  Read it here .

Related reading: Outrageous Conduct: Art, Ego and the Twilight Zone Case , by Stephen Farber & Mark Green

28. City of Nets: A Portrait of Hollywood in the 1940s

By Otto Friedrich 1988 • Headline Book Publishing • History 47 votes

Friedrich, a film journalist and historian as well read as any, herein gathers the most amusing stories about a decade of cinema that was shaped by World War II and the Europeans who fled Hitler for America, the House Committee on Un-American Activities’ investigations into Hollywood, and more. The New York Times described it as “extraordinarily readable.”  Read it here .

Related reading: Reinventing Hollywood: How 1940s Filmmakers Changed Movie Storytelling , by David Bordwell

27. Memo From David O. Selznick: The Creation of Gone With the Wind and Other Motion Picture Classics, as Revealed in the Producer’s Private Letters, Telegrams, Memorandums and Autobiographical Remarks

By Rudy Behlmer 1972 • Viking Press • Business 49 votes

Daniel Selznick, one of the legendary producer’s sons, enlisted Behlmer, a film journalist, to review his late father’s papers, including memos dictated to secretaries throughout his half-century career, which Behlmer curated and contextualized in this book. In the age of email, barring another Sony hack, it’s hard to imagine we’ll ever again get such a window into how filmmaking decisions large and small are made.  Read it here .

Related reading: Memo from Darryl F. Zanuck: The Golden Years at Twentieth Century-Fox , by Rudy Behlmer

26. In the Blink of an Eye

By Walter Murch 1995 • Silman-James Press • How To 51 votes

Murch, one of the all-time great editors of film and sound — his credits include all three Godfather films, American Graffiti , The Conversation and Apocalypse Now  — expanded a 1988 lecture that he gave in Australia into this book-length manifesto about editing “on the fly.” His thesis: that humans blink when they move from one thought to another, so cuts should do the same.  Read it here .

Related reading: When the Shooting Stops… the Cutting Begins , by Robert Karen & Ralph Rosenblum

25. The Devil’s Candy: The Anatomy of a Hollywood Fiasco

By Julie Salamon 1991 • Houghton Mifflin • Making Of 54 votes

A Wall Street Journal film critic, Salamon wanted to write a modern version of Lillian Ross’ Picture (#30), a landmark 1950s chronicle of a film from conception through aftermath. Brian De Palma invited her to do that with The Bonfire of the Vanities , his big-screen adaptation of Tom Wolfe’s novel about Wall Street, which turned out to be an unmitigated disaster, but provided the author with a wealth of priceless material.  Read it here .

Related reading: The Disaster Artist: My Life Inside ‘The Room,’ the Greatest Bad Movie Ever Made , by Greg Sestero

22 (tie).  The Last Tycoon

By F. Scott Fitzgerald, finished by Edmund Wilson 1941 • Charles Scribner’s Sons • Novel 55 votes

More than a decade after The Great Gatsby , Fitzgerald was writing for the movies and widely regarded as washed-up. He began writing a book about Monroe Stahr, a Thalberg-like “boy wonder” who understood “the whole equation of pictures,” in which he famously noted, “There are no second acts in American life.” Had he not died of a heart attack in 1940, at just 44, and lived to see the reception of this book, he’d have been proved wrong.  Read it here .

Related reading: The Disenchanted , by Budd Schulberg

22 (tie).  Conversations With Wilder

By Cameron Crowe 1999 • Alfred A. Knopf • Interview/Oral History 55 votes

The product of a friendship that emerged after Crowe tried to get Wilder to cameo in Jerry Maguire , this Hitchcock/Truffaut -inspired book features two journalists-turned-filmmakers — one in his 40s, the other in his 90s — dissecting the latter’s life (he almost directed Schindler’s List as a tribute to his mother, who died in the Holocaust) and films (e.g., Brief Encounter inspired The Apartment ).  Read it here .

Related reading: Conversations With Brando: 10 Days on Brando’s Island , by Lawrence Grobel

22 (tie). The Celluloid Closet: Homosexuality in the Movies

By Vito Russo 1981 • Harper & Row • Gender/Race/Sexuality 55 votes

Russo, a film critic and gay activist, adapted his lecture about film depictions of gays and lesbians — as objects of ridicule or fear who almost always wound up dead — into a trailblazing book. Shortly before dying of AIDS he said, “I know that after I’m dead my book is going to be on a shelf someplace and that some sixteen-year-old kid who’s going to be a gay activist will read my work and carry the ball from there.”  Read it here .

Related reading: Pre-Code Hollywood: Sex, Immorality and Insurrection in American Cinema , 1930-1934 , by Thomas Doherty

20 (tie).  Goldwyn: A Biography

By A. Scott Berg 1989 • Alfred A. Knopf • Biography 56 votes

Offered unprecedented archival access by Samuel Goldwyn Jr., Berg spent nine years reading everything and interviewing everyone (Wyler! Hepburn! Olivier!) associated with the man who was the top independent producer during Hollywood’s golden age. The story of his journey from Schmuel Gelbfisz in Poland to Oscar winner shows that those who underestimated him because of his famous ‘Goldwynisms’ were sorely mistaken. Read it here .

Related reading: Lion of Hollywood: The Life and Legend of Louis B. Mayer , by Scott Eyman

20 (tie). Final Cut: Dreams and Disaster in the Making of Heaven’s Gate

By Steven Bach 1985 • William Morrow and Company • Business 56 votes

Indecent Exposure [#29] showed that the public had an appetite for stories about the business of film, so, at the urging of William Goldman, Bach, a United Artists exec, kept notes during the making of UA’s Heaven’s Gate , Michael Cimino’s first pic after The Deer Hunter , when he was at his most arrogant and indulged. The film became one of the biggest bombs in Hollywood history and resulted in the sale of the studio — and this book. Read it here .

Related reading: Final Cut: The Making and Breaking of a Film , by Paul Sylbert

19. Leonard Maltin’s Movie Guide [annually updated]

By Leonard Maltin 1969 • Signet Books • Criticism/Theory/Essay 57 votes

On the basis of impressive fanzines he’d been writing, Maltin was contracted to write the first edition of this collection of short reviews — which included then hard-to-find information like runtimes — when he was just 17. It began with 8,000 entries and was initially updated every few years, then annually after its amiable author became the on-air critic for Entertainment Tonight in 1982, until the internet killed it off in 2014. Read it here .

Related reading: The Film Encyclopedia , by Ephraim Katz

18. Hollywood Babylon

By Kenneth Anger 1959 • J.J. Pauvert • Potpourri 58 votes

Before supermarket tabloids and TMZ, celebrity gossip was harder to come by, hence the popularity of this chronicle of celeb affairs, murders and suicides, which the New York Times said was “without one single redeeming merit.” Penned by an underground filmmaker, it became a bestseller, spawned a sequel and has been largely debunked (no, Clara Bow didn’t sleep with the entire USC football team and Jayne Mansfield wasn’t decapitated). Read it here .

Related reading: Full Service: My Adventures in Hollywood and the Secret Sex Lives of the Stars , by Scotty Bowers with Lionel Friedberg

17. The Genius of the System: Hollywood Filmmaking in the Studio Era

By Thomas Schatz 1988 • Pantheon • History 59 votes

A rebuttal of sorts to the auteur theory, this deeply researched book lays out the argument that, at least during Hollywood’s Golden Age, films were the product of no individual, but rather of studios with military-like hierarchies and units. He presents compelling case studies from the MGM, Selznick International, Universal and Warner Bros. studios. Read it here .

Related reading: The Hollywood Studios: House Style in the Golden Age of the Movies , by Ethan Mordden

16.  The American Cinema: Directors and Directions, 1929-1968

By Andrew Sarris 1968 • Dutton • Criticism/Theory/Essay 60 votes

Village Voice critic Sarris had been exposed to the Cahiers du Cinéma crowd’s auteur theory — that the director is a film’s primary author — during a year in Paris and brought it to America with this slim volume. A prized possession of a generation of young stateside cineastes, it forced reevaluations of many filmmakers by separating them into categories like “Pantheon” and “Less Than Meets the Eye,” infuriating Pauline Kael in the process. Read it here .

Related reading: Talking Pictures: Screenwriters in the American Cinema , by Richard Corliss

15. Mike Nichols: A Life

By Mark Harris 2021 • Penguin Press • Biography 61 votes

Harris, who got to know Nichols late in the filmmaker’s life (he died in 2014), received the blessing of Nichols’ family to write about him, which led to people like Meryl Streep, Robert Redford and Elaine May going on the record about him. The book explores the man’s considerable character flaws, while marveling at the enormity of his journey from Germany (he left ahead of the Nazis’ rise) to the top of Broadway and Hollywood. Read it here .

Related reading: Seduced by Mrs. Robinson: How The Graduate Became the Touchstone of a Generation , by Beverly Gray

14. From Reverence to Rape: The Treatment of Women in the Movies

By Molly Haskell 1974 • New English Library • Gender/Race/Sexuality 67 votes

Haskell, then a film critic at The Village Voice , argues in this book that depictions of female characters were far more complex during Hollywood’s Golden Age than in the years that followed: “Here we are today, with an unparalleled freedom of expression and a record number of women performing, achieving, choosing to fulfill themselves, and we are insulted with the worst — the most abused, neglected and dehumanized — screen heroines in history.” Read it here .

Related reading: The Casting Couch and Other Front Row Seats: Women in Films of the 1970s and 1980s , by Marsha McCreadie

13. The Day of the Locust

By Nathanael West 1939 • Random House • Novel 68 votes

This Depression-set downer about people living on the margins of Hollywood — the town and the business — is regarded as the finest work by West, who began working in Hollywood as a screenwriter in 1933, and who died in a car crash in 1940, at just 37. The L.A. Times called it “the single best-achieved, and most oracular, piece of fiction the city has inspired.” Read it here .

Related reading: Some Time in the Sun: The Hollywood Years of F. Scott Fitzgerald, William Faulkner, Nathanael West, Aldous Huxley and James Agee , by Tom Dardis

12. The Parade’s Gone By…

By Kevin Brownlow 1968 • Alfred A. Knopf • History 74 votes

For this authoritative chronicle of silent cinema, Brownlow, while still in his 20s, tracked down and interviewed stars like Pickford, Keaton and Gish, and key behind-the-scenes contributors like D.W. Griffith’s film editor, to provide insights about that era’s films and filmmaking methods. In 2010, he became the first film preservationist ever awarded an honorary Oscar. Read it here .

Related reading: Silent Movies: The Birth of Film and the Triumph of Movie Culture , by Peter Kobel

11. What Makes Sammy Run?

By Budd Schulberg 1941 • Random House • Novel 75 votes

Schulberg was 27 when he wrote his debut novel, the story of a New York office boy who moves to Hollywood, changes his name to Sammy Glick and claws his way to the top. Industry leaders regarded it as an attack and ostracized its author, who’d later name names before HUAC and then write — and win an Oscar for — his self-defense, On the Waterfront . Read it here .

Related reading: Moving Pictures: Memories of a Hollywood Prince , by Budd Schulberg

10. Pictures at a Revolution: Five Movies and the Birth of the New Hollywood

By Mark Harris 2008 • Penguin Press • History 77 votes

This first book by Harris, who was an Entertainment Weekly columnist at the time, chronicles an inflection point in Hollywood history through the journeys to the screen and to the Oscars of the five 1967 movies that wound up nominated for best picture, some representing the old Hollywood fighting to hold on ( Doctor Dolittle and Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner ) and others a new one bursting onto the scene ( Bonnie and Clyde and The Graduate ). The New York Times hailed it as a “landmark” achievement. Read it here .

8 (tie).  Making Movies

By Sidney Lumet 1995 • Alfred A. Knopf • Autobiography 79 votes

“I am sometimes asked if there is ‘one book’ a filmgoer could read to learn more about how movies are made and what to look for while watching them,” Roger Ebert once wrote. “This is that book.” Lumet, who started in live TV before helming films like 12 Angry Men , Dog Day Afternoon and Network , shares the techniques and philosophy that he adopted over the course of his career (“Good style, to me, is unseen style… style that is felt”) and explains why directing, in his view, is “the best job in the world.” Read it here .

Related reading: Chasing the Light: Writing, Directing and Surviving Platoon, Midnight Express, Scarface, Salvador and the Movie Game , by Oliver Stone

8 (tie). Elia Kazan: A Life

By Elia Kazan 1988 • Alfred A. Knopf • Autobiography 79 votes

In this giant tome, one of the great directors of stage ( Death of a Salesman and A Streetcar Named Desire ) and screen ( A Streetcar Named Desire and On the Waterfront ), a man equally revered and hated during his lifetime, reflects, in great depth, on the people he worked with, including Marlon Brando and James Dean, and slept with, such as Marilyn Monroe; the decisions that shaped his life and career, like naming names during the McCarthy era; and, as much as he was able, his complicated self. Read it here .

Related reading: Additional Dialogue: Letters of Dalton Trumbo, 1942-1962 , by Dalton Trumbo, edited by Helen Manfull

7. You’ll Never Eat Lunch in This Town Again

By Julia Phillips 1991 • Random House • Autobiography 80 votes

Look up “tell-all” in the dictionary and you’ll find this rollicking account from a producer of The Sting (for which she became the first woman ever to win the best picture Oscar), Taxi Driver and Close Encounters of the Third Kind who then became a cokehead and alcoholic, squandered her fortune and, facing financial ruin, decided to dish on the people at the center of the New Hollywood, including herself. She was drugged out of her mind during her Oscar acceptance speech, missed her mom’s funeral, and the list goes on. The book, which one producer described as “the longest suicide note in history,” spent 13 weeks atop the New York Times bestseller list. Read it here .

Related reading: Monster: Living Off the Big Screen , by John Gregory Dunne

6. An Empire of Their Own: How the Jews Invented Hollywood

By Neal Gabler 1988 • Crown • History 81 votes

One of showbiz’s greatest chroniclers, in his first book (he later wrote outstanding biographies of Disney, Winchell and Streisand), addresses the familiar claims that “the Jews run Hollywood” by explaining how Eastern European immigrants like Cohn, Fox, Laemmle, Mayer, Warner, Thalberg, Zukor and the Warner brothers came to the business at a time when it wasn’t fashionable, tried to assimilate and, “by creating their idealized America on the screen … reinvented the country in the image of their fiction.” Read it here .

Related reading: Entertaining America: Jews, Movies, and Broadcasting , by J. Hoberman & Jeffrey Shandler

5. I Lost It at the Movies

By Pauline Kael 1965 • Little, Brown and Company • Criticism/Theory/Essay 86 votes

The first of many volumes by arguably the most well-known film critic of all time, it’s comprised of reviews and essays that she wrote between 1954 (the year after she first reviewed a film) and 1965 (before she began writing for The New Yorker and became a household name). Her famous contrarian streak was already evident in her withering takedown of West Side Story . Richard Schickel, reviewing the book — which went on the become a bestseller — in The New York Times , wrote, “Miss Kael may have lost something at the movies, but in her book we have found something — the critic the movies have deserved and needed for so long.” Read it here .

Related reading: Reeling: Film Writings, 1972-1975 , by Pauline Kael

4. The Kid Stays in the Picture

By Robert Evans 1994 • Hyperion • Autobiography 123 votes

Against all odds, a 64-year-old who was widely regarded as a has-been became a folk hero after the publication of this endlessly quotable memoir of an only-in-Hollywood life (and the audio-cassette and documentary versions of it that followed). Evans dishes on his rise from women’s clothing salesman to bit actor defended by Darryl F. Zanuck against people who wanted him out of a movie (hence the title of his book and his fascination with moguldom) to a Hollywood producer and studio chief married to the biggest movie star of the day — followed by a fall and a rise again. Is it all true? You bet your ass it isn’t. But is it irresistible? You’re goddamn right it is. Read it here .

Related reading: When I Stop Talking, You’ll Know I’m Dead: Useful Stories From a Persuasive Man , by Jerry Weintraub with Rich Cohen

3. Adventures in the Screen Trade: A Personal View of Hollywood and Screenwriting

By William Goldman 1983 • Warner Books • How To 139 votes

One of the most respected and highly paid screenwriters in Hollywood history, who was best known for Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid , All the President’s Men , Marathon Man and The Princess Bride , candidly explains how the business works, discusses obstacles that he encountered during his career and illustrates how a screenplay comes together. Even 40 years after its publication, the book remains famous for its admonishment about the industry’s ability to predict box office success, and most other things: “Nobody knows anything.” Read it here .

Related reading: Which Lie Did I Tell?: More Adventures in the Screen Trade , by William Goldman

2. Easy Riders, Raging Bulls: How the Sex-Drugs-and-Rock ’n’ Roll Generation Saved Hollywood

By Peter Biskind 1998 • Simon & Schuster • History 140 votes

Premiere ’s former editor spent six years examining under the microscope the “New Hollywood” — which he defined as spanning Bonnie and Clyde (1967) through Raging Bull (1980) — by speaking with most of the key figures who had been a part of it decades earlier and survived to tell the tale, or as much of it as they could remember after considerable consumption of drink and drugs. It’s packed with juicy stories but not with citations, so its veracity has been questioned. (Steven Spielberg told Roger Ebert, “Every single word in that book about me is either erroneous or a lie.”) But the book — which spawned a 2003 documentary — is impossible to put down. Read it here .

Related reading: The Movie Brats: How the Film Generation Took over Hollywood , by Lynda Myles & Michael Pye

1. Hitchcock [aka Hitchcock/Truffaut ]

By François Truffaut, translated by Helen G. Scott 1967 • Simon & Schuster • Interview/Oral History 143 votes

Often emulated but never equaled, this volume is the product of 50 hours of interviews conducted over a week in August 1962, when a young French master picked the brain of an old British master who was undervalued in America, but who the Frenchman, like other Cahiers du Cinéma alums, regarded as “the greatest director of films in the world.” Truffaut, a former critic, came thoroughly prepared, and coaxed out of Hitch information about his life and films that few if any others could have. At a time when old movies were hard to revisit, the accompanying frame enlargements were particularly appreciated. Kent Jones made a 2015 doc about this book. Read it here .

Related reading: The American Friend , by Serge Toubiana

SAVE THE DATE: You’re invited to an historic gathering at AFI FEST featuring 15 authors of books on this list in conversation with THR ’s Scott Feinberg. Among those who will be in attendance at 4 p.m. on Oct. 28 inside TCL Chinese Theatre in Hollywood: A. Scott Berg, Cameron Crowe, Nancy Griffin, Aljean Harmetz, Leonard Maltin, Kim Masters, Dennis McDougal, James Andrew Miller, Eddie Muller, John Pierson, George Stevens Jr., Michael Tolkin, Christine Vachon, Mark A. Vieira and Sam Wasson. Admission is free if you RSVP in advance at Fest.AFI.com/GreatestFilmBooks .

A version of this story first appeared in the Oct. 11 issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine. Click here to subscribe .

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Books Made into Movies

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Last updated: August 24, 2024

Books made into movies in 2024 | Books made into movies in 2023

Books about J Robert Oppenheimer (to Read After the Movie) , recommended by Mark Wolverton

American prometheus: the triumph and tragedy of j. robert oppenheimer by kai bird & martin sherwin, the oppenheimer alternative by robert j. sawyer, the making of the atomic bomb by richard rhodes, dark sun: the making of the hydrogen bomb by richard rhodes, genius in the shadows: a biography of leo szilard, the man behind the bomb by william lanouette & with bela silard.

It's not often that a movie about something we know a lot about lives up to expectations, but when it came to the Oppenheimer movie, science writer Mark Wolverton —who has read almost every book he could find about the making of the atomic bomb—was impressed. As a bonus to his interview (on the history of physics ), he shared some recommendations of books to read for others who enjoyed it, including a sci-fi novel in which Oppenheimer's life takes a different turn.

It’s not often that a movie about something we know a lot about lives up to expectations, but when it came to the Oppenheimer movie, science writer Mark Wolverton—who has read almost every book he could find about the making of the atomic bomb—was impressed. As a bonus to his interview (on the history of physics ), he shared some recommendations of books to read for others who enjoyed it, including a sci-fi novel in which Oppenheimer’s life takes a different turn.

The Best Book-to-Movie Adaptations , recommended by Peter Markham

The talented mr ripley by patricia highsmith, the english patient by michael ondaatje, black narcissus by rumer godden, zama by antonio di benedetto & esther allen (translator), nomadland: surviving america in the twenty-first century by jessica bruder.

Both books and movies seek to tell compelling stories, but they do so in different ways. Peter Markham , both a director and a long-time teacher of directing at the American Film Institute, talks us through five of his favourite book-to-movie adaptations—and what they reveal about successfully bringing a book to the screen.

Both books and movies seek to tell compelling stories, but they do so in different ways. Peter Markham, both a director and a long-time teacher of directing at the American Film Institute, talks us through five of his favourite book-to-movie adaptations—and what they reveal about successfully bringing a book to the screen.

The Best Graphic Novels That Were Made into Movies , recommended by Walt Hickey

Watchmen by alan moore, heartstopper by alice oseman, i kill giants by j.m. ken niimura & joe kelly, nimona by nd stevenson, nausicaä of the valley of the wind by hayao miyazaki.

Transforming a graphic novel into a movie might seem straightforward, but not everything that works on the page makes sense on the screen. Walt Hickey , winner of the Pulitzer Prize for illustrated reporting, recommends five outstanding comics that were turned into films—with varying degrees of fidelity, and varying degrees of success.

Transforming a graphic novel into a movie might seem straightforward, but not everything that works on the page makes sense on the screen. Walt Hickey, winner of the Pulitzer Prize for illustrated reporting, recommends five outstanding comics that were turned into films—with varying degrees of fidelity, and varying degrees of success.

We ask experts to recommend the five best books in their subject and explain their selection in an interview.

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27 must-read books that were made into movies this year

Every year, Hollywood plucks great stories from books to turn them into big-screen experiences. Whether they're a true story based on a biography or a sci-fi extravaganza based on a novel, adaptations can sometimes end up being Hollywood's best movies .

But before the movies come out, do yourself a favor and dive into the world of the books instead.

Here are the all the book-to-movie adaptations of 2018.

"Paddington 2" continues the charming adventures of Paddington Bear.

Release date : January 12

The children's book "The Little Broomstick" by Mary Stewart was adapted into an internationally acclaimed anime film called "Mary and the Witch's Flower."

Release date : January 18

"12 Strong: The Declassified True Story of the Horse Soldiers" by Doug Stanton is about an elite group of CIA officers sent to Afghanistan after the September 11 attacks.

Release date : January 19

"Forever My Girl" by Heidi McLaughlin is about a guy who leaves his bride at the altar to become a music superstar — and then returns home to revisit everything he left behind.

Michael Zadoorian's comedy-romance "The Leisure Seeker" was adapted into a movie with Helen Mirren and Donald Sutherland.

Release date : January 27

"Fifty Shades Freed" will finally conclude E.L. James's scandalous trilogy about the relationship between Anastasia and Christian Grey,

Release date : February 9

Beatrix Potter's subdued "Peter Rabbit" books are the basis for a zany-looking adaptation with James Corden providing the rabbit's voice.

The story of Samson in the biblical "Book of Judges" is being adapted into an upcoming dramatic action movie. If you want to read it in English, the Artscroll translation is great.

Release date : February 16

The adaptation of the spy thriller "Red Sparrow" by Jason Matthews, about a seductive espionage agent during the Cold War, reunites Jennifer Lawrence with her (unrelated) "Hunger Games" director Francis Lawrence.

Release date : March 2

Madeleine L'Engle's beautiful children's novel "A Wrinkle in Time" is an epic sci-fi classic. Director Ava DuVernay brought the story to life on the big screen in big-budget Disney fashion.

Release date : March 9

Ernest Cline's "Ready Player One" is set in 2045, where everyone prefers to live in a virtual reality game. Steven Spielberg adapted the nostalgia-heavy story for Warner Bros.

Release date : March 30

Antonio Di Benedetto's classic Argentinian revival "Zama" recently became known to English-language readers with a 2016 translation. Now it's been adapted by Argentina's most acclaimed filmmaker, Lucrecia Martel.

Release date : April 13

Ian McEwan's short novella "On Chesil Beach," about the complicated emotions and drama between a couple on their wedding night, has been adapted into a movie

Release date : June 15

"The Meg" (starring Jason Statham) is a fictional shark tale based on a book series by Steve Alten.

Release date:  August 10, 2018

Buy the books here >>

The first book of the "Crazy Rich Asians" trilogy is set to be an end-of-summer blockbuster hit thanks to a stellar cast and lavish rom-com setting for the movie's take on the story.

Release Date: August 10

Buy the book here >> 

"The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society" is a historical novel by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows, and now you can watch the movie version on Netflix.

Release date:  August 10

Buy the book here >>

"To All The Boys I've Loved Before" is yet another Netflix original movie that's been adapted from a book. This time it was Jenny Han's best-selling teen romance story of the same name.

Release date: August 17

"A Simple Favor" is a thrilling missing-persons mystery starring Blake Lively and Anna Kendrick. The novel it's based on was penned by Darcey Bell.

Release date: September 14

John C. Reilly, Joaquin Phoenix and Jake Gyllenhaal all star in the film version of Patrick deWitt's novel "The Sisters Brothers," which tells the tale of two assassins in the Old West.

Release date: September 21

Jack Black's "Goosbumps" comedy movie, mashing up R.L. Stine's horror books for children, is getting a sequel based around Halloween.

Release date : October 12

Angie Thomas' bestselling novel "The Hate U Give" tells the story of Starr, a high schooler who has to confront a reckoning in her community after her childhood best friend is killed by a cop.

Release date:  October 19

E.T.A. Hoffmann's classic German fairytale "The Nutcracker and the Mouse King" is being turned into a Disney movie called "The Nutcracker and the Four Realms,"

Release date : November 2

Hollywood is skipping to the last Lisbeth Salander novel, "The Girl in the Spider's Web," for a movie that recasts Claire Foy as the hacker.

Release date : November 9

Dr. Seuss's "How the Grinch Stole Christmas!" is being adapted into a movie yet again, this time by the same studio behind "The Lorax" and "Despicable Me."

Historian John Guy's acclaimed biography of Mary, Queen of Scots, is being adapted into a movie starring Saoirse Ronan and Margot Robbie as the royals.

Release date : December 7

"Mortal Engines" is a post-apocalyptic steampunk novel by Philip Reeve, and now "Lord of the Rings" director Peter Jackson has turned it into a movie.

Release date: December 14

Yukito Kishiro's post-apocalyptic manga "Battle Angel Alita" has been kicked around Hollywood for decades. It's finally turning into a movie directed by Robert Rodriguez and produced by James Cameron.

Release date : December 21

• Main content

From ‘The Sympathizer’ to ‘Three-Body Problem’: The Best Book-to-Screen Adaptations to Read This Year

By Anna Tingley

Anna Tingley

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“The Sympathizer” joins a growing list of bestselling books to be adapted to shows and movies. Up next is Robinne Lee’s “The Idea of You,” whose film adaptation starring Anne Hathaway just premiered at SXSW to rave reviews.

Here are the best books adapted for the screen to dig into right now:

The Sympathizer

The winner of the 2016 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, the novel follows a narrator that’s a communist double agent, a half-French, half-Vietnamese army captain who arranges to come to America after the Fall of Saigon. While building a new life with other Vietnamese refugees in Los Angeles, he secretly reports back to his communist superiors in Vietnam.  A series adaptation begins streaming on Max on Apr. 14.

Apples Never Fall

Liane Moriarty’s most recent thriller, adapted into a 7-episode limited series on Peacock, revolves around the tennis-obsessed Delaneys, whose lives unravel after a troubled young woman named Savannah shows up at their door, and the family matriarch Joy later disappears. When her husband Stan becomes a prime suspect in the investigation, their children are forced to reexamine everything they know about their parents’ marriage.

The Idea of You

The upcoming Anne Hathaway-led rom-com is based on the bestselling novel of the same name from Robinne Lee. The plot kicks off with Solène’s husband, played by Reid Scott, choosing to end their marriage — which means canceling his Coachella trip with their 16-year-old daughter Izzy (Ella Rubin). At the festival, Solène crosses paths with Hayes Campbell, the frontman of popular band August Moon, who is said to be based on Harry Styles. As an unexpected romance begins between the two, Solène must balance her career, her obligations to her teenage daughter and the 24-hour news cycle surrounding her relationship.

Percy Jackson and the Olympians

Rick Riordan’s beloved young-adult fantasy book series consists of five novels, starting with “The Lightning Thief,” which follows Percy as he finds out his father is a Greek god, making him a demigod. He and his friends are given the task of finding and returning Zeus’s lightning bolt as monsters from the Underworld attempt to stop them. “Percy Jackson and the Olympians” is available to stream on Disney+ and Hulu .

Eileen: A Novel

“Eileen” centers on a young secretary Eileen who becomes close to a new colleague, a confident counselor to the troubled teenagers at the prison where they work. Their friendship takes an unexpected turn, changing both their lives.  The film adaptation, starring Anne Hathaway, is available to rent/buy on Prime Video and Apple TV+.

Killers of the Flower Moon

David Grann’s “Killers of the Flower Moon” is still on the bestseller lists following Martin Scorsese‘s film adaptation, starring Leonardio DiCaprio, Lily Gladstone and Robert De Niro. The 2017 non-fiction book depicts a series of murders in the Native American Osage Nation in the 1920s and the investigation into the string of brutal crimes by the FBI. Stream “Killers of the Flower Moon” on Apple TV+

The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes

This “Hunger Games” prequel, which was adapted into a star-studded film that came out last month, takes place in the dystopian world of Panem, during the tenth annual Hunger Games. It follows the story of Coriolanus Snow, who later becomes the tyrannical President Snow depicted in the original series. “The Ballads of Songbirds and Snakes” is available to rent/buy on Prime Video and Apple TV+.

American Prometheus

Christopher Nolan’s” “Oppenheimer” starring Cillian Murphy as the eponymous scientist, pulls straight from this 700-page biography, which traces Oppenheimer’s life starting with his time at Cambridge, where he earned a reputation as an intellectual prodigy, to his role in developing the atomic bomb that was dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, killing over 200,000 Japanese people. “Oppenheimer” will stream on Peacock starting Feb. 16.

Lessons in Chemistry

This period drama by Bonnie Garmus follows Elizabeth Zott, an extraordinary chemist in 1960 who’s constantly overlooked because of her sex. But things take a turn when she meets a famous male scientist and he actually takes her research seriously. The book was adapted into a TV series for Apple TV+, starring Brie Larson and Lewis Pullman. Stream “Lessons in Chemistry” on Apple TV+ .

Poor Things

The film is a story of “love, discovery and scientific daring” set in the Victorian era, based on an adaptation of Alasdair Grey’s novel of the same name. It follows Belle Baxter (Stone), a Frankenstein-like woman who is brought back to life after her brain is replaced with that of her unborn child. Stone stars opposite Willem Dafoe, who plays the brilliant, yet unorthodox, scientist who resurrects Belle from the dead. “Poor Things” is now streaming on Hulu .

Elvis and Me

Sofia Coppola’s “Priscilla” starring Jacob Elordi and Cailee Spaeny, is based on Priscilla Presley’s 1985 memoir detailing her tumultuous relationship with the rock-and-roll legend. “Priscilla” is available to rent/buy on Prime Video and Apple TV+.

Enzo Ferrari: The Man and the Machine

Michael Mann’s “Ferrari,” starring Adam Driver, is based on Brock Yates’ definitive biography on the man behind the motor-sports empire, which digs beneath the surface of his elaborately constructed veneer and uncovers the truth behind his bizarre relationships, his work with Mussolini’s fascists and his fanatical obsession with speed.

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

In “Wonka,” Timothee Chalamet plays the younger version of the titular chocolatier, tracking how he came to to create the fantastical factory at the center of Roald Dahl’s 1964 book. “Wonka” is not available to stream online quite YET but the 1971 film is streaming on Max.

Simple Dreams: A Musical Memoir

Selena Gomez is reported to play Linda Ronstadt in an upcoming biopic on the iconic singer In this memoir, iconic singer Linda Ronstadt weaves together a captivating story of her origins in Tucson, Arizona, and her rise to stardom in the Southern California music scene of the 1960s

From the bestselling author of “Less Than Zero” and “American Pyscho,” Bret Easton Ellis’s newest novel follows a group of affluent Los Angeles teens in the early 1980s as a serial killer strikes across their hometown and becomes eerily close to their tight knit group. “The Shards” is reportedly currently in development as a TV series for HBO.

Crying in H Mart

In her debut memoir, Japanese Breakfast’s Michelle Zauner delves into the experience of finding her identity while growing up Korean American in a majority-white town, falling in love with music and then the man who would become her husband and bandmate and finally, dealing with the grief of her mother’s death. The memoir is set to be adapted into a feature film, with “The White Lotus” star Will Thorne set to direct.

Daisy Jones & The Six

Prime Video’s rollicking, drama-filled show about the epic rise and fall of an iconic 1970s rock band, loosely based on Fleetwood Mac, is based on Taylor Jenkins Reid’s bestselling “Daisy Jones & The Six.” Stream “Daisy Jones & The Six” on Prime Video .

The Sandman

In Neil Gaiman’s seminal comic book series “The Sandman,” a wizard attempts to capture Death to bargain for eternal life only to unwittingly trap her younger brother Dream, also known as Morpheus, in the process. In order to keep him safe, the wizard keeps Dream encased in a glass bottle for decades until he finally makes an escape on a quest to to seek vengeance on his captors and fix the chaos caused in his absence. The series is one of the first graphic novels to make it onto “The New York Times” Best Seller List and has now been released as a Netflix series starring Tom Sturridge, Gwendoline Christie and Taron Egerton.

Eragon (Inheritance)

“Eragon” is the first of four books in Christopher Paolini’s best-selling series “The Inheritence Cycle,” which is now a live action TV series at Disney+. In the series, a young farmboy named Eragon befriends a dragon named Saphira, who he teams up with to defeat the evil king Galbatorix and free the land of Alagaësia from his tyranny. Stream “Eragon” on Disney+ .

Blonde: A Novel

Ana de Armas stars as Marilyn Monroe in this powerful tale that offers a tantalizing glimpse into the life of one of pop-culture’s most renowned icons. Andrew Dominik adapted Joyce Carol Oates’s fictionalized story to Netflix, starring Adrien Brody, Bobby Cannavale and Julianne Nicholson. Check out more Marilyn Monroe books here. 

Where the Crawdads Sing

Based on Delia Owens’ best-selling novel, Reese Witherspoon’s Hello Sunshine-produced adaptation came out in July, 2022. The crime drama follows the wild and unkempt Kye, suspected of a mysterious murder in a quiet fishing village. Daisy Edgar-Jones stars as Kye, alongside Taylor John Smith and Harris Dickinson.

Red, White & Royal Blue

The Amazon Studios production is an adaptation of Casey McQuiston’s 2019 best-seller which centers on a star-crossed power couple — the Latiné character of Alex Claremont-Diaz, the son of the president of the United States, and his relationship with Prince Henry, grandson of the Queen of England. Matthew López is set to direct the film starring Taylor Zakhar Perez and Nicholas Galitzine. Stream “Red, White & Royal Blue” on Prime Video.

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo

This bestseller is being adapted into a movie for Netflix by “Little Fires Everywhere” creator Liz Tigelaar. The book tells the secret story of the reclusive Hollywood icon Evelyn Hugo as told to an unknown, young magazine reporter Monique Grant. Hugo’s stories of Tinseltown in the 50s, 60s and 80s change Grant’s perspective.

Rebecca Ferguson and Tim Robbins are set to star in Apple’s series adaptation of Hugh Howey’s beloved sci-fi trilogy. In “Wool,” all of humanity (the remnants that exist of it anyway) lives underground in a single silo. The story follows Juliette, a woman from the underground who struggles with her newfound power after being inexplicably promoted to the head of law enforcement.

The Lord of the Rings

Amazon Prime’s television adaptation of J.R.R Tolkien’s renown series, “ The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power ,” developed by J.D Payne and Parick McCay, is set in the Second Age of Middle-earth as a prequel to the events in the original novels and films. Morfydd Clark, Robert Aramayo and Joseph Mawle star in the epic show. Stream “The Rings of Power” on Prime Video .

The Vanishing Half

Brit Bennett’s “The Vanishing Half” was one of the biggest books of 2020, and is now coming to the screen with Aziza Barnes set to write and produce the HBO adaptation. It tells the story of two identical twin sisters growing up in the Jim Crow South before escaping at 16 and pursuing divergent life paths. There have been no casting announcements for the highly-anticipated series yet.

Paper Girls

“Paper Girls” centers around four young girls who, while out delivering papers on the morning after Halloween in 1988, become unwittingly caught in a conflict between warring factions of time-travelers, sending them on an adventure through time that will save the world. “Toy Story 4” writer Stephany Folsom adapted the popular sci-fi comic book series as an Amazon original series. Stream “Paper Girls” on Prime Video.

The adaptation of Alderman’s story, directed by “The Handmaid’s Tale’s” Reed Moreno, imagines a world in which women are physically stronger than men, by way of a magical electric current that rises through their body. Alice Eve, John Leguizamo and Auli’i Cravalho are set to star in the 10-episode series.

Malibu Rising

Taylor Jenkins Reid’s recently released novel is being developed as a TV series for Hulu, helmed by “Little Fires Everywhere” creator, show runner and executive producer Liz Tigelaar. The best-selling novel, which follows Reid’s first successful book “Daisy Jones & the Six,” centers on the famous Rivas siblings whose lives take a dramatic turn after their annual end-of-summer blowout in 1983.

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Books Made into Movies

The Books Made into Movies Collection features novels and nonfiction titles that have been adapted to film. With selections that range from classic horror to romantic comedies to biography, the titles in this Collection represent a range of genres with enduring appeal to readers and film buffs alike.

About a Boy

by Nick Hornby

About a Boy (1998), by English novelist Nick Hornby, is a coming-of-age, comedic novel. The story begins with 12-year-old Marcus Brewer moving to London in 1993 with his loving but suicidal mother, Fiona. He must adjust to a new school with strict social norms for behavior and appearance. Marcus doesn’t wear the right clothes; he talks or sings to himself when he’s stressed without being aware that he’s doing it; and he immediately becomes the ... Read About a Boy Summary

A Dog's Purpose

by W. Bruce Cameron

A Dog’s Purpose: A Novel for Humans is a novel by Bruce W. Cameron and is the first in his A Dog’s Purpose series of novels. Written in 2010, the novel was a New York Times bestseller for 49 weeks. The novel is unique in that it is narrated by a dog. The dog lives four lives over the course of the novel, seeking a purpose for his life during each of his incarnations. In ... Read A Dog's Purpose Summary

A Feast for Crows

by George R. R. Martin

A Feast for Crows is a 2005 fantasy novel by American author George R. R. Martin. It is the fourth of seven planned books in the series “A Song of Ice and Fire” set in the fictional medieval kingdom of Westeros. A Feast for Crows focuses on the Lannister family’s continuing consolidation of power following victory in the “War of the Five Kings.” Specifically, it follows the events precipitated by the murder of Tywin Lannister ... Read A Feast for Crows Summary

A Few Good Men

by Aaron Sorkin

A Few Good Men is a play written by Aaron Sorkin and first performed in 1989. The story involves a military lawyer who defends two Marines accused of murder. The play was well-received, and Sorkin adapted it into a screenplay for the film of the same name (released in 1992), which was a popular and critical success.Plot SummaryA Few Good Men opens as two Marines, Downey and Dawson, recall the details of a nighttime incident ... Read A Few Good Men Summary

All the President's Men

by Bob Woodward, Carl Bernstein

All the President’s Men (1974) is the story of the most famous American political scandal of the 20th century. Written by Washington Post reporters Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward, the book follows in exacting detail their investigation into the Watergate Hotel break-in and subsequent coverup of that crime. The case began with a story on an unusual burglary attempt at the Democratic National Headquarters in the summer of 1972. It eventually evolved into an investigation ... Read All the President's Men Summary

All Thirteen

by Christina Soontornvat

... Read All Thirteen Summary

Along Came a Spider

by James Patterson

Along Came a Spider (1992) is the first novel in the Alex Cross psychological thriller series by James Patterson. Alex Cross is a Black psychologist and police detective working in Washington, DC, with his partner and childhood friend, John Sampson. In this novel, Alex and John are part of a hostage-rescue team investigating the kidnapping of two children by their teacher, Gary Soneji. As of 2023, there are 32 novels in the Alex Cross series ... Read Along Came a Spider Summary

A Man For All Seasons

by Robert Bolt

A Man for All Seasons is a 1960 play by English playwright Robert Bolt. Though it was published in its completed form in 1960, it was originally written for radio in 1954. It was then adapted for television in 1957 before finally being rewritten for the stage. The original runs of the show in London and later New York attained critical and commercial success. In 1966, the play was adapted into an Academy Award-winning film ... Read A Man For All Seasons Summary

American Prometheus

by Kai Bird, Martin J. Sherwin

... Read American Prometheus Summary

And Then There Were None

by Agatha Christie

Published in 1939, And Then There Were None is a mystery novel by Agatha Christie, best-selling novelist of all time, outsold only by the Bible and Shakespeare. With over 100 million copies sold, And Then There Were None is the world’s best-selling crime novel as well as one of the best-selling books of all time. It has had more adaptations than any other work by Agatha Christie, including television programs, films, radio broadcasts, and most ... Read And Then There Were None Summary

Angels in America

by Tony Kushner

Angels in America: A Gay Fantasia on National Themes by the American playwright Tony Kushner is an epic story that spans two plays – Millennium Approaches, first produced in 1991, and Perestroika, which debuted in 1992. The entire two-part work premiered on Broadway in 1993. Angels in America is Kushner’s most well-known work and is widely considered to be one of the greatest and most significant American plays of the 20th century. Angels in America ... Read Angels in America Summary

A Night to Remember

by Walter Lord

... Read A Night to Remember Summary

A Single Man

by Christopher Isherwood

... Read A Single Man Summary

Atlas Shrugged

by Ayn Rand

The novel Atlas Shrugged (1957) was written by Russian American author Ayn Rand. Widely considered to be the author’s magnum opus, Atlas Shrugged is a divisive text that has remained popular in the public consciousness despite harsh criticism from academics and philosophers across the political spectrum. Set in a dystopian US wherein the collectivist government bureaucracy has a stranglehold on industry, the narrative follows protagonist Dagny Taggart as she fights to defend her family’s transcontinental ... Read Atlas Shrugged Summary

Beauty and the Beast

by Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve

Beauty and the Beast by Gabrielle-Suzanna Barbot De Villeneuve first appeared in her collection of fairy tales La jeune américaine, et les contes marins (The Young American and Marine Tales) in 1740 and was abridged into a Christian moral tale by Jeanne-Marie Leprince de Beaumont in 1756. As a fairy-tale classic, Beauty and the Beast has been retold around the globe and in several mediums, including books, film, theater, and opera. The most well-known adaptations ... Read Beauty and the Beast Summary

Between a Rock and a Hard Place

by Aron Ralston

Between a Rock and a Hard Place is a 2004 adventure and survival memoir by American mountain climber Aron Ralston. The narrative focuses on Ralston’s near-death experience when his arm became stuck under a boulder in a canyon in Utah, where he remained trapped for five days until he amputated his arm. Dealing with profound existential themes, the book garnered critical acclaim and became a New York Times bestseller. A 2010 film adaptation titled 127 ... Read Between a Rock and a Hard Place Summary

by Josh Malerman

Bird Box is a 2014 post-apocalyptic horror novel by Josh Malerman. The story follows a woman’s struggle to protect two children in a world where people are driven to violence by unseen monsters, touching on such themes as paranoia, raising children to deal with an uncertain future, and the dangers of exceptionalism. Bird Box won a Michigan Notable Book Award and was also nominated for the James Herbert Award as well as the Bram Stoker ... Read Bird Box Summary

Bright Lights, Big City

by Jay Mcinerney

Jay McInerney’s debut novel, Bright Lights, Big City, was first published in August 1984 and made McInerney an instant literary star. He, along with fellow chronicler of Manhattan’s upper-class, Bret Easton Ellis, became key members of what journalist Hilary De Vries dubbed the “literary brat pack”—a label for writers under 30 that correlated with Hollywood’s “brat pack,” named for popular actors under 30. Bright Lights, Big City was adapted into a film starring 1980s television ... Read Bright Lights, Big City Summary

Bury My Heart At Wounded Knee

by Dee Brown

Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee: An Indian History of the American West, a nonfiction history by librarian and historian Dee Brown, was published in 1970 and became a widely influential bestseller. Dee Brown (full name Dorris Alexander Brown) was the author of more than 30 fiction and nonfiction books. As a librarian at the University of Illinois, he had access to the primary historical records from the late 19th century that became the main ... Read Bury My Heart At Wounded Knee Summary

Chasing the Scream

by Johann Hari

Chasing the Scream: The First and Last Days of the War on Drugs is a 2015 work of investigative nonfiction by British-Swiss author Johann Hari. Hari explores the so-called international war on drugs by looking deeply into its historical roots, its legal and social implications, and the possibility for reform. He examines addiction and the consequences of past and present drug laws across nine continents and 30,000 miles. A major focus is the criminalization and ... Read Chasing the Scream Summary

China Rich Girlfriend

by Kevin Kwan

China Rich Girlfriend is an adult novel published by Doubleday in 2015, the sequel to Singapore-born author Kevin Kwan’s internationally bestselling romantic comedy Crazy Rich Asians (2013) and second in a trilogy which concludes with Rich People Problems (2017). Billed as a satire, a mock-epic, and a sprawling family saga that peers into the lives of the ultra-wealthy in Asia, China Rich Girlfriend depicts the efforts of Rachel Chu, a Chinese-born American university professor, and ... Read China Rich Girlfriend Summary

Chronicle of the Narvaez Expedition

by Álvar Núñez Cabeza De Vaca

The Chronicle of the Narváez Expedition by Alvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca was originally written in 1542, with a reprint in 1555. The chronicle follows Cabeza de Vaca’s memories of his survival after the expedition (led by Pánfilo de Narváez) failed and broke apart, and his subsequent peregrinations through the southwestern United States and northern Mexico. His chronicle stands as an important primary document of the age of the conquistadores. Of particular importance are Cabeza ... Read Chronicle of the Narvaez Expedition Summary

Confessions

by Kanae Minato, Transl. Stephen Snyder

... Read Confessions Summary

Cotton Comes To Harlem

by Chester Himes

Chester Himes’s 1965 novel Cotton Comes to Harlem is the sixth and best-known novel in his Harlem Detective series. The book follows black detectives Grave Digger Jones and Coffin Ed as they search for $87,000 stolen from hardworking African American families who dream of returning to Africa and to escape poverty in America. The novel’s popularity led to other crime novels featuring African American cops and detectives, earning Himes the reputation as the father of ... Read Cotton Comes To Harlem Summary

by Stephen King

Cujo, a horror-thriller novel first published in 1981, is the 10th novel by the American “King of Horror,” Stephen King. It was inspired by a trip the author took to a mechanic in rural Maine whose St. Bernard nearly attacked King. Cujo received several accolades upon its release and won the British Fantasy Award for Best Novel in 1982. It was adapted into a film of the same name in 1983.The citations in this study ... Read Cujo Summary

by Elie Wiesel

... Read Dawn Summary

Different Seasons

Introduction Different Seasons (1982) by Stephen King is a collection of four novellas that are tied together by a connection to the four seasons. Three of the four stories (“Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption”, “Apt Pupil”, and “The Body”) have been made into films, and the fourth (“The Breathing Method”) is under consideration for adaptation. This guide refers to the 1983 Signet edition.Content Warning: This book contains references to death by suicide, sexual assault ... Read Different Seasons Summary

Doctor Sleep

Doctor Sleep is a 2013 horror novel by Stephen King. It is a sequel to the events that occurred in King’s popular novel The Shining and features the return of Danny Torrance. Decades after the horrors at the Overlook Hotel, Dan Torrance must now reckon with the renewed threat of the spirits. When the novel begins, the dead woman from the Overlook’s Room 217 has returned and threatens Danny in his bathroom. King uses this ... Read Doctor Sleep Summary

Dolores Claiborne

Dolores Claiborne (1992) is a psychological thriller by the American novelist Stephen King. The novel, narrated from Dolores’s first-person point of view, tells the story of her work as a housekeeper for the wealthy Vera Donovan and Dolores’s eventual murder of her abusive husband. Unique among King’s work for its unconventional narrative style, including a lack of chapter designations and section breaks, the novel deals with themes of revenge, family, physical and sexual abuse, and ... Read Dolores Claiborne Summary

by Bram Stoker

Dracula is a gothic novel by Bram Stoker published in 1897. Stoker tells the story of the fight against the vampire Dracula in an epistolary format. The story comprises various letters, telegrams, journal entries, and newspaper articles written by the main characters. Dracula explores the classic theme of good versus evil, but the novel also illuminates the relationships between religion and reason, the East and the West, the modern age versus the old world, and ... Read Dracula Summary

Eating Animals

by Jonathan Safran Foer

Eating Animals is a nonfiction book written by Jonathan Safran Foer and published originally in 2009. Foer is an accomplished novelist, and Eating Animals is his first foray into long-form nonfiction writing. The book fits into a genre of criticism of the food industry, specifically factory farming and animal welfare. Eating Animals is a New York Times bestseller, though it met with mixed reviews regarding both the content and style of Foer’s writing. In 2018 ... Read Eating Animals Summary

Ellen Foster

by Kaye Gibbons

Ellen Foster is a work of adult fiction by US novelist Kaye Gibbons, first published by Algonquin Books in 1987. The novel was Gibbons’s debut, and it won the Sue Kaufman Prize for literature from the American Academy of Arts and Letters and a notable citation from the Ernest Hemingway Foundation. Critics praised the novel for its unsentimental outlook and the wry, distinct voice of its protagonist. Ellen, a young girl living in the American ... Read Ellen Foster Summary

by Jane Austen

Emma is a fiction novel published in 1815 by the English author Jane Austen. The book centers on the character development of its eponymous protagonist, a genteel young woman on a country estate who meddles in the love lives of friends and neighbors. Jane Austen was conscious that Emma’s snobbery, vanity, and meddling might make her a “heroine whom no one but myself will much like.” (Austen-Leigh, James Edward. A Memoir of Jane Austen. London: ... Read Emma Summary

End of Watch

... Read End of Watch Summary

Fear And Loathing In Las Vegas

by Hunter S. Thompson

Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas is a 1971 novel by American author Hunter S. Thompson. The book chronicles the story of journalist Raoul Duke and his attorney Doctor Gonzo who drive to Las Vegas, ostensibly to cover an iconic off-road vehicle race. However, they are also looking to “find the American Dream” and take with them a car’s load of hard drugs. Duke is a fictionalized surrogate for Thompson, while Gonzo is based off ... Read Fear And Loathing In Las Vegas Summary

Fiddler on the Roof

by Joseph Stein, Sheldon Harnick, Jerry Bock

Fiddler on the Roof, a musical with a score by Jerry Bock, lyrics by Sheldon Harnick, and a libretto by Joseph Stein, first opened on Broadway in 1964. The play is based on an amalgam of stories written by Solomon NaumovichRabinovich under the pen name Sholem Aleichem, which is Hebrew for “peace be unto you.” The musical takes place on a fictional Russian shtetl, or Jewish village, called Anatevka during the reign of Tsar Nicholas ... Read Fiddler on the Roof Summary

Fifty Shades Darker

by E. L. James

Published in 2011, Fifty Shades Darker is E. L. James’s second installment in the Fifty Shades trilogy. Anastasia Steele has ended her relationship with entrepreneur Christian Grey after feeling daunted by his specific tastes and shady secrets. However, when Christian proposes a new arrangement, Ana cannot help herself, and they rekindle their romance. As Christian grapples with his inner demons, Ana must face the woman who came before her and make a life-altering decision.This guide ... Read Fifty Shades Darker Summary

by Chuck Palahniuk

Fight Club (1996) is the debut novel of American author Chuck Palahniuk. Three years later, American filmmaker David Fincher directed the film adaptation starring Brad Pitt as Tyler Durden, Edward Norton as the Narrator, and Helena Bonham Carter as Marla Singer. This study guide uses the 2018 paperback edition published by W. W. Norton &amp; Co.Fight Club is a contemporary work of literary fiction that contends with masculinity, materialism, consumer culture, and modern disillusionment. Inspired ... Read Fight Club Summary

by Kristin Hannah

... Read Fly Away Summary

Forrest Gump

by Winston Groom

Much of the discussion around Winston Groom’s highly acclaimed 1986 novel Forrest Gump concerns how different it is from the wildly popular movie it inspired. This does the novel a disservice, in that it deserves to be judged on its own merits rather than solely in comparison. That said, thematically, it is identical to the movie, and the characters are nearly all the same.  Forrest Gump is the first person narrator of the novel. He ... Read Forrest Gump Summary

by Henrik Ibsen

The play Ghosts (1881) by Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen chronicles the complicated relationship between Helen Alving and her son, Oswald. Ghosts documents a day in the life at the Alving estate as Helen prepares to open an orphanage in honor of her late husband. A three-act play, Ghosts explores the complex social issues of sexually transmitted infections, incest, and euthanasia—topics that made the play highly controversial when it was first produced. Ghosts followed the success ... Read Ghosts Summary

Girl, Interrupted

by Susanna Kaysen

Susanna Kaysen’s 1993, Girl, Interrupted, is a memoir that explores Kaysen’s time as a teenage psychiatric patient in McLean Hospital in the late 1960s. Kaysen explores the murky definitions of mental health and illness, as she recounters her experience of being diagnosed with Borderline Personality Disorder and makes compelling arguments about the subjective nature of personality, behavior, and disorder. Girl, Interrupted is a bestselling book and was adapted into the 1999 film starring Winona Ryder ... Read Girl, Interrupted Summary

by Gillian Flynn

Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn is a psychological thriller: a tale of a marriage gone cold and a sociopath who will stop at nothing to get revenge. Echoing the domestic noir genre, Flynn takes that genre one step further by incorporating several plot twists that subvert the reader’s expectations. Chief among the subverted expectations is the reader’s ability to trust the narrator. The novel consists of alternating chapters: one told by husband, Nick, and the ... Read Gone Girl Summary

Great Expectations

by Charles Dickens

Great Expectations is the 13th novel written by Charles Dickens. It was originally published as a serial in Dickens’s periodical, All the Year Round, Great Expectations, and Chapman and Hall published the novelized version in October of 1861. The novel is widely considered to be a classic example of the bildungsroman, or coming-of-age genre, and it has been adapted into numerous plays, films, and television series.Plot SummaryGreat Expectations tells the story of an orphan named ... Read Great Expectations Summary

by William Shakespeare

First performed in 1609, Hamlet is one of the best-known and most influential works of the playwright William Shakespeare (1564-1616). This summary refers to the 2001 Pelican edition of the play.Plot SummaryOn a dark night, sentinels see a ghost stalking the battlements of Elsinore Castle, the royal seat of Denmark. It is the dead king, who has returned to tell his son Hamlet to avenge him. He was murdered by his brother, Claudius, who then ... Read Hamlet Summary

Hard Times is an 1854 novel by Charles Dickens. The 10th book of Dickens’s career, Hard Times is notably shorter than his other works and is one of the few that isn’t set in London. Instead, Hard Times provides a satirical examination of the fictitious industrial city of Coketown, England. The novel has been adapted numerous times for radio, television, theater, and film.This guide is written using an eBook edition of the 2003 Penguin Classics ... Read Hard Times Summary

Hidden Bodies

by Caroline Kepnes

... Read Hidden Bodies Summary

Hidden Figures

by Margot Lee Shetterly

Hidden Figures: The American Dream and the Untold Story of the Black Women Mathematicians Who Helped Win the Space Race is a 2016 nonfiction book by Margot Lee Shetterly. Shetterly grew up in Hampton, Virginia, where her father worked at Langley Research Center, on which the book is centered. Thus, she knew firsthand both the story and many of the people involved. She holds a bachelor’s degree from the business school at the University of ... Read Hidden Figures Summary

High Fidelity

High Fidelity is a 1995 fiction novel by the English author Nick Hornby. It tells the story of Rob Fleming, an obsessive music fan who examines his top five worst break ups to understand his most recent heartbreak. The book was adapted into a musical, a television series, and 2000 film starring John Cusack and directly by Stephen Frears.Plot SummaryRob Fleming is the 35-year-old owner of a record store in London. When his girlfriend Laura ... Read High Fidelity Summary

Howards End

by E. M. Forster

E. M. Forster’s Howards End (1910) tells the story of two families, the Schlegels and the Wilcoxes, who represent different aspects of society in Edwardian England. Specifically, it follows the Margaret Schlegel, the novel’s protagonist, amid her attempts to manage her own family as she becomes engaged to and marries the widowed Mr. Wilcox. In 1992 it was adapted into an Academy Award-winning film, directed by James Ivory, and in 2017 it was adapted into ... Read Howards End Summary

65 Tween & Teen Books Made Into Movies

Inside: 65 of the best tween book to movie adaptations and teen books made into movies .

Connect your tween or teen with a book they can really identify with, one that resonates with their inner dreams or takes them on the most thrilling adventure, and you’ll have a reader for life. Choosing a book is a movie can help encourage even the most reluctant reader to take that leap. Plus reading a book and watching the movie provides lots of opportunities for comparing and contrasting the two…how often does the movie live up to the book, after all!?!

And teachers, within this huge list of book and movie pairs you’re sure to also find the perfect choice for your middle school or high school class English project.

If you’re looking for book to movie adaptations for younger children, combine this list with our 75 Kids Books That Are Movies post for a total of well over 120 books made into movies for kids of all ages -that’s family movie night sorted for a good long time!

I suggest checking out the reviews on the Common Sense Media website for more information regarding titles you are unfamiliar with. They provide helpful age recommendations from experts, parents and children. Each book and movie listed below is linked to an Amazon store page – these are affiliate links and I earn a small commission from qualifying purchases.

Classic Books Made Into Movies for Middle School

Enjoyed by many generations, these classic books made into movies are great for discovering (or rediscovering) with children in the middle grades.

1. The Chronicles of Narnia Four siblings journey through the back of a wardrobe to a magical world cursed with an eternal winter, where they encounter an evil snow witch, make new friends, meet a majestic king and learn important lessons about courage, honor and loyalty.

2. A Wrinkle in Time When a mother and her two children come down for a late-night snack and find a stranger speaking of tesseracts that allow travel through space and time, it stirs up memories of the children’s father and his disappearance, and sets them on a journey to find him.

3. Bridge to Terabithia Unlikely friends Jess and Leslie love to play in their amazing enchanted world in the woods called Terabithia. When tragedy strikes, Jess is heartbroken and must learn to deal with his grief, thanks to the support of his family and the lessons his friend left with him..

4. I Am David Twelve year old David has only ever known life in a concentration camp. When he is given the opportunity to escape the camp he struggles to cope in the outside world, facing danger, fear, loneliness and hunger, David must learn to trust others in the face of many challenges.

5. L ittle Women A classic tale exploring the lives of four very different sisters growing up in the late 1800s as they each discover their own sense of self, the importance of family and friends, and their place within their community and the wider world, all while wondering if their father will return safely home from war.

6. The Never-ending Story Bastian finds an old book called The Never-ending Story and, as he reads, Bastian discovers himself as an actual character in the book! He discovers the magical land in the book, Fantastica, is in grave danger and that he is the only one who can save it.

7. The Golden Compass Lyra is a strong, young girl from a world that feels very familiar but is also very different from our own. Hers is a world of magic, where each person is paired with a “daemon”, an animal connected to them. But Lyra must journey to the cold, far North, where witch clans and armored bears rule to save her friend, Roger, who has been stolen by the evil Gobblers for sinister purposes..

8. Alice’s A dventures in Wonderland When Alice spies a  little white rabbit who is very much in a hurry she follows him and finds herself in the magical land of Wonderland on an odd adventure with a cast of strange characters, including Tweedledum and Tweedledee, the Mad Hatter, the Cheshire Cat and the Red Queen.

9. The Giver Twelve year old Jonas finds nothing odd about his colorless world of conformity and contentment, until he receives his life assignment as the Receiver of Memory. As he learns more about the world through the memories he realizes there are dark secrets deciding the fate of the community.

10. The Witches   In this creepy recreation of Roald Dahl’s classic, a boy and his Grandmother fight a group of witches who threaten to rid the world of children.

11. The House With a Clock in the Walls   10 year old Lewis is sent to live with his uncle in a creaky old haunted house with a mysterious tick-tocking heart. But the town’s sleepy facade is not all as it seems and when Lewis accidentally awakens the dead, the town springs to life revealing a secret, dangerous world of witches, warlocks and deadly curses.

12. Storm Boy   When strange visions of the past begin to reappear for Michael he is encouraged to retell the story of his childhood discovery and care for a little pelican known as “Mr Percival” in a touching tale of friendship, love, hate, loneliness and loss.

13. When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit   As Jewish family flee from the Nazis in Berlin in the days before the Second World War; traveling first to Zurich, then to Paris and finally to London, a ten year old girl and her brother must overcome the challenges of new surroundings, new languages, new classmates, and new friends, again and again.

14. Goosebumps   When Zach moves with his mother to what he considers the dullest town in the world, he couldn’t be more wrong! As he tries to find out what’s up with his unusual new neighbors, he unwittingly unleashes a ventriloquist dummy named Slappy and an army of strange monsters. Slappy’s plan? To wreak havoc on the town of author, R.L. Stine, who sealed the creatures into the manuscripts of his books!

Modern Tween Books Made Into Movies

Our list of modern books with movies for tweens includes comedy, dark humor, action, adventure, fantasy and more!

15. Holes Stanley Yelnats is fighting his family’s generational curse of being the bad kid when sentenced to dig holes at a boy’s detention camp. Stanley then discovers the warden has a reason for all these holes, he’s trying to find something…but Stanley is on to him!

16. Because of Winn-Dixie One summer’s day, a lonely, ten-year-old, India Opal Buloni, goes down to the local supermarket for some groceries—and comes home with a dog. But Winn-Dixie is no ordinary dog.

17. Middle School: The Worst Years of My Life   On starting at his new school, Principal Dwight makes it clear to Rafe that the school operates under a very strict set of rules. A creative kid, Rafe finds the rules frustrating and unfair. When Principal Dwight destroys Rafe’s artbook, Rafe and a friend seek revenge through a series of silly pranks.

28. Wonderstruck Wonderstruck shares two parallel stories about hearing impaired children living in different historical time periods. Both are alone and isolated, from troubled homes, and run away to New York City seeking to find an absent parent. Both Rose and Ben will need resourcefulness, luck and more than a little magic to achieve their goal and survive in the big city.

18. Ella Enchanted   A new take on the tale of Cinderella, Ella is a girl who is cursed with the gift of obedience. After losing her mother, her father weds again and Ella is determined to survive both her new step-mother and her horrible step-sisters but tired of being taken advantage of, Ella sets out to break the curse that binds her.

19. Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events Series A trio of young orphans face down just about everything that could go wrong for a group of kids. From losing their parents to fighting bad guys (including their mysterious and ruthless Count Olaf), they defy death and more to overcome a truly horrible series of unfortunate events.

20. The City of Ember The lights of the City of Ember are said to provide the last place safe for the human race, however after centuries of use the embers are starting to dim. When Lina finds an ancient message, she’s sure it holds a secret that will save the city, but first she and her friend Doon must race to figure out the clues that will stop the lights burning out and keep the darkness away.

21. Eragon Eragon believes he’s just a poor boy living on a farm until he discovers that he’s actually the last of the Dragon Riders. With only a sword, a fiercely loyal dragon, and the wise words from a friend he begins his journey as one fated to play an essential role in an upcoming war – along the way enduring perilous travels, sudden battles, capture and escape.

22. Lemonade Mouth The tale of five outcasts who make plans in detention to pool their hidden talents form a band. Along the way they become the pride of the socially awkward at their high school (and far beyond) as their band, Lemonade Mouth, becomes legendary – changing rock and roll in Rhode Island, and high school, forever.

23. Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret This faithful book to movie adaptation of Judy Blume’s popular novel, sees 11 year old Margaret grapple with puberty and personal questions resulting from being raised without a religion.

27. The Breadwinner   11 year old Parvana lives in Taliban controlled Afghanistan. When her farther is wrongfully detained, the family are left alone, unable to work or buy food as women are not allowed to leave their homes unaccompanied. There is only one dangerous solution – Parvana must cut her hair and change her identity to find work and bring home bread for the family.

24. The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants As a group of four 16-year-old girls face their first summer apart, they promise to rotate a pair of seemingly magical jeans among them, at the summer’s end sharing their favorite adventure while wearing the pants. The jeans travel the world, tying together the four girls as they face new love, unexpected friendships, a father’s remarriage and more.

25. The Tiger’s Apprentice   15 year old Chinese American Tom Lee discovers he is part of a long lineage of magical protectors of an ancient stone called the Phoenix. This magic stone has the power to destroy worlds and is sought after by the villainous sorceress, Loo. Tom is trained by Mr Hu, one of twelve Zodiac animal warriors who watch over the guardian of the stone, and with guidance from the mythical tiger takes on the evil Loo and her plan that threatens all of humanity.

26. Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children A teenage boy is sent to a relative’s home on an island after a family tragedy. When he discovers an abandoned orphanage he also discovers that the children that have lived there were more than a bit different, and potentially dangerous and that they may in fact still be alive.

Teen Movies Based on Books

With so many great YA books being published it is not hard to find characters teenagers will relate to, whatever their interests. This list of new teenage books that are movies includes our pick of the best young adult fantasy, science fiction, romance and comedy teen movies based on books.

29. Enola Holmes: The Case of the Missing Marquess   Sleuthing is in the blood for Enola Holmes, the teenage sister of Sherlock. In this first installment in the series, Enola proves to be both smart and resourceful as she searches for her mother, who has disappeared on Enola’s fourteenth birthday, leaving only the gift of a book of ciphers behind.

30. The Boy in the Striped Pajamas Set during World War II in Germany, Bruno moves with his family to a new location for his father’s work. Bruno, bored with his surroundings, finds a friend but his new friend is separated by a fence and he just doesn’t understand why. The forbidden friendship has startling consequences for Bruno and his family.

31. The Maze Runner Thomas remembers only his name as he wakes inside a lift that takes him up to meet a group of boys who also only know their names. They have formed a community within the confine of the high walls. What faces them on the outside – death, monsters, and more, they know little of. All they know is they have to survive somehow.

32. Moxie Teen girls show courage by standing up to the longheld sexist and racist traditions of their school through an anonymous zine called Moxie. Alongside strong feminist messages, the story includes teen experimentation with sex and alcohol and chauvinistic behavior.

33. The Book Thief When a small, lost and broken German girl living through war learns to read, and love and treasure books, she finds comfort and strength between their pages and shares this comfort with those she shelters with.

34. The Hate U Give Starr moves freely between her poor neighbourhood and the rich prep-school she attends, until the night her whole world is shattered when a police officer kills her best friend. Starr is the only one who really knows what happened that night and the information she holds could not only destroy her community but also put her whole family at risk.

35. Me and Earl and the Dying Girl   An awkward high school senior is encouraged by his mother to spend time with a classmate who has been diagnosed with leukaemia in this quirky coming of age story that includes a balance of drama and comedy in the face of tragedy.

36. Looking for Alibrandi Josephine is nearing her final year at her Catholic high school and her traditional, Italian family is set on keeping her away from the world. But this will be the year she falls in love, the year she discovers her family’s secret and the year she grows up.

37. The Darkest Minds   Teens who survive a fatal virus and left with mysterious powers are declared a threat by the government and must band together to fight for their lives and the future of society.

38. Divergent In a futuristic Chicago it comes time for Beatrice to decide her faction. Should she stick with that destined by her family or choose a new destiny. When the results of her choice aren’t quite what she planned, Beatrice finds herself on the run to hide a secret. Ultimately she must decide – stay and endanger her family or unleash the truth and endanger her new friends..

39. The Hunger Games Panem is a nation divided into districts, those districts must send a child to fight to the death yearly for supplies to survive. But this year it all changes when an older sister volunteers to save her younger sister from being part of the Hunger Games. Katniss becomes a beloved star in the Capitol, finding allies and making plenty of enemies along the way. A great book series turned into movies.

For more books like this check out our collection of YA Dystopian Book Series for Teens .

40. A Monster Calls Exploring powerful themes of anger, grief and the power of unconditional love, a boy faced with the loss of his mother is guided through his emotions by an unexpected visitor: a startling, supernatural tree monster.

41. Nerve   A great example of movies inspired by books, Nerve introduces teens playing a live streamed social media game that initiates crazy dares in rewards for prizes. When Vee is teamed with Ian she is exhilarated as they take on riskier and riskier dares, each with higher stakes. But how far will the players go before they lose their nerve?

42. Ready Player One In the year 2045 the Earth is an ugly place and its residents seek relief in the virtual world known as OASIS. When the creator of the OASIS dies, he leaves behind a series of puzzles based on his obsession with the pop culture of decades past. The first to solve them will inherit his vast fortune and control of the OASIS itself..

Romance is a popular genre with teens and these are our pick of the best YA romance books that are also movies.

43. Five Feet Apart Can you really fall in love with someone you can never touch? When teenagers Stella and Will defy the rules of their illnesses – being closer than six feet apart could endanger both of their lives, to be together, could it really be worth it?

44. If I Stay 17 year old Mia has no memory of the accident, only recalling driving along the snow covered Oregon road with her family. Then she finds herself watching as her own damaged body is taken from the wreck. With her whole family gone Mia must make a choice – does she stay or does she go?

45. Everything Everything Maddy has a rare medical condition – she’s allergic to the world and has never left her home, cocooned in the sterile sanctuary of her home. That is until Olly moves in next door. They quickly become friends and it is then Maddy begins to question everything she has ever known about herself and wonders if just being alive is enough.

For more books like this check out our collection of YA Medical Fiction Books for Teens .

46. Simon Vs the Homo Sapiens Agenda When sixteen year old, not-yet-openly gay Simon discovers that his secret has fallen into the wrong hands he learns to embrace his truth and tell his own story – tricky to do without alienating family and friends and scaring off the boy he likes, rather than letting someone else tell it for him.

47. The Fault in our Stars When Hazel finds that her tumor has shrunken it gives her parents hope, but Hazel isn’t so sure. She’s accepted her diagnosis no matter how grim until Augustus Waters appears at her Cancer Support Group, now Hazel must rethink the ending of her story.

48. Paper Towns   A teenage boy goes on an epic quest to find his mysterious longtime crush after she suddenly vanishes following a prank-filled night of misadventures.

49. The Duff This irreverant high school comedy movie about a girl labeled the Designated Ugly Fat Friend by her more popular frenemies is insightful but has some spicy moments.

50. The Sun Is Also a Star   Opposites attract when a college-bound romantic and a Jamaica-born pragmatist meet and fall in love over the course of one magical day in New York City. A wistful story about finding love against all odds.

51. Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe   In this tender YA coming of age novel adaptation, Mexican American teenagers Aristotle and Dante become friends whilst each struggling with their racial and ethnic identity, sexuality and family relationships in 1987 El Paso, Texas.

Classic Teen Books Made Into Movies

There are so many great classic novels that have survived through decades (and much longer) that are still popular with today’s teens, many now with fabulous movie adaptations.

52. Ender’s Game In order to create a secure defense against a hostile alien race’s attack, the government breeds child geniuses and trains them as soldiers. Growing up in this environment, child genius Ender Wiggin suffers greatly due to the isolation, rivalry, pressure and fear. Ender’s siblings are also gifted – with other unique gifts and it is going to take the combined talents of all three to remake the world…if it survives.

53. Tomorrow When the War Began Coming home from a camping trip with friends, Ellie discovers that everyone in her small, country town has disappeared. The friends are left with many questions – what has happened? Are their families and friends alive or dead? Do they stay and fight or do they hide or do they run?

54. The Hobbit The tale of a place called Middle-Earth where elves, humans, orcs, and dwarfs are at war for their homes and treasures. Bilbo Baggins is a comfort loving hobbit who finds himself on the wrong end of adventure when recruited to help a family of dwarves raid the home of a dragon.

55. The Lord of the Rings Join Frodo Baggins as he gathers together a courageous band representing the different races of Middle-Earth for a journey to destroy the legendary One Ring and stop an evil ruler. The fellowship is broken as the true battle for Middle-Earth begins… who will survive.

56. The Outsiders When a group of poor, outcast “greasers” is ongoingly harrassed by the rich boys in town who always get away with everything, it eventually all goes more than a little too far, and before they know it, for Ponyboy, his brothers and friends,  there’s no going back.

For more books like The Outsiders, check out our list of Young Adult Books for Social Emotional Learning . 

57. Romeo and Juliet A town divided into two families, but the teens from both families have a secret affair and are pried apart and sworn never to see each other. How will they survive without the other, what secret plans will they make to see each other?

58. To Kill a Mockingbird Based in the 1930s, a tale of the unjust and cruel things people faced and put others through. A young girl watches as her lawyer father puts it all on the line to defend a young black man in the south during these times when that’s unheard of.

List continues below.

59. War Horse   Teenager Albert is devastated when his family is forced sell his beloved horse, Joey, to an officer headed to fight in the First World War. When Albert is old enough to enlist he sets out on a perilous journey to find his friend. This heartfelt story of perseverance, loyalty and friendship does not shy away from the harsh realities of war.

60. Dune The son of a noble family travels to a dangerous planet to avenge his father’s death and protect the most precious resource in the galaxy in a stunning adaptation of Frank Herbert’s classic sci-fi novel..

61. Cruella   Set amidst the 1970’s London fashion scene, Cruella provides an alternative origin story for 101 Dalmations’ villain, Cruella de Vil. In this great example of movies inspired by books, apprentice designer, Estella, discovers that her high powered boss is responsible for her mother’s death and seeks retribution for her loss, transforming into the edgy, unconventional designer – Cruella.

Biographies Turned Into Movies for Teens

Biographies are a fabulous way to inspire teens through real life stories and this collection of books with biopics offers a great first introduction to this genre.

62. Soul Surfer An inspiring true story of grit and determination – Bethany Hamilton was just a teen when she lost her arm in a shark attack. Seemingly with saltwater in her veins, she survived the attack and went on to fight against all odds to become a world surfing champion.

63. He Named Me Malala   This inspiring documentary shares the story of teenager Malala Yousafzai, who survived a Taliban attack in Pakistan to emerge as a global voice for the rights of all children to an education.

64. Hidden Figures Before man walked on the moon, a group of dedicated four female NASA mathematicians known as human computers used pencils, rulers and adding machines to calculate the numbers that would launch rockets and astronauts into space. This is their story.

65. Lion Five year old Saroo lived in a poor village in India, in a one-room hut with his mother and three siblings, until the day he boarded a train alone and got lost. For twenty-five years. In those years Saroo went from the streets of Calcutta all the way across the world to Tasmania. And then he found his way back home again.

More Best Book & Movie Resources

For more book and movie suggestions, check out these related posts;

Best Movies for Family Movie Night

YA Fantasy Books for Teens

Growth Mindset Books for 10-14 Year Olds

Christie Burnett is a teacher, author and mother of two. She created Childhood 101 as a place for teachers and parents to find engaging, high quality learning ideas.

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The 50 books we're dying to see get adapted

Adaptations are hot right now—we've got some books to put on your radar, Hollywood.

Adaptations are everywhere, and with streaming services like Netflix and Amazon continuing to expand their programming lineup, the need for interesting and established material is pretty high. Well, Hollywood, we've got some options—and by "some," we mean 50 books and series that have either yet to be acquired or whose development appears to be stalled. Each of these would make for a great film, an addicting series, or some other prestige-y thing. Call this our adaptation must-list—what are we missing? —David Canfield

All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr (2014)

An artistic little girl slowly going blind in Occupied Paris; an orphaned boy in pre-WWII Germany with a gift for short-wave radio; a priceless diamond dubbed the Sea of Flames. Doerr's sweeping novel captivated readers on its release in 2014 and took home the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction. Movie rights were promptly snapped up by 20th Century Fox , but it looks like this will be a four-part Netflix miniseries with Mark Ruffalo and Hugh Laurie . No word on when it'll air, but we cannot wait to see this story come to life. —Leah Greenblatt

The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay by Michael Chabon (2000)

Scott Rudin bought the film rights for the novel before it had even been published, Michael Chabon himself was set to write the script, and, at one point, Natalie Portman and Tobey Maguire were attached to star. However, a film adaptation of the Pulitzer Prize-winning book never came to fruition. Given that it's Chabon's crowning achievement, we hope one does eventually. —Esme Douglas

An American Marriage by Tayari Jones (2018)

Jones ' gorgeous and timely marital drama , about the effects on a Black couple after the husband, Roy, is wrongfully incarcerated, sold like hotcakes after Oprah Winfrey selected it for her Book Club and announced on Twitter she's "working on producing the movie" in 2018. Jones' feel for juicy human drama, not to mention her warm and nuanced sketchings of her characters, make this buzzy title a must for Hollywood's eyes. —David Canfield

American Wife by Curtis Sittenfeld (2008)

Spoiler alert: This book is based on the life of Laura Bush . Sittenfeld was famously inspired by the former First Lady's biography, which became this semi-fictional telling of a Wisconsin grade school teacher who finds herself in the White House and at odds with her liberal upbringing. American Wife 's themes of partisan politics and grappling with an inner conscience have never been more prescient. —Seija Rankin

The Art of Fielding by Chad Harbach (2011)

Rumor has it we're getting a TV reboot of The Sandlot on Disney+ , but what we really need is an adaption of Harbach's lyrical The Art of Fielding . Good baseball films come by once in a blue moon (sorry, Million Dollar Arm ), and Harbach's nuanced, thrilling story could serve as a quality follow-up to the classic 1993 Sandlot (sorry, Sandlot 2 ). Think "the college years," where Benny "The Jet" Rodriquez goes to school in northeastern Wisconsin and navigates love off the field (and, yeah, takes on the name of Henry Skrimshander). With the book out of an ugly legal battle , now's the time to see The Art of Fielding up close . IMG announced plans for an adaptation in 2017, but there has been radio silence ever since. — Joseph Longo

The Awakening by Kate Chopin (1899)

While The Awakening has technically been adapted—into the 1991 made-for-TV movie Grand Isle , starring Kelly McGillis —that version hardly counts as definitive. And if there were an opportune moment for Kate Chopin's 1899 proto-feminist high-school-English standby to get the lush period piece it deserves (not to mention the Best Actress nomination that would almost certainly follow), it would have to be right now. — Mary Sollosi

Bleeding Edge by Thomas Pynchon (2013)

Often considered unfilmable, the books of Thomas Pynchon actually proved to be pretty good adaptation candidates in the hands of Paul Thomas Anderson ; the lauded filmmaker's comic-noir take on Inherent Vice led to an Oscar nomination for writing and plenty of rave reviews. Pynchon's got bigger—and better—books in his bibliography, but as to what comes next, we'll suggest Bleeding Edge . It's another mammoth (in length), but it operates in a milieu that'd be fascinating to see rendered visually: a detective story in 9/11-era New York, just as the internet is preparing to change the world. —David Canfield

Carter Beats the Devil by Glen David Gold (2001)

Gold's historical mystery is so vivid and wild that it's a wonder it hasn't crossed over just yet. Film rights were acquired shortly after it was published to acclaim and commercial success in 2001. For a while, it was stuck in "development hell." However, reports surfaced in 2022 , stating that Warner Bros. developed a new script for the adaptation and put Johnny Depp as their leading choice for the stage magician Charles Joseph Carter. —D.C.

A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole (1980)

This cult-classic picaresque novel won the author a posthumous Pulitzer Prize; Toole's vibrant, expansive take on '60s New Orleans was beloved enough to thrust it into the canon of modern Southern literature. And yet, it has never made it to the screen. That said: The story of how close it got is epic, fascinating, and—for fans of the book—fairly tragic. Rather than summing it up, it's best to read it in full . —D.C.

The Corrections by Jonathan Franzen (2001)

Despite its award-winning pedigree—it won the 2001 National Book Award— The Corrections comes with a lot of baggage: Oprah infamously rescinded her Book Club invitation after Jonathan Franzen criticized the mogul's "schmaltzy" past selections; an HBO adaptation attempt has already come and gone; and Franzen is certainly a much more controversial name than he used to be. But this book, easily the novelist's best, is still a sprawling, ambitious, imaginative work filled with great yet flawed characters who'd translate well to the screen. And if we can't get a fresh adaptation, can we at least finally see what HBO—and Noah Baumbach , Dianne Wiest , Chris Cooper , Maggie Gyllenhaal , and Ewan McGregor — came up with ? —D.C.

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon (2003)

What more will it take for this best-selling novel to make it to the big screen—or even to cable or streaming? The novel's film rights were sold years ago, a smash theatrical adaptation already won the Tony Award for Best Play, and the West End version was filmed for National Theatre Live, but we're curiously waiting for a big-budget screen adaptation that's accessible to people who didn't get a chance to see the play. This sweet, sad, beloved story of a 15-year-old boy on the autism spectrum investigating the death of a neighbor's dog needs to get out of limbo. There was a very loose Bengali-English adaptation made in 2019, Kia and Cosmos , about a girl on the autism spectrum inquiring about the death of her cat, but we're holding onto hope for the original canine mystery. Our suggestion: Adapt the cathartic play for the screen, cast go-to TV dad Ty Burrell as the single parent, and let's get this thing made. —J.L.

Days Without End by Sebastian Barry (2016)

Are any twentysomething actors out there yearning for an Oscar? Sign them up for this Civil War drama, an expansive and episodic story about a pair of gay American soldiers in the 1850s fighting for their lives and futures. Beyond the obvious coup for cinematic representation that Sebastian Barry's stunning novel presents, the book's protagonists (Thomas McNulty and John Cole) are captivating and introspective creations perfect for onscreen interpretation. What's disarming is how, despite being inextricably of a time, their needs are timeless; as they go from part-time burlesque dancers to dutiful soldiers to accidental domestic settlers, the duo embody the creed that gay people forge their own families—in the Civil War and otherwise. —Marc Snetiker

Death With Interruptions by José Saramago (2008)

José Saramago's touching, thought-provoking meditation on life, loss, and the limbo between those two mortal inevitabilities is one of his most ingenious and idiosyncratic works. Unfilmable? Perhaps. But in the hands of a filmmaker as alive to the intricacies of balancing absurdist philosophy and tender human emotion as Saramago, the novel's genre-defying story could yield a genuinely poetic work of speculative cinema to stand alongside 2006's Children of Men . —Isaac Feldberg

The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson (2003)

Erik Larson's nonfiction best-seller is one of those true tales delivered so masterfully that it's no less compelling than the finest thriller. Weaving together the lives of the architect behind the great Chicago World's Fair of 1893, and the dastardly serial killer who used the fair as his killing floor, The Devil in the White City offers what every Hollywood screenwriter dreams of stumbling across. We'd heard Martin Scorsese was lined up to direct the adaptation, with Leonardo DiCaprio (who purchased the rights back in 2010) originally playing the serial killer H.H. Holmes before he was bumped to executive producer and replaced by Keanu Reeves ( who left the project in October 2022 ). Months after its director Todd White followed Reeves' departure , it was announced in 2023 that Hulu put the limited series adaptation to rest . However, producer ABC Signature has plans to sell it elsewhere. We'll believe it when we see it. —I.F.

Educated by Tara Westover (2018)

It's likely a matter of when, not if, the biggest memoir of 2018 gets into the development process. Tara Westover 's searing, inspiring account of growing up with survivalist parents before graduating from Cambridge University—think The Glass Castle meets Wild —has been a huge best-seller since its publication and continues to find new readers. Let the casting games begin. —D.C.

Eileen by Ottessa Moshfegh (2015)

Moshfegh wrote one of our favorite books of 2018— My Year of Rest and Relaxation , which Margot Robbie 's production company scooped up for optioning—but her previous novel, the Man Booker shortlisted- Eileen , is just as delectable. It mixes elements of suspense, horror, and comedy in its depiction of a woman who works at a juvenile detention center in '60s Massachusetts. And good news: The William Oldroyd-directed film adaptation starring Anne Hathaway and Thomasin McKenzie premiered at Sundance Film Festival in January 2023. —D.C.

An Ember in the Ashes series by Sabaa Tahir (2015–2020)

It seems that the post- Hunger Games glut of YA fantasy/dystopian adaptations is starting to slow down. But we hope that doesn't mean it's the end of the road for Tahir 's expansive magical saga, which was acquired before the first book's publication in 2013, but has seemingly been stuck in limbo over the past few years. There are many reasons to reignite the effort to produce this one—every book in the series has hit the Times best-seller list—but chiefly, its representation of Muslim characters and mythologies is unparalleled compared to anything Hollywood has been putting out there. —D.C.

Excellent Women by Barbara Pym (1952)

Few 20th-century writers crafted social comedies as scathingly brilliant as Barbara Pym. Her second novel Excellent Women is her most howlingly funny, centered on a spinster in '50s England as her life bursts wide open when new neighbors (and men) enter her life. Pym's Austen -like ability to instill each character with delightful absurdity makes adaptation a little tricky—a careful balance needs to be struck—but in the hands of someone like Whit Stillman , who did such a good job in Love & Friendship (2016), we could see it working splendidly. — D.C.

Fates and Furies by Lauren Groff (2015)

Barack Obama called it his favorite book of 2015, and being No. 1 on a then-sitting president's fiction list certainly didn't hurt the prospects for Lauren Groff 's heady modern meditation on love and obsession, tinged with Greek mythology. But sales and accolades haven't led to a greenlit movie adaptation, at least not yet. (It also hasn't stopped fans from dream-casting the characters: in one online poll, Alexander Skarsgård bested Ryan Gosling for the lead role of conflicted thespian Lotto; Scarlett Johansson , Yvonne Strahovski , and Diane Kruger were all in the imaginary running for Mathilde). —L.G.

The Chronicles of Amber series by Roger Zelanzny (1970–1991)

Walking Dead creator Robert Kirkman and Game of Thrones author George R.R. Martin have something in common: Both have advocated for Roger Zelazny's Chronicles of Amber fantasy novels to be made into a TV series. Various writers (including Kirkman) have tried to adapt the adult fantasy tale of a warring royal family whose members can jump between parallel worlds. And in January 2023 , Stephen Colbert 's production company joined Skybound Entertainment and Vincent Newman Entertainment to develop the TV series. —James Hibberd

The Flamethrowers by Rachel Kushner (2013)

It's almost too cruel that we were ever even teased with the possibility of a Jane Campion -directed adaptation of Rachel Kushner 's 2013 National Book Award finalist, only to have that dream taken away. But if we can't have a majestic big-screen desert motorcycle race, and if we can't have Italian radicals rioting in an enormous, kinetic set piece, then can't we please, at the very least, get a short film of Reno's first night out in New York? —M.S.

Foucault's Pendulum by Umberto Eco (1988)

Imagine The Da Vinci Code , but less ridiculous and a whole lot smarter. That pretty much sums up Italian author Umberto Eco 's esoteric (and undeniably cinematic) doorstop-sized conspiracy thriller about the Knights Templar, Jewish mysticism, code-breaking, numerology, the Holy Grail, and an obsessive, high-IQ scavenger hunt that can only result in mayhem. —Chris Nashawaty

The Girls by Emma Cline (2016)

The film world can never have enough cults—at least as far as our fellow cult enthusiasts are concerned. Sure, the story of the Helter Skelter gang—which The Girls is based on—isn't exactly new, and the novel's story went a wee bit off the rails by the end. Still, that is precisely what makes a riveting movie. Hollywood offers a myriad of actresses who are ripe for translating the book's very particular brand of crazy on the big screen. —S.R.

The Forbidden Hearts Trilogy by Alisha Rai (2017–18)

Romance novels are having a bit of a moment in Hollywood, with Shonda Rhimes ' wildly popular adaptation of Julia Quinn's Bridgerton series following Sally Thorne's The Hating Game , Casey McQuiston's Red, White & Royal Blue , and Colleen Hoover 's It Ends With Us in various stages of development. We'd kill to see Rhimes take a stab at this series next—with its deep bench of diverse characters; its sensitive and emotional handling of issues like depression, PTSD, and self-worth; and its tale of feuding families, it's the stuff primetime soap dreams are made of. The complex, nuanced heroines who grapple with serious demons are more of what we need on television, and they share DNA with the likes of Cristina Yang ( Sandra Oh ) and Meredith Grey ( Ellen Pompeo ). Not to mention Rai's smoldering heroes will make you forget McDreamy ever existed. —Maureen Lee Lenker

The Gallagher Girls series by Ally Carter (2006–2013)

One night, while watching an episode of Alias , Ally Carter mistakenly thought she was watching a show about a girl in spy school. While she ended up being incorrect, it spawned the idea for the first Gallagher Girls book, and six books later, it's safe to say it paid off. The series follows Cammie and her friends through the halls of Gallagher Academy, an all-girls spy school. As they train for their futures as spies, the girls complete missions (and even join forces with the top secret all-boys spy school in book two). With action, romance, and angsty drama, this series is begging to be turned into a frothy teen drama. Carter's website says a series is in development—but that's been the case for over a decade. —Aja Hoggatt

Goodbye, Vitamin by Rachel Khong (2017)

One of the funniest books of the 2010s offers a familiar story of a woman's disillusioned return home to her parents, only for things to turn delightfully unhinged. Khong writes with profound empathy, and with humor that's always sharp but never cruel. Her voice feels like a natural fit for an intimate HBO half-hour. In 2019, Variety reported that Constance Wu would star in a film from Universal Pictures , but there has been no update since. —D.C.

The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms by N.K. Jemisin (2010)

Even though Game of Thrones is distinctly different from The Lord of the Rings in its prolific sex and willingness to kill off major characters, the two most famous fantasy stories of the last 100 years both feature the same kind of medieval European setting. You'd be forgiven for thinking that fantasy stories could only look this one way, but in fact, the opposite is true. Jemisin 's Inheritance Trilogy is a great example of fantasy that posits a radically different imaginary world: one where people come in all shapes and colors, and all of creation is ruled by a trio of brother-sister gods. At least, it used to be; when the story starts, the world has gone terribly wrong, and now one god rules above all others. Many fantasy stories end with a simple restoration of monarchy or reversal to the status quo, but Jemisin's characters instead seek to radically change their world for the better. Their primary weapon in doing so is not violence but sex—good, fulfilling, universe-shaking god sex. Any ambitious producers looking to shake up the fantasy landscape would do well to tackle her work, which might be why the Smiths ( Will and Jada Pinkett ) and their production company (Westbrook Studios) are attached to the series being developed by Searchlight Television. —Christian Holub

The Interestings by Meg Wolitzer (2013)

The year 2018 marked a bit of a breakthrough year for Wolitzer, between the Glenn Close -led adaptation of her early novel The Wife and the huge success of her book, The Female Persuasion (which Nicole Kidman has been developing with Amazon Studios ). So it seems like a good time for the author's best novel—an epic and wise tale that follows the lives of friends who meet at an art camp—to get the screen treatment it deserves. An Amazon pilot starring Tony nominee (and Six Feet Under alum) Lauren Ambrose was produced in 2016 but, unfortunately, didn't make it to the series. —D.C.

Kafka on the Shore by Haruki Murakami (2005)

This metaphysical fable might struggle if producers attempt to Americanize Haruki Murakami 's surreally mythic masterwork , Death Note -style. But a sumptuous anime adaptation of one of this century's most beguiling works of narrative fiction? Oh, absolutely. Such an approach would ensure painstaking detail is paid to visualizing Murakami's rich vision of lost cats, spirit worlds, and falling fish. —I.F.

Kindred by Octavia E. Butler (1979)

Black Panther wowed audiences not just for its big-budget spectacle and A-list cast, but for the way it wove science-fiction and superhero tropes into the context of the global Black experience. Octavia E. Butler is basically the godmother of such work, and her novel Kindred makes for an excellent adaptation, especially at a time when racism and racial justice are at the forefront of the cultural zeitgeist. Like 12 Years a Slave (2013) by way of The Time Traveler's Wife (2009), Kindred tells the story of Dana, a 20th-century African American writer who keeps getting pulled back in time to the pre-Civil War Maryland plantation where her ancestors were enslaved. When she first arrives, Dana saves the life of a young white boy named Rufus, who is grateful for her help. But, over the course of multiple time trips, Rufus grows older and Southern society corrupts him into a plantation master who treats Dana just like any other enslaved person. By comparing modern and antebellum Americas so vividly, Kindred has a lot of thought-provoking things to say about the legacy of slavery and the changing nature of interracial relationships. The book was adapted into graphic novel form by Damian Duffy and John Jennings , which showcased the story's power and openness to adaptation. In January 2022, FX ordered an eight-episode series based on Butler's novel. It was released at the end of the year but has since been canceled after its first season. —C.H.

Kringle by Tony Abbott (2005)

This 2005 fantasy epic—from Secrets of Droon author Tony Abbott—gave Santa Claus a rip-roaring origin story, replete with child-stealing goblins, runic prophecies, flying reindeer, and a gallant orphan determined to bring joy back to the world. Paramount and Transformers producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura optioned film rights back in 2007, setting Chicken Little 's Mark Dindal to co-write and direct; the project's currently in limbo after the studio let its option lapse, but one imagines family audiences would eagerly flock to theaters (especially around the holidays) for an imaginative, high-flying adventure story like this, set in a richly drawn world evocative of Narnia and Middle-Earth. —I.F.

The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin (1969)

Ursula K. Le Guin passed away in 2018 , but she left behind a voluminous body of literary works that remain just as inspiring and groundbreaking as when she first wrote them. Embarrassingly, for a cultural period in which the biggest TV shows and movies are fantasy and science-fiction adventures, very little of Le Guin's work has been adapted for the screen, and the less said about the few attempts (such as SyFy 's disastrous Earthsea miniseries), the better. There seems to be no better way to make up for this failure than for someone to adapt her best novel, the story of a man who travels to a distant planet and learns that forces like gender and weather are not quite as natural or constant as commonly supposed. On the icy planet Gethen, humans have evolved in such a way as to be asexual most of the time, only sprouting genitals once a month in reaction to a partner—meaning that there are Gethenians who have both mothered and fathered different children with different partners. The envoy Genly Ai's journey to understand people so radically different from him brings him up against topics — sexual spectrums, mutual understanding, and even authoritarian politics — that seem to be more and more on people's minds every day. —C.H.

Less by Andrew Sean Greer (2017)

Less —the story of a stalled writer jet-setting to finish a manuscript and flee his ex—is an opportunity for Hollywood to boost representation of the LGBTQ+ community, with a story focused on neither the beginning nor the end of gay life. Greer's novel fills in the gaps between Love, Simon (2018) and Beginners (2010), showing the reality (and pitfalls) of modern white gay male entitlement. With illustrious destinations, witty writing, and overwrought love stories, Less deserves the chance to emerge as the queer version of Eat Pray Love . —J.L.

Life After Life by Kate Atkinson (2013)

We're not saying Atkinson 's tricky, brilliant 2013 bestseller —about an otherwise-ordinary girl who seems, whether she likes it or not, unable to die—would be easy to translate onscreen. But the novel, with its high-wire literary concept and historical set pieces (the London Blitz, the Spanish flu, Hitler's bucolic Bavarian Alps retreat), could be catnip to the right combination of screenwriter and director. As Atkinson is a British author, it's fitting that the BBC produced a four-part series adaptation that aired in the spring of 2022. —L.G.

A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara

One word: t earjerker . Two more words: Oscar bait. The epic is tailor-made for a December indie release—even though a stage adaptation is already in the works , with James Norton starring as its protagonist Jude—centering around four friends who meet in college and go on to collectively experience practically every type of success and heartbreak ever known. You thought you sobbed during Manchester by the Sea (2016)? Well, just wait until Jude gets his hands on your psyche with his childhood trauma and midlife crises. — S.R.

The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov (1967)

Even people who don't read much are familiar with the magnificent power of Russian literature; novels like Anna Karenina and Crime and Punishment have been adapted for the English-speaking screen many times over. But Russian literature did not end in the 19th century, and its 20th-century offerings include some of the zaniest, most colorful stories ever put to paper. The Master and Margarita opens with two men on a park bench debating the existence of the devil in the officially atheist Soviet Union and goes on to feature demonic orgies, a retelling of Christ's crucifixion from Pontius Pilate's point of view, women taking magical revenge on their bureaucratic oppressors, and one sarcastic, vodka-swilling, chess-playing black cat named Behemoth. Just try and find a more entertaining story. (Yes, there have been non-English adaptations over the years, but Baz Lurhmann now has the rights to this novel and we are aching to see what he does with it.) —C.H.

The Mediator series by Meg Cabot (2000–2016)

Meg Cabot 's series, which tells the story of Suze Simon, a teenage girl with the power to see and speak to ghosts, has been optioned multiple times to no avail. Each book in the seven volumes follows a self-contained mystery that Suze uses her mediator powers to help solve and send lingering spirits to their peaceful rest. But the real seller here is the overarching narrative of Jesse, the smoking hot ghost who lives in her bedroom. Suze yearns to help him resolve his unfinished business, even if that means risking losing him to the afterlife. A whip-smart YA series with the DNA of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and all the angst of Riverdale , the Mediator series could provide rich inspiration for the screen, which Netflix has secured the rights to, but has given no further updates. —M.L.L.

Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides (2002)

Godspeed to the screenwriter who dares to take on this hefty story, but we feel confident that the payoff would be far greater than the challenges. It's an epic in every sense of the word, following a family from their Greek island roots to their escape during an island-wide rampage, and finally to their new life in prohibition-era suburban Detroit. It's all told from the current day by narrator Cal, who is attempting to understand why they transitioned from their birth identity of Calliope. We warn that it's not the easiest adaptation, but such a staple of American literature deserves a spot on the screen, and thankfully, Paramount Studios snagged the rights to a TV adaptation, with Fifty Shades of Grey 's Sam Taylor-Johnson set to direct. —S.R.

The Moviegoer by Walker Percy (1961)

In what would have been a truly perfect pairing of filmmaker and material, Terrence Malick was once working on an adaptation of Walker Percy's 1961 debut. But even if Malick's inevitably exquisite take on the National Book Award winner wasn't meant to be, someone ought to translate Binx Bolling's existential quest for meaning, set against the rich backdrop of midcentury New Orleans during Mardi Gras, into a lyrical art-house feature. —M.S.

Next Year in Havana by Chanel Cleeton (2018)

We're hoping the fact that Reese Witherspoon chose this novel for her Hello Sunshine book club means she's seriously considering optioning it. The book flips between two heroines—Elisa Perez in 1958, a wealthy sugar heiress living on the precipice of revolution in Cuba, and her granddaughter Marisol in the present day as she travels to Havana to spread her grandmother's ashes, uncovering family secrets in the process. Both women encounter forbidden romance while grappling with what it means to be Cuban in a novel that explores everything from national identity to the challenges of choosing between what is easy and what is right. Hollywood needs more stories that champion women's voices this way—and Cleeton's lush, multigenerational tale is so inherently cinematic we swoon just thinking about what it might look like. —M.L.L.

One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel García Márquez (1967)

The magical realist elements of the novel have made it largely considered unadaptable, and Márquez never sold the film rights. When director Giuseppe Tornatore tried to buy the rights the author reportedly told him he would sell them if they "film the entire book, but only release one chapter—two minutes long—each year, for 100 years." Practicality aside, we're pretty curious to see what that'd look like. We're even more curious to see the series Netflix is adapting —which is only happening because it'll be shot in Spanish and executive produced by Marquez's sons Rodrigo Garcia and Gonzalo García Barcha. We just hope we won't have to wait years to see it, let alone 100. —E.D.

Operation Mincemeat: The True Spy Story That Changed the Course of World War II by Ben Macintyre (2010)

At the height of World War II, two British intelligence officers hatched an audacious scheme to fool the Nazis with the help of falsified government documents and one unwittingly patriotic dead guy. Ben Macintyre's absurdly entertaining account of this unlikely feat of espionage—credited with assuring an Allied victory—provides much more detail than was publicly known when the operation formed the basis of 1956's The Man Who Never Was . Lucky for us, John Madden directed a film version of this that aired on Netflix in April 2022 (starring not one, but two Mr. Darcys— Colin Firth and Matthew Macfadyen ). —I.F.

Perdido Street Station by China Miéville (2000)

Many modern fantasy stories look to J.R.R. Tolkien as their North Star, but for China Miéville, it's H.P. Lovecraft. As a result, his fantasy world of Bas-Lag is dark, dirty, cramped, and full of monsters, as magical creatures live side-by-side with steampunk technology. Nothing is normal in the city of New Crobuzon, which sits under the gigantic rib bones of some long-dead primordial beast. The book's main characters include an artist with a scarab for a head and a disgraced half-bird man who comes to the city seeking to get his flight restored. A scientist's attempt to help him with this ends up unleashing a species of dream-eating nightmare moths on the city, and things only get more unbelievable from there. This book and the others in Miéville's Bas-Lag trilogy form an impressive response to anyone who thinks modern stories have run out of ideas. —C.H.

Red Rising by Pierce Brown (2014)

Universal reportedly purchased the rights to Pierce Brown 's sci-fi epic just a month after the 2014 release of the first book in Brown's trilogy, which imagines an interplanetary color-caste society in which a low-born Red miner from Mars seeks revenge on the aristocracy by infiltrating the high-born Gold knights who destroyed his family. Blending the futuristic opulence of Star Wars with the traditions of Roman mythology, Brown's series is a daunting screen adaptation, to be sure (which could explain the scarcity of development news since 2014, besides this Tweet from Brown in 2021 ) but rest assured, studio suits: The space opera's frequent, cinematic action sequences are destined to dazzle summer audiences someday, somewhere, be it on a small screen or one as wide as Brown's saga. —M.S.

Salvage the Bones by Jesmyn Ward (2011)

Jesmyn Ward , the only woman to have won the National Book Award twice, broke out with this astonishing novel about a Mississippi family preparing for — and then reeling from — Hurricane Katrina. Ward has a unique ability to meld naturalistic dialogue and interpersonal drama with Faulkner-esque Southern Gothic. A filmmaker of similar strengths, like Ava DuVernay (hey, we can dream), could approach the material with vision and power. —D.C.

The Secret History by Donna Tartt (1992)

The Goldfinch already received the Hollywood treatment with mixed results (starring the likes of Nicole Kidman, Ansel Elgort , and Sarah Paulson ). Still, Donna Tartt 's fans will be quick to say that The Secret History is her most engrossing novel. It follows a group of students at a prestigious New England college who set out to create a Roman-style Bacchanal on campus (yes, it's pretentious, but trust that it's beyond entertaining) and quickly devolves into murder-y scenarios. It's that perfect blend of high-end art and low-end drama that is so popular on our screens. —S.R.

The Selection series by Kiera Cass (2012–2016)

Described as The Bachelor meets The Hunger Games , The Selection and its sequels take place in the dystopian society of Illéa, where citizens are divided into castes (Eights being at the top, and Ones being at the bottom). When it's time for the Prince of Illéa, Prince Maxon, to get married, 35 girls are chosen to compete for his heart and the chance to live a better life. But for protagonist America Singer, it means leaving behind her secret lover Aspen, who's a caste below her. Once she's chosen, she finds herself swept away by a life—and a man—she never knew she wanted.

The CW attempted to adapt the popular book series twice with two different casts, once in 2012 and again in 2013, but neither pilot was picked up. In 2020, Netflix announced an adaptation of the first book with Haifaa Al-Mansour set to direct, but it's still in the pre-production stage. With 5 books and 4 novellas within it, The Selection series has plenty of stories to tell. —A.H.

Sentimental Education by Gustave Flaubert (1869)

Gustave Flaubert's 1869 tale of young adulthood in 1848 revolutionary Paris may be cynical and overly ironic, but couldn't we say the same of the present day? Either way, if the cast of Vanderpump Rules is going to be awarded many seasons on Bravo , then Flaubert's maddening but hysterical company of cheaters, fighters, liars, dilettantes, courtesans, social climbers, manipulators, and pretenders deserve just as much, if not double. —M.S.

The Silo series by Hugh Howey (2011–2013)

Back in 2012, Ridley Scott and Steve Zaillian snapped up the film rights, but Howey 's sprawling tale—about a post-apocalyptic future where the air is too contaminated to breathe and humanity must live in an underground city called the Silo—was always far more suited to episodic storytelling. Fortunately, it now may finally get the TV treatment: On July 30, 2018, AMC announced it was developing a drama based on the first book in Howey's series, Wool . Since, the streaming series (starring Rebecca Ferguson ) has been moved over to Apple TV+ , with a release date of May 5, 2023. —Kristen Baldwin

Tigerman by Nick Harkaway (2014)

This is the era of the superhero movie. Why hasn't Nick Harkaway's dazzlingly imaginative 2014 novel—about a British war vet who befriends a comic book-obsessed orphan and styles himself as the made-up hero of the title while stationed in a corrupt former colony on the brink of environmental destruction, if you can imagine —been adapted into one seriously wild ride of a movie? —M.S.

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A Guide to All The Taylor Jenkins Reid Film and TV Adaptations

W ith over 5 million copies of her books in print, Taylor Jenkins Reid holds an irrefutable grip on the publishing industry. Her novels, which include bestseller The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo and the latest, Carrie Soto Is Back , are about to reach an even bigger audience, as several are set to be adapted for the screen. Reid is quite familiar with Hollywood. The author worked in casting for several years—and many of her most popular books follow the journeys of famous fictional women. As Reid told TIME in an interview , she sees something universal in the stories of women in the public eye facing challenges in their private lives: “You make it a movie star, rock star, supermodel, tennis player, it’s all the same stuff we’re facing: How much of myself do I want to give, and what do I hide?”

Here’s everything you need to know about the Taylor Jenkins Reid books that will be made into movies and TV shows in the near future.

Daisy Jones & The Six

Reid’s 2019 novel follows the antics of a 1970s rock band set against the backdrop of the Los Angeles music scene. But Reid doesn’t just follow the band’s rise to fame—she also sets up a wrenching love story between lead singers Daisy Jones and Billy Dunne in a narrative that is constructed as a compilation of transcripts. Reese Witherspoon selected Daisy Jones for her March 2019 book club pick, and is producing the television adaptation for Amazon, which wrapped filming last spring. The limited series, which does not yet have a release date, stars Riley Keough and Sam Clalfin as Daisy and Billy, as well as Camila Morrone, Suki Waterhouse, Josh Whitehouse, and Timothy Olyphant. The adaptation will also feature original music.

Buy Now : Daisy Jones & The Six on Amazon | Bookshop

One True Loves

Phillipa Soo, Simu Liu, and Luke Bracey star in the film adaptation of Reid’s 2016 novel, which features a script co-written by the author and her husband, Alex Jenkins Reid. The book is a heartbreaking romance centered on the journey of Emma Blair—a woman whose marriage to her high school sweetheart in her 20s ended in tragedy when her husband mysteriously disappeared in a helicopter on their first wedding anniversary. In her 30s, Emma picks up the pieces of her life and moves on, becoming engaged to her old friend, Sam. But then her husband is miraculously found alive—and re-enters her life just as she’s started over. As Emma figures out what to do, Reid takes a bruising look at what it really means to love.

Buy Now : One True Loves on Amazon | Bookshop

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo

The TikTok sensation and staple on the New York Times bestseller list is the epic tale of a fictional movie star. The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo begins with journalist Monique Grant learning that Hollywood icon Evelyn Hugo wants her to write her biography. Monique doesn’t understand this: she’s not a particularly well known reporter, and Evelyn could have anyone she wants to capture her story. But once the two start talking, Evelyn bares it all to Monique, recounting her humble beginnings in the 1950s all the way through each of her seven husbands over the next several decades. The public’s fascination with Evelyn may come from her unsuccessful marriages, but Monique begins to learn that there is another relationship, of far greater importance, that has truly dominated the actor’s life. The juicy narrative has caught the attention of millions of readers—and will be adapted as a feature film for Netflix by Little Fires Everywhere showrunner Liz Tigelaar.

Buy Now : The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo on Amazon | Bookshop

Malibu Rising

It’s Malibu in the 1980s and four famous siblings throw a huge end of summer party. The celebration quickly spirals into chaos—it literally goes up in flames by morning—and sets off a series of revelations about the siblings and their relationships to each other. At the story’s center is supermodel and surfer Nina Riva whose husband, a tennis star, has just left her. Over the course of 24 hours, Reid reveals the Riva family’s complicated history, and the tragedy that ties them together. Shortly before the book was released, it was announced that a television adaptation of Malibu Rising would be coming to Hulu with Reid serving as an executive producer.

Buy Now : Malibu Rising on Amazon | Bookshop

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Write to Annabel Gutterman at [email protected]

25 Books Being Made into Movies and Series in 2023 and 2024

Watch what you read. Find the most exciting books being made into movies through the rest of 2023 and early 2024!

Emily Martin

Emily has a PhD in English from the University of Southern Mississippi, MS, and she has an MFA in Creative Writing from GCSU in Milledgeville, GA, home of Flannery O’Connor. She spends her free time reading, watching horror movies and musicals, cuddling cats, Instagramming pictures of cats, and blogging/podcasting about books with the ladies over at #BookSquadGoals (www.booksquadgoals.com). She can be reached at [email protected].

View All posts by Emily Martin

Here are 25 books that are being adapted into movies or series in 2023 and 2024. Some of these projects have hard and fast release dates. Some of them have trailers. Some only have a cast list and a vague promise of a release sometime in 2023 or 2024. Of course, new info about these projects are coming out all the time. But at the time of publication, here are the all the most recent details we have about all these upcoming films and TV series. Get excited! There’s a ton to look forward to in the next year or so.

Young Adult Adaptations

Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Sáenz

Lin Manuel-Miranda is producing this YA adaptation, which is written and directed by Aitch Alberto in her feature directorial debut. Aristotle and Dante stars Max Pelayo and Reese Gonzales as two teens living in El Paso in 1987. The film premiered at the 47th International Toronto Film Festival on September 9, 2022. A wide theatrical release is scheduled for release on September 8, 2023. If you can’t wait til then, here’s a first look at the movie!

The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins

Based on Suzanne Collins’ Hunger Games prequel novel, The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes is the origin story of Panem President Coriolanus Snow, played by Tom Blyth in the new film. The film also stars Rachel Zegler as Lucy Gray Baird. Other members of the cast include Josh Andrés Rivera, Hunter Schafer, Viola Davis, and Peter Dinklage. Director Francis Lawrence is returning to the franchise to direct with a script by Michael Lesslie. The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes released a teaser trailer and is premiering in theaters on November 17, 2023.

It’s Not Summer Without You by Jenny Han

The Summer I Turned Pretty is coming back for a second season on Amazon Prime video, and it will be based on the second novel in Jenny Han’s series, It’s Not Summer Without You. Everyone you loved from season 1 is returning, and joining the cast are Kyra Sedgwick and Elsie Fisher. Season 2 released on July 14th, 2023 on Amazon Prime Video.

Heartstopper by Alice Oseman

Speaking of sophomore seasons that recently wrapped production, Heartstopper season 2 is out! The new season introduces Bel Priestley as Naomi, Ash Self as Felix, and Thibault De Montalembert as Nick’s father Stephane. The first season of Heartstopper followed the first volume of Alice Oseman’s graphic novel, and based on the casting announcements, it’s safe to assume this next season will follow volume two. Netflix released  Heartstopper  season 2 on August 3, 2023!

Uglies by Scott Westerfeld

YA dystopian adaptations are still going strong in 2023. Netflix is also adapting Scott Westerfeld’s Uglies into a movie! The film is produced by Joey King, who is starring as Tally Youngblood. Uglies will also star Keith Powers, Brianne Tju, Chase Stokes, and Laverne Cox. Filming took place in Atlanta, GA, in December 2021. The movie is expected to drop on Netflix at some point in 2023, but a release date hasn’t been announced yet.

Turtles All the Way Down by John Green

John Green’s Turtles All the Way Down was optioned for film immediately upon its release in 2017. Filming wrapped in Cincinnati last June, with Hannah Marks directing. The movie adaptation stars Isabela Merced as Aza Holmes and Cree Cicchino as Daisy Ramirez. “The movie really stays true to the book in so many ways. I think we really worked hard on making it a faithful adaptation,” said Marks . “And beyond that, it’s pretty cool that we have two teenage Latina leads in the movie, which hasn’t been done very much before. And the girls were absolutely terrific and great for representation, but also great for their characters.” Turtles All the Way Down will premiere on HBO, but a release date hasn’t been announced yet.

American Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang

Gene Luen Yang’s graphic novel American Born Chinese is being adapted into an action comedy TV series on Disney+. Destin Daniel Cretton directed the series, and Charles Yu and Kelvin Yu wrote it. It stars Michelle Yeoh, Ben Wang, Yeo Yann Yann, Chin Han, Daniel Wu, Ke Huy Quan, Jim Liu, and Sydney Taylor. It premiered on May 24, 2023 on Disney+. Here’s the trailer!

Literary Fiction Adaptations

Black Cake by Charmaine Wilkerson

Charmaine Wilkerson’s debut novel Black Cake will soon be a series on Hulu. Before the novel was even published, Oprah Winfrey’s production company Harpo Films purchased the TV rights. The series will star Adrienne Warren, Mia Isaac, and Ashley Thomas. A release date hasn’t been announced yet, but it’s expected to premiere in late 2023.

The Color Purple by Alice Walker

Alice Walker’s The Color Purple was adapted as a film in 1985. Then it was adapted as a musical. Now the musical is being adapted into a film, set to be released on December 25, 2023. The movie is directed by Blitz Bazawule and adapted for the screen by Marcus Gardley. It stars Fantasia as Celie Harris Johnson, Colman Domingo as Albert “Mister” Johnson, Taraji P. Henson as Shug Avery, Corey Hawkins as Harpo Johnson, Danielle Brooks as Sofia, H.E.R. as Mary Agnes (“Squeak”), and Ciara as Nettie Harris.

Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus

The Lessons in Chemistry series is due to release on Apple TV+ on October 13, 2023. The series is executive produced by Brie Larson, who will also star as Elizabeth Zott, a female scientist in the 1960s who uses a cooking show to educate women about science. Also starring are Lewis Pullman, Aja Naomi King, Stephanie Koenig, Patrick Walker, Thomas Mann, Kevin Sussman, and Beau Bridges. Filming wrapped in August 2022.

Horror Adaptations

The Last Voyage of the Demeter , based on Dracula by Bram Stoker

There have been plenty of Dracula adaptations, but 2023’s The Voyage of the Last Demeter is based specifically on one chapter of the classic horror novel, “The Captain’s Log.” The film is directed by Norwegian film director André Øvredal. It stars Corey Hawkins, Ailsling Franciosi, Liam Cunningham, and David Dastmalchian. The Last Voyage of the Demeter was released on August 11, 2023 from Universal Pictures. Here’s the trailer!

The Fall of the House of Usher by Edgar Allan Poe

Mike Flanagan is back again with another highly-anticipated horror adaptation for Netflix. The cast for this Edgar Allan Poe adaptation will include a lot of Flanagan project regulars, including Rahul Kohli, Carla Gugino, Bruce Greenwood, Henry Thomas, T’Nia Miller, and Kate Siegel. Mark Hamill has also joined the cast. The series will be released on Netflix on October 12, 2023.

The Changeling by Victor LaValle

After several years in development, The Changeling is finally being adapted as a series for Apple TV+, with Lakeith Stanfield attached to star as Apollo. Kelly Marcel wrote the script, and Melina Matsoukas is directing. The first episode is set to release on September 8, 2023.

Mystery/Thriller Adaptations

A Haunting in Venice, based on Hallowe’en Party by Agatha Christie

Kenneth Branagh is adapting a third Hercule Poirot novel to follow Murder on the Orient Express and Death on the Nile . Branagh will again star as Poirot, who is now retired and must solve a murder after a guest at a séance he attends is killed. The film will also star Kyle Allen, Camille Cottin, Jamie Dornan, Tina Fey, Jude Hill, Kelly Reilly, and Michelle Yeoh. It’s scheduled to be released on September 15, 2023.

Leave the World Behind by Rumaan Alam

Rumaan Alam’s psychological thriller is being adapted as a film, produced by Alam, Barack and Michelle Obama, Tonia Davis, Daniel M. Stillman, and Nick Krishnamurthy. The film stars Julia Roberts, Mahershala Ali, Ethan Hawke, Myha’la, Farrah Mackenzie, Charlie Evans, and Kevin Bacon. A full trailer has not been released yet, but you can catch a small glimpse of the movie in Netflix’s 2023 preview . Leave the World Behind will be out on December 8, 2023.

Eileen by Ottessa Moshfegh

The psychological thriller Eileen premiered at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival. The film stars Thomasin McKenzie and Anne Hathaway as two women working in a juvenile detention facility. Eileen is directed by William Oldroyd, and the novel was adapted by the author Ottessa Moshfegh and her husband, Luke Goebel. The film will be released theatrically this December from Neon.

Sci-Fi/Fantasy Adaptations

Dune by Frank Herbert

Fans of Dune won’t have to wait much longer for part 2 to release. The second half of the adaptation of Frank Herbert’s Dune will be out on November 3, 2023. The film, directed by Denis Villeneuve, will see the return of many of the stars of the first film, including Timothée Chalamet, Rebecca Ferguson, Josh Brolin, Stellan Skarsgård, Dave Bautista, Stephen McKinley Henderson, Zendaya, Charlotte Rampling, and Javier Bardem. Florence Pugh, Austin Butler, Christopher Walken, Léa Seydoux, Souheila Yacoub, and Tim Blake Nelson will be joining the cast.

Spaceman of Bohemia by Jaroslav Kalfař

Adam Sandler is starring in the upcoming adaptation of Jaroslav Kalfař’s Spaceman of Bohemia for Netflix. The film, entitled simply Spaceman , is directed by Johan Renick with a script by Colby Day. Carey Mulligan and Paul Dano will also star. While Netflix has not announced a specific release date for this project, the streaming service has said that we can expect the film to release in 2024.

Wicked by Gregory Maguire

Universal is adapting the Tony Award-winning musical Wicked, based on the novel by Gregory Maguire, into two films. The movies will star Cynthia Ervo as Elphaba and Ariana Grande as Glinda. The films are directed by Jon M. Chu. Recently, Chu shared a first look at the upcoming movies on his Instagram . The first Wicked movie is scheduled to release in theaters on November 27, 2024.

Romance Adaptations

Red, White, and Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston

Amazon Studios is adapting Casey McQuiston’s debut novel Red, White, and Royal Blue into a film. It stars Nicholas Galitzine as Prince Henry and Taylor Zakhar Perez as Alex Claremont-Diaz. Uma Thurman will also star as U.S. President Ellen Claremont, the mother of Zakhar Perez’s character. Filming wrapped in August 2022, and the movie premiered on Amazon Prime Video on August 11 of this year!

Romancing Mister Bridgerton by Julia Quinn

Bridgerton season 3 is probably one of the most highly anticipated adaptations on this list, and it will be based on Julia Quinn’s Romancing Mister Bridgerton, which follows the love story of Colin Bridgerton, played by Luke Newton, and Penelope Featherington, played by Nicola Coughlan. Filming is still underway for the third series, so we might have to wait for this one until 2024. In the meantime, Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story is out now!

The Flatshare by Beth O’Leary

Beth O’Leary’s novel The Flatshare was adapted into a TV series in the UK in December 2022. It’s scheduled to release in the U.S. at some point in 2023. The series stars Jessica Brown Findlay as Tiffany “Tiffy” Moore and Anthony Welsh as Leon Twomey, two strangers who share a flat together but never interact due to their conflicting schedules. Through notes left in their shared living space, the two start to form a friendship…and maybe more. Here’s the trailer!

The Perfect Find by Tia Williams

This romcom was adapted for the screen by Leigh Davenport and directed by Numa Perrier. The film stars Gina Torres, Keith Powers, and Gabrielle Union, who is also a co-producer. While a trailer has not been released, here’s a first look at some images from the movie . The Perfect Find released on Netflix on June 23, 2023.

Nonfiction Adaptations

Killers of the Flower Moon by David Grann

Martin Scorsese has directed a film adaptation of David Grann’s Killers of the Flower Moon, and it clocks in at 3 hours and 26 minutes. Ahead of its theatrical release, it’s debuting at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival. The film stars Leonardo DiCaprio, Robert De Niro, Jesse Plemons, Lily Gladstone, Tantoo Cardinal, Brendan Fraser, and John Lithgow. It will be released in theaters on October 20, 2023, by Paramount Pictures. It will also be released streaming on Apple TV+ on an unspecified date.

Three Women by Lisa Taddeo

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James Patterson Film Adaptations

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James Patterson books have been turned into various film and TV adaptations.

Article written by Ugo Juliet

Former Lecturer. Author of multiple books. Degree from University Of Nigeria, Nsukka.

Many of Patterson’s novels have been adapted into feature films, TV series, and made-for-TV movies. Some of the most notable adaptations include ‘ Along Came a Spider,’ ‘ Kiss the Girls , ‘ and the Women’s Murder Club series. One of Patterson’s most popular and enduring series features the character of Detective Alex Cross, a brilliant and resourceful investigator. The series has spawned numerous bestsellers and has been adapted into several films, with Morgan Freeman portraying the iconic detective on screen.

Adaptation of his Works

Here is a list of film and TV adaptations of James Patterson’s works:

• Along Came a Spider (2001)
• Kiss the Girls (1997)
• Alex Cross (2012)
• Maximum Ride (2016)
• Middle School: The Worst Years of My Life (2016)
• Zoo (2015-2017)
• Women’s Murder Club (2007-2008)
• The President Is Missing (2020)
• Instinct (2018)
• Tell Me Your Secrets (2021)

Patterson has also written several books that have been adapted into TV movies, including:

• Miracle on the 17th Green (1999)
• Sundays at Tiffany’s (2010)
• Hope (2014)

However, there are some notable challenges when it comes to adapting his works into film and TV. Here are some of them:

Patterson’s books are often very long and complex, which can make it difficult to condense them into a two-hour movie or a one-hour TV episode. His books often feature graphic violence and adult language, which can make them difficult to adapt to a mainstream audience. His books often feature multiple characters and subplots, which can make it difficult to keep track of everyone and everything in a film or TV adaptation. Despite these challenges, there have been several successful film and TV adaptations of James Patterson’s works. These adaptations have helped to introduce Patterson’s work to a wider audience and have made him one of the most popular authors in the world.

Kiss the Girls Adaptation

‘ Kiss the Girls ‘ by James Patterson was adapted into a film of the same name in 1997. Directed by Gary Fleder and starring Morgan Freeman as Detective Alex Cross and Ashley Judd as Kate McTiernan, the film follows the plot of the novel relatively closely, with some adaptations for the screen. The film follows Detective Alex Cross as he investigates the case of a sadistic serial kidnapper known as “Casanova.” When his niece, Naomi “Scoot” Cross, goes missing from her college campus, Cross becomes determined to find her and bring the kidnapper to justice. Along the way, he teams up with Kate McTiernan, a survivor of Casanova’s previous attacks, as they race against time to rescue the kidnapped victims.

Key Differences

While the film stays true to the overall plot of the novel, there are some key differences between the two. Some characters and plotlines are condensed or omitted for the sake of brevity, and certain scenes are altered or embellished for dramatic effect. Additionally, the film introduces a romantic subplot between Cross and McTiernan, which is not present in the novel.

The film received mixed reviews from critics, with praise for the performances of Morgan Freeman and Ashley Judd, as well as the suspenseful atmosphere and stylish direction. However, some critics felt that the film failed to capture the depth and complexity of the novel and that certain elements of the plot felt rushed or underdeveloped.

Overall, while the film adaptation of ‘ Kiss the Girls ‘ may not fully satisfy fans of the novel, it remains a solid thriller in its own right, with enough suspense and intrigue to keep audiences engaged. Whether you’re a fan of the book or simply enjoy a good mystery, the film offers a thrilling ride that is sure to keep you on the edge of your seat until the very end.

Awards and Recognition

James Patterson is a literary powerhouse, recognized for his prolificacy and captivating storytelling. His achievements are reflected in numerous awards and accolades, which we can explore across different categories:

Literary Awards

• Edgar Award: This prestigious award from the Mystery Writers of America recognizes excellence in crime fiction. Patterson received it in 1977 for his debut novel, ‘ The Thomas Berryman Number. ‘
• Agatha Award : Another notable recognition in the mystery genre, awarded by Malice Domestic. Patterson won it in 2006 for ‘ Murder Games. ‘
• International Thriller of the Year Award : Bestowed by the British Crime Writers’ Association, this award acknowledges outstanding international thrillers. Patterson claimed it in 2001 for ‘ Along Came a Spider.’
• National Book Award: This highly respected award recognizes literary merit across various genres. In 2015, Patterson received the Literarian Award for Outstanding Service to the American Literary Community, acknowledging his efforts in promoting reading among children.

Other Recognitions

Guinness World Record: Patterson holds the record for most #1 New York Times bestsellers, showcasing his commercial success and reader engagement.

Presidential Medal of Freedom: This prestigious award honors individuals for their contributions to American society. Patterson received it in 2016 for his philanthropic work, particularly in promoting literacy.

Children’s Choice Book Awards: Recognizing his contributions to children’s literature, Patterson has received several awards in this category, including Author of the Year and Teen Choice Book of the Year.

The Literarian Award: He was given this award in 2015 for Outstanding Service to the American Literary Community by the National Book Foundation.

ThrillerMaster Award: He was given the 2007 ThrilleMaster Award by the International Thriller Writers for his contribution to that genre.

Legacy and Impact

James Patterson resides in Palm Beach, Florida, with his wife Susan. He is a devoted father and grandfather, and he enjoys spending time with his family when he’s not writing. Despite his immense success, Patterson remains humble and grounded, often citing his love for storytelling as his driving motivation as an author. James Patterson’s impact on the literary world is undeniable. Through his captivating storytelling, philanthropic efforts, and dedication to fostering a love of reading, he has left an indelible mark on readers around the globe, solidifying his legacy as one of the most influential authors of our time.

Apart from the many awards has received, Patterson’s impact is evident in his sales figures. With over 400 million copies sold worldwide, he’s considered one of the best-selling authors of all time. Also, his novels have been adapted into numerous films and TV shows, solidifying his presence in popular culture. Through his foundation and various initiatives, Patterson has significantly impacted literacy programs and young readers. While some literary critics might debate the artistic merit of his work, James Patterson’s achievements and recognition undeniably cement his status as a major figure in contemporary literature. His ability to captivate readers and inspire a love for reading, especially among young audiences, adds another dimension to his legacy.

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About Ugo Juliet

Juliet Ugo is an experienced content writer and a literature expert with a passion for the written word with over a decade of experience. She is particularly interested in analyzing books, and her insightful interpretations of various genres have made her a well-known authority in the field.

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