Books into Movies

Since my last list seemed to generate some interest, I thought I would do another. What follows is a Top Twelve List of books (or novellas) that have been turned into a movie (or tv show or mini-series). It isn't an all encompassing list, but rather the first 12 books that popped into my head of which I've seen the movie and read the book. I'm sure I am missing a ton. The order is random.

1) Stephen King's The Body, The Shining, IT, 1408, The Mist -> Stand by Me, The Shining (movie), The Shining (mini-series), IT (mini-series), 1408, The Mist--I find that Stephen King books are a bit hit or miss when it comes to making them into movies. Stand by Me is just as good as the novella, some say better. 1495 and The Mist are much much worse than the novellas. I also find it odd that I have read some of the source material prior to seeing the movies and some after. 1408 and The Shining (the movie) especially come to mind. I think that I would have liked both movies more if I hadn't read the books first. I am one of the few people who likes the mini-series version of the Shining more, mostly because it most closely follows the book. Also, it was filmed in the hotel that Stephen King wrote the book in. Fun!

2) Neil Gaiman's Stardust, Neverwhere -> Stardust, Neverwhere (mini-series)--I read Stardust after seeing the movie, but watched the Neverwhere mini-series after reading the book. I love the movie Stardust, though it is nothing like the book. I'm not sure I would have enjoyed the movie as much if I had been a fan of the book before. Neverwhere, though a made for tv with semi-shoddy special effects, really follows the story while adding in visuals that I felt really matched the book. Fun all around!

3) Meg Cabot's Princess Diaries, Avalon High--I love The Princess Diaries books and movies. I read the first couple books before the movie came out, and while they are vastly different, they are both still awesome. Same with Avalon High. Vastly different stories, but the same feel as the source material. I always think that more Meg Cabot books should be made into movies or tv shows (yes, I know that the 1-800-Where-R-You? series was turned into a tv show, but I haven't finished reading the series, so I haven't watched the show yet).

4) Dan Brown's Angels & Demons, Da Vinci Code--Mmmm popcorn books, popcorn movies. I know that many people hate the books, hate the movies, hate Dan Brown, blah blah blah. I love the books and I love the movies. They are interesting, entertaining, have lots of art and history, and have Tom Hanks. Also, Ewan McGregory is in one and Paul Bettany is in the other. How could that every be wrong?

5) Charlaine Harris's Southern Vampire Mysteries -> True Blood--My mom bought the first few Sookie Stackhouse books and gave them to me to read. While in the middle of reading the series, I started watching True Blood and wasn't a huge fan. However, once I finished the books and focused only on the show, I liked it way better. I find that I like both for the characters and plots and everything, but have to have them be separate entities. I cannot be reading and watching at the same time or I compare them and come out disappointed in the show.

6) Chuck Palahniuk's Fight Club -> I saw the movie, loved it, read the book, loved it. I'm pretty easy to please. Movie with hot guys and lots of fighting, I'm in! The book is super fun, also. I'm not sure I would have gotten the twist in the book if I hadn't seen it in the movie first, but I found that knowing the twist didn't hamper my enjoyment of the book. Fight Club, in my opinion, is one of the best book to movie adaptions.

7) J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter Series--I'm not going to go into these too much because the last movie isn't out yet and the movies are so vastly different. But I will say that I have never been disappointed in one of the movies when it was released. I think that overall, the filmmakers have done a good job of capturing the stories and the atmosphere of the books.

8) William Goldman's Princess Bride--I had seen the Princess Bride many many times before I ever read the book and I think I like the book better. Slightly controversial stance, I know. I think the movie is one of the best (and most rewatchable) movies around, but I think the book, written in such an unconventional style, adds more to the characters and the plot. I think Goldman is a genius and can not stress enough that everyone should read the book.

9) Steven Gould's Jumper--If you have seen the movie, you are probably saying "That was such crap, why would you read the book?" And the answer is...I have no idea why I read the book. It was probably partly because I sort of loved the movie for its supreme trashiness and partly because I saw the book in the library and thought what the hell. The book is amaze-balls! Like, whoa. And the thing is that the best parts of the movie, Samuel L. Jackson and Jamie Bell, are not in the book! Though Gould wrote the origin story of Bell & Jackson which is also excellent. Really though. I'm not a huge fan of reading sci-fi, but I love Jumper, Griffin's Story, and Reflex (the sequel). I highly recommend.

10) Phillip Pullman's Golden Compass--Such a fantastic book, such a terrible movie. Like, so bad they didn't make the sequels. It is just such a shame because the book is so great. It was like they decided that they didn't want to be controversial at all, so they took out all the best stuff from the novel (except the polar bear fighting). Bummer, dude!

11) Mark Twain's Tom Sawyer & Huck Finn --> Tom & Huck, Huck Finn--I like Twain a lot. He wrote important stuff, but man do I love the camp that are the movies! Tom & Huck is one of the first movies I remember seeing in the theater. It came out when I was 8 and I distinctly remember seeing it with my cousins and my sister, sitting way too close to the screen. I also remember watching it approximately 17,000 times on vhs. I am also a big fan of the Elijah Wood movie of Huck Finn. I mean, come on. It is soooo cheesy and campy and has Elijah Wood yelling "Biiilllllllyyyyy". Awesomesauce.

12) J.R.R. Tolkien's Fellowship of the Ring--It was the only of the Lord of the Ring books that I made it through and I read it after seeing the movie. I like it a lot (not as much as the Hobbit, but still...). I think having seen the movie helped me keep track of the characters and the major plot points, but also, the book just moves along at a good pace for the most part. Some good stuff was cut out of the book, but honestly, it had to be. The movie was already extremely long.

So...those are my top 12 (ish) books turned into movies. I'm sure I'm missing some obvious ones or some of your favorites, so what did I miss? What books should I read that have been made into movies? What movies should I read the books of?