Our last post highlighted a sizeable list of 2013 films inspired by some of our favorite books. If the following list is any indication, it looks like we’ll be hitting the library before we go to the theaters again this year, too.
Books-to-Movies in 2014
Click on titles for Reading Guides
Monuments Men (January)
Book by Robert M. Edsel
Movie with George Clooney, Matt Damon, et al.
A group of American art specialists come together during World War II to recover world masterpieces stolen by the Nazis.Winter's Tale (February)
Book by Mark Helprin
Movie with Colin Farrell, Jessica Brown Findlay
Peter Lake, a thief, falls in love with a woman as she dies in his arms. After discovering his ability to revive the dead, he is determined to save her.Serena (April)
Book by Ron Nash
Movie with Jennifer Lawrence, Bradley Cooper
When Serena Pemberton discovers she cannot bear children, the life that she has built with her husband, George, begins to unravel.Child 44 (June)
Book by Tom Rob Smith
Movie with Tom Hardy, Joel Kinnaman
Investigating a series of child murders in Stalin era Soviet Russia, Leo Demidov must battle the odds to expose a threat the State won’t admit exists.The Fault in Our Stars (June)
Book by John Greene
Movie with Shailene Woodley
Hazel and Gus are an inseparable pair of teens who meet in the most unlikely of places—a cancer support group.Under the Dome * (June 2014)
Book by Stephen King
TV series (Season 2)
An invisible and mysterious force field descends upon a small town, trapping residents inside, cut off from the rest of civilization. What is the dome and why is it there?The Giver (August)
Book by Lois Lowry
Movie with Meryl Streep
Living in a seemingly perfect community, a young boy is chosen to learn from an elder about the true pain and pleasure of the "real" world.Outlander (Summer)
Book by Diana Galbaldan
TV series (Season 1)
Claire Randall, a wartime nurse, lives a double life: a husband in 1945 and, by inadvertently touching an ancient stone, a lover in 1743.This Is Where I Leave You (September)
Book by Jonathan Tropper
Movie with Jason Bateman
In order to honor their father’s final wish, a non-practicing Jewish family must sit Shivah together for one week.Gone Girl (October)
Book by Giullian Flynn
Movie with Rosamund Pike, Ben Affleck
It doesn't take long for Nick to become a suspect when his wife Amy goes missing. But are things always what they seem?The Hobbit (Part 3) (December)
Book J.R.R. Tolkien
Movie with Benedict Cumberbatch, Evangeline Lilly
In this third installment, the company of Thorin have reached Smaug’s cave, but can the group reclaim the dwarven treasure?Before I Go to Sleep (TBA)
Book by S.J. Watson
Movie with Nicole Kidman, Colin Firth
As the result of a tragic accident in her past, Chrissie Lucas awakes everyday with no memories. One day, she discovers new truths that force her to question who she can trust.Wild (TBA)
Book by Cheryl Strayed
Movie with Reese Witherspoon
In order to cope with a series of catastrophic life events, Cheryl embarks on a 1,100 mile trek on the Pacific Crest Trail.* Carry-over from 2013.
Books hit the box office in a big way last year. Just in case you were visiting another planet—here's a list of notable books found on the screen in 2013. Don't worry, though: if you were clueless about a few...so were we!
Books-to-Movies in 2013
Click on titles for Reading Guides
Austenland
Book by Shannon Hale
Movie with Keri Russell
Jane, a single, modern day New Yorker, is in search of her own Mr. Darcy. What else to do but sign up at a two week fantasy resort for Austen obsessed women!Beautiful Creatures
Book by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl
Movie with Alden Ehrenreich and Alice Englert
In a few months, when Lena turns 16, she will be "claimed" by the Light or the Dark. Along with her boyfriend Ethan, she must fight off supernatural powers.The Book Thief
Book by Markus Zusak
Movie with Sophie Nelisse, Emily Watson
Coming-of-age story story in Nazi Germany. Leisel learns to read, and is driven to collect stolen books and a set of peculiar friends, including a Jewish refugee.Catching Fire
Book by Suzanne Collins
Movie with Jennifer Lawrence
Katniss won the Hunger Games and should feel secure in her family's safety. But she becomes the face of a popular rebellion—and now the capitol wants revenge.City of Bones
Book by Cassandra Clare
Movie with Lilly Collins
Teenager Clary Fray witnesses a murder, but the body disappears into thin air. Then she meets Jace and is suddenly pulled into the world of the Shadow Hunters.Enders Game
Book by Orson Scott Card
Movie with Harrison Ford
Government agencies breed child geniuses and train them as soldiers to fight a hostile alien race. One future soldier is brilliant young Andrew "Ender" Wiggin.The Great Gatsby
Book by F. Scott Fitzgerald
Movie with Leonardo DiCaprio
Baz Lurhmann's take on the great Great Gatsby, an American classic that highlights our penchant to remake ourselves. Upper class shinanigans lead to tragedy.The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug
Book by J.R.R. Tolkien
Movie with Ian McKellan
Bilbo Baggins, Gandalf, and the Dwarves continue their quest to reclaim their homeland, from Smaug. Bilbo Baggins is in possession of a mysterious and magical ring.Labor Day
Book by Joyce Maynard
Movie with Kate Winslet and Josh Brolin
Henry Wheeler's life is changed forever when he and his emotionally fragile mother show kindness to a stranger with a terrible secret. A story of love, and treachery.The Reluctant Fundamentalist
Book by Mohsin Hamid
Movie with Riz Ahmed and Kate Hudson
Changez is living an immigrant’s dream of America. Princeton, Wall Street, and beautiful Eric. But 9/11 changes everything as he discovers more fundamental allegiances.Safe Haven
Book by Nicholas Sparks
Movie with Julianne Hough and Josh Duhame
A young woman with a mysterious past lands in Southport, North Carolina where her bond with a widower forces her to confront the dark secret that haunts her.Silver Linings Playbook
Book by Matthew Quick
Movie with Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence
A young woman with a mysterious past lands in Southport, North Carolina where her bond with a widower forces her to confront the dark secret that haunts her.12 Years a Slave
Book by Solomon Northup
Movie with Chiwetel Ejiofor
The memoir of a black man born free in New York state but kidnapped, sold into slavery and kept in bondage for 12 years in Louisiana before the American Civil War.Under the Dome
Book by Stephen King
TV series (Season 1)
An invisible and mysterious force field descends upon a small town, trapping residents inside, cut off from the rest of civilization. What is the dome and why is it there?*We snuck Silver Linings in from late December 2012.
We got some guff from guys objecting to our tale of woe—the woman's book club who invited their husbands to join. Well, here's the other side—here's what happens when MARS opens its door to VENUS.
Book Club Calendar
"First the RULES," the ladies tell us— NO T-shirts. NO cigars. :-( |
50 Shades—whoa! Hot. Who knew? :-) |
NO BEER??? A nice Merlot...? What the hell's a Merlot? |
YES! The Masters!! Whaddya mean we can't reschedule? Whyyyyyy? |
Nicholas Sparks? Again? Are you KIDDING? |
We go "as a club" to see The Help. It feels, eh…girly. |
A picnic. We wear T-shirts! We drink beer!! We are MEN!!! |
No sci-fi, no westerns, no spy thrillers. Not one work of history. |
Q: What's the difference between History and historical fiction? A: ROMANCE. |
Breakthrough! What women call Romance, we call Soft Porn. High Five, guys! |
Our 4th book on Tudor England. Shoulda seen it coming. |
Christmas party: $150/couple plus $35 gift. That's it, we're outta here. |
Superbowl—yes. Tudors—no. Sparks—never. Who's got beer? |
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It was hard not to notice the number of recent books with birds on the cover. So I made a brief little survey of book covers just for fun.*
Pause over the cover mage to see title and author; click for a link to our Reading Guide or Amazon (if we don't have a guide).
[L]iterary fiction leaves more to the imagination, encouraging readers to make inferences about characters and be sensitive to emotional nuance and complexity.
You can read the full story in the NY Times HERE. It's fascinating and well worth the time.
Thinking of inviting your husbands to join your book club? Well, think again, Dear Reader. Take a look at a sorry tale of ONE LITTLE CLUB that thought it could.
Book Club Calendar
Happy New Year! Our husbands join our club for the first time! |
Great meeting! The guys get along really well. They're adorable! |
No more brie & bruschetta. They want beer & pizza. Um...sure, why not? |
No Nicholas Sparks. EVER. Or they walk. Okay...we're flexible. :-) |
Quite a year so far …what with books on football, golf, & lawncare. |
Two couples couldn't find sitters—had to bring the kids. No problem. |
Sonia watches the kids. The rest of us discuss Sports Illustrated's swimsuit issue. |
Everyone shows up with kids. There're just..... so MANY. Omg. |
Meeting cancelled. Runny noses & strep. The whole club's infected. |
Back together again! Need volunteers to watch the kids. Men don't budge. |
One kid screams, they ALL scream. Men don't hear a thing. Not. 1. Thing. |
Women & kids at home. Men get together for beer & pizza. Merry Christmas. |
Happy New Year! We'll be devoting the entire year to NICHOLAS SPARKS. Objections? Too bad. |
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Find out what happens when the men's book club invites the wives.
Interpreting literature can be boorish business; just skim book reviews in major dailies—or customer reviews on Amazon. Even book clubs can work themselves into a lather over different ways of reading the same words.
Yet if we learned anything from Post Modernism, it's that words don't confine themselves to a single meaning … which is why it was so gratifying to come across this comment by Margaret Atwood.
I’m not comfortable giving interpretations of my work. If I were to provide one, it would become the definitive interpretation, inhibiting readers from finding their own meanings.
Talk about humility. Atwood acknowledges that while an author may exert full authority over plot and characters, she has no such control over her readers.
Readers should feel free, she seems to suggest, to derive meanings, separate from hers. That would imply separate from other readers, too—all of whose ideas may be equally valid.
Words of caution. The operative word in the above sentence is "may"—other interpretations may be equally valid—which means we're not free to go off the reservation and shoot at anything that moves. Interpretations need to be supported by evidence within the text and consistent with the general sense of the work.
In other words, Robert Frost's "Stopping By Woods on a Snowy Evening" is pretty much NOT about Santa Claus. (I had a student once who insisted it was—mistaking a literary parody for the real thing.)
Mention worthy: Publishers Weekly (PW) posed a question to Claire Messud in a recent interview that roused a remarkable response. So remarkable, it's worth reporting on here.
The question concerned the heroine in Messud's new book, The Woman Upstairs.
PW said: "I wouldn’t want to be friends with Nora, would you? Her outlook is almost unbearably grim."
Messud Responds . . .
For heaven’s sake, what kind of question is that? Would you want to be friends with Humbert Humbert?
Would you want to be friends with Mickey Sabbath?
...Saleem Sinai?
...Hamlet?
...Krapp?
...Oedipus?
...Oscar Wao?
...Antigone?
...Raskolnikov?
...Any of the characters in The Corrections?
...Any of the characters in Infinite Jest?
...Any of the characters in anything Pynchon has ever written?
...Or Martin Amis?
...Or Orhan Pamuk?
...Or Alice Munro, for that matter?"
If you’re reading to find friends, you’re in deep trouble. We read to find life, in all its possibilities. The relevant question isn’t “is this a potential friend for me?” but “is this character alive?"
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