The Movie Was Maybe Better?

Now 9 out of 10 times the book is better than the screen adaptation. Why? Well it’s just so hard to capture all the details. Each person’s experience of a book is unique and so it’s even more difficult to pander to everyone’s view point. However, you have those rare instances when the movie is either as good as or better than the book. Here are a few of my choices for As Good As, Better and the last are books that are way better. Do you agree? What would you add to it? Comment away!

As good as

1. The Lord of the Rings trilogy - I recently read and watched this again and am struck anew with how good they both are. They deliver different things but the effect is much the same.

2. The Hunger Games trilogy - I’ve watched the movies several times so they are almost a comfort watch, which is really weird for a post apocalyptic story based on teenagers killing each other. The books are also good, but the movies are just a bit easier to digest.

3. The Hobbit - Many die hard Tolkien fans will not agree. The movies are definitely more Hollywood, but I liked the added action and drama.

4. Great Expectations - I may be in the minority, but I really liked the Gwyneth Paltrow/Ethan Hawke movie.

5. Alice in Wonderland - The Disney version captures that trippy, happy atmosphere really well without being creepy.

6. Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil - Reread and watched both a few times.

7. The Sandman series - If you haven’t watched/read these yet, I highly recommend both the new TV series and the full-cast audio versions.

8. Empire of the Sun - Both are brilliant.

Better

1. Frankenstein - any movie. I just felt like Dr Frankenstein was so WHINY in the book.

2. Stardust - Sure it was cheesy, but I just felt the ending in the book was such a let down. Villains can’t just change at the end.

3. Mary Poppins - I mean Julie Andrews IS Mary Poppins. Amirite? Or amirite?

4. How to Train Your Dragon - The book was a bit odd after watching the movie. I mean I get it but I enjoyed the movie more.

5. The Jungle Book - Honestly my favourite Disney cartoon.

6. Romeo and Juliet - Makes the ridiculous premise and ending less so with the amazing soundtrack and the fact that the actors are not 15 years old.

7. Apocalypse Now (based on Heart of Darkness)

Do not touch these movies with a 10-ft tub of popcorn

1. The Neverending Story - This is the WORST book adaptation IMO. Honestly, just read the book.

2. The Shining - The screeching violins were the scariest part.

3. The House of Spirits - Ok, the movie isn’t that bad, but it’s not good. Book is way better.

4. The Witches, Matilda and both Charlie and the Chocolate Factories - Perhaps it’s the fact that these ignited my love for reading, but they fall so short of the brilliance of his writing that they make me angry.

Five Cosy Classics for Christmas Reading

If you are an Australian like me you probably aren’t looking to curl up next to a roaring fire with a good book and a blanket this Christmas. Luckily for us there’s many sunny-weather ways to get cosy with the classics; from slathering yourself in sunscreen and lying out on the deck with a copy of ‘Saving Francesca’ in the morning to cuddling up with your own little Snugglepot and Cuddlepie at night. Here’s a list of five cosy classics for you to enjoy during this holiday season.

Dog Songs

Mary Oliver

If you need a quiet moment between festivities and large meals, this book is a wonderful way to step inside someone else’s head for a few moments. Oliver’s verses meditate on simple joys and personal connections, and her love for life radiates through the page. Gratitude, love, and togetherness are all strong themes, so it’s also a wonderful way to think about how much you love your family while you all take a bit of a breather from talking to each other.

Christmas Days

Jeanette Winterson

At times hilarious, at others heartbreaking, ‘Christmas Days’ is a collection of short stories that captures the spirit of holidays: often chaotic, sometimes combative, and always full of love. The variety of genres means that any of your friends and relatives who pick this book up off the coffee table will find at least one story that interests them, and the unique and energetic writing will likely inspire some fun conversations over lunch.

White Teeth

Zadie Smith

If you’re not up for some heavy themes in your holiday reading, you might want to give this book a pass until January. While it contains potentially triggering topics like suicide and racial and class divides, White Teeth is a deeply compelling story that interrogates traditions and family pressures while embracing the love and connection that tie friends and families together. Smith skillfully entwines humour with tragedy and elevates the sordid and difficult-to-read plot details into a clever reflection of everyday life, creating a read that somehow manages to be both enjoyable and devastating.

The Summer I Turned Pretty

Jenny Han

If you love Young Adult fiction and want some lighthearted reading, give this book a gander. Centred around a girl who views her life between summers as a stasis period, The Summer I Turned Pretty captures both the magic of holidays for the young and the growing pains that occur as you move towards adulthood. Belly’s relationship with her mother and her friends shines strong throughout the book, creating a loving and realistic backdrop to her teenage turmoil. A perfect afternoon read while you digest that huge Christmas lunch.

Merry Christmas, and Happy Reading!

Can't Miss Upcoming Book to Screen Adaptations

Do you have a favourite novel you would love brought to life on the big or small screen? Got some beloved characters that you would like to see in reality - and find out if the movie-makers imagine them just like you?

Maybe you just like watching the movie so you can say, ‘The book was better.’

There’s just something we love about an adored book being turned into a movie or TV adaptation. Did you watch Bridgerton and The Queen’s Gambit series’ last year? You may not have realised that they both came from books.

Check out this list of upcoming book to screen adaptations - you are sure to find something to get you pretty excited.

Jane Austen

Do you love a little bit of Austen? There is just something special about these gorgeous stories that still resonates with lovers and dreamers today, while the author’s criticism of social roles and norms is ever-relevant.

Netflix has got in the works a contemporary Pride & Prejudice adaptation called The Netherfield Girls which will be well worth a look. The flirtation and witty interplay of Eliza and Mr Darcy transports beautifully to the challenges of dating in an online world. 

There is also a modern-day Persuasion movie adaptation on Netflix starring Dakota Johnson, which is due to be released in 2022. Or if you are more of a traditionalist, there is also a period-set movie in production starring the brilliant Sarah Snook with the release date yet to be announced.

Shakespeare

Could you imagine a more gloriously tortured Macbeth than Denzel Washington? Nope, neither can we.

The Tragedy of MacBeth is directed by Joel Coen and is presented in black and white - gloomy, moody and full of beauty and angst. It also stars acting powerhouses Frances McDormand and Brendan Gleeson who are always wonderful, so if you love the Bard, you will likely love this.

Sci-Fiction

For fantasy and sci-fi fans we’ve got some great classics in the works. 

Frank Herbert’s Dune has been often described as unfilmable, and that bringing this incredible tale to the screen would never truly give it justice. 

Some people thought that of Stephen King’s It too, but the recent adaptations of this awesome novel show that modern filmmaking has finally caught up with the imaginations of our best horror writers. 

Dune was filmed not long after the book was released in 1984, but was somehow not a patch on the novel. The upcoming 2022 Dune looks a bit more impressive, with modern effects, a massive budget, and stars like Timothy Chalamet, Zendaya and Jason Momoa.

We are also very excited about an upcoming TV series based on The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. The 2005 film adaptation was very good, but there was so much more detail that could have been included - a full length television series was always going to be the best way to go.

And while we’re discussing books that deserved a full-length TV series, The Lord of the Rings is getting the Game of Thrones treatment and turning up on our small screens sometime next year or later. This television adaptation of the beloved Tolkien stories is said to be the most expensive TV show ever made.

What else has got us excited?

The 1929 novella Passing by Nella Larsen made some noise at Sundance earlier this year and will be released soon on Netflix. This is the story of two high school friends who reunite as grown women - both are African-American but one of them ‘passes’ as white and has married a white man with no knowledge of her ancestry.

Agatha Christie’s Death on the Nile movie starring Gal Gadot is due next year. Directed by Kenneth Branagh who also stars as Hercule Poirot, if you enjoyed the fun of the star-studded Murder on the Orient Express then you should get in line for this next one.

Across the River and Into the Trees is Hemingway’s beautiful tale of romance set in Italy in the first world war, the story of American officer’s love for a young italian woman. Starring Liev Shrieber, the film is in the editing stages as I write this article, and hopefully will be released in the coming year.

One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez is a sweeping, multi-generational story filled with interesting characters, that kind of begs to make it to the screen. Netflix are developing this story into a must-see series which is still in pre-production, with no release date as yet. 

Get ready to binge.

Novels Ahead of Their Time

Sometimes the brilliance of a novel can’t truly be seen until many years after it was written. There are many books and authors that were ahead of their time, and that covered topics and ideas that society wasn’t quite ready for yet.

These may not have sold well upon first release, but have come to be appreciated for their greatness decades later. Here are some of the most prolific and debated novels ever published, which went on to be applauded as ahead of their time.

Top 12 Novels Ahead of Their Time

A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess

When it was published in 1962 it was extraordinary shocking - covering divisive subjects of violence and drugs, and generally quite bleak in tone. It wasn’t actually widely accepted until after the movie was released. This was an influential novel telling a story of a dark dystopian future, which at times is a frightening depiction of good and evil and the grey in between.

You might also love: Fight Club by Chuck Palahniuk

At Swim-Two-Birds by Flann O’Brien

Inventive and funny, this 1932 novel is renowned for a wicked sense of humour and for playing on the traditional model of what a novel should be. This is the story of a writer writing about another writer, whose characters rebel against him in some clever and bizarre ways. This is an intelligent story that has become a modern classic.

You might also love: Murphy by Samuel Beckett

Ulysses by James Joyce

Ulysses has been called a major achievement in 20th-century literature. Based loosely on The Odyssey, it tells the story of a number of people across a single day in Dublin in 1904. Filled with fun, exciting and at times vulgar characters, the author plays with some extraordinary styles of writing and storytelling in this book.

You might also love: Gravity’s Rainbow by Thomas Pynchon  

1984 by George Orwell

When 1984 was published in 1949 it was a nightmarish tale of the future, which scarily became more and more prophetic as the years passed. Even if you haven’t read this novel before, you wouldn’t have been able to avoid its effect on modern culture. Through this novel, we were introduced to Big Brother and a society in which nothing the citizens do is private anymore. 

You might also love: Brave New World by Aldous Huxley

Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte

Published in 1847 under a male pseudonym, this classic was highly controversial at the time for its description of mental illness, physical cruelty, and criticism of religion, class, and a woman’s expected place in society. Essentially a love story, Wuthering Heights is a story of deeply flawed characters and their hold on each other’s minds and hearts.

You might also love: Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

This is a simple yet unforgettable tale set in a small town in Alabama, which became a popular and critical success almost instantly. This is now a very well known story of a crisis of conscience and a lawyer who was doing the best to raise his children right in a difficult world and time. It won the Pulitzer Prize and went on to be made into an Academy Award-winning film.

You might also love: The Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger

Frankenstein by Mary Shelley

Written when Shelley was just 18, this novel was a very early example of horror, science fiction, and the possibilities and dangers of modern technology. This is a witty story from a strong female voice, considered to be quite hard-hitting and politically challenging upon its release in 1818.

You might also love: Dracula by Bram Stoker

The Complete Stories by Franz Kafka

I am cheated a little here because this one isn’t really a novel, but a collection of Kafka’s best and boldest stories. Renowned for getting people thinking and arguing, the point of view in these stories is quite innovative, and would go on to influence a great many writers in the future.

You might also love: Collected Stories by Gabriel García Márquez

Uncle Tom’s Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe

Stowe was one of the first American writers to raise public awareness of the cruelty of slavery, and this book was largely discredited in the South when it was published.

It was controversial and has been often used since as an educational and enlightening novel showing how things were done at the time of writing. But it is also a really great adventure story and well worth a read.

You might also love: The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain

The Awakening by Kate Chopin

Written in 1899, this was a revolutionary story of infidelity, in a time when considering such acts would make proper members of society turn white. Uninhibited and beautifully written, this novel was one of the first to discuss a female protagonist seeking physical pleasure through love and sex.

You might also love: Lady Chatterley’s Lover by D. H. Lawrence

Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston

This was one of the first novels to place a black woman front and centre as a powerful protagonist - seeking identity, independence, and fulfilment not just a role as a wife or mother. It was poorly received upon release but has over time become well-loved and lauded for being an important novel about strength of race and gender.

You might also love: Native Son by Richard Wright

Are You There God, It’s Me, Margaret by Judy Blume

You probably remember discovering this one for yourself when you were a tween, but at the time it was written, this novel was a rare honest depiction of how your body and mind changes with puberty.

This novel, and most of Blume’s others written in the 1970s were fresh and inspiring for young women at the time, and connected with girls in a way that nothing had before.

You might also love: Blubber by Judy Blume