Books that Need to be Movies

The age old question: Which is better, the book or the movie?

The thing about this tell-tale question is that the two things are near impossible to compare. Sure, you can compare the produced real-world created film to your endless imagination and the images you saw in your head, but really, they are going to be nowhere close to each other. You can't possibly take a 700-page book and fit every word of it into a 2-hour movie. Even if you read it straight without breathing you couldn't do it!

But you wonder... what would my favorite book look like on screen?

So here are a handful of the books that I have read. But they are simply my imaginings. Maybe someday they will make it to the big screen.

"Dorothy Must Die" Series by Danielle Paige

("Dorothy Must Die", "The Wicked Will Rise", Untitled Third Book; Prequels: "No Place Like Oz", "The Witch Must Burn", "The Wizard Returns", "Heart of Tin" (July 28, 2015))

If you love the "Wizard of Oz" and happened to see the musical or read the book "Wicked" (by Gregory Maguire), you will like these books.

After Dorothy has returned home from Oz, another Kansas girl unwillingly travels to Oz (Amy Gumm) and finds herself in a place that is quite different from the storybooks she's read. All of the characters you know and love are evil, including the girl with the sparkly red shoes.

Why I love it: You know that things were not all gumdrops and rainbows in the Oz you saw on TV. This page-turning series makes you question everything you thought you knew about the movie and the original book series.

Why it would make a good movie: This magical and dark world needs to be recreated on the screen because no matter how hard I try, I can't imagine the whole world. I know there is a team of experts out there who will think of every tiny detail or visual reference from the original material that could make this an epic series.

The Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer

("Cinder", "Scarlet", "Cress", "Winter" (Nov. 2015), "Fairest" (Jan. 2015))

My favorite stories to read -- re-imagined fairy tales. This series starts off with Cinderella as a cyborg. Yeah, with metal arms and legs and a computer brain. She falls in love with an emperor of the Eastern Commonwealth (apparently Asian countries are all friends now). The story goes pretty much the same --Cinder has an evil stepmother and stepsisters, an android friend, and she dances with the prince at the ball-- you get the picture. But that is not the end of Cinder's story. We through Red Riding Hood, Rapunzel, and Snow White's stories in the mix to get one big fairy tale.

Why I love it: I love my fairy tales and these girls are all kick-butt queens who fight for themselves and get the prince as a bonus.

Why it would make a good movie: This series goes right along with a current trend in storytelling-- fierce female heroines who are strong and many senses of the word. Think Katniss Everdeen from "Hunger Games" and Tris from "Divergent". These girls have just a touch of other worldliness and a little bit of magic. Who doesn't love that?

"The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake" by Aimee Bender

Sorry, not a series but still a good book. Rose discovers that she can taste emotions when she bites into her mother's lemon cake and feels her mother's depression. The idea of this story is fascinating, but I haven't quite figured out how tasting someone's emotions could be shown visually. That's why I bring it up. I will leave it to people who are much more skilled than I.

Why I love it: Rose's gift is connected to one of the truest truths about food -- people live in their food. The reason that I love chocolate chip cookies is because my dad makes them for our family on special occasions. Whenever I'm away from the city, I want a hot dog from Portillo's. Our hearts and lives live in the food we eat and the food we cook. This book does a fantastic job of showing that through storytelling.

Why it would make a good movie: An awesome excuse to make a new food movie. I can never get enough of those.

"Timeless" Series Alexandra Monir

("Timeless", "Timekeeper")

A fantastic time travel romance that so beats "The Time Traveler's Wife". Michele moves to her grandparents' house in New York City and finds a mysterious key that transports her to 1910. There she meets a handsome stranger, but can she learn to control this power? How can their love win against time itself? How can she live in the present and the past? 

BUM BUM BUUUUUUM!

Why I love it: I found this book as a tiny self-published e-book on my Nook, had nothing to read at the time and fell in love with this character and the romance. The author does a great job of connecting everything so that random fact that you didn't think you needed to know will become important later on.

Why it would make a good movie: The cliff hanger of the first book! It was so painful! Someone else needs to feel my pain. Also, time travel and history and romance makes for great movies.

"Witch & Wizard" Trilogy by James Patterson

("Witch & Wizard", "The Gift", "The Lost", "The Kiss", "The Fire")

I can't even begin to describe to you my love for James Patterson's writing. Every book he writes are never-ending page turns you won't be able to put down. He combines his mystery and suspense with a little bit of magic and dooms-day action. I'm just gonna leave it at that because there are so many spoilers in me saying anything about the book. But I will tell you, it's about twins who have magical powers.

Why I love it: If you're like me and have read the Harry Potter books hundreds of times but still love the characters and the magic, you will love these books. The relationship between the siblings is so honest and real. The magic is a little different from HP- no wands- but still fun.

Why it would make a good movie: Harry Potter has made so much money. It is still making money. I think one of Patterson's books should follow in the same footsteps.

Do you have any books that you want to see turned into movies?