7 books you must read before they are movies
The year is about to get super crazy with all the holidays but you need to take a few breaks. And what better way to take a break then with a great read? Especially one that is going to be a major motion picture soon because then you get to say to all your friends, “The movie was good, but not as good as the book, which I read!” They will all be so impressed. Plus, these all make for great gifts! Get excited for these great books that will hopefully turn out to be pretty good movies!
How To Be Single, Liz Tucillo
Oh my gosh. This has wildly successful romcom written all over it. The book is about Manhattanite Julie who goes around the world to study the dating habits of women in different countries while her fellow New Yorkers also try to find love. The adorable Lily Collins and Alison Brie have already been cast and Drew Barrymore has signed on to produce. Umm can we say awesome!
Unbroken, Laura Hillenbrand
Better read this one quickly as it comes out on Christmas. The book by Seabiscuit author Hillenbrand is based on the true story of World War II hero Louis “Louie” Zamperini, an Olympic-runner-turned-Army-pilot who becomes a prisoner of war. And man what a story. The trailer looks fantastic and get this, it’s directed by Angelina Jolie.
Why We Broke Up, Daniel Handler
Oscar nominee Hailee Steinfeld books her first big YA role in this popular book. She will play Min (short for Minerva) Green in the film adaptation of Daniel Handler (who usually goes by Lemony Snicket)’s book. It reads as a really long letter from Min to her ex, Ed Slaterton, that accompanies a box of all the memorabilia she gathered over the course of their relationship. Not exactly The Hunger Games but sounds like it could be pretty funny.
The Zookeeper’s Wife, Diane Ackerman
This sounds amazing and do not confuse it with the less than great film We Bought A Zoo. Written by the poet and naturalist Diane Ackerman, it relies on the unpublished diary of Antonina Żabińska, recounting the true story of how she and her husband, Jan Żabiński, director of the Warsaw Zoo, saved the lives of 300 Jews who had been imprisoned in the Warsaw Ghetto following the German invasion of Poland on September 1, 1939. This has movie written all for it! According to The Hollywood Reporter, Academy Award nominee Jessica Chastain has signed on to play the title character. Antonina Zabinski managed to protect a mix of humans and surviving animals co-residing in this very unique situation.
Three Little Words, Ashley Rhodes-Courter
Get ready to cry. Reese Witherspoon and Amanda Seyfried are set to star in the film version of this book about a girl who bounces from abusive foster home to foster home in Florida until an unpaid volunteer helps her.
Where’d You Go, Bernadette?, Maria Semple
This hilarious but sometimes heartbreaking novel about a rather atypical mother and the daughter looking for her after she goes missing will make for a great comedy (the author was a writer for the great Arrested Development). No word on the casting yet (though Julianne Moore would be great) but the writers of (500) Days of Summer have signed on for the screenplay.
Wild, Cheryl Strayed
Cheryl Strayed is having her it moment and for good reason. “Wild”, which will come out as a movie this fall starring Reese Witherspoon, is about one woman’s incredible journey (that is a true story) to find herself again. At the age off 22, Strayed lost her mother, her true rock, to cancer. Overcome with grief she falls into a devastating downward spiral which leads to the dissolution of her marriage and drug abuse. She ends up deciding that the way to get her life back on track is to hike the 2,650-mile Pacific Crest Trail, a challenge for even the most skilled of hikers. It is an incredible journey for both her and the reader that challenges every bone in her body (you may never complain about uncomfortable shoes after reading this) and confronts all her emotions.
