Today is a movie freebie on Top Ten Tuesday! Here are my favorite book-to-movie adaptations.
1. Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen – I once tried reading this book but gave up two chapters in. Watching the movie changed my mind, and the book became one of my favorites of Austen’s.
2. Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy – I hated this book with a passion. The movie, on the other hand, is fantastic!
3. The Hours by Michael Cunningham – I saw this movie before I read the book, and then I read the book, thinking it would be better than the movie. Nope. Didn’t like the book at all. The movie remains my favorite to this day, though.
4. The Hunger Games series by Suzanne Collins – The adaptations of these are fantastic!
5. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte – I’ve seen lots of adaptations of this novel, though only one has made my list of favorites: the adaptation with Ruth Wilson and Toby Stephens.
6. Chocolat by Joanne Harris – Honestly, I can’t say if I like the book or movie better! The movie convinced me to try the book, though.
7. Silver Lining’s Playbook by Matthew Quick – Can I be honest? I haven’t read the book. I want to, but I’m worried the same thing will happen as when I read The Hours.
8. “Eisenheim the Illustionist” (The Illustionist) by Stephen Millhauser – The movie was adapted from a short story in this case, and so it’s far more in depth. Love this one!
9. Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke – I guess technically this is a TV series, but that counts, right? It’s not exactly the same as the book, and I do like the book better. The show/movie is good also!
10. Me Before You by Jojo Moyes – Honestly, I tried to read this once and decided nope. Recently I saw the movie and fell in love, so I’m going to be trying the book again soon!
Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by The Broke and the Bookish.
The Zen Leaf 
I agree about Anna Karenina — hated the book, but that adaptation is great (I saw it at the Drafthouse last year, a special screening served with tea and snacks!). I don’t think I’ve seen that Jane Eyre adaptation but there’s a TV version I want to watch with Ciaran Hinds (of Persuasion) and Samantha Morton, who’s good in everything. I’ve seen so many historical movies I can’t remember if I actually seen it or not!
I also liked The Illusionist, and have you seen the movie adaptation of The Prestige? I liked it so much better than the book. And I STILL haven’t seen Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell, I don’t know why. I had it saved on the DVR forever, maybe I was just never in the right mood. I should try again, the weather is just about right for it.
LikeLike
I know I haven’t seen the Prestige and honestly I can’t remember if I’ve read it. I’m going to have to look back through my archives here!
LikeLike
This is a really interesting list! I loved Anna Karenina as a book and could not stand the movie haha! But Hunger Games, Chocolat, and Silver Linings Playbook were all great adaptations! My TTT
LikeLike
How funny about Anna K!
LikeLike
Love The Hunger Games movies!
My TTT: https://jjbookblog.wordpress.com/2016/11/15/top-ten-tuesday-83/
LikeLiked by 1 person
I really like how the Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell adaptation was handled – great list! 🙂
Lauren @ Always Me
LikeLike
I know it wasn’t perfect but it was so very good!
LikeLike
I LOVE that version of Jane Eyre. My second favorite is the Timothy Dalton version, though I lost it to a friend some years ago 😦
I picked up Me Before You after seen the trailers (still haven’t seen the movie), and found myself strangely drawn in. Not usually my sort of book, but I really enjoyed the story telling and writer’s style.
LikeLike
I never saw the Timothy Dalton version. I’ll have to see if I can get my hands on it through a library or something, though that’s much harder now that I’m in Wisconsin. Sigh. As for Me Before You, I think I wasn’t clear on how short the opening was and didn’t give it long enough. The main male character is the kind of person I wouldn’t ever want to associate with, before his accident, and I didn’t get past that in the book. I’ll definitely try again!
LikeLike
The opening definitely feels different from the rest of the book. Try the first couple of chapters after that 🙂
I first watched it off Netflix. Does your library offer streaming? It may be available.
LikeLike
I doubt my library has anything of the sort. Small town. I posted a whole rant about it today on my Sunday Coffee post, actually…
LikeLike
Ugh I totally struggled through Anna Karenina too, it was rough. I didn’t watch the movie because of that, but I guess I can give it a chance now!
LikeLike
I’m glad I gave it a chance, and I begged Karen (first comment above) several times to do the same, because the two of us had similar feelings about Anna K. She finally believed me. 😀
LikeLike