Top Ten Books That Should Be Movies

Top Ten Tuesday is a meme brought to  you by The Broke and the Bookish, which I endeavour to participate in regularly!

In my last week of summer holidays before going to work at a new school, i have been catching up on books, TV shows and movies that I have missed throughout the year. A lot of these movies in particular have been very much not worth the wait, or adaptations of much loved books that have not had that same level of love translated into their big screen outings. So for this week’s top ten, I thought I’d go with books that should be adapted (but only if they are done so exquisitely).

 

1. The Great Zoo of China by Matthew Reilly
2. The Jack West Jr. series of books by Matthew Reilly
3. The Scarecrow series by Matthew Reilly
   Matthew Reilly is one of if not my favourite Australian author. His books are fast paced and yet meaty, full of events, characters and creatures that are both fantastical and grounded heavily in reality. Without any spoilers, his most recent book (The Great Zoo of China) lends itself perfectly to being adapted (provided Reilly himself writes the screenplay). If we are getting a new Jurassic Park movie this year, we can certainly get a Great Zoo of China film made, surely! In my opinion, there is only one thing better than a zoo full of dinosaurs, and Reilly brings them to light so vividly in this book. His books have helped me pass on bits of my passion for reading to the unsuspecting teenage boys I have taught, and i would love to be able to watch his stories unfold in IMAX.
4. Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West by Gregory Maguire
   As much as I adore the musical (and believe me, the girl who went to see it five times in a couple of months when they were last in town), the book has a lot of social, political, religious and psychological notes beyond being merely a story about two best friends. Hopefully in a TV series that allows the exploration of these themes fully. Say yes, Netflix!
5. The (complete) Percy Jackson series by Rick Riordan
6. The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel series by Michael Scott
   Both these series bring to life mythological beings. While there are two movies based on the first two Percy Jackson books, for me they missed out so many of the details, hidden clues to future mysteries and inside jokes that i love about the series. The Nicholas Flamel books encompass a much wider universe with any and every mythological figure you could imagine, reinterpreted in new yet familiar and educational ways.
7. Anna and the French Kiss series by Stephanie Perkins
   Read these three books ths past week, loved them in a way that a 24 year old girl may be too old to. FYI, my favourite is Anna though my favourite boy is Cricket.
8. The Heather Wells series by Meg Cabot
   Murder mysteries in a Meg Cabot world? A thousand times yes!
9. The Inheritance Cycle (properly!) by Christopher Paolini
   Like Percy Jackson, Eragon was made into a movie, but again it missed a LOT of what the books do best. I will go nuts for anything to do with dragons, and yet it sill wasn’t enough for me.
10. The Cormoran Strike novels by *cough* Robert Galbraith
    I highly doubt this series will stay off the screen for very long, given the author.

What books of series do you want to see made int movies or a TV show? What are your TTT lists for this week?

Happy reading!
Love,
Andrea