10 Books That Should Be Movies - but aren't...yet

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by The Broke and The Bookish. Each week there is a new theme, and this week the theme is books' greatest frenemy - movies.



Frequently, I read a book and the whole time I am thinking

 "they HAVE to make a movie out of this!" 

The book to movie business is definitely a minefield of disappointment/ frustration/ and dead ends. In fact, through my googling I found out that many of the books listed below have been optioned to become movies, but for one reason or another are stuck somewhere in adaptation purgatory. But we can dream - so here is a list of ten books that I would LOVE to see adapted for the big screen. What books have you read that you wish you could see a movie?

Ten Books That Should Be Adapted to Film 

All The Light We Cannot See 
Anthony Doerr

I *loved* this book. And I am so in love with the idea of it being a movie! This book really has such broad appeal - there are adult characters and young adult characters, there's romance, adventure, science and more. Plus, this book is an emotional roller coaster that I think would play really well on screen! I would just love for even more people to know about this story. Unfortunately there is a bit of an oversaturation on the market at far as World War II movies go, so we shall see.

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Eleanor & Park

Rainbow Rowell

I know I am not alone on this one! Seems as though this book being made into a movie is the dream of a lot of readers. Rainbow Rowell, the author, has answered before about where an "Eleanor & Park" movie was in the production process. However, there is still nothing. All of which is totally insane to me because *come on, hollywood* this story has so much potential!!!

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A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
Betty Smith

Okay, so this is already movie as it turns out. And I need to watch it - but the last adaptation is from 1945 and I think it is due for a redo! I just love this book. "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn" is about a young girl named Francie Nolan growing up in Brooklyn, NY. The book follows her and her family as they struggle in the slums to make ends meet. Francie is such a hopeful and kind character who deals with a lot throughout the book. If you are looking for an easily accessible classic to read - I highly recommend this one!

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Beautiful Ruins 
Jess Walter

IMDB lists this one as "in development", but it's been in development since 2014...sooo... This book has such a great story, I definitely recommend it if you haven't read it yet! "Beautiful Ruins" follows an almost-love affair that begins on the Italian coast in 1962...and is rekindled in Hollywood fifty years later. I loved it and there's just so much here that would look and feel amazing on the big screen!

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Defending Jacob 
William Landay

OKAY, how is this NOT a movie? One site I found listed it as being in production for a 2018 release...but I don't know, you know what they say about believing everything you read on the iternet. This book was an amazing thrill ride that I would love to see play out on screen. I think I read it in like two days, which is saying a lot because for a book blogger, I'm also a pretty slow reader.

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Special Topics in Calamity Physics
Marisha Pessel

An "oldie", published in 2006, but a goodie! I haven't read this in a while but it definitely made an impression on me back in the day! I loved the "new girl" meets high school secret society storyline and the main character is super relateable. Blue Van Meer reminds me of a Gilmore girl. She is witty and quick with a literary or movie reference.

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Reconstructing Amelia 
Kimberly McCreight 

Another in development, womp womp. Seeing a pattern here? From some googling, it looks like Nicole Kidman was attached to the "Reconstructing Amelia" movie, which would be great! I think she is a great and I can't wait to see who they will cast as her daughter and the other girls at the school. "Reconstructing Amelia" starts with the death of Cait's daughter, Amelia. The rest of the book follows Cait as she tries to piece together the last weeks of her daughters life and how she died. It was an awesome thrill ride that I think has a lot of big screen potential!

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Everything I Never Told You 
Celeste Ng

I recently read this book, click here to read my review! Long review short, I loved this book. I definitely see this being made as an indie flick as it's more character driven and I think independent films do a better job with that. Overall, this book has a great story and I think would translate well to screen! The suspense of the murder mystery elements in the book would be fun to watch with friends, especially if you know the ending!

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Middlesex 
Jeffrey Eugenides

HBO optioned "Middlesex" in 2009, but still nothing...which is a huge bummer because I loved this book and I am thrilled that HBO has the rights. I think they would do an excellent job with this story - especially considering their most recent mini series work. Also, their content tends to allow for mature themes, which this book definitely covers!

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The Passage 
Justin Cronin

Apocolypse and "zombie" type monsters? Sign me up. The Walking Dead is super popular, and I can definitely see "The Passage" as being the movie to see for people who like that same genre. I'm rooting for Netflix to pick this one up. Stranger Things, a Netflix original, was just SO GOOD. I feel like they would do an awesome job with the at times Stephen King-y elements of this book.

and an extra, because why not!

Behind Closed Doors - B.A. Paris ---- Even though this book just released, read my review here, the rights for the book have already been purchased! And for good reason- this thriller had me on the edge of my seat the whole time and I am soooo rooting for this one to head to the big screen!







Have you read any of these books? Is there one in particular that you are rooting for to become a movie? Interested in reading any of these- just click on the image of the cover to view the book on Amazon! What other books do you wish were movies? Let me know below!