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Book To Movie/TV Adaptations You Need To Watch! | 2018


This weekend I was lucky enough to get a wonderful little package through the mail for the DVD release of 'The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society'. Which if you don't know is an adaptation of a very well loved book by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows. I've heard so many amazing things about the book and I'm very excited to finally dig into it and then watch the film starring the wonderful Lily James afterwards.

You can get a hold of a copy here if your interested: (Book, DVD)

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A little bit about the book:

"I wonder how the book got to Guernsey? Perhaps there is some sort of secret homing instinct in books that brings them to their perfect readers."

January 1946: London is emerging from the shadow of the Second World War, and writer Juliet Ashton is looking for her next book subject. Who could imagine that she would find it in a letter from a man she's never met, a native of the island of Guernsey, who has come across her name written inside a book by Charles Lamb...

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So in honour of this wonderful release I thought I'd talk about some of my favourite adaptations I've seen over the years. If you've by chance not seen any of these I would highly recommend checking them out!

This very well loved book series by Jenny Han just recently got an amazing movie adaption. It's on Netflix right now, and if you only watch one of the adaptions I mention in this post, I urge that it be this one! I've already watched it too many times to count and I absolutely adore the entirety of this film. It's a rom com that you don't want to miss out on. It's fresh and so well executed! The second book in this series is my favourite so I really hope they make a sequel, also if you've watched the film and you haven't read the books. What are you doing with your life?

(Based on The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood.)

I haven't got around to reading the book yet, but the amount of praise I've heard surrounding it is overwhelming. I was actually hoping to read it before watching the adaption but my sister just so happened to put the first episode on and about five minutes in I was hooked. It feels shockingly close to home and is a really hard concept to get out of your head. Forget good adaption, it is honestly one of the best tv series' I've ever watched.

Harry Potter is my favourite movie series of all time, I love it. I can't think of any other movie or tv series that has been done even half as good as this series is. It is iconic and uniquely magical in every way. The cast of characters that fulfil the roles were the perfect choices. Given, I did only start reading the books in the last few years but honestly I cannot believe how well the actors fit the profiles of each character. My favourite movie in the series is Goblet of Fire but I adore them all. Which one is your favourite?

Love, Simon is the recent movie adaption of Simon Vs The Homo sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli. I read the book for the first time last year and I really enjoyed it. But I think I might have enjoyed the adaption even more. Nick Robinson does an amazing job in the main role, with a cast of actors around him that leave just as an amazing of an impression. It's great to finally see some current, diverse films being made. You'd think there'd be more movies surround gay main characters but sadly that's not the case. I'm just glad that the movie industry is finally catching on to how important it is to represent every kind of person no matter who they identify as romantically, sexually or even as a person.

(Based on The Vampire Diaries series by L.J. Smith.)

How could I not mention The Vampire Diaries? It's been one of my favourite shows for years and will most definitely continue to be. I read the first book after already watching the first couple of seasons and it wasn't my favourite read. But I feel like this is just a concept that translates best in a tv show form.

(Based on The Silver Linings Playbook by Matthew Quick.)

'What if your life was a movie but, somewhere along the line, you lost the plot?'

For the longest time I had a major obsession with this film. I absolutely adored it! I still haven't read the book but in my opinion the movie is excellent. The sensitive subject matter was dealt with so amazingly and I was shocked by the emotional feel the creators and actors were able to give the film. They are some of my favourite roles that I've seen Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence act in.

(Based on The Hunger Games trilogy by Suzanne Collins.)

I watched the first film and was instantly addicted. I watched it hundreds of times before the release of Catching Fire. I was one of the people who hadn't heard of the books prior to the movies so I didn't pick up the first book until afterwards. I loved the book but the film was incredible. I picked up Catching Fire hoping to read it before the release of the film but I didn't managed to finish it in time. I honestly really enjoyed what I read of the books but I liked the movies more. So if you've read the books or if you haven't, make sure you watch the films at some point if you haven't seen them because they are incredible.

(Based on The Fifth Wave by Rick Yancey.)

I know a lot of people who adore the books don't absolutely love the film. But I watched it before reading the novels and I fell in love with the characters and plot line. This adaption led me to reading the entire trilogy to see what happened next. It was the first set of books that I'd read so quickly and actually finished the whole thing. This series made me give more books a chance, which inevitably led me to my favourite series of all time which I read a few months after this.

(Based on The Twilight Saga by Stephanie Meyer.)

I know a lot of you are probably rolling your eyes, but honestly I couldn't do this list without mentioning this movie series. Based on the extremely well known novels by Stephanie Meyer the Twilight Saga has a special place in my heart. As one of the first book to movie adaptions I ever consumed, it left a long lasting impression. It's not perfection and I really don't like the first film, but I'll always enjoy returning and watching the movies. It was the beginning of the love triangle and vampire craze for me and set me on a journey through so many other stories. The Host also by Stephanie Meyer also has a movie adaption that is great so make sure you check that out if you haven't seen it yet!

(Based on the 'A Song of Ice and Fire' series by George R.R. Martin.)

I love this show! Game of Thrones is set in a medieval fantasy world and I think it's the reason that fantasy is now my favourite genre whether it's books or not. I'd not seen or read anything like this prior to watching it and I think thats why I got so addicted to the show. I acknowledge the harmful problems but I feel as though because it is so brutal it makes people think more about what is right and wrong. I couldn't see anyone watching the show and saying, "yes that is completely the right choice to make". It's problematic but it's great television. I've only read about half of the first book so I can't really compare the two but I do know that there are some big differences between the show and the books. Which I kind of like because I feel as though it would be easier to think of them as separate stories and enjoy them both. I'm going to carry on with the books soon though so I guess I'll find out.

(Based on The Mortal Instruments series by Cassandra Clare.)

I almost didn't add this one onto this list but I decided to anyway in the end. The main reason I though about not adding it is because I don't enjoy the show as an adaption. I prefer the books a lot. But if I think about it as a separate thing then I realised I really love this show. The first season is very rough around the edges but every season after that gets better and better. I really enjoyed the recent episodes I watched and I am very sad that the show will be ending soon. I'm just glad that there are still some episodes left to come. There is a movie adaption too, which I also enjoyed but at the moment I do prefer the show.

Honourable mentions: True Blood, Dexter, Bones and The Host. I haven't read any of the books that these are based on, but I couldn't miss these of the list!

Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed this post. Be sure to mention some of your favourite adaptions in the comments, I would love to know what they are! And if you could help me out by giving this post a like that would really mean a lot. Anyway I'll be back soon with another post.

- Sophie Elaina

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