Movies You Didn't Know Were Books, Part III: Horror Edition

Hi there, everyone. I think it's time for another roundup of movies you didn't know were books, don't you? I've recently discovered some good ones, this time all in the horror genre. But first, make sure you check out the first two posts in this series here and here.

1. The Birds, based on The Birds by Daphne du Maurier.

 

Yep, that famous Alfred Hitchcock movie was based on a novella by the one and only Daphne du Maurier, whom you might know better as the author of the classic novel Rebecca. This pretty much blew my mind. Also, have you seen The Birds? It's nuts.

2. Rosemary's Baby, based on Rosemary's Baby by Ira Levin

Another famous horror movie based on a book by an apparently famous horror author. I only recently discovered Ira Levin wrote horror books, including this one. I guess he also read a sequel, which was not as well received because... well, just don't read it if you like the first one. I read the synopsis and it's pretty weird.

While we're on Ira Levin...

3. The Stepford Wives, based on The Stepford Wives by Ira Levin

 

There's also The Stepford Wives, first made into a movie in 1975, then again in 2004, which is the one I know. Man, look at that first movie poster though, huh? Creepy. The Nicole Kidman one looks kind of dumb next to it. I haven't seen or read any of these, but I feel like "Stepford wife" has become part of popular culture and people refer to it regardless of their knowledge of its origin. So, good job Ira Levin.

4. Psycho, based on Psycho by Robert Bloch

Back to Hitchcock! Psycho is based on a novel by Robert Bloch, first published in 1959.

I'm sure there are a ton of other books that were made into movies. What are some of your favorites or hidden gems?

ender's game with dad

A few years ago, when we first heard about Ender's Game being made into a movie, my dad started asking me about it.

Him: "It's a book?"
Me: "Yep. Bestseller."
Him: "Have you read it?"
Me: *pause* "Are you really asking me that?"
Him: "Oh. Right. Is it good?"

Now, my dad is not a reader. The most reading he has ever done is when he read Harry Potter 1-6 in about 3 months time. Normally he averages 1 or 2 a year. But Ender's Game caught his interest. I gave him the book, and he had it for several months. Then he saw another trailer. He picked the book up again and had it read within a few days. It's always a treat for me when I get to chat about books with my dad, since he so rarely reads. Talking about Ender's Game was great.

Then came the movie. He geeked out as much as I did. Both of us loved the movie. Not only was it a great movie alone, it was a well done adaptation of a well loved novel. My dad kept poking me during the movie, pointing out details and saying "hey! I remember that from the book!". (Yes, dad. I read it too.)

My goal was to turn my dad into a fanboy, at least for the day. And what can I say?

So what about you? Have you ever introduced a relative or a friend to something and had them love it as much as you? What was it? Or did they introduce you to something amazing?

Lori Reviews Labor Day

Title:  Labor Day
Author:  Joyce Maynard
Published:  William Morrow Publishers, 2009
Where I Got It:  Bought on my Kindle

I am a sucker for books that are being made into movies with actors or actresses that I really like.  Ever since I first saw the press for Labor Day starring Kate Winslet, I've been interested in the book.  I read a couple of summaries, but they didn't really do a good job because I didn't immediately want to buy it.  I thought that maybe I just wasn't truly interested in the story, so it was on the backburner.  Then I saw a preview for another book to movie adaptation that looked interesting (though I am decidedly neutral towards the actor in it).  As I was investigating that book, I saw that one of the recommended books was Labor Day and it was only $4, so I bought it.

I finished it in less than 24 hours.  

It seems rare that a book can so completely suck me in that I just speed through it, but that's exactly what I did.

Goodreads Summary:  With the end of summer closing in and a steamy Labor Day weekend looming in the town of Holton Mills, New Hampshire, thirteen-year-old Henry—lonely, friendless, not too good at sports—spends most of his time watching television, reading, and daydreaming about the soft skin and budding bodies of his female classmates. For company Henry has his long-divorced mother, Adele—a onetime dancer whose summer project was to teach him how to foxtrot; his hamster, Joe; and awkward Saturday-night outings to Friendly's with his estranged father and new stepfamily. As much as he tries, Henry knows that even with his jokes and his "Husband for a Day" coupon, he still can't make his emotionally fragile mother happy. Adele has a secret that makes it hard for her to leave their house, and seems to possess an irreparably broken heart.

But all that changes on the Thursday before Labor Day, when a mysterious bleeding man named Frank approaches Henry and asks for a hand. Over the next five days, Henry will learn some of life's most valuable lessons: how to throw a baseball, the secret to perfect piecrust, the breathless pain of jealousy, the power of betrayal, and the importance of putting others—especially those we love—above ourselves. And the knowledge that real love is worth waiting for.

In a manner evoking Ian McEwan's Atonement and Nick Hornby's About a Boy, acclaimed author Joyce Maynard weaves a beautiful, poignant tale of love, sex, adolescence, and devastating treachery as seen through the eyes of a young teenage boy—and the man he later becomes—looking back at an unexpected encounter that begins one single long, hot, life-altering weekend.

That really does a pretty good job of summing up the plot of the novel.

My thoughts:  I loved this writing style!  It was kind of gritty and raw and emotional and real.  It's the kind of writing style that I wish I had been able to cultivate in my days as a creative writing student.  (Maybe it has to do with the topic...)  Maynard creates an excellent sense of place and rendering of the characters.  Yes, there are how many stories about a single parent, who has a secret that makes them a bit off, living in a kind of run down house with their kid and then life changes.  But this one was different.  It was real.  The characters were vibrant and alive.  The narration really put you in the place of the novel.

Lately, I've been dealing with feelings that life isn't turning out like I had anticipated that it would.  So many things have not gone according to my pre-grad school plan.  But occasionally I remember that this is a life.  It's different and not what I had imagined, yes, but it's something that I am willing to work to maintain because it's that important to me.

I think that that is why I loved this story so much.  

Life doesn't always go the way you plan for it to, but it works itself out in ways that you can't really even imagine.  And that's OK.  Probably better, even, because who wants such a simple and bland life?  You eventually learn, like Henry, that there is more to life (and adult relationships) than fleeting connections and sex.  True and deep human connections come along so rarely that when they do, you have to hold on and fight for them and sometimes wait patiently (or impatiently).  You do things for the person you love that you wouldn't do for anyone else and that's what makes that love special and worth having.

There's that Hemingway quote--"When people talk, listen completely. Most people never listen."  This novel closes with a passage that reminds me of this:

What she will register, at least, will be the fact that she is not alone.  And it has been my experience that when you do this--slow down, pay attention, follow the simple instincts of love--a person is likely to respond favorably.  It is generally true of babies, and most other people too, perhaps.  Also dogs.  Hamsters even.  And people so damaged by life in the world that there might seem no hope for them, only there may be.

It's the millions of little things that make up and sustain relationships--not the big things.

Anyway, read it.  



Sidenote--Who else winds up reading a book if they see an actor or actress they really like is going to be in the film adaptation?  It can't be just me!

Julia Reviews Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card

Title/Author: Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card
Publisher/Year Published: 1985 by Tor
How I got this book: I was given it in an RAK
Why I read this book: I wanted to before I saw the movie, because it was supposed to be amazing.
Rating: 5 stars

For years now I have had friends, mostly people who I would consider readers but not voracious readers, telling me that I need to read Ender’s Game. As soon as I heard the movie was in production I figured I should get on that. I received the book in an RAK by coincidence a year or so ago. But still with all of this, I didn't pick the book up until I literally had one week to read it before I was planning see the movie.

Here is what I knew about Ender’s Game before starting to read:

• It’s a sci-fi series starring a young boy protagonist (named Ender) by Orson Scott Card
• Aforementioned Card is an outspoken homophobic douche canoe
• Because I didn't read it when I was a kid I would not get or connect with this book on the same level as if I would have read it as a young'un.
• Everyone gets there panties in a twist at how amazing this book is.
• Harrison Ford and the kid from Hugo and The Boy in the Striped Pajamas were going to be in the movie.
• Seriously: Douche. Canoe.

That is all I knew, which I think worked in my benefit because damn it count me among those whose panties are twisted. (Maybe I should get a better metaphor since it’s a kids book.. eh whatever).

Ender's Game is unlike any book that I have read recently. It pairs this scientific world with one that is grounded in enough reality to be familiar, but also enough differences to make it unique. Ender is six years old when this book starts off, but he isn't like any other six year old. He is abnormally smart. Well he was bred to be. You see there is a battle going on in the universe, or one is being held at bay really. There is an alien race, called buggers (because they look like bugs... sure), that moved into our solar system looking for a new place to colonize. Well we humans didn't take too kindly to that and fought them back. We won a huge battle and since then have been preparing the resistance. How? By finding the best and brightest kids to get pulled from their lives and trained to fight and command.

This book really follows Ender on his physical and emotional journey as he becomes not only one of those kids but THE one of those kids, the one who will save the world from the buggers.

What an interesting read! Like based on point three above, I really thought I was going to enjoy it but not be overwhelmed by it because of my advanced old age of 26. No I really did enjoy it. The world building was excellent. Harrison Ford in my head as one of the space trainer people was amazing, but really pulled me out of the story when they called him fat. Lol wat?

I feel like there are many more reviews around the net that talk more in depth about why this book is good, why its bad and what Card’s personal influence means in the context of the pages, but I just want to focus on the fact that I haven't been this wowed by a book in a long time. Maybe not since The Hunger Games.

It was written well, flowed pretty okay… maybe a little slowly at times but nothing noticeable. It ended in a place that lets you continue a series but still wraps up the book (one of my biggest pet peeves with fantasy series), the characters are dimensional and relatable… I can’t find anything that I don’t like about this book, really.

Since writing this and posting over at my Booklikes page, I've seen the movie, too. Book of course was better, but not for the reasons that one would think. I thought the movie suffered from being too much like the book and not making enough translations into the visual medium. It didn't give the background that it lost by not being narrated by Ender. Or the movie did have the voice over, but that doesn't make you connect with a character like it does when you are reading it. Ender just came across as robotic. It was an okay movie, but I not one I would see again.

I am sad I took so long to read this, but glad that I finally did. If you haven’t yet and enjoy adventure stories with a moral and philosophical commentary on humanity in them, seriously give this one a read. Put aside Card’s asshatery for a second and read it. If you feel bad about giving him money, go to a second hand store or donate double what you paid to an LGBT group or something. It’s worth your time.

Anna Karenina Fans?

We've got a fun giveaway for you! It's no secret that lately the big buzz in book to movie adaptation is Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy -- which came out November 30! It's one of those books that I've read and put down numerous times but I'm vowing to read it so I can see it while it's still in theaters. I was automatically excited about it because I LOVE Focus Features as they've produced some movies I really loved (Match Point, Lost in Translation, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind anyone?). And naturally I have an interest in book to movie adaptations. 

So, this is what we've got for you!

PRIZING

Two (2) winners will receive:

·         Copy of the book (movie tie-in edition)
·         Official Soundtrack
·         Votivo Candle with Bookmark

 If you haven't seen it yet, check out the trailer!

You can also: 

Visit the official website

Like Anna Karenina on Facebook  

To Enter The Giveaway:

  - Leave a comment with your email to enter! Tell us something -- if you read/liked the book, what you thought if you've seen the movie,  if you think they'll do a good adaptation, etc. Anything related to this particular book/movie or maybe your fave classic book to movie adaptation.

- US Only.
- Giveaway ends 12/9.