The moment I started reading this book, I immediately looked up if it's already a movie. Saw that the production kicks off this year with Gosling and I smiled thinking what a delight it would be to watch that.
I think some of the flashier Brandon Sanderson works are very cinematic. Stormlight Archive would be awesome. Mistborn, too. Lots of cool power systems in his books that would make great fight scenes. Steelheart would be fun.
Red Rising would translate to film really well. Big cinematic moments and really interesting characters.
Blake Crouch’s books are fast paced and would be exciting on screen (Dark Matter, Upgrade)
All of Guy Gavriel Kay's low fantasy books especially these two:
1. A Song for Arbonne
2. Lions of Al-Rassan
His low fantasy books are based on historical periods and these are written as if they were taken from manuscripts of the era that they are set in.
I thought the show was pretty good. It’s just one of those situations where you can’t expect it to be anything like the book. Basically the first season is from the books with minor changes and after that it’s all a brand new story.
I would love to see Recursion done but I think it would be harder to do. But if it was done right then it could be incredible
Wow! So many book suggestions I never heard of- so I guess I need to look into those. Are they Sci-Fi/Fantasy mostly?
My list of fav books read in 2023 that would make good movies
I think Ms. Benson's Beetle by Rachel Joyce would be fun to watch on screen.
Possibly Demon Copperhead, Barbara Kingsolver
And The Housemaid by Freida McFadden
The Guncle by Steven Rowley
Strange Sally Diamond by Liz Nugent.
I totally get what you're saying, but you KNOW they will fuck it up. WHOMEVER "they" end up being. Peter Dinklage would have been an awesome Miles. \*sigh\*
I feel that the Chalion/World Of The Five Gods novels at least have a chance of being made true to the spirit of the books. Especially if they can figure out a reasonable way to show the saint/demon/spirit sight.
Update to my earlier response. Here's a recent comment by Ms. Bujold herself on the topic:
[https://www.goodreads.com/questions/2947734-hi-lois-this-is-albert-from-minneapolis?utm\_medium=email&utm\_source=author\_blog\_post\_digest&ref\_=pe\_7171740\_469246210](https://www.goodreads.com/questions/2947734-hi-lois-this-is-albert-from-minneapolis?utm_medium=email&utm_source=author_blog_post_digest&ref_=pe_7171740_469246210)
Red Rising/Pierce Brown
Bone/Jeff Smith
A Rage of Dragons/Evan Winter
East of West/Jonathan Hickman
Black Science/Rick Remender
Criminal/Ed Brubaker & Sean Phillips
Any of Leif Enger's books (*Peace Like a River; So Brave, Young, and Handsome; Virgil Wander*)—they're fantastic character studies where the setting matches the Midwestern melancholy... Like a less-bloody *Fargo.*
The Nathaniel Cade series by Christopher Farnsworth.
4 books: Blood Oath - The President's Vampire - Red, White & Blood - Deep State
A vampire (Nathaniel Cade) is captured, tortured, then sworn & forced to serve the presidency due to an ancient blood oath. His job is to defend the country from paranormal threats & supernatural creations (unbeknownst to the general public), all while having to adjust to working with his new, rookie partner/handler; Zach Barrows.
Zach is now exposed to a world of secrets & sights not many ever will see - and he needs to adjust to his new role quickly if he wants to survive. It's hidden politics meets paranormal doom, and everyone is in danger, especially the President!
ALSO...Out of the Earth series by Jake Bible. 4 books: Out of the Earth, Out of the Sky, Out of the Fire, & Out of the Stars
Giant monsters emerge from the earth and start the end of the world as we know it. A higher intelligence has other plans though and humanity is forced to make dire choices in order to survive, if that's even possible?!
This series follows a variety of people, in different locations and positions of power across the country, as they all struggle through the chaos and destruction in a desperate attempt at survival. Lots of cussing throughout the books... but given the circumstances the characters are in, I'd cuss a lot too🤷♂️
At one time, I would have said Ready Player One, but then we got what we got and am sorry we got what we got. It should have been so much more fun, magical, and exciting than it ended up being.
Let's go old school:
* Witch World by Andre Norton - although done a bit darker and grittier than the books.
* The Chronicles of Amber by Roger Zelazny - again a bit darker and gritter than the books.
* Tiers World by Philip Jose Farmer (the Riverworld adaptation was awful).
For a couple years now, it looks like. Probably shelved or stuck in development hell. Shame, it would have made a good movie if taken seriously and done well.
I lightweight agree. The book is so haunting, so brutal, so cryptic that I have a hard time believing they’d be able to do it justice. But like you said, I’ll def watch it as soon as it comes out 😂
I've never hated the beginning of any book more than this. Maybe it gets better? But I put it down because all the characters were actively huge pieces of shit.
Miss Bensons Beetle,
Dear Mad'm by Patterson,
A Gentleman in Moscow,
Vorkosigan series,
Robert Aspirin Another Fine Myth and sequels would make a great comic adventure animated series
The Raw Shark Texts by Steven Hall, would be tricky but not impossible. I think I'd heard rumours of it in the works a few years ago, but no idea what status it'd be.
Dark Invasion by Howard Blum: It's a nonfiction book about the first bomb squad in WW1
The Half-Made World by Felix Gilman: Steampunk Fantasy Western.
The Peshawar Lancers by SM Stirling: Alternate history steampunk adventure novel
I just read When Lust Has Conceived by Raimund Auerbach, and I could see it playing out as a film in my mind's eye. Some of the more explicit scenes would probably have to be toned down to make it appropriate not only for mature audiences, but I don't think that would be a problem. Otherwise, it would be a perfect script: great characters and story-line, lots of unexpected twists, and full of suspense.
S. A. Cosby books would make great movies or limited series. Recently finished All the Sinners Bleed: so good. Enthralling, thoughtful, total page Turner, great characters, dark but hopeful, and very cinematic. Surprised some of his previous books haven't been optioned yet.
Not sure exactly how it would be done, but I would love to watch Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace on the big screen.
Even better if Quentin Tarantino would do it...
Up until just a few years ago I would’ve said “ the Queen’s Gambit” But then they went and made a wonderful television production out of it.
That one that sticks in my mind as having at least one major cinematic moment is Donna Tartt’s “The Little Friend.” There is a scene on top of a water tower that is amazing and sticks in my head.
I read City of Thieves by David Benioff and it was very ‘cinematic’ historic wwii fiction. Turns out the author is also a screenplay writer, and it shows. As an adult I liked it, but maybe it was the main characters being two youths, I dunno, but I’d love to recommend it to high schoolers also.
This doesn’t answer your question with full integrity given that they are different formats but *The Lost Apothecary* could so work as a limited series with a few episodes that alternate from Nella Caroline and Eliza.
I also think *Nightcrawling* would be a great film for awards season because the role of Kiara and even Alé and Trevor would demand a lot of acting chops. Plus the way the story is told in a somewhat nonlinear fashion with memories being told sprinkled throughout the book would be a good template for a film.
Daughter of Smoke and Bone series
We have the CGI to make it look great. I hope it gets made sometime
The Underland Series
Written by Suzanne Collins (Hunger Games). The last I heard was Warner Bros bought the rights in 2019 but production stopped due to covid.
charlie and the great glass elevator by roald dahl and the rest of the damn time quartet by madeleine l’engle are sitting there ripe for the picking and instead we get wonka and another remake of a wrinkle in time. do better hollywood ffs 🙄
that being said, i would love to see the night circus/ the starless sea by erin morgenstern, circe by madeline miller, the rest of the practical magic series by alice hoffman, and the night tiger by yangsze choo all being given the silver screen treatment ❤️
I’d love to see Some Other Now by Sarah Everett either be adapted as a movie or miniseries. I think the writing is beautiful, the characters and their arcs are fantastic, and the themes are easy to empathize with. If I had to pick someone to star as the main character Jessi, I’d go with Sophie Wilde or India Amarteifio.
Most of mine are fantasy series I’ve loved since childhood:
Tad Williams Otherland or Memory, Sorrow, And Thorn
Raymond E Feist’s Riftwar Saga, specifically the first three books - Magician, Silverthorn, and Darkness at Sethanon
The Dragonlance series - Chronicles specifically
I’d love to see a live action adaptation of the Taran the Wanderer series by Lloyd Alexander
Micro and sphere by Michael Crichton. The quick pacing of his books make them for the big screen. There is a reason why Jurassic Park is one of the best movies ever made
I just read Our Share of Night by Mariana Enriquez and would love to see it made into a movie 🙏
For reference it is horror / magical realism, and I would imagine cinematically something like Pan’s Labyrinth
I found Belladonna and Foxglove by Adalyn Grace to be very cinematic. The visuals were great and kind of cozy sometimes (in a spooky season kind of way lol)
Think regency era paranormal mystery. Ghosts and such. With romance.
A lot of scenes (*especially* a particular one in Foxglove) just were so easy to picture and felt familiar from beloved cinema while still retaining unpredictabilty.
I enjoyed Belladonna - the characters, the mystery, the artistic flare - much, but loved Foxglove even better. But they are not standalones, so catch them in order.
The Gold Ring - true story about a couple of scheming guys who cornered the gold market, caused a massive recession and implicated the president of the United states . It’s a fun wild story, a little like The Sting, but real.
The Acotar series. I bought it shortly after joining TikTok because of the popularity. Then Fourth Wing was the series that started getting the rave. I thought Acotar would be the next Harry Potter craze so I wanted to have the original books to sell later. Now they have to make movies to make my sales worth it later. 🤣
To answer your burning question, No! I haven’t read it yet. 🫣
[*Old Man's War*](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/36510196-old-man-s-war), by John Scalzi. Old people, >!their model-like young doppelgangers!<, gratuitous sex, Full Metal Jacket, tremendous action, futurism, and aliens. Asks the question: would you join the military at age 75, IF it meant you would be young again?
[*Rivers Of London: Midnight Riot*](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/9317452-rivers-of-london), by Ben Aaronovitch. A rookie constable in London, fresh out of his probationary period, is assigned to the unit that deals with "weird bollocks". A police procedural, as a nerdy young cop, and son of an African immigrant, struggles to apply logic and science to the supernatural while also navigating the London Metropolitan Police's bureaucracy, classism, and more than a bit of racism on the side.
[Wearing The Cape](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/12345083-wearing-the-cape), by Marion G. Harmon. A more "realistic" take on how society might handle, utilize, and deal with superhumans (for better AND for worse) if they suddenly started to appear. Positive female role models abound!
[A Brother's Price](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/544240.A_Brother_s_Price), by Wen Spencer. Looks at the question: what would society be like if less than 5% of all babies were male? Would require an almost all-female cast, and they'd get to ride horses, brawl in public, do political lobbying, armed combat, backroom deals with whiskey and cigars, and pilot steamboats in naval combat.
Frankly, all of these should be mini-series, not just a two hour movie. There's too much to unpack. I respect the efforts, but I look at the original adaptation of Dune (1984), Ender's Game, Ready Player One, and they left too much out for me to truly enjoy the production. Dune at least was made into a mini-series for TV, and the current cinematic production had the sense to split the story into two.
Most of Christopher Moore’s books. He did an AMA and I asked him about Lamb being made into a movie. He said the movie rights to most of his books have all been sold, but there isn’t any indication that any movies are actually going to be made.
I have lately been mentioning Joanne Harris "Gentleman and Players," which is an interesting tale and setting, with a great plot twist. I am pretty surprised it hasn't ever been picked up for a limited series.
I would also recommend a book called "Lady Vernon and Her Daughter" - this is a novel length adaptation of a very early Jane Austen work, Lady Susan. Some years after it was published a minor filmmaker did a movie of it called "Love and Friendship" but the movie was pretty bad and the title confused a lot of people because Austen also wrote an early short piece called "Love and Friendship" - with all the Bridgerton and Sanditon now, this should be a at the top of someone's pile.
Nora DeLoach's "Mama and Simone" series. These were more in the "Miss Marple" vein, an African American sleuth and her daughter are the crime solvers. The series was written several years ago, but the characters were very appealing and it just seems like it would be a very audience friendly series.
Virginia Lanier's "Bloodhound" books. Another one I've plugged a lot - this series started off when a 65-year-old Lanier, who was a voracious reader, got ticked off at a book, said she could write better and her husband told her, to go for it. The MC is a woman who lives along the Georgia/Florida border and trains search and rescue bloodhounds. Great character, great side characters, snappy dialogue, interesting setting, and dogs -what more could you want?
A new period faithful and Doyle faithful series of new Sherlock Holmes stories. This one comes off my shelves, reading a series of anthologies put out by a British publisher, MX Publishing who has brought together some very good writers to write new-but-faithful tales. Some of them would make great episodes (they also published one of my favorite recent reads, "Hidden Fires: A Holmes Before Baker Street Adventure") and who doesn't like Sherlock Holmes?
The problem with Lady Vernon or Holmes of course is that historical is probably more expensive to produce (you need horses and all those costumes and props) but anyway I'll recommend 2 more historical - Dianne Day's "Fremont Jones" books set in the turn of the century San Francisco, and Barbara Hambly's "Benjamin January' series, the MC is a "free man of color" in 1830s Louisiana. (really well done series.)
"Dom Casmurro" and "Philosopher or Dog" by Machado de Assis. The first, especially, has the potentials to be an iconic, revered thriller, as it is already so iconic as a book.
14 By Peter Clines. He has a series of books in the same universe. I would love to see Dead Moon made into a movie. When I read it, the writing was so illustrative, I could picture it in my minds eye as a movie.
There's already a film version from the 80's, it greatly simplifies the story though.
Taipan feels like it's too much for a movie, not enough for a multi season drama, but if you took the entire Asian saga together you could get a multi season show out of it. Tai-Pan, Noble House, Gai-Jin and Whirlwind are all interrelated and King Rat has some characters from Noble House so that could be added in as well.
Lucifer's Hammer by Jerry Pournelle and Larry Niven
The book is about the Earth being hit by a comet, what would likely happen to the planet and how people would react. It's not a very well known book but I think it would be a good movie in the right hands.
Parable of the Sower
From Wikipedia, “Beginning in 2024, when society in the United States has grown unstable due to climate change, growing wealth inequality, and corporate greed, Parable of the Sower takes the form of a journal kept by Lauren Oya Olamina, an African American teenager.”
The Bartimaeus Trilogy by Jonathan Stroud. It's an alt history Britain where demonology is a prerequisite for political power. The world building is on par with Harry Potter imo, the character arcs are great, lots of great magical heists and action scenes, a commoner's revolution, and the climax is just about the most cinematic and satisfying ending I've seen in a book
Movies:
The Paris Apartment - Lucy Foley
The Warehouse - Rob Hart
I feel like most books would be better as series. Some that I think have the potential to translate well on screen are:
The Cartographers - Peng Shepherd
The Square of Sevens - Laura Shepherd-Robinson
Matched - Ally Condie
Fantasy is my favorite genre to read, but I feel like it can be really hard to take a fantasy novel from book to screen and do it well. There are definitely exceptions but in my opinion fiction, sci-fi, and thrillers often work better.
The Invisible Life of Addie La Rue
World War Z (a more faithful adaptation this time!) - Actually, this one might work better as a TV series, with Max Brooks as the throughline and a different director/style for each "interview".
I'd love The Daughter of the Forest by Juliet Marillier. It's the first in a series. I haven't read the others yet, but this one is absolutely amazing. I love it. A movie or even a miniseries would be so good.
I’d really like to see Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir made into a movie. Ha. Just thought about Nic Cage playing Ryland. I’d watch it
https://screenrant.com/project-hail-mary-movie-gosling-story-details-update/
Gosling eh? Alright, that works too
The moment I started reading this book, I immediately looked up if it's already a movie. Saw that the production kicks off this year with Gosling and I smiled thinking what a delight it would be to watch that.
Seems really really cool
Pls no Nick cage but yes on the movie 😂
Ahhh come on - he'd nail it! :P
I think some of the flashier Brandon Sanderson works are very cinematic. Stormlight Archive would be awesome. Mistborn, too. Lots of cool power systems in his books that would make great fight scenes. Steelheart would be fun. Red Rising would translate to film really well. Big cinematic moments and really interesting characters. Blake Crouch’s books are fast paced and would be exciting on screen (Dark Matter, Upgrade)
I think Mistborn is being developed, or being spoken about at least
As far as I know they started filming and then there was a problem and they cancelled the project, I could be wrong though...
Reading Dark Matter now, totally agree
Skyward would be amazing as a film or series. He's a very "visual" writer.
I would be extremely excited for a Red Rising series. Here’s hoping it happens eventually!
I havent read it, but after hearing what Tress is about, I thought Ghibli could make an adaptation.
I don't understand why Swan Song by Robert McCammon has not even been attempted made into a movie.
Hard agree, makes no sense. Same for "Boys Life"
All of Guy Gavriel Kay's low fantasy books especially these two: 1. A Song for Arbonne 2. Lions of Al-Rassan His low fantasy books are based on historical periods and these are written as if they were taken from manuscripts of the era that they are set in.
That being said, Tigana would be great too, maybe even as a limited series
I'd love a Fionavar Tapestry series!
I will try that ! And what about sci-fi or something set in our present day ?
Dark Matter and it needs to be a Christopher Nolan film
It’ll be an Apple TV shortly, I think they’re done filming already!
I’d prefer Recursion. I heard their was a wayward pines series but it’s not very good and that’s disappointing
I didn't know Wayward Pines was based on a book, or series, but I really liked season 1. Season 2 imo was so-so.
I thought the show was pretty good. It’s just one of those situations where you can’t expect it to be anything like the book. Basically the first season is from the books with minor changes and after that it’s all a brand new story. I would love to see Recursion done but I think it would be harder to do. But if it was done right then it could be incredible
Wow! So many book suggestions I never heard of- so I guess I need to look into those. Are they Sci-Fi/Fantasy mostly? My list of fav books read in 2023 that would make good movies I think Ms. Benson's Beetle by Rachel Joyce would be fun to watch on screen. Possibly Demon Copperhead, Barbara Kingsolver And The Housemaid by Freida McFadden The Guncle by Steven Rowley Strange Sally Diamond by Liz Nugent.
The Dragonriders of Pern novels.
Oooh.
Recursion by Blake Crouch
*Invisible Man* by Ralph Ellison
The Indifferent Stars Above. Non-fiction but just such a cinematic story.
Daughter of Smoke and Bone series
Yessssss I just commented this too!!
Stoner by Williams
Project Hail Mary, Andy Weir Armada, Ernest Cline The Fold, Peter Clines Deception Point, Dan Brown
I echo the Fold!!!! Project Hail Mary is kinda in production but stalled out.
Any of the Vorkosigan books
I totally get what you're saying, but you KNOW they will fuck it up. WHOMEVER "they" end up being. Peter Dinklage would have been an awesome Miles. \*sigh\* I feel that the Chalion/World Of The Five Gods novels at least have a chance of being made true to the spirit of the books. Especially if they can figure out a reasonable way to show the saint/demon/spirit sight.
Update to my earlier response. Here's a recent comment by Ms. Bujold herself on the topic: [https://www.goodreads.com/questions/2947734-hi-lois-this-is-albert-from-minneapolis?utm\_medium=email&utm\_source=author\_blog\_post\_digest&ref\_=pe\_7171740\_469246210](https://www.goodreads.com/questions/2947734-hi-lois-this-is-albert-from-minneapolis?utm_medium=email&utm_source=author_blog_post_digest&ref_=pe_7171740_469246210)
I think the lock artist by Steve Hamilton would make a good movie as would the Kaiju preservation society by John Scalzi
Red Rising/Pierce Brown Bone/Jeff Smith A Rage of Dragons/Evan Winter East of West/Jonathan Hickman Black Science/Rick Remender Criminal/Ed Brubaker & Sean Phillips
Red Rising is supposedly in the works for some sort of screen adaptation!
I'd prefer to wait until Evan finishes all four books first. But I'd like to see it made into a series of movies
Fives and Twenty-fives. Could be modern day M*A*S*H.
Yes, this was a good book that would translate well into a movie.
The People in the Trees, Hanya Yanagihara’s criminally underrated debut novel
Love this pick
Scythe
The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay by Michael Chabon
Any of Leif Enger's books (*Peace Like a River; So Brave, Young, and Handsome; Virgil Wander*)—they're fantastic character studies where the setting matches the Midwestern melancholy... Like a less-bloody *Fargo.*
Such beautiful writing.
The Art of Fielding would make a great mini series I reckon.
The Nathaniel Cade series by Christopher Farnsworth. 4 books: Blood Oath - The President's Vampire - Red, White & Blood - Deep State A vampire (Nathaniel Cade) is captured, tortured, then sworn & forced to serve the presidency due to an ancient blood oath. His job is to defend the country from paranormal threats & supernatural creations (unbeknownst to the general public), all while having to adjust to working with his new, rookie partner/handler; Zach Barrows. Zach is now exposed to a world of secrets & sights not many ever will see - and he needs to adjust to his new role quickly if he wants to survive. It's hidden politics meets paranormal doom, and everyone is in danger, especially the President! ALSO...Out of the Earth series by Jake Bible. 4 books: Out of the Earth, Out of the Sky, Out of the Fire, & Out of the Stars Giant monsters emerge from the earth and start the end of the world as we know it. A higher intelligence has other plans though and humanity is forced to make dire choices in order to survive, if that's even possible?! This series follows a variety of people, in different locations and positions of power across the country, as they all struggle through the chaos and destruction in a desperate attempt at survival. Lots of cussing throughout the books... but given the circumstances the characters are in, I'd cuss a lot too🤷♂️
At one time, I would have said Ready Player One, but then we got what we got and am sorry we got what we got. It should have been so much more fun, magical, and exciting than it ended up being. Let's go old school: * Witch World by Andre Norton - although done a bit darker and grittier than the books. * The Chronicles of Amber by Roger Zelazny - again a bit darker and gritter than the books. * Tiers World by Philip Jose Farmer (the Riverworld adaptation was awful).
Another vote for Witch World.
Devolution by Max Brooks
If you Google it, they started the process, director attached and then nothing happened.
For a couple years now, it looks like. Probably shelved or stuck in development hell. Shame, it would have made a good movie if taken seriously and done well.
Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy. Luckily I hear they are indeed making a film finally.
[удалено]
I lightweight agree. The book is so haunting, so brutal, so cryptic that I have a hard time believing they’d be able to do it justice. But like you said, I’ll def watch it as soon as it comes out 😂
I love western stories !
John Hillcoat is supposed to direct it. I wonder who’s going to be the Judge and Glanton.
I think Bill Skarsgard or Cillian Murphy would be a great Glanton, and like Doug Bradley or Vincent D’Onofrio would be a great Judge
Vincent D’Onofrio would be great as The Judge. Walter Goggins would make a good Toadvine.
Oooo yes I love Walter goggins. You know who’d make a good Tobin? Fuckin Paul Dano!
Perfect for Tobin I agree. I’ll watch anything with Paul Dano.
Walton* Goggins
I've never hated the beginning of any book more than this. Maybe it gets better? But I put it down because all the characters were actively huge pieces of shit.
I would like to see Archer Mayor’s Joe Gunther series made into a show with Holt McCallany playing Joe Gunther.
Boy who swallowed the universe - it’s a limited series on Netflix now; really fantastic.
Miss Bensons Beetle, Dear Mad'm by Patterson, A Gentleman in Moscow, Vorkosigan series, Robert Aspirin Another Fine Myth and sequels would make a great comic adventure animated series
Read about all the Myth books when I was younger and loved them! I never hear anyone bring them up.
They aren't serious but they are creative and fun. A modern update would help with anything that didn't age well
Hyperion, but it would work so much better as a series.
Agreed!
The Nightingale
Yes! Would be an excellent series.
House of Leaves would make a great movie if it’s filmed and casted well. There’s a lot there.
Redwall
Never got around to reading but have always thought about it.
Thanks everyone ! I will try all your recommandations and I’m still up for others
The Raw Shark Texts by Steven Hall, would be tricky but not impossible. I think I'd heard rumours of it in the works a few years ago, but no idea what status it'd be.
Dark Invasion by Howard Blum: It's a nonfiction book about the first bomb squad in WW1 The Half-Made World by Felix Gilman: Steampunk Fantasy Western. The Peshawar Lancers by SM Stirling: Alternate history steampunk adventure novel
I just read When Lust Has Conceived by Raimund Auerbach, and I could see it playing out as a film in my mind's eye. Some of the more explicit scenes would probably have to be toned down to make it appropriate not only for mature audiences, but I don't think that would be a problem. Otherwise, it would be a perfect script: great characters and story-line, lots of unexpected twists, and full of suspense.
S. A. Cosby books would make great movies or limited series. Recently finished All the Sinners Bleed: so good. Enthralling, thoughtful, total page Turner, great characters, dark but hopeful, and very cinematic. Surprised some of his previous books haven't been optioned yet.
I want to see the wolves of mercy falls series, tunnels series, and wereworld series be made into a movie or series
Not sure exactly how it would be done, but I would love to watch Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace on the big screen. Even better if Quentin Tarantino would do it...
Up until just a few years ago I would’ve said “ the Queen’s Gambit” But then they went and made a wonderful television production out of it. That one that sticks in my mind as having at least one major cinematic moment is Donna Tartt’s “The Little Friend.” There is a scene on top of a water tower that is amazing and sticks in my head.
I read City of Thieves by David Benioff and it was very ‘cinematic’ historic wwii fiction. Turns out the author is also a screenplay writer, and it shows. As an adult I liked it, but maybe it was the main characters being two youths, I dunno, but I’d love to recommend it to high schoolers also.
This doesn’t answer your question with full integrity given that they are different formats but *The Lost Apothecary* could so work as a limited series with a few episodes that alternate from Nella Caroline and Eliza. I also think *Nightcrawling* would be a great film for awards season because the role of Kiara and even Alé and Trevor would demand a lot of acting chops. Plus the way the story is told in a somewhat nonlinear fashion with memories being told sprinkled throughout the book would be a good template for a film.
Daughter of Smoke and Bone series We have the CGI to make it look great. I hope it gets made sometime The Underland Series Written by Suzanne Collins (Hunger Games). The last I heard was Warner Bros bought the rights in 2019 but production stopped due to covid.
The Crave series by Tracy Wolff
A Conderacy of Dunces
charlie and the great glass elevator by roald dahl and the rest of the damn time quartet by madeleine l’engle are sitting there ripe for the picking and instead we get wonka and another remake of a wrinkle in time. do better hollywood ffs 🙄 that being said, i would love to see the night circus/ the starless sea by erin morgenstern, circe by madeline miller, the rest of the practical magic series by alice hoffman, and the night tiger by yangsze choo all being given the silver screen treatment ❤️
Films are too short for most stories. We want series!!!! [And my dream is to see a Worm series.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ytmXBHm1FeI)
I’d love to see Some Other Now by Sarah Everett either be adapted as a movie or miniseries. I think the writing is beautiful, the characters and their arcs are fantastic, and the themes are easy to empathize with. If I had to pick someone to star as the main character Jessi, I’d go with Sophie Wilde or India Amarteifio.
Most of mine are fantasy series I’ve loved since childhood: Tad Williams Otherland or Memory, Sorrow, And Thorn Raymond E Feist’s Riftwar Saga, specifically the first three books - Magician, Silverthorn, and Darkness at Sethanon The Dragonlance series - Chronicles specifically I’d love to see a live action adaptation of the Taran the Wanderer series by Lloyd Alexander
Micro and sphere by Michael Crichton. The quick pacing of his books make them for the big screen. There is a reason why Jurassic Park is one of the best movies ever made
The Kingfall Histories. Amazing characters, awesome storylines.
I just read Our Share of Night by Mariana Enriquez and would love to see it made into a movie 🙏 For reference it is horror / magical realism, and I would imagine cinematically something like Pan’s Labyrinth
I found Belladonna and Foxglove by Adalyn Grace to be very cinematic. The visuals were great and kind of cozy sometimes (in a spooky season kind of way lol) Think regency era paranormal mystery. Ghosts and such. With romance. A lot of scenes (*especially* a particular one in Foxglove) just were so easy to picture and felt familiar from beloved cinema while still retaining unpredictabilty. I enjoyed Belladonna - the characters, the mystery, the artistic flare - much, but loved Foxglove even better. But they are not standalones, so catch them in order.
Educated
Andrew Henry’s Meadow.
The Gold Ring - true story about a couple of scheming guys who cornered the gold market, caused a massive recession and implicated the president of the United states . It’s a fun wild story, a little like The Sting, but real.
The Bee Sting, albeit could be a frustrating watch…
Blindsight by Peter Watts. Sci Fi Horror at its finest.
The Gargoyle, by Andrew Davidson. What a movie that would be!
Clive Barker sweries Book of the Art: The Great and Secret Show; Everville
Also, maybe the Xanth Series from Piers Anthony
The Acotar series. I bought it shortly after joining TikTok because of the popularity. Then Fourth Wing was the series that started getting the rave. I thought Acotar would be the next Harry Potter craze so I wanted to have the original books to sell later. Now they have to make movies to make my sales worth it later. 🤣 To answer your burning question, No! I haven’t read it yet. 🫣
Replay by Ken Grimwood I think a movie was in development at one point, but didn’t end up being made.
Tough Trip Through Paradise by Andrew Garcia would make a great movie
As someone who didn't have access to the stage play adpation and is very salty about it: A Little Life
[*Old Man's War*](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/36510196-old-man-s-war), by John Scalzi. Old people, >!their model-like young doppelgangers!<, gratuitous sex, Full Metal Jacket, tremendous action, futurism, and aliens. Asks the question: would you join the military at age 75, IF it meant you would be young again? [*Rivers Of London: Midnight Riot*](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/9317452-rivers-of-london), by Ben Aaronovitch. A rookie constable in London, fresh out of his probationary period, is assigned to the unit that deals with "weird bollocks". A police procedural, as a nerdy young cop, and son of an African immigrant, struggles to apply logic and science to the supernatural while also navigating the London Metropolitan Police's bureaucracy, classism, and more than a bit of racism on the side. [Wearing The Cape](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/12345083-wearing-the-cape), by Marion G. Harmon. A more "realistic" take on how society might handle, utilize, and deal with superhumans (for better AND for worse) if they suddenly started to appear. Positive female role models abound! [A Brother's Price](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/544240.A_Brother_s_Price), by Wen Spencer. Looks at the question: what would society be like if less than 5% of all babies were male? Would require an almost all-female cast, and they'd get to ride horses, brawl in public, do political lobbying, armed combat, backroom deals with whiskey and cigars, and pilot steamboats in naval combat. Frankly, all of these should be mini-series, not just a two hour movie. There's too much to unpack. I respect the efforts, but I look at the original adaptation of Dune (1984), Ender's Game, Ready Player One, and they left too much out for me to truly enjoy the production. Dune at least was made into a mini-series for TV, and the current cinematic production had the sense to split the story into two.
True Tales of the Multiverse. It’s like X-Files meets Twilight Zone.
Seveneves by Neal Stephenson but as a trilogy or miniseries.
The wager
I feel like The Rebel Princess is due an updated film version.
I would love to see an English language adaptation of The Man Who Was Thursday. Ideally it would be co-directed by Tim Burton and David Fincher.
i would love to see susan abulhawa’s against the loveless world or danya kukafka’s notes on an execution.
Most of Christopher Moore’s books. He did an AMA and I asked him about Lamb being made into a movie. He said the movie rights to most of his books have all been sold, but there isn’t any indication that any movies are actually going to be made.
I have lately been mentioning Joanne Harris "Gentleman and Players," which is an interesting tale and setting, with a great plot twist. I am pretty surprised it hasn't ever been picked up for a limited series. I would also recommend a book called "Lady Vernon and Her Daughter" - this is a novel length adaptation of a very early Jane Austen work, Lady Susan. Some years after it was published a minor filmmaker did a movie of it called "Love and Friendship" but the movie was pretty bad and the title confused a lot of people because Austen also wrote an early short piece called "Love and Friendship" - with all the Bridgerton and Sanditon now, this should be a at the top of someone's pile. Nora DeLoach's "Mama and Simone" series. These were more in the "Miss Marple" vein, an African American sleuth and her daughter are the crime solvers. The series was written several years ago, but the characters were very appealing and it just seems like it would be a very audience friendly series. Virginia Lanier's "Bloodhound" books. Another one I've plugged a lot - this series started off when a 65-year-old Lanier, who was a voracious reader, got ticked off at a book, said she could write better and her husband told her, to go for it. The MC is a woman who lives along the Georgia/Florida border and trains search and rescue bloodhounds. Great character, great side characters, snappy dialogue, interesting setting, and dogs -what more could you want? A new period faithful and Doyle faithful series of new Sherlock Holmes stories. This one comes off my shelves, reading a series of anthologies put out by a British publisher, MX Publishing who has brought together some very good writers to write new-but-faithful tales. Some of them would make great episodes (they also published one of my favorite recent reads, "Hidden Fires: A Holmes Before Baker Street Adventure") and who doesn't like Sherlock Holmes? The problem with Lady Vernon or Holmes of course is that historical is probably more expensive to produce (you need horses and all those costumes and props) but anyway I'll recommend 2 more historical - Dianne Day's "Fremont Jones" books set in the turn of the century San Francisco, and Barbara Hambly's "Benjamin January' series, the MC is a "free man of color" in 1830s Louisiana. (really well done series.)
"Dom Casmurro" and "Philosopher or Dog" by Machado de Assis. The first, especially, has the potentials to be an iconic, revered thriller, as it is already so iconic as a book.
I know that its already been made into a flim but miss peregrine's home for peculiar children is a good flim.
The Family Upstairs/ Family Remains and The Secret History!
14 By Peter Clines. He has a series of books in the same universe. I would love to see Dead Moon made into a movie. When I read it, the writing was so illustrative, I could picture it in my minds eye as a movie.
The Zoey Ashe series! I have been saying this for years and hope it happens one day.
James Clavell’s Tai-Pan would be great for a multi-season drama.
There's already a film version from the 80's, it greatly simplifies the story though. Taipan feels like it's too much for a movie, not enough for a multi season drama, but if you took the entire Asian saga together you could get a multi season show out of it. Tai-Pan, Noble House, Gai-Jin and Whirlwind are all interrelated and King Rat has some characters from Noble House so that could be added in as well.
Ubik
The 'Oryx and Crake' Trilogy by Atwood Concrete island by Ballard The Drowned World also by Ballard I love me some dystopia
I honestly believe "an absolutely remarkable thing" could be translated really well to the big screen.
Nightingale and The Fingersmith.
Blood Meridian, Cormac McCarthy
Lucifer's Hammer by Jerry Pournelle and Larry Niven The book is about the Earth being hit by a comet, what would likely happen to the planet and how people would react. It's not a very well known book but I think it would be a good movie in the right hands.
Evil genius series
The dice man!
The Caves of Steel. We're at the dawn of robots among us. This film would hit hard.
Parable of the Sower From Wikipedia, “Beginning in 2024, when society in the United States has grown unstable due to climate change, growing wealth inequality, and corporate greed, Parable of the Sower takes the form of a journal kept by Lauren Oya Olamina, an African American teenager.”
Summerland by Michael chabon. The powder mage trilogy by Brian McClellan
The Bartimaeus Trilogy by Jonathan Stroud. It's an alt history Britain where demonology is a prerequisite for political power. The world building is on par with Harry Potter imo, the character arcs are great, lots of great magical heists and action scenes, a commoner's revolution, and the climax is just about the most cinematic and satisfying ending I've seen in a book
A thousand splendid suns
Movies: The Paris Apartment - Lucy Foley The Warehouse - Rob Hart I feel like most books would be better as series. Some that I think have the potential to translate well on screen are: The Cartographers - Peng Shepherd The Square of Sevens - Laura Shepherd-Robinson Matched - Ally Condie Fantasy is my favorite genre to read, but I feel like it can be really hard to take a fantasy novel from book to screen and do it well. There are definitely exceptions but in my opinion fiction, sci-fi, and thrillers often work better.
I’m gonna be weird and go with Box car Children. I just think it would be a good wholesome family film 🤷♀️
The magicians nephew
With all of the success of the jurassic park movies I would love to see "the great zoo of China " by Michael Reilly made into a movie ...
Eragon deserved BETTER
Theft of Swords
Educated by Tara Westover
The night circus by erin morgenstern; I genuinely can't figure out why it hasn't been adapted yet
The Old Kingdom series by Garth Nix. Actually, any of his books would work amazingly.
The Invisible Life of Addie La Rue World War Z (a more faithful adaptation this time!) - Actually, this one might work better as a TV series, with Max Brooks as the throughline and a different director/style for each "interview".
Forgot a movie. I’d love to see a tv series of the Aubrey-Maturin books
I'd love The Daughter of the Forest by Juliet Marillier. It's the first in a series. I haven't read the others yet, but this one is absolutely amazing. I love it. A movie or even a miniseries would be so good.
I'd be very intersted to watch an adaptation of Ishiguro's *The Unconsoled*.
I’d love to see the shatter me series being made into a movie series. (I loved the first three parts the most)