Movie-to-Book Recommendation Engine: 2012 Movies NOT Based on Books
2012 was a year FULL of big movies based on books. Life of Pi, Les Miserables, Lincoln (based on Team of Rivals), Silver Linings Playbook, The Hobbit, Skyfall, Anna Karenina, Hunger Games, The Perks of Being a Wallflower, Pitch Perfect… the list, my friends, it goes on.
But what about the movies that WEREN’T based on books? When we enjoyed the movie, we can’t just go pick up the book it was based on after- that book doesn’t exist! That’s what this special edition of Movie to Book Recommendations is for. Let’s rock and roll!
THE FILM:
WRECK-IT RALPH: Who did NOT want to leave this wonderful world of arcade gaming? I’m raising my hand right now.
THE BOOKS:
You can prolong your video game world fix with EXTRA LIVES by the ever sharp and insightful Tom Bissell, a video games buff and first-rate journalist reporting from the front lines of the gamer world.
I just started listening to Ernest Cline’s READY PLAYER ONE on audiobook and I am hooked like a fish. In this dystopian adventure set in the mid-21st century against the backdrop of a collapsed America, virtual reality reigns king and 1980’s arcade games figure PROMINENTLY into the narrative. It’s like if Charlie and the Chocolate Factory was written by a hardcore fanboy. It’s also like if Odysseus was a G with the joystick. Wil Wheaton narrates and it’s nerd heaven.
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THE FILM:
Oh Django Unchained, you’re such a polarizing film! You polarized me in ALL the right places. I think you’re such a kick-ass western and such provocative commentary about the pre-Civil War South.
THE BOOKS:
I know no other western novel more kick-ass than LONESOME DOVE by Larry McMurty. And if you just eat up this fat old novel with a spoon, McMurty wrote sequels! So many sequels!
Tony Horwitz’s post-Civil War exploration of the Deep South CONFEDERATES IN THE ATTIC may not be as violent as Django, but it is certainly as cheeky.
BIG MACHINE by Victor LaValle is the story of African American former junkies summoned by a mysterious organization to be paranormal investigators. Deals equally with the complicated issue race and the awesome issue of adventure. Another novel in this sub-genre that is a fun and provocative read: Mat Johnson’s PYM.
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THE FILM:
Wes Anderson made twee awesome again with MOONRISE KINGDOM
THE BOOKS:
If you want to see another young woman of this same general era breaking all the rules with so much style, check out THE DUD AVOCADO by Elaine Dundy.
For some modern quirk, check out THE FAMILY FANG by Kevin Wilson. Literally the first thing I thought when I saw the book’s cover was “This book looks like a Wes Anderson film.” It’s kismet!
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THE FILM:
You liked LOOPER because you like your science fiction whupping butt and taking names?
THE BOOKS:
If you have not yet read William Gibson’s NEUROMANCER… get going!
If you have not read all of Philip K. Dick… get going even more!!!
And for those of you who have your classic sci-fi canon DOWN and want a modern mind-bender of a book, I recommend THE CITY AND THE CITY by China Mieville times a gazillion and one.
What about you guys? Any books you recommend based on these movies? Enquiring reading minds want to know!