JCPLA Reader's Advisory Roundtable: Books Adapted for Film

Thanks to everyone who took time from their busy schedules to attend the meeting! After a unanimous vote before the meeting, I am pleased to serve as the moderator of the roundtable for another year. I forgot to mention at the meeting, but our blog visits for all of June and July and so far in August total 229!

Also, we selected topics for next year's meetings:

February 9th - Nonfiction of Choice
April 13th - Graphic Novels
June 8th - Fiction of Choice
August 10th - Award Winners (any award, bring a description of the award)
October 12th - Cross-genre Romance
December 14th - Travel Writing

I'd like to thank AND congratulate April Wallace on taking over Project Read One Book (PROB)! The RA Roundtable will assist April as needed with gathering titles for her committee to consider and with building "reader's map" content for the PROB website.

Leslie shared with us her philosophy of the book-to-movie experience:
"Books will always be better than movies; there is no question about that fact. While some movies totally disembowel the book they are based on, there are many good movie adaptations out there. Who doesn't want to see their favorite characters come to life on the big screen? Most times the movies don't end up quite how we imagined and the characters don't quite fit our expectations, but it is still fun to see our favorite books turned into movies."

Ellen Griffin Shade (BPL-Avondale) let us know about their new book-to-film discussion group, Adaptations! On selected Sunday afternoons each month, a film adapted from a book will be shown. Later that month, an after-party/book discussion will be held in the eventing. For more information, contact the Avondale Branch Library at 205/226-4000!

September - To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee

October - Dracula by Bram Stoker (I heard they were hosting a Dracula Film Festival each Sunday in October!)

November - The Princess Bride by William Goldman

December - In God We Trust, All Others Pay Cash by Jean Shepherd

We had a lot of great variety in the titles members brought for discussion, just look!

Good Morning Miss Dove by Frances Gray Patton (film)
Mary Ann Ellis, BPL Southern History

Nicholas & Alexandra: The Story of the Love that Ended an Empire by Robert K. Massey (film)
Mary Ann Ellis, BPL Southern History

Appaloosa by Robert B. Parker (film)
Mondretta Williams, Leeds

3:10 to Yuma by Elmore Leonard (original & remake)

While Leonard's short story shows up largely as the endings of both movies, both the original and the remake were great examples of the Western films of their respective eras. Well worth your time!
general discussion

My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult (film)

When Anna Fitzgerald (Abigail Breslin) learns the true nature of why she was born (to save her sister who has cancer) she hires a lawyer (Alec Baldwin) to sue her parents (Cameron Diaz & Jason Patric) for rights to her own body. If you haven't read the novel before you see this movie then you should. Then watch this adaptation. There were some major differences. Without giving away too much, I’ll say that I preferred the movie version. I found the ending much more credible and preferred it to the book’s ending. Read then watch this adaptation and see if you don’t agree. When you see this movie be prepared to cry. The acting was superb and in this case I liked the movie more than the book. Very unusual.
Leslie West, Vestavia

The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger (film)
The Time Traveler's Wife is a tale about a time librarian who has a gene that causes him to involuntarily travel through time, thus causing tension in his marriage. I am a fan of time travel novels but this idea that you pop in and out of different time with no warning, showing up in the new place buck naked is a bit discombobulating. The novel by Audrey Niffenegger was different and good, but the film adaptation was excellent. Perhaps it was the visuals, but I felt the story was better served on screen than in the actual novel. Rachel McAdams and Eric Bana starred as the lovers plagued by his random time travel. A quality adaptation that will leave fans satisfied at the movie's end.

Leslie West, Vestavia

The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold (film)

The Lovely Bones tells the story of Susie Salmon who’s murdered but continues to observe her family on Earth after her death. Although she is detached from the world she once knew, Susie witnesses the impact of her loss on her loved ones, whilst her killer skillfully covers his tracks and prepares to murder again. In a tone that is both emotionally truthful, and darkly humorous, Susie tries to balance her desire for vengeance against the love she feels for her family and her need to see them heal; and ultimately comes to understand that the concept of family can encompass both the living and the dead. I suspect that those open to “alternative” versions of Heaven will enjoy the fantastic scenes of Susie’s unusual afterlife. I found it amazing and thoroughly enjoyable. In my estimation this was a phenomenal adaptation, every bit as good as the book. The cast (Saoirse Ronan as Susie, Rachel Weisz and Mark Wahlberg as Susie’s parents, Susan Sarandon as Susie’s feisty grandmother, Stanley Tucci as Susie’s neighbor and killer, and Michael Imperioli as the police officer on the case) is fabulous. Great adaptation. Read the book & watch the movie!
Leslie West, Vestavia

The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson (original & remake)

Forty years ago, Harriet Vanger disappeared from a family gathering on the island owned and inhabited by the powerful Vanger clan. Her body was never found, yet her beloved uncle is convinced it was murder and that the killer is a member of his own tightly knit but dysfunctional family. He employs disgraced financial journalist Mikael Blomkvist (Michael Nyqvist) and the tattooed and troubled but resourceful computer hacker Lisbeth Salander (the amazing and perfectly cast Noomi Rapace) to investigate. When the pair link Harriet’s disappearance to a number of grotesque murders from almost 40 years ago, they begin to unravel a dark and appalling family history. But the Vangers are a secretive clan, and Blomkvist and Salander are about to find out just how far they are prepared to go to protect themselves. A mystery thriller based on Stieg Larsson’s international bestselling novel by the same name. Turn on the English dubbing, which is excellent, and enjoy a fast paced thriller that does not disappoint fans of the series. I intend on seeing all the Swedish film versions while waiting on the American versions to be filmed.
Leslie West, Vestavia
Sally Sizemore, Hoover

The Girl Who Played With Fire by Stieg Larsson (original & remake)

general discussion

Shutter Island by Dennis Lehane (film)

Two U.S. marshals, Teddy Daniels (Leonardo DiCaprio) and Chuck Aule (Mark Ruffalo), are summoned to a remote and barren island off the coast of Massachusetts to investigate the mysterious disappearance of a murderess from the island's fortress-like hospital for the criminally insane. It is hard to tell what is creepier, the patients, the staff or the hospital grounds themselves. This story has so many twists and turns that I dare you to guess the ending! An excellent well acted movie co-starring Ben Kingsley, Michelle Williams, and Max von Sydow all in pivotal roles. Based on the equally excellent Dennis Lehane book Shutter Island. Great book, great movie!
Leslie West, Vestavia

Neon Angel: A Memoir of a Runaway by Cherie Currie (film)
Los Angeles 1975. Joan Jett (Kristen Stewart) and Cherie Currie (Dakota Fanning), two teenage valley girls with punk in their blood, meet and become the heart and soul of the seminal all-girl band, The Runaways. The Runaways comes to the big screen in this story of a group of extraordinary young women as they rise from rebellious Southern California kids to rock stars of the now legendary band that paved the way for future generations of girl musicians. Under the Svengali-like influence of rock impresario Kim Fowley, the group evolves into an outrageous success and a family of misfits. With its tough-chick image and raw talent, the band quickly earns a name for itself --- and so do its two leads: Joan is the band’s pure rock ‘n’ roll heart, while Cherie, with her Bowie-Bardot looks, is the sex kitten. Based on Neon Angel: A Memoir of a Runaway by Cherie Currie, with Tony O’Neill. Curious about the inside story of this group, I found a dark and depressing story, with deafening music, a lot of drug use, as well as excellent acting. I think fans of the group will love it. But it’s not for the faint-hearted!

Leslie West, Vestavia

East to the Dawn: The Life of Amelia Earhart by Susan Butler (film)

Amelia is a movie about the life story of legendary female pilot, Amelia Earhart. This movie stars Hilary Swank as Amelia Earhart, as well as Ewen McGregor, Richard Gere, and Virginia Madsen in key roles. This was an exciting movie about Earhart's life and disappearance that is more than a documentary style film. Swank gives a remarkable performance as the legendary female pilot. This movie was adaptated from Susan Butler and Mary Lovell's biography of Earhart.
Leslie West, Vestavia

Mystic River by Dennis Lehane (film)
general discussion

Prince of Thieves by Chuck Hogan (film)
Sally Sizemore, Hoover

Push by Sapphire (film)

April Wallace, Irondale

True Grit by Charles Portis (original & remake)

Jason Baker, Trussville

Crazy Heart by Tom Cobb (film)

general discussion

Miami Blues by Charles Ray Willeford (film)

Jason Baker, Trussville

Empire Falls by Richard Russo (TV miniseries)

general discussion

Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett (TV miniseries)

general discussion

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button by F. Scott Fitzgerald (film)

Benjamin Button's case is curious indeed. Benjamin is born an old man and ages in reverse. Along the way, his relationship changes with the girl he comes to love. Both the book and the movie have this love interest, though the treatment is vastly different between the two. Benjamin in the movie has more depth and is much more likable. Benjamin in the book is more self-serving and grasping. All in all, an excellent treatment of this slim Fitzgerald short story!

Holley Wesley, Emmet O'Neal

The Vanishing by Tim Krabbe (original & remake)

A young couple, in the midst of a lovers' quarrel while on vacation, stop at a busy gas station. The woman goes in to shop and never returns. The man is haunted by her disappearance, never guessing at the malevolence behind her abduction until it's too late. The book is translated from Dutch and is a very slim, yet affective psychological thriller. The villain's cold, dispassionate preparations are chilling in both forms. An additional love interest is expanded upon in the remake, but I liked her character enough to forgive the embellishment. I have not yet seen the Dutch original but I look forward to it!

Holley Wesley, Emmet O'Neal

The Reader by Bernard Schlink (film)

The Reader opens in post-WWII Germany when teenager Michael Berg becomes ill and is helped home by Hanna, a stranger twice his age. Michael recovers from scarlet fever and seeks out Hanna to thank her. The two are quickly drawn into a passionate but secretive affair. Michael discovers that Hanna loves being read to and their physical relationship deepens. Despite their intense bond, Hanna mysteriously disappears one day and Michael is left confused and heartbroken. Eight years later, while Michael is a law student observing the Nazi war crime trials, he is stunned to find Hanna back in his life - this time as a defendant in the courtroom. As Hanna's past is revealed, Michael uncovers a deep secret that will impact both of their lives. The Reader is a story about truth and reconciliation, about how one generation comes to terms with the crimes of another. The book is a modern classic written by Bernhard Schlink, and the movie an award winner featuring Oscar winning Kate Winslet as Hanna. Highly recommended reading, then follow up with a viewing of this excellent movie.

Leslie West, Vestavia

Revolutionary Road by Richard Yates (film)

general discussion

Shoeless Joe by W. P. Kinsella (film)

Ellen Griffin Shade, BPL Avondale

Because of Winn-Dixie by Kate DiCamillo (film)

Leigh Wilson, North Birmingham

Confessions of a Shopaholic by Sophie Kinsella (film)

Theresa Davis, Hoover

Atonement by Ian McEwan (film)

Theresa Davis, Hoover

Catch Me If You Can by Frank Abagnale (film)