Hi everyone!
Kendall here. Another week has gone by and I don’t know about you, but I’m still adjusting to quarantine life. Just when I think I’ve gotten used to it, I start thinking about going out to the bookstore or my favorite coffee shop, and then I remember that I can’t. It’s all for the best, but that’s led me to start finding more ways to have fun at home. Besides reading, I’ve been playing Animal Crossing and recently I’ve been finding time to watch more movies. Some of them are old favorites and some of them are new to me, but it’s been fun, especially when the movie is an adaptation of a book and I can nitpick all of the things they changed (much to the amusement of my family and friends). It made me think that it would be fun to share some recommendations for books AND their movie counterparts. This list is a mix of favorites and ones I’m hoping to watch or read. Maybe one of them will catch your interest.
- The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien: Did I put this first because it’s the best? Yes, yes I did. It’s no secret that I LOVE Lord of the Rings, but something I am more secretive about it that I actually enjoy the movies more than the books. Don’t get me wrong, the books are excellent and I highly recommend them, but the pace of the movies is better and it’s thrilling seeing these epic characters come to life. Both the books and the movies are a great escape from reality if you need one.
- The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien: The Hobbit is the first fantasy book I read a kid and I will always love it. It’s full of adventure, magic and a greedy dragon, what’s not to love. Once you start a book like The Hobbit you won’t want to put it down, and once you starting watching the movie adaptations you won’t want to stop. While I believe it was unnecessary to make three movies out of one book, they’re still highly enjoyable.
- Dumplin’ by Julie Murphy: I’ll admit it, I haven’t read Dumplin yet, but I certainly want to after seeing the Netflix movie. I watched it one night while putting together a puzzle (I lead a very exciting life) and it’s wonderful. The movie is empowering, diverse and out of the box, and if the movie is that good, the book must be even better.
- A Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket: While this series is classified as middle grade, I still think it’s great for anyone. I recently listened to the first book on audio and it’s captivating; I have so many questions about what’s going to happen to the Baudelaire orphans and what Count Olaf’s deal is. In addition to the great books, the Netflix series is fantastic. I watched the first season and it’s just as captivating as the books. You can’t go wrong with either option here.
- Emma by Jane Austen: Before you turn up your nose at this classic, hear me out. This book is wonderful. It entertaining and funny, and one of the best movies of all time (in my opinion) was created because of it. The movie I’m talking about is Clueless! Clueless is such a fun movie to watch; it is decidedly 90’s, but it’s a great creative retelling of the classic Emma. It’s really fun to read the book and see how Clueless compares. There’s also a newly released adaptation of Emma, which looks great, so if you prefer classics, this movie might be the way to go.
Hopefully some of you will find something appealing in this list. I know I’m in the mood to read and watch most of these after spending time writing about them. If you read or watch any of these, let me know! I’d love to hear your thoughts. You can email me at kendall.chapman@bhpl.net.