Top Ten Tuesday- Movie Time

In my head I planned out a short (okay maybe, on the longer end of short) diatribe one the idea of not wanting any books being turned into movies, the topic of this week's The Broke and the Bookish's Top Ten. But, I have no time or energy to be complete douchebag tonight, so here's my list:

Top Ten Books I'd Like to See Turned into Movies (assuming the people involved don't suck):

1. The Lost Girls: Three Friends. Four Continents. One Unconventional Detour Around the World by Jennifer Baggett- This was a decent travel memoir, but I think it would be made into a really fun movie (fine, fine, a chick flick). The premise is that three women quit their corporate jobs and spend a year blowing their money traveling to places around the world. This book is partially responsible for my life goal of conquering the Inca Trail (umm does anyone want to go with?). 

2. Room by Emma Donoghue- I know most people are familiar with this novel; kidnapped mother gives birth to baby in captivity and then escapes. Not necessarily literary, but entertaining. 

3. Bel Canto by Ann Patchett- Who doesn't love a good story about terrorists taking over a gala? 

4. The Selected Works of TS Spivet by Reif Larsen- This actually is going to be a movie at some point, and I am very fearful. T.S. Spivet is probably going to be what my future kids end up being with my genes, so I'm a bit protective of his character (please, please, please buy and read this book immediately). Raise your hand if you're tired of hearing about this book. Oh wait, no one? Great.

5.  Family Fang by Kevin Wilson- I'm actually not done with it yet, but this quirky book about a family of "artists" who entertain by causing social turmoil is undoubtedly going to appear on my favorites of the year list. Wes Anderson would need to direct, of course.

6. The Barbarian Nursery by Hector Tobar- I just read this last month and I think it's perspective on race, class, marriage, and immigration would make for a controversial film. 

7. Fall by Colin McAdam- This cerebral mystery about a murder at a boarding school is not only well-written, but has a great sense of pacing and character development. 

8. The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon- Everyone is lucky the blog started after I read this book; I was in love (it was my TS Spivet of 2009). Magical realism, mystery, humor, Spain. 

9. Rules by Cynthia Ward- I read this a few times to my elementary students; it's about a middle school aged girl who has a younger autistic brother. I think our youth needs to be educated on this condition- that's the first way to start developing a generation whose ready with compassion and patience for those that are different.

10. Slam by Nick Hornby- I think this is technically YA (gasp!), but I'm a Hornby fanatic, so it worked for me. I love this book because it talks about teenage pregnancy from the boy's view- something very rare (except, I remember being a teenager and seeing a made-for-tv movie that does this as well, except it was of course a dramatic custody battle). Pregnancy isn't glamorized or simplified (I adore Juno, but I don't think it was quite so realistic).

PS- I think most movies that are based on books really end up sucking; I have a theory that bad books make good movies, and vice versa. While I know this isn't always true, I am extremely skeptical of anything based on a book... Case in point: the probable butchering of Cloud Atlas.