Check out these books that inspired current feature films!
In theaters now:
The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 2 by Stephenie Meyer – Although eighteen-year-old Bella joins the dark but seductive world of the immortals by marrying Edward the vampire, her connection to the powerful werewolf Jacob remains unsevered.
Lincoln, based on Team of Rivals: the Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln by Doris Kearns Goodwin – On May 18, 1860, William H. Seward, Salmon P. Chase, Edward Bates, and Abraham Lincoln waited in their hometowns for the results from the Republican National Convention in Chicago. When Lincoln emerged as the victor, his rivals were dismayed and angry. Throughout the turbulent 1850s, each had energetically sought the presidency as the conflict over slavery was leading inexorably to secession and civil war. That Lincoln succeeded was the result of a character that had been forged by life experiences that raised him above his more privileged and accomplished rivals. He won because he possessed an extraordinary ability to put himself in the place of other men, to experience what they were feeling, to understand their motives and desires. This capacity enabled President Lincoln to bring his disgruntled opponents together, create the most unusual cabinet in history, and marshal their talents to preserve the Union and win the war.
Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy - A classic story of love and tragedy against the backdrop of pre-revolutionary Russia. The extravagant and dramatic story of Anna Karenina who risks everything for passion and love. This psychological masterpiece is considered to be one of the greatest novels of world literature.
Life of Pi by Yann Martel - After the tragic sinking of a cargo ship in the Pacific, one solitary lifeboat remains, carrying a hyena, a zebra, a female orangutan, a Bengal tiger, and a 16-year-old Indian boy named Pi. His story is a dazzling work of imagination that will delight and astound listerners in equal measure. It is a triumph of storytelling and a tale that will, as one character puts it, make you believe in God.
Killing them Softly, based on Cogan’s Trade by George V. Higgins – Jackie Cogan is an enforcer, and when the mob’s rules get broken, Cogan is called in to take care of business. This time a high-stakes card game has been held up by an unknown gang of thugs. Calculating, ruthless, businesslike, and with a shrewd sense of other people’s weaknesses, Cogan plies his trade, moving among a variety of hoods, hangers-on, and big-timers, tracking those responsible, and returning “law and order” to the lawless Boston underworld.
Coming to theaters soon:
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey by J. R. R. Tolkien – Bilbo Baggins, a respectable, well-to-do hobbit, lives comfortably in his hobbit-hole until the day the wandering wizard Gandalf chooses him to take part in an adventure from which he may never return.
Jack Reacher, based on One Shot by Lee Child – Ex-military investigator Jack Reacher is called in by James Barr, a man accused of a lethal sniper attack that leaves five people dead, and teams up with a young defense attorney to find an unseen enemy who is manipulating events.
Les Misérables by Victor Hugo – In this story of the trials of the peasant Jean Valjean – a man unjustly imprisoned, baffled by destiny, and hounded by his nemesis, the magnificently realized, ambiguously malevolent police detective Javert – Hugo achieves the sort of rare imaginative resonance that allows a work of art to transcend its genre.
