Top Ten Books I’d Love To See as Movies/TV Shows

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and The Bookish. Every week, they post a new Top Ten topic and other bloggers respond with their own lists. I take part in this meme when I have something to say for the topic and I remember what day it is.

This week’s topic left me conflicted. First off, I don’t really watch movies–doesn’t matter if they are based on a book or not. Additionally, the idea of making a book into a TV show bothers me because at some point the TV show will need more episodes and it will stray from the original book that I loved so much. TV and books occupy very different parts of my life, and I look for different things in each, so it is hard to say that my favorite books would actually be good TV/movies in the first place.

But we’re not here to have a philosophical discussion about book adaptations into movies/TV shows. So I’m releasing my inhibitions and choosing books whose settings/characters/whatever I think would be amazing to see “in person” (AKA with my real eyes and not my mind’s eye). I’m assuming that graphics would be good, casting would be great, and the book would not be completely abandoned five minutes in (I’m looking at you, that Percy Jackson movie monstrosity). Here goes.

1. The Mistborn trilogy by Brandon Sanderson

I can’t talk about these books enough, it seems. They’ve made most of my Top Ten lists, and every time I say the same thing: the magic in these books is the most unique and complex thing I’ve ever read, and I want it to be real so badly I can’t even describe it. People talk about wanting to get a Hogwarts letter–I want a Mistcloak. I would love to see how this world and it’s magic would be depicted in a movie, and I think watching a Mistborn fly through the air would get me as close as the real world can get me to my personal fantasies.

2. Beauty Queens by Libba Bray

Beauty queens stranded on a deserted island–it’s a wonder it isn’t a TV show already. I can’t imagine how hilarious this book would be, and I think the character dynamics would work really well on-screen with real people acting them out.

3. The Shadow Falls series by CC Hunter

These books were not amazing, but they were pretty hilarious, and I think their summer-camp-for-paranormal-creatures setting would really work on screen. Also, the love triangle elements might be more manageable if the books were drawn out into TV show episodes (or maybe I’m just more willing to watch a TV show whose humor is driven by a slightly cheesy premise than read a book with the same factors).

4. The Chaos Walking trilogy by Patrick Ness

This book reads like an action movie. It has all the intrigue, fight scenes, and heart-stopping moments a movie-goer could want, and its cliff-hanger tendencies make it perfect for a TV series that wants to cause its fandom pain between seasons. I would be interested to see how Noise would be depicted, as well as what the spackle would look like. And getting to see Todd and Viola’s relationship develop between “real” people would make their OTP-ness even stronger.

5. The Heist Society series by Ally Carter

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Teenage thieves, daring missions, and hilarious dialogue? It would be like YA Chuck meets Leverage. Ally Carter’s books are all so light and humorous, with the perfect dash of ridiculousness that would transition over to the land of TV/movies really well.

6. The Diviners by Libba Bray

The first time I read this book, I could tell that I was reading a good story–it’s Libba Bray, it’s not like the story will be bad–but the pacing was just a bit too slow for me, and the book was just too long and complex to keep track of as a reader. Being able to see the faces of all of the characters would probably make it easier to remember who is who, and the converging plot lines would be more dramatic than it was when I was reading it, struggling to connect names across hundreds of pages.

7. Angel Burn trilogy by LA Weatherly

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The impressive combination of action, romance, and paranormal drama in these books would transition over to TV really well. The premise (evil angels have created a cult of believers to feed on, killing humanity) is unique enough that it wouldn’t just be lost in the slew of paranormal TV shows out there, and the three books have enough plot that I think they could actually stretch out into a viable TV show. I would love to see what the angels looked like, as well as angel burn.

8. Blonde Ops by Charlotte Bennardo and Natalie Zaman

Since this book already reads like a Chick Flick, I would love to see it as a movie. It has the right amount of humor and awkward moments, set in the iconic city of Rome. Also, the protagonist, Bec, is a hacker thrown into the fashion industry who inadvertently gets herself in trouble everywhere she goes. This book turned into a movie would have so much personality.

9. More Than This by Patrick Ness

This book relies heavily on the unexpected setting. In book form, it was a lot to try to visualize and keep track of, and it slowed down the actual plot. However, the story is really great, and if the setting were physically depicted, I think this would make a really impressive and thought-provoking movie.

10. The Coldest Girl In Coldtown by Holly Black

Once again, this book is heavily setting-based. However, this book’s setting is vibrant, dramatic, and creepy. It would look amazing on screen, and the good vs evil conflicts of the book would make for dramatic moments in a movie. Also, the characters (with each of their strange personalities) would come alive on screen.