As a visual person, I enjoy reading a book and then watching the movie based on that book.
When I read, I really like to visualize the environment, the main characters, their clothing and their homes. It is interesting for me to then compare my impressions with how a filmmaker chooses to realize the book.
To try this yourself, there are a great many choices.
You might want to start with an American classic like Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mocking Bird. This novel has been hugely popular since it was first published in 1960 and the release of a previously unknown novel by Lee has certainly renewed interest in her classic tale of family and of racial inequality in the U.S. south.
This is a great time to re-read this wonderful book and to watch the movie starring Gregory Peck as the fictional legal hero Atticus Finch. For another classic political duo you could check out John Steinbeck’s Depression epic The Grapes of Wrath and the film starring Henry Fonda.
If your tastes are more English, there seems to be a recent mini-industry in making films based on Jane Austin’s romantic fictions about the landed gentry of 19th century England; check out Pride and Prejudice, Sense and Sensibility, Mansfield Park, or Emma. A more wildly romantic treatment of English life can be found in Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë and also in any of the movie adaptations based on Jane’s love for the tragic Mr. Rochester.
There are also lots of contemporary choices for you in addition to the well-known bestseller/blockbuster combos such as Dan Brown’s Professor Robert Langdon titles or Robert Ludlum’s series about super secret agent Jason Bourne. In Still Alice by Lisa Genova, a university professor and her family struggle when she is diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer's. Julianne Moore received a best actress Oscar in last year’s film version of this beautiful and moving book.
Another interesting book and movie combination is Richard Morias' The Hundred-Foot Journey, which tells the story of chef Hassan Haji’s rise from a Mumbai slum to the kitchen of his own elegant restaurant in Paris. The trip is considerably longer and more complicated than the 100 feet required to cross the street from his father’s cheap Indian restaurant to the traditional French country inn owned by Hassan’s nemesis (and later mentor) Mme. Mallory. Both Morias’ description of a dazzling array of dishes and the movie’s visual portrayal of the same have impressed the critics.
Seven of Glendon Swathout’s novels have been made into movies, including the 2014 release The Homesman. The story takes us back to the real-life challenges of early pioneers in the U.S. midwest, and the difficulties faced by women in particular. Strong-willed young Mary Bee Cuddy and her disreputable protector George Briggs escort four emotionally shattered woman from the wild Nebraska Territory to Iowa where they can be properly cared for. Hilary Swank and Tommy Lee Jones head up a stellar cast as the two main protagonists in the film version, with Swank in particular receiving lots of praise for her portrayal of Mary Bee.
Among my own favourite book/film meet-ups is We Need to Talk about Kevin. This psychological thriller analyzing a teenage murderer’s motivation after a school massacre was written by Lionel Shriver as a series of letters from the killer’s mother. In the movie, this literary form is translated into expressing the mother’s memories and life-long mixed emotions towards her son in a series of flashbacks.
There are so many more suggestions I could give but, instead, I suggest you ask at your local library and have a happy book/movie night.
• A Good Read is a column by Tri-City librarians that is published on Wednesdays. Saied Forousi works at Port Moody Public Library.
