Top Ten Tuesday: More Books I'd Like to See Made into Movies

As with last week's topic, this is a list I've already made. No, I don't think this will be a problem every week henceforth; they've just re-run a couple of old topics. The good news: I think I can come up with another list.

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by The Broke and the Bookish! Do come join the fun...

So, ten more books I'd like to see made into movies. Just one little disclaimer: only if they're going to do it respectfully. At least know what matters to the book's fan base, Hollywood!

Asa Butterfield. Source.

1. In my previous attempt on this topic, I mentioned a hesitation to ask for Ender's Game. Well. Ender’s Game is being made (according to Wikipedia, it’s even fusing its storyline with Ender’s Shadow, which should be interesting, though it's a lot for one movie to cover. I don’t see Achilles casted...) With Harrison Ford as Colonel Graff. And Asa Butterfield, with his arresting eyes, as our Ender. And author Orson Scott Card was involved in preparing the script. Terrifying as it may be to have this story adapted, I’ve got to see this movie. November 2013, here we come.

2. If we can talk about movies already in the works, Stephenie Meyer's The Host. (Not to be confused with this The Host.) I'm hopeful that I'll enjoy this one; the book is fantastic.

3. L.M. Montgomery's The Blue Castle (review coming soon) would make a splendid movie. Although Queen Latifah's film Last Holiday is a fun take on the same idea, I’d love to see the full story adapted for screen—Barney and Valancy, Lake Mistawis, and all.

4. Enchantress from the Stars (Sylvia Louise Engdahl) might be tricky to adapt for film, due to its unique juxtaposition of science fiction and medieval fantasy, but it could be beautiful.

5. Ally Condie's Matched... could be a very good movie, if done right. Disney has the rights; they have what it takes to make that young, introspective sort of storyline work well on screen, but they could also cheapen it. That's one I'd make a real effort to go see, though.

6. In the Reign of Terror by G.A. Henty. English boy goes to live and study with an aristocratic French family just before the Revolution. He winds up protecting the three girls, working for Robespierre but secretly saving lives, and eventually smuggling two of the girls across the English channel. It's got all the ingredients for a good film. I don't know much of Henty's work, but liked this one a lot.

Luna moth. Source.

7. Girl of the Limberlost by Gene Stratton Porter. Yes, I know it's been made before, but the adaptation I saw was downright boring and ended before the story was half over. This needs to be an artistic film, with someone like Ang Lee directing it—someone who can capture the beauty of the great moths, of the natural setting, of Elnora's violin playing, of Edith Carr's grandeur, of the Bird Woman. I can picture it, which probably means I'd be disappointed, but I'd definitely see it.

8. Since Game of Thrones has been made into a TV series, maybe I should ask for the same for Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time books. The thought scares me a bit, but the things I've heard about Game of Thrones have made me a tad hesitant to read that, and I loved WoT. Make The Eye of the World, and it could last a season. Make the whole set, and you've got a solid show for years to come.

9. Warner Bros. has the film rights to Maggie Stiefvater's The Scorpio Races, which story could go a couple of different ways. If it's thinned down and romanced up for a YA audience, I might be hesitant. If it's done artistically—Stiefvater's prose and descriptions are quite artistic for modern YA fiction—it could be very watchable. I'm a bit afraid of seeing it, thanks to the terrifying carnivorous horses, but might be able to talk myself into going.

10. All right, I know the Harry Potter books have been made into movies. Eight movies, of which I only really loved one. Surely moviemakers can do better than this. I'd love to see it made as a TV series, which would give the story more time to develop, and here are the specifications: a) Cut the whimsy, focusing instead on the juxtaposition of humor and drama; b) cast more people who can actually act; and c) don't mess with Dumbledore's lines. The only down side would be that Robbie Coltrane and Maggie Smith probably wouldn't reprise their roles. They were Hagrid and McGonagall.*

What do you think? Do you agree or disagree? What books would you like to see on the big screen?

* The same could be argued for Alan Rickman as Snape, and I concur except that really, in a remake I'd be open to seeing someone younger in the role. Too many adults in the film were unreasonably aged, looking fifty when they should've been thirty-five. And yes, a few other actors also filled their role very well, and should you so desire, I'd be happy to read your championing of your favorites in the comments.