Watching Movies Made from Books with Use of Audio Description

Editor’s note: March is National Reading Month, and Empish Thomas has compiled a great list of movies that are based on books that you will want to check out. Also, if you love movies, her post on audio-described movies is a must read, and it includes links to other helpful articles. One more thing, the VisionAware peer advisors have put together an excellent anthology of books about adjusting to vision loss that may contain books of interest to you or a family member.

Jumping in Feet First Into Watching Movies

I have been a long-time lover of books and reading, but recently, I have jumped in feet first into movies. The explosion of audio-described movies allows me to enjoy a great movie now more than ever. But one thing I have noticed is that many movies are based on novels. This discovery has been a win-win for me because I love them both. I can easily pick up the book, read it first, and then watch the movie. Yes, I know spoiler alert! Or, I can watch the movie and then go back and read the book. I know doing it, either way, I can compare and see the differences. Of course, as they say, the book is always better than the movie! Or is it? I will let you be the judge. In celebration of National Reading Month, I have made a list of books that have become movies. They are listed in fiction and non-fiction. So whether you watch the movie or not, these are some great books you can add to your reading list.

Fiction Books

Mudbound by Hillary Jordan
Safe Haven, The Choice, and others by Nicholas Sparks
True to the Game by Teri Woods
Waiting to Exhale, Disappearing Acts, and others by Terry McMillan
Beloved by Toni Morrison
Losing Isaiah by Seth Jacob Margolis
Slum Dog Millionaire by Vikas Swarup
Color Purple by Alice Walker
Wonder by R. J. Palacio
The Giver by Lois Lowry
Joyluck Club by Amy Tan
Dances with Wolves by Michael Blake
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
A Time to Kill, Pelican Brief, and others by John Grisham
Fault in Our Stars by John Green
Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn
Addicted by Zane
Bridges of Madison County by Robert James Waller
The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
Devil in a Blue Dress by Walter Mosely
Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier
My Sister’s Keeper by Jodi Picoult
The Help by Kathryn Stockett
The Women of Brewster Place by Gloria Naylor
Me Before You by Jojo Moyes
The Secret Life of Bees by Susan Monk-Kidd
Baggage Claim By David E. Talbert
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button by Gabriel Brownstein
Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen
The Circle by Dave Eggers
Life of Pi by Yann Martel
The Talented Mr. Ripley by Patricia Highsmith
Call Me By Your Name by Andre Aciman
The Room by Emma Donoghue
The Shack by William P. Young
The Red Tent by Anita Diamant

Non-Fiction Books

Molly’s Game by Molly Bloom
The Lost City of Z: a Tale of Deadly Obsession in the Amazon by Gran David
Hidden Figures: The American Dream and the Untold Story of the Black Women Mathematicians Who Helped Win the Space Race by Margot Lee Shetterly
The Glass Castle, A Memoir by Jeannette Walls
Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert
Roots by Alex Haily
Ghosts of Mississippi, The Murder of Medgar Evers, The Trials of Byron de la Beckwith, and The Haunting of the New South by Maryann Volers
A Beautiful Mind: A Biography of John Forbes Nash Jr by Sylvia Nasar
An Ordinary Man: The Autobiography of Hotel Rowana by Paul Rusesabagina
The Free State of Jones by Victoria E. Bynum
American Gangster: A Novelization by Max Allan Collins
The Other Boleyn Girl by Phillippa Gregory
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot
The Zookeeper’s Wife: a War Story by Diane Ackerman

Many more books have been made into movies than what I have shared. Undoubtedly, I am sure there will be much more to come in the future.

Do you have a favorite book that became a movie? Did you read a book and then watch the movie? What was your impression? Did it help you enjoy the book more or less? Share your comments and book suggestions in the section below.