For That Artsy Reader Girl’s Top Ten Tuesday:
Today’s topic was
November 15: Favorite “Aww” Moments In Books (Share those sweet/cute moments in books that give you warm fuzzies.)
but I totally drew a blank! So I did another adaptation wishlist. I tried to stick to books that I think would work either as miniseries or longer series.
Here are some similar posts if you’re interested
Books That Should Get TV/Film Adaptations
Books That Deserve a Film Adaptation
I’m going to try not to repeat anything included on a previous list!
The Lymond Chronicles by Dorothy Dunnett – Seriously, these have adventure, spying, romance, a handsome hero, political intrigue, family drama, royalty and more. What’s Hollywood waiting for? Especially since costume dramas are having a moment. The book series is completed (so no Game of Thrones style problems) and there are six, so there’s plenty of material.
Emily of New Moon trilogy by LM Montgomery – I know this did technically did have a made for TV adaptation but since I didn’t consider if all that successful I’m not counting it (I’m also not bad mouthing it though. It just didn’t live up to its potential IMO) But I think that since Anne With an E, while not faithful to the books, was recently popular, TVmakers might consider some of Montgomery’s lesser known, but just as lovely work.
Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo – I actually didn’t love this book, but I liked it and I think it might make a better show than a book. Also, since I haven’t read the second book (since it hasn’t come out yet) I can’t attest to it also continuing the “good for a series” streak. But I do think the first one lends itself nicely. We’ve got a fancy Ivy League setting, lots of secret societies, some magic, some crime… It could work very nicely onscreen.
Hawthorne and Horowitz series by Anthony Horowitz – Horowitz’s other meta-mystery series, Magpie Murders, is already a series, but I think this one could work too. The biggest challenge would probably be casting an actor as the fictional version of Anthony Horowitz. I don’t know how close they’d want to stick to reality with that.
American Royals series by Kristin McGee– I don’t know how I’d classify this series really. Maybe alternate history/soap opera? Regardless I do think it could make a fun slightly soapy series: the lives and loves of the American royal family (because in this timeline, George Washington was the first American king rather than president).
The Diviners series by Libba Bray – In one of my previous lists, I included Bray’s Gemma Doyle trilogy, which I still think would make a great show. But this one would too: a supernatural mystery with a 1920’s setting. Full disclosure: I’ve only read the first two in this series. I actually want to reread the first two books before I read the last two, since it’s been a while.
The Flappers trilogy by Jillian Larkin – Like the Diviners series just above, this is also set in the 1920’s but it’s pure soap opera without any of the supernatural frills of the Diviners. In a previous list, I mentioned Anne Godberson’s Luxe series as another book series that would make a good show. This would make a good show for very similar reasons: good looking people in pretty costumes stabbing each other in the back is always fun to watch.
Victorian sensation fiction – These is really a subgenre of novels that I think would adapt very well to miniseries format. I’m thinking East Lynne, Lady Audley’s Secret, No Name, etc. Some of these have been adapted for the screen before, but usually as a TV movie rather than a miniseries, and they haven’t been adapted in any form for at least twenty years. But secret marriages, forgeries, seductions and suspicious deaths never go out of style. PBS/BBC take note!
If Jane Austen had written fantasy, it might have looked something like this. Jane Ellsworth envies her sister Melody’s beauty and Melody envies Jane’s ability to manipulate magical glamour. Mr. Vincent is a highly accomplished glamour artist, who has been hired to create murals in a nearby mansion. He’s brusque, mysterious and brilliant, with no interest in social niceties. When Jane discovers a secret that may destroy the Ellsworth’s and other local families, she finds herself torn between keeping it, and avoiding the trouble that she knows it will cause, or telling the truth for the sake of the greater good. As the series continues we see the family grow in a variety of situations both magical and nonmagical. The fantasy aspect of these books is pretty light most of the time.
William Marshal was an obscure knight who saved Elinor of Aquitaine, tutored her son, Henry, heir to the throne, and was eventually responsible in part for the Magna Carta. His descendants include George Washington and Winston Churchill. Of course, I don’t know much about him, since the first book of this historical fiction series focuses on his father, John FitzGilbert. John was also a knight of some renown, who backed a woman’s claim to the throne over the king, which forced him to take a gamble that he may not be willing to lose. We really only meet William as a child in this book, but it was an interesting read, and I’m very curious as to how William sees his father’s actions.
Set in Egypt between WWI and WWII, the plot of the first book in this series is hard to describe. An unnamed narrator tells this story of his various friends and acquaintances. The plot essentially deals with the narrator’s affair with the mysterious Justine. Justine is a Jewish woman, married to Nessim, the son of a wealthy Coptic Christian family. However, her religious background keeps her from being truly accepted in her surroundings. This has writing that’s sometimes very beautiful and evocative, but at other times seems a bit too flowery. It’s also difficult because the story isn’t linear. In a way, this seemed hazy and impressionistic. It’s more about atmosphere than plot. Yet something about the ending suggested to me that there’s more to this plot and these characters than meets the eye in the first book.
Snowman (once called Jimmy) is struggling to survive in a world where he may be the only person left alive. Humanity has been decimated by a plague. He mourns the loss of Crake, his best friend, and Oryx, who both Snowman/Jimmy and Crake loved. We eventually do learn what caused the plague, and it’s frighteningly easy to imagine this actually happening in our lifetimes. It’s compelling enough that I want to read more of the series, but I think I need to reread the first book because I don’t remember too much about it.
Technically these books can be read as stand-alone, but when taken together, they all deal with the experiences of Europeans in Asia. Thematically, they’re united by the ways that East and West impact one another when they meet. Shogun is set in feudal Japan in the year 1600, but other books take place elsewhere at different time periods. I read Shogun a long time ago. As I understand it, some of it isn’t completely accurate historically, but it’s still a good story that depicts the meeting of two very different cultures.
This series depicts WWI from the point of view of a wealthy (but not aristocratic) British family and their servants. Each book covers one year of the war. Yes, there’s a 
Hmm… This is surprisingly tough because most of the guys in YA aren’t guys I’d want to date, and most of the guys in adult fiction are too old for high school me to date (have I been giving this too much thought?) Maybe 
I suppose it depends on what we mean by “book hangover”. If we mean a book that stayed with me emotionally for a long time after I read it, 
intolerably stupid.” Jane Austen, 
ZZZ-snatcher book (last book that kept you up WAY late):
1. 
2. 
4. 
5. 
6. 
7. 
8.
9.
10.
1. Peter Pan from
2. Jeremy Dragon from 
4. Romeo Montague from
5. Jamie Fraser from the
6. Alexander Belov Barrington from
7. Gabriel Oak from
9. Fitzwilliam Darcy from 
10. Carl Brown from 
Fran Laniado- Author 