Hot take: LOTS of movies are better than the book & I have proof

Post date: 2025-05-13 06:02:54

I am looking for ✨LESS OBVIOUS✨ books that have been adapted into movies and TV shows.

About a decade ago I intentionally started seeking out books and short stories that were later adapted into movies/TV to inspire me to branch out of my reading patterns. Since then I've read literally hundreds of new-to-me books I probably wouldn't have touched otherwise. I've found new favorite books, new favorite authors, new favorite screenwriters... It's been really good for me.

Well now I need more content, and I'm at a place now where I need recs for the less obvious adaptations. If there's an online listicle called "10 movies you didn't realize were books first" or "25 books you didn't know inspired movies" trust that I have probably already seen it and plumbed it for material.

Here are some good examples of the kind of recommendations I'm looking for:

- the TV show Travelers was loosely inspired by Ira Levin's This Perfect Day
why this is a good example: different titles so you wouldn't really notice, plot isn't a direct lift, and the characters in the show are shown reading the book throughout the series (fun easter egg)

- the movie Die Hard was based on Roderick Thorp's Nothing Lasts Forever
why this is a good example: again, different title so you wouldn't really notice, you wouldn't expect Die Hard to come from a book, good trivia question

- the movie The Beach was a book by Alex Garland
why this is a good example: the movie was pretty bad and forgettable and came out before social media so you may not have noticed it was a book, the book is good, and Alex Garland has gone on to have an impressive film career

- the movie Old (whys it always gotta be a beach) was based on a French graphic novel called Sandcastle
why this is a good example: again, the movie is BAD and you might not think to learn anything more about it unless you're googling things like "why did god let this movie happen" and come across the info that way. (That said, I'm not personally into graphic novels/manga so this is more just fun to know for me.)

Anyway if I can get even 3 things I've never heard of from this question I will be absolutely delighted. Okay thank you!

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