Top Ten Tuesday: Favorite Book to Movie Adaptations

Top Ten Tuesday is a meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish where book bloggers list their top tens...on Tuesday! I have never done this meme (or any meme) before, but I can think of a bunch of book to movie adaptations that I actually adore so I thought I would give it a go!

1) The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky. I was so nervous about this movie because of how special the novel was to me in high school and various other points throughout my life. It's the only book I've read more than twice, and I believe that the movie truly did the book justice.

2) Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist by Rachel Cohn & David Levithan. This is a movie that I saw before I read the book, and I think I actually liked the movie better (sorry!). I love the vibe of New York City in this movie, the soundtrack, and I thought the journey in the movie was heightened more than in the book with trying to find the band and Caroline.

3) The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald. I was excited about this movie for months and months and it didn't disappoint me. The modern day soundtrack helped capture the mood and tone of a time that has passed, and who doesn't want to go to a Gatsby party now? It was a beautifully shot movie and very flashy, much like that era. I do think Gatsby/Daisy were romanticized a little too much, but hey. Also: Leonardo DiCaprio.

4) Harry Potter & The Sorcerer's Stone by JK Rowling. Wow, I just got so excited thinking about the first time I saw this movie. I started reading Harry Potter when I was ten, and the movie came out just a couple of years after. I remember my fifth grade brain being BLOWN at seeing Quidditch brought to life and the magic of Diagon Alley. Sigh.

5) Charlie & the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl. Roald Dahl was a master at writing children's books that were tinted with sinister and creepy characters. The movie (the original one with Gene Wilder, I can't even comment about the Tim Burton version) was incredibly creepy and odd and freaked me out. Kids are droppin' off left and right and Willy Wonka is the orchestrator of what seems to be pure madness. But also very magical, who doesn't love watching that scene of the room FILLED with everything edible? Yum.

6) The Virgin Suicides by Jeffrey Eugenides. Where to even begin? I thought the movie captured perfectly the pure mystery surrounding the suicide of five sisters, but also the tone and feel of the novel. Definitely a book I need to re-read sometime very soon.

7) Romeo & Juliet  by William Shakespeare. I read the play in high school but wasn't crazy about it (again, something I need to revisit), but we also watched the film adaptation with Leonardo DiCaprio and suddenly loved Shakespeare. There's such a strong vibe to this movie that gets me every and it's beautiful and tragic and wonderful.

8) Matilda by Roald Dahl. Another one by Dahl that I absolutely adored. I recently purchased this movie again and still get freaked out by the Chokey and Miss Trunchbull. Another movie filled with the absurdity of Dahl's imagination--the unforgettable cake eating scene, and Matilda's horribly absent parents.

9) A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess. I contemplated whether or not I should put this on here since the novel is one of my favorites of all time, but figured what the hell. Stanley Kubrick definitely put his own spin on it, and the film needs to be regarded as a separate entity from the novel, especially since many of the most important themes or scenes in the books were changed completely or didn't measure up. It was as gritty and disturbing as one can expect, though, and it's Kubrick, so even though it was very different, it was still a pretty brilliant film.

10) Running With Scissors by Augusten Burroughs. I read this memoir in high school and was amazed by the uniqueness of Augusten's situation and the beautiful way in which it was written. I also became a huge fan of the movie, with Evan Rachel Wood capturing perfectly the rebelliousness of Natalie, and Joseph Cross really seemed to fit as Augusten. Also, the scene in the movie where 'Year of the Cat' by Al Stewart is playing and everyone is screaming is one of my favorite movie scenes of all time.

Phew, that was a harder list to come up with than I thought! What about you all? What are some of your favorite movie adaptations?