So many books are being made into TV or film adaptations recently, and this led me to looking through my TBR list to see what other books were made into either TV shows or movies. I had quite a list!:

Black Cake by Charmaine Wilkerson 
I loved this book for many reasons! There was tons of intersectionality that was beautifully portrayed and explored, and I think the author successfully painted pictures of a variety of experiences of life from all across the globe. And while there was a lot of heartbreak and tragedy that happened throughout the plot, the story revolved so uniquely and beautifully around food. The “black cake”, as mentioned in the title, is a puzzle piece that connected the journey that we follow with this family. I loved the dialogue around food and culture, and I think this makes the book great for so many different audiences. Highly recommend!

Daisy Jones And The Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid
Now this one I ABSOLUTELY understand the hype around. This was such a cool story that I’ve heard was inspired by the tension that was between the bandmembers of Fleetwood Mac while they were on stage at their concerts back in the day. While it’s definitely music-heavy, it’s also a story about love, life, addition, and how they all overlap and dance with each other. Such a fun book. The TV show changed some details that actually really bothered me, but was still a really great adaptation of the novel. I wish they had stuck more to the story, but I sobbed regardless.

The Haunting Of Hill House by Shirley Jackson
This was QUITE different from the Netflix series! This was also the rare occasion where I watched the TV series long before reading the book. It’s starting to make me wonder if everyone just likes whatever they consumed first, better? Or perhaps it’s because of how long ago this book was written, but it was much slower than the series. The premise never made much sense to me – why these random people would agree to go to this house for experimentation, basically, with no real reason. I think the TV series makes more sense, and I like how much they actually pulled from the book. Regardless, I still enjoyed reading this and liked seeing where the inspiration was drawn from.

Normal People by Sally Rooney
I wasn’t expecting this to be so sad! The story is beautiful in the most heartbreaking way, and it definitely lack some closure (and lacks a happy ever after). It makes me sad that they seem so connected but then also disconnected at the same time. Even still, I actually enjoying seeing how their story played out in the length of time that we were given. Maybe this is a hot take, but I think the Hulu TV series was a little long and would have been better as a movie? Maybe I’m alone in this, cause I know so many people who loved the series. I felt like the emotion really came through more in the book, but I also wasn’t into the actors and I think that was a big part of its popularity.

Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn
Sharp Objects really holds up as a book and a TV show. Gillian Flynn keeps the story moving and keeps you intrigued, while still slowly setting up the story. Some things are a little cliche, like the small town vibe and the thirst of a journalist looking for the next story. But without giving anything away – the ending is fantastic and something I was not expecting. The show was almost identical to the book, which I very much appreciated. The ending of the show kind of ends on a climax, so you don’t get the falling out details that you get in the book, which I think was a mistake. I very much enjoyed seeing the repercussions in the end and how those around them reacted, and I think those who watched the show were robbed of that. However, I truly have no complaints other than that – it’s really well done.

Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn
I put this off for a while because of how mainstream it was and I was afraid that it wouldn’t live up to the popularity, but wow this was a great story! Obviously the characters aren’t ones you’re really rooting for, but the level of detail is really impressively scary and creepy and thorough. I knew the “gag” of the story before going into the book, but that didn’t hinder my experience – I still really liked it! I think I liked the book more than the movie, just because the movie felt more dramatic in a theatrical way, where as the book I felt like we were let in on more of the details and the build up. Still liked them both a lot!

The Other Black Girl by Zakiya Dalila Harris
This was sorta a mix of The Devil Wears Prada and Get Out – which was NOT what I was expecting. I watched the Hulu show and read the book in tandem, which was so interesting to see the different vibes of the way things unfolded. The show was ominous right from the get go, where as the book didn’t seem to get that “creepy / chills” kinda vibe until down the line. I will say that the twist ending was pretty cheesy – but it sorta reminded me of something that would be on A Black Lady Sketch Show, which I found hilarious. And overall I liked the show better the book, but it might be because of that connection in my head.

We Have Always Lived In The Castle by Shirley Jackson
I read this book while watching the movie at the same time, which actually I think worked out really well. Because the book is so old, it helped to watch along with the movie to make sure I knew exactly what was going on. Not that it was confusing – the story is rather simple actually, but told so well as only Shirley Jackson can do with a creepy house and a weird cast of characters. I think I wanted a little more clarity on the ending, or maybe a little more, but I understand why it’s considered one of her classics.

Lessons In Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus
I do NOT understand the hype around this book!! I really didn’t like it! First, I didn’t really understand all the messaging. I understand it’s a period piece, but the themes were around how much life sucks for woman and basically promoted that having children ruins your career. Very confusing to me, and I will never never ever ever ever understand why people CHOOSE to write SA scenes in FICTION!! Like you can write anything and this is what you picked?! It was so unnecessary to the plot and I just didn’t have a good time reading this book. Not even the AppleTV series with Brie Larson could save this one for me. I’m seriously so shocked that it’s so widely renowned.

I’m Thinking Of Ending Things by Ian Reid
At some point I think the ending should have became obvious to me but I honestly didn’t see it coming! I liked a lot of the philosophical talk towards the beginning of the book and how quickly I became creeped out as I continued reading. Really well done, nice and short, felt like reading an instant classic. I can’t say that I connected as much with the movie as I did the book. I found the movie version of Jake to be sooooo unlikeable, and I don’t think the nuances translated the way I wanted them to. Also, the choice of the endings was… a choice. The musical dance scenes and the last performance with the crazy old-people make-up was just not the direction I thought they’d go in. So… book over movie here for sure.

Thanks for reading (and watching)! (Last Updated: Oct 2024)