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Introduction

Books and Movies

From Page to Screen

June 2004


Hollywood often turns to the literary world for a great storyline.

Recommended Titles

2001: A Space Odyssey

Two astronauts find their journey into space and their very lives jeopardized by the jealousy of an extraordinary computer named Hal.

All the President's Men

The story of two young reporters of the Washington Post who picked up the Watergate story from the beginning and stayed with it through doubts, denials and discouragements.

Along Came a Spider

Alex Cross, a Washington, D.C. police detective, becomes caught up in a kidnapping case that may involve a schizophrenic psychopath.

Beaches

Loudmouthed, redheaded Cee Cee Bloom has her sights set on Hollywood. Bertie White, quiet and conservative, dreams of getting married and having children. In 1951, their childhood worlds collide in Atlantic City. Keeping in touch as pen pals, they reunite over the years ... always near the ocean.

Beloved

Set in rural Ohio several years after the Civil War, this is a profoundly affecting chronicle of slavery and its aftermath in the life and spirit of an ex-slave.

The Bonfire of the Vanities

Wolfe's wise and wickedly brilliant novel of lust, greed, Wall Street and the American way of life in the '80s.

Bridget Jones's Diary

Laugh-out-loud account of a year in the life of a thirty-something "singleton" on a permanent doomed quest for self-improvement.

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

Five lucky children get to tour Willy Wonka's magic chocolate factory. The good ones get delicious rewards, but the bad ones soon start to disappear!

Charlotte's Web

Wilbur, the pig, is desolate when he discovers that he is destined to be the farmer's Christmas dinner until his spider friend, Charlotte, decides to help him.

Chocolat

Just a few days before Lent, a flamboyant woman and her daughter open a chocolate shop in a small French town and create a stir with their seemingly magical sweet-treat remedies for life's problems.

The Cider House Rules

Set in rural Maine in the first half of this century, it tells the story of Dr. Wilbur Larch--saint and obstetrician, founder and director of the orphanage in the town of St. Cloud's, ether addict and abortionist. It is also the story of Dr. Larch's favorite orphan, Homer Wells, who is never adopted.

Circle of Friends

From Knockglen to Dublin, heartbreak and betrayal follow three extraordinary and unforgettable women as an explosive confrontation brings hidden lies to the surface and tests the meaning of love and the bonds of friendship.

Cyrano de Bergerac

In 17th-century Paris, a long-nosed poet and swordsman helps his handsome friend win the girl he himself loves.

Dances with Wolves

Lieutenant John Dunbar, the only soldier at an army outpost deep in Indian territory, befriends the local Comanche tribe and learns their ways from the beautiful Comanche woman whose life he saved.

Emma

Emma is bright, pretty, rich, supremely self-assured, and determined to impose her romantic ideals on all those around her. Her well-ordered life is about to change, though, as she embarks on a journey of growth and discovery.

The English Patient

A story that traces the intersection of four damaged lives in an Italian villa at the end of World War II. Hana, the exhausted nurse; the maimed thief, Caravaggio; the wary sapper, Kip: each is haunted by the riddle of the English patient, the nameless, burned man who lies in an upstairs room and whose memories of passion, betrayal, and rescue are told.

Exodus

An American nurse and an Israeli freedom fighter get caught up in the re-birth of Israel

The Fellowship of the Ring

In ancient times the Rings of Power were crafted by the Elven-smiths, and Sauron, the Dark Lord, forged the One Ring, filling it with his own power so that he could rule all others. But the One Ring was taken from him, and though he sought it throughout Middle-earth, it remained lost to him. After many ages it fell into the hands of Bilbo Baggins, as told in THE HOBBIT. In a sleepy village in the Shire, young Frodo Baggins finds himself faced with an immense task, as his elderly cousin Bilbo entrusts the Ring to his care. Frodo must leave his home and make a perilous journey across Middle-earth to the Cracks of Doom, there to destroy the Ring and foil the Dark Lord in his evil purpose.

The Firm

Mitch McDeere made it to the top of his class at Harvard Law and had his choice of any firm in the country. But when he signed on with Bendini, Lambert & Locke of Memphis, he made a deadly mistake.

The French Lieutenant's Woman

Charles Smithson, a conventional young scientist, breaks his proper Victorian engagement upon becoming involved with the devastating Sarah Woodruff, whom the townspeople have linked with scandal and forbidden pleasures.

From Here to Eternity

The lives of the men and women stationed in Diamond Head, Hawaii, on the eve of the attack on Pearl Harbor.

Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe

Folksy and fresh, endearing and enduring, Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe tells the tale of two women and the cafe they ran in Whistle Stop, Alabama, offering barbecue, coffee, love, laughter--and an occasional murder.

Gone with the Wind

A monumental classic considered by many to be not only the greatest love story ever written, but also the greatest Civil War saga.

The Graduate

After returning home, a college graduate finds the wife of his father's business partner eager to educate him.

The Great Gatsby

A classic story of the fabulously wealthy Jay Gatsby and his love for the beautiful Daisy Buchanan.

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone

Rescued from the outrageous neglect of his aunt and uncle, a young boy with a great destiny proves his worth while attending Hogwarts School for Wizards and Witches.

The Hours

The life and work of Virginia Woolf are used to tell the story of a group of contemporary characters struggling with the conflicting claims of love and inheritance, hope and despair.

Howards End

E.M. Forster unveils the English character as never before, exploring the underlying class warfare involving three distinct groups--a wealthy family bound by the rules of tradition and property, two independent, cultured sisters, and a young man living on the edge of poverty. The source of their conflict, Howards End, a house in the countryside which ultimately becomes a symbol of conflict within British society.

In Cold Blood

With the publication of this book, Capote permanently ripped through the barrier separating crime reportage from serious literature. As he reconstructs the 1959 murder of a Kansas farm family and the investigation that led to the capture, trial, and execution of the killers, Capote generates suspense and empathy.

The Indian in the Cupboard

It all began with a birthday present nine-year-old Omri didn't want. But when his toy Indian comes to life, this gift becomes Omri's secret: precious, dangerous, wonderful--even magical.

Interview with the Vampire

A reporter hears a vampire's chilling tale of centuries of life.

Jane Eyre

The love story of Jane Eyre, a plain yet spirited governess, and her arrogant, brooding Mr. Rochester.

The Last of the Mohicans

In 1757, the third year of the French and Indian War, Hawkeye, a colonial scout, and his friends, Chingachkook, a chief of the Mohicans, and his son Uncas risk their lives to guide two English sisters through hostile territory and evade the evil Huron, Magua, who is determined to destroy them.

Love Story

The story of rich Harvard jock Oliver Barrett IV and working-class Radcliffe student Jenny Cavilleri--how they are opposite in every way, how they share a love that defies everything, and how a love lingers in the heart now and forever.

The Maltese Falcon

A murder investigation requires Detective Sam Spade to become involved in a dangerous search for a valuable statue.

Murder on the Orient Express

On a three-day journey through the snowbound Balkan hills, Hercule Poirot tracks down a murderer among a colorful and unusual assortment of passengers aboard the long train ride from Istanbul to Paris.

Of Mice and Men

Tells a story of two migrant workers. They dream of better days on a spread of their own until an act of unintentional violence has tragic consequences.

Old Yeller

Fourteen-year-old Travis is left to take care of his mother and small brother in the Texas wilderness while his father is away, and is able to do so with the help of a big yellow dog, Old Yeller.

Out of Africa

In describing her experiences managing a coffee plantation in Kenya, the author provides insight into the nature of African life.

The Right Stuff

The moments of grandeur and weakness, the aspirations, and the problems of America's astronauts are revealed in an exploration of the dimensions of their inner lives in space, on the moon, and on the earth.

Seabiscuit

The true story of how three men and a great racehorse captivated a nation.

Sense and Sensibility

The Dashwood sisters are very different from each other in appearance and temperament; Elinor's good sense and readiness to observe social forms contrast with Marianne's impulsive candor and warm but excessive sensibility. Both struggle to maintain their integrity and find happiness in the face of a competitive marriage market.

Sophie's Choice

Styron tells the story of a young Southerner who wants to become a writer; of the turbulent love-hate affair between a brilliant Jew and a beautiful Polish woman; and of an awful wound in the woman's past, one that impels Sophie toward destruction.

Terms of Endearment

Fiercely independent and idiosyncratic, Aurora Greenway is used to the world revolving around her, but her daughter's hasty marriage and subsequent struggle with cancer cause Aurora to rethink her life.

To Kill a Mockingbird

This timeless classic is told through the voice of a young girl named Scout as she observes her neighborhood and family embroiled in a black man's battle for justice, defended by her father, an attorney.

Tuesdays with Morrie

Maybe it was a grandparent or a teacher. Someone older who understood you when you were young and searching, who helped you see the world as a more profound place, and gave you advice to help you make your way through it. For Mitch Albom, that person was Morrie Schwartz, his college professor from nearly 20 years ago. The two lost touch. When he rediscovered Morrie in the last months of the older man's life, Mitch visited Morrie ever Tuesday, just like in the old days. This is the magical chronicle of their time together, through which Mitch shares Morrie's lasting gift to the world.

Under the Tuscan Sun

Frances Mayes brings a poet's voice, the eye of a seasoned traveler, and the discerning palate of a cook and food writer together to create an enchanting and lyrical book about the life, the traditions, and the cuisine of Tuscany.

Wuthering Heights

In early nineteenth-century Yorkshire, the passionate attachment between a headstrong young girl and a foundling boy brought up by her father causes disaster for them and many others, even in the next generation.

List Created By

Ruth Greenberg

Collection Development/Catalog Librarian, BCCLS

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