Watch that Book! — 2013 Books-to-Movies

Books hit the box office in a big way last year. Just in case you were visiting another planet—here's a list of notable books found on the screen in 2013. Don't worry, though: if you were clueless about a few...so were we!

Books-to-Movies in 2013
Click on titles for Reading Guides

	Austenland Book by Shannon Hale Movie with Keri Russell Jane, a single, modern day New Yorker, is in search of her own Mr. Darcy. What else to do but sign up at a two week fantasy resort for Austen obsessed women!
	Beautiful Creatures Book by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl Movie with Alden Ehrenreich and Alice Englert In a few months, when Lena turns 16, she will be "claimed" by the Light or the Dark. Along with her boyfriend Ethan, she must fight off supernatural powers.
	The Book Thief Book by Markus Zusak Movie with Sophie Nelisse, Emily Watson Coming-of-age story story in Nazi Germany. Leisel learns to read, and is driven to collect stolen books and a set of peculiar friends, including a Jewish refugee.
	Catching Fire Book by Suzanne Collins Movie with Jennifer Lawrence Katniss won the Hunger Games and should feel secure in her family's safety. But she becomes the face of a popular rebellion—and now the capitol wants revenge.
	City of Bones Book by Cassandra Clare Movie with Lilly Collins Teenager Clary Fray witnesses a murder, but the body disappears into thin air. Then she meets Jace and is suddenly pulled into the world of the Shadow Hunters.
	Enders Game Book by Orson Scott Card Movie with Harrison Ford Government agencies breed child geniuses and train them as soldiers to fight a hostile alien race. One future soldier is brilliant young Andrew "Ender" Wiggin.
	The Great Gatsby Book by F. Scott Fitzgerald Movie with Leonardo DiCaprio Baz Lurhmann's take on the great Great Gatsby, an American classic that highlights our penchant to remake ourselves. Upper class shinanigans lead to tragedy.
	The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug Book by J.R.R. Tolkien Movie with Ian McKellan Bilbo Baggins, Gandalf, and the Dwarves continue their quest to reclaim their homeland, from Smaug. Bilbo Baggins is in possession of a mysterious and magical ring.
	Labor Day Book by Joyce Maynard Movie with Kate Winslet and Josh Brolin Henry Wheeler's life is changed forever when he and his emotionally fragile mother show kindness to a stranger with a terrible secret. A story of love, and treachery.
	The Reluctant Fundamentalist Book by Mohsin Hamid Movie with Riz Ahmed and Kate Hudson Changez is living an immigrant’s dream of America. Princeton, Wall Street, and beautiful Eric. But 9/11 changes everything as he discovers more fundamental allegiances.
	Safe Haven Book by Nicholas Sparks Movie with Julianne Hough and Josh Duhame A young woman with a mysterious past lands in Southport, North Carolina where her bond with a widower forces her to confront the dark secret that haunts her.
	Silver Linings Playbook Book by Matthew Quick Movie with Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence A young woman with a mysterious past lands in Southport, North Carolina where her bond with a widower forces her to confront the dark secret that haunts her.
	12 Years a Slave Book by Solomon Northup Movie with Chiwetel Ejiofor The memoir of a black man born free in New York state but kidnapped, sold into slavery and kept in bondage for 12 years in Louisiana before the American Civil War.
	Under the Dome Book by Stephen King TV series (Season 1) An invisible and mysterious force field descends upon a small town, trapping residents inside, cut off from the rest of civilization. What is the dome and why is it there?

*We snuck Silver Linings in from late December 2012.

Let us know if you've got a favorite...or about one that disappointed. Are any of the films better than their books? (Most of us think it's the other way around...but not always.) Did any film inspire you to read the book afterward?

Next up—Books-to-Movies scheculed for 2014. Stay tuned!