Check It Out: Prepare yourself for 2015’s movies
The holidays announced the arrival to the big screen of two longtime chart-topping books, “American Sniper” and “Unbroken.” This appears destined to be a year of dozens of popular book adaptations. Before watching the films, check out the books they were based on.
The bestselling debut novel by M.L. Stedman, “The Light Between Oceans,” tells the story of a childless couple on an Australian island who are given a chance at parenthood when a baby, along with a dead man, arrives in a boat.
“Me Before You” by Jojo Moyes is a heartbreaking love story between a quadriplegic businessman who is tired of living and a caregiver who attempts to deter his suicidal feelings.
“Dark Places” by Gillian Flynn, written three years before “Gone Girl,” is a gripping, macabre tale dealing with ritualistic murder, false accusations and the dark side of human nature.
In her debut novel from 2009, “Still Alice,” Lisa Genova — a Harvard doctorate recipient in neuroscience —paints the emotional story of a Harvard professor and linguistics expert who suffers early-onset Alzheimer’s disease.
Fans of true adventure stories may be interested in “In the Heart of the Sea: The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex” by Nathaniel Philbrick and “Into Thin Air” by Jon Krakauer.
“In the Heart of the Sea,” which won the National Book Award for nonfiction in 2000, recalls the 90-day attempt in 1820 of the crew of the Essex to survive at sea after their ship was repeatedly struck and eventually sunk by an 80-ton whale. The story was an inspiration to Herman Melville in his writing of “Moby-Dick.”
“Into Thin Air,” a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for general nonfiction in 1998, is a firsthand account by Outside Magazine journalist Krakauer of the 1996 Mount Everest disaster, which claimed eight lives.
It is no surprise that Hollywood targets the young adult audience as well, with “The Hunger Games,” “Ender’s Game” and “The Giver” all being recently adapted from bestsellers for the screen.
Four years before he wrote “The Fault in Our Stars,” John Green penned a coming-of-age novel, “Paper Towns.” Green tells the story of boy meets girl, Q and Margo. One night, she randomly asks Q (who is secretly in love with her) to help get revenge on those she thinks have hurt her. The following day, she goes missing but leaves clues for Q to find her.
“Insurgent,” the action-filled second book of Veronica Roth’s bestselling “Divergent” trilogy, follows Tris and Tobias (“Four”) as they attempt to defeat the Erudites in a dystopian Chicago.
The sequel to “The Maze Runner,” “The Scorch Trials” by James Dashner continues the story of Thomas and the Gladers, who, thinking that solving the Maze meant freedom, face a new challenge: crossing the Scorch, a 100-mile stretch of earth destroyed by solar flares, while infected with a deadly virus.
These titles are available in print or compact disc format, and many of them are also available as a digital book. Be sure to check our new e-Branch page and Overdrive and Axis 360 collections at newportbeachlibrary.org/ebranch.
CHECK IT OUT is written by the staff of the Newport Beach Public Library. All titles may be reserved from home or office computers by accessing the catalog at https://www.newportbeachlibrary.org. For more information on the Central Library or any of the branches, contact the Newport Beach Public Library at (949) 717-3800, option 2.