I’m gonna start this off by saying that, in general, I am hard to please when it comes to movies that are made out of books. They start with great source material, and then things tend to go very, very awry. Then, I get very, very angry and start throwing things (mostly popcorn) at the tv or projector screen. That’s why my family, friends and boyfriend have stopped taking me to bookish movies.

However, these movies did not disappoint me, and in fact, made me want to read the books again because they were good. Check them out and talk to me about them! Also, this post is chock-full of affiliate links, so if you don’t like them, don’t click them. I’d appreciate it if you would, though.

Wizard of Oz

I’m more than a little biased, because Wizard of Oz is my favorite movie of all time, but it’s actually fairly accurate to the book. I think they pulled the important things from the original story, and while they left things out, they got the spirit of the original story absolutely correct for me.

Book: Amazon | Indiebound – Movie: Amazon

Holes

This movie came out when I was in fourth grade, and my teacher had us read this, and I loved it. I loved the book and I loved the movie. I haven’t read Holes in several years, but this still holds space on my bookshelves, because it made such an impact on me when I was younger. I’ll probably write about this more later on, but I really recommend this book.

Book: Amazon | Indiebound  – Movie: Amazon

Anne of Green Gables

You guys might have read my Series Saturday about Anne of Green Gables. I love this series a lot for so many reasons, and I actually don’t own this miniseries yet, but you totally should. Megan Follows makes a perfect Anne, and there’s no one more Marilla-ish than Colleen Dewhurst. Seriously, you need to watch it.

Book: Amazon | Indiebound  – Movie: Amazon

The Princess Bride

The Princess Bride is honestly one of the strangest books I’ve ever read – from footnotes in a fantasy book to the Rodents of Unusual Size to being “mostly dead all day,” and it translates so well into the film version that I’ve only met one person in the world who doesn’t like it…. and he lives with me. Go figure, right? If you have seen the movie, but haven’t read the book, it has the same charm and is a little different, but totally enjoyable, in my opinion. I really think you should check it out.

Book: Amazon | Indiebound  – Movie: Amazon

Charlotte’s Web

I grew up on the apparently ancient animated version of this kid’s story, and I loved the book, too. This is “some story” in my opinion, and if you haven’t watched this version, you really should. My favorite part as a kid was the smorgasbord song. I haven’t watched the 2006 version, so I can’t talk about that, but I loved the 1976 one!

Book: Amazon | Indiebound  – Movie: Amazon

Stardust

Stardust was a movie that I watched before I knew it was a book, but that didn’t diminish my enjoyment of the book once I read it, though I was disappointed in the difference between Gaiman’s pirate captain, and the movie version. Both of these are awesome works of art, and the movie is beautiful. I definitely recommend it!

Book: Amazon | Indiebound – Movie: Amazon

The Princess Diaries

Ah, The Princess Diaries. The book that is nothing like the movie, but both are enjoyable to me. How could you not love Anne Hathaway and Julie Andrews in this? I honestly don’t remember much about the book, but the movie is one of my feel-good movies. It’s just great film, in my opinion. Plus, the second one has Chris Pine as a love interest, but doesn’t actually force Mia into a relationship she doesn’t want! It’s great!

Book: Amazon | Indiebound – Movie: Amazon

Lord of the Rings trilogy

I grew up with my Dad reading The Hobbit to us as a bedtime story, so we were all really excited when we heard about the Peter Jackson films coming out. We were thrilled with them, and even happier with the extended editions. I’m pretty sure we’ve bought my dad the extended edition DVD’s like three times over, he loves them so much.

Book: Amazon | Indiebound

BBC Pride & Prejudice

I have been fairly outspoken about my dislike for the 2005 Pride and Prejudice film, but honestly, that film’s biggest issue is that it wasn’t the BBC version that I’d grown up on and fallen in love with. Jennifer Ehle and Colin Firth did a fantastic job, and started a lifelong love of Colin Firth for me. You just can’t beat the BBC version for me.

Book: Amazon | Indiebound – Movie: Amazon

Vampire Academy

So this one might not be as popular with others of you, but I loved the Vampire Academy movie a lot. It was cheesy and overdramatic, but honestly, so is the book. You can read my Series Saturday about the series later this month!

Book: Amazon | Indiebound – Movie: Amazon (also on Netflix)

What are some of your favorite books turned into movies? Talk to me about them in the comments!

Disclaimer: All links to Indiebound and Amazon are affiliate links, which means that if you buy through those links, I will make a small amount of money off of it.