Reading Between the Frames: 15 Books That Inspired Iconic Movies

Classic Adaptations: From “To Kill a Mockingbird” to “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon”

Book adaptations have long been a staple of the film industry. With Hollywood (and other film industries around the world) constantly searching for new content, it’s little wonder that buying up the rights to short stories and novels has always been the norm.

Books provide a place to start for screenwriters, and are a way for producers to see that something already has some sort of physical presence and following in the world. Of course, just because something did well as a book does not mean it will do well as a film!

Plenty of film adaptations are just no good (I’m sure you can think of a few — tell us about your least favorite in the comments!) but there are others that just hit the mark so perfectly that lovers of cinema and the original book, both, find themselves compelled to watch the movie again and again.

In this list, I mix some well-known hits from the last century, with less-known works that you might not have heard of. In both cases, I think you’ll want to read the book after you watch the film — and, if you’ve already read the book, then what better way to relive it than to see it in a whole new form?