Friday, September 3, 2010

Books to Movies Week: Lights, Camera, Action!


We've talked about the good, the bad and the meh. Everyone already knows that I'm waiting on "The Help" to be made into a movie, even going so far as to cast the movie myself). Now let's talk about more books that should be made into movies.


1.
The Broke Diaries by Angela Nissel
Also known as one of the funniest books I've read, I've heard rumblings for the longest that a movie is forthcoming, but I've yet to see it happen.


"On buying ramen noodles: I am sooooooo embarassed. I only have 33 cents. I (please don’t laugh) put the money on the counter and quickly attempt to dash out with my Chicken Flavored Salt Noodles. The guy calls me back! I look up instinctively, I should have run . . . Why didn’t I run???!! He tells me the noodles are 35 cents. I try to apologize sincerely. I thought the sign said 33 cents yesterday, so that’s all I brought with me. Could he wait while I ran home and get the 2 cents? I show him my student I.D. to let him know I am not a thief. He shakes his head and motions either for me to get the hell out of his store and don't come back again or get the money and do come back. I don’t know. He said something like “Nyeh” and swiped his hand in my direction.

I can’t translate hand motions well.

The noodles: tasty!!!"

2. The Witching Hour by Anne Rice
Until "True Blood" came along, I left witches, vampires and warlocks to others. Occasionally I'd dip my toe in the waters of Anne Rice-dom though and find something fantastic.
"In this engrossing and hypnotic tale of witchcraft and the occult spanning four centuries, we meet a great dynasty of witches--a family given to poetry and incest, to murder and philosophy, a family that over the ages is haunted by a powerful, dangerous and seductive being."

3. I Been in Sorrow's Kitchen and Licked Out All the Pots by Susan Straight
I read this year's ago and the story has stayed with me.
"Large, silent, 14-year-old, blue - black Marietta Cook leaves tiny Gullah-speaking Pine Gardens, South Carolina to seek her uncle and her fortune in Charleston when her mother dies. Learning the rhythms of the city, working for Frank in the fish market, going home to bear twins, working on a rice plantation, returning to Charleston and raising her boys--her life unfolds."

4. 72 Hour Hold by Bebe Moore Campbell
I think it's important that the African American community confront mental illness head on and stop sweeping it under the rug, all the while believing that it can pray away schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, etc. In an intensely personal story, the late Bebe Moore Campbell allows readers a glimpse into the world of those affected by loved ones suffering from a mental illness.
"In this novel of family and redemption, a mother struggles to save her eighteen-year-old daughter from the devastating consequences of mental illness. Trina suffers from bipolar disorder, making her paranoid, wild, and violent. Watching her child turn into a bizarre stranger, Keri searches for assistance through normal channels. She quickly learns that a seventy-two hour hold is the only help you can get when an adult child starts to spiral out of control. After three days, Trina can sign herself out of any program."


5. The Tamara Hayle series by Valerie Wilson Wesley
Tamara Hayle is part Cleopatra Jones and part Willona Woods and I love her! I don't know that she would translate well on the big screen, but I would love for HBO to adapt the series about this modern day private eye.
"A tough and savvy Newark cop-turned-P.I., Tamara Hoyle is a sister with a mission: to raise her kid right in a mean town."


Now it's your turn. What books do you think deserve the Hollywood treatment?

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