Books On Film | 42 (Jackie Robinson)

The biopic 42 hit movie theaters yesterday. The film is about the life of famous baseball player Jackie Robinson, who was the first black player in major league baseball since 1884 and whose recruitment helped end 60 years of segregation in baseball.

The film focuses on Robinson's recruitment by the Brooklyn Dodger's team executive Branch Rickey in 1946, follows him during his successive rookie year on the team, and culminates in the 1947 World Series (the first to be televised) where the Dodgers faced the Yankees.

The movie already has a tie-in novelization book, but I thought a better book to read would be Jackie Robinson's autobiography I Never Had It Made. In the book Robinson chronicles his early life, his college years at UCLA, his time in the army during WWII, and his years as a baseball player for the Negro American Leagues and Major League Baseball.

If you have an interest in baseball or American History then check out the film and the book!

Cover courtesy of LibraryThing

Books on Film | Alien

Prometheus (2012) was one of the biggest blockbusters of last summer. The movie was heavily anticipated, because it is a prequel to the much loved movie Alien (1979). 

Alien is a futuristic, science fiction, horror film. The movie follows a spaceship crew who encounter much more than they bargained for when they set off to investigate a strange alien ship.

What started off as one movie is now a huge media franchise with prequels, sequels, crossover films, video games, graphic novels, movie novelizations, and book series.

The original movie was followed by several sequels, titled Aliens (1986), Alien 3 (1992), Alien Resurrection (1997). Those films were them followed by two crossover films with Predator, another popular science fiction franchise, in 2004 and 2007.

All of the films, including the crossover films, have been turned into novels with the exception of Prometheus. The first three, Alien, Aliens, and Alien 3, were written by science fiction author Alan Dean Foster. Foster has written for other science fiction series, like Star Trek, in addition to being the author of several original science fiction novels. Alien Resurrection and Alien vs Predator were also novelized, although by other authors.

In addition to the movie novels, there are fifteen books set in the same universe with original story lines. The first, Earth Hives, was written by Steve Perry. Like Foster, Perry has also written for several other science fiction series and published original work.

Lastly, for the comic fans there are the Alien and Alien vs Predator comic book series. The aliens from Alien also makes crossover appearances in other comic books, including Batman, Superman, and the Green Lantern.

If you like futuristic alien horror stories you might want to check out the movies, books, and graphic novels from the Alien universe.

Covers courtesy of LibraryThing

Series Information from Wikipedia

Books On Film | E.T.

Don't you just hate it when your parents think your new alien friend is scary? And the government wants to capture them even though they just want to get home? 

If your child has never watched E.T., The Extra-Terrestrial (1982)--also available on LINK+--they are missing out. It's considered one of the greatest science fiction films ever made. It tells the story of a young boy, Elliot, who meets an stranded alien in his backyard. Elliot, his older brother, and his younger sister set out to help E.T. find his way back home all the while trying to avoid being discovered by his mother and by the government who is searching for E.T. 

If you can grab the original version of the film (not the 20th anniversary version). I think puppet E.T. beats computer animated E.T. hands down.

A novelization of the film was released in 1982. The book titled E.T., the extra-terrestrial: a novel--also available on LINK+-- as well as it's sequel, E.T.: the book of the Green Planet: a novel (LINK+) which follows E.T. on his journey home, was written by William Kotzwinkle. Kotzwinkle is an award winning novelist, children's book writer, and screen writer. Some of his popular works include The Bear Went Over The Mountain (LINK+) and the Walter the Farting Dog series.

Covers courtesy of LibraryThing

Books On Film | Snow White

For the rest of this month, we'll talk about a couple of classic fairy tales that have been turned into films.

Snow White (originally titled Sneewittchen) is a German fairytale collected and published by the Brothers Grimm in 1812. There are several Snow White stories that originate in Europe, including ones where the heroine meets knights or dragons, but the German version is the most well known.

The story is about a young girl whose beauty obsessed step-mother wants to be rid of her because she will one day surpass her in looks. The tale was popularized in the Disney animated film Snow White and The Seven Dwarfs (1937). It was one of the earliest film adaptations of the fairy tale and is probably the most well known version. Although, the premise of the movie is the same as the book there are differences. For instance, true love's kiss in nowhere in the original fairy tale and golden dancing shows make no appearance in the animated film.

Last year we saw two live-action adaptations: The first, Mirror Mirror (2012)  was based on the novel by Gregory Macguire (author of Wicked). It starred Lilly Collins and Julia Roberts. The second, Snow White and The Huntsman (2012) later became a novelized book. It starred Kristen Stewart, Charlize Theron, and Chris Hemsworth. Like the Disney film, both live-action movies take liberties with the story. They are very different from each other and from the book, but they are still very much Snow White films.

Covers Courtesy of LibraryThing

Books On Film | Supernatural

We all know that books are frequently made into movies, but the reverse also occurs. The process of adapting a movie or television show into a book is called novelization.

Novelizations take two forms: direct screen-to-book adaptions and "spin-off" books. "Spin-off" books are written in the same universe with the same characters, but with plots not seen in the source material. Direct screen-to-book adaptations are more common with movies and "spin-offs" more common with television shows, particularly science fiction and fantasy shows with large fan-bases.

The fantasy, horror show Supernatural, which is about two brothers who hunt supernatural creatures, was first novelized in 2007. Since the show is in it's eighth season and the show has put it's own spin on classic monster mythology, there is plenty of story to draw inspiration from.

If you like to watch Supernatural check out the books below. Are they as good as the show? You tell me!

1. Nevermore by Keith R.A. DeCandido 

2. Witch's Canyon by Jeff Mariott  

3. Bone Key by Keith R.A. DeCandido 
4. Heart of the Dragon by Keith R.A. Decandido [Link+]

5. The Unholy Cause by Joe Schreiber [Link+]
6. War of the Sons by Rebecca Dessertine [Link+]

If you are looking for other supernatural novelizations, checkout out the Buffy The Vampire Slayer, Angel, and Charmed books.

Have you checked out the novelization of one of your favorite movies or television shows? How did it compare? Comment below and let us know!

For more information about our Link+ borrowing system, please click here.
[Bibliographic Source: Good Reads - Supernatural TV Show Books] 
[Cover images uploaded by Candace]