Category Archives: Bookish films

Jane Eyre (film)

Posted on June 3, 2011 by

A couple of weeks ago, newly released from classes, I did something I never, ever do any more: I took myself to see the new Jane Eyre, starring Mia Wasikowska and Michael Fassbender. Jane Eyre is a novel I love … Continue reading →

Posted in Bookish films | 26 Comments

Sunday Salon: Literary Adaptations

Posted on March 27, 2011 by

The other night, I (finally) watched the film adaptation of one of my favorite novels, Jude the Obscure by Thomas Hardy. The 1996 film, directed by Michael Winterbottom and starring Christopher Eccleston and Kate Winslet, was a fine adaptation—perfectly cast … Continue reading →

Posted in Bookish films, Sunday Salon | 36 Comments

Before the Fact

Posted on June 10, 2010 by

From the very first paragraph, it’s obvious that the 1932 novel Before the Fact by Francis Iles (a pen name for Anthony Berkeley Cox) is not a typical Golden Age mystery. Golden Age mysteries are typically “whodunits” or “howdunits” in … Continue reading →

Posted in Bookish films, Classics, Mysteries | 18 Comments

Capsule Reviews: Bookish Films

Posted on November 16, 2009 by

Recently, I’ve watched a whole bunch of movies or miniseries that are based on literature. I haven’t had time to write real reviews of them, but I like talking about films almost as much as I like talking about books, … Continue reading →

Posted in Bookish films, Classics, Mysteries, Speculative Fiction | 14 Comments

L.A. Confidential

Posted on October 19, 2009 by

There’s hardboiled fiction, which portrays crime and violence unsentimentally, and in which the detective is usually cool, cocky, and flippant, but relatively honest. Then there’s noir fiction, in which the protagonist is usually not a detective at all, but a victim, … Continue reading →

Posted in Bookish films, Fiction, Historical Fiction, Mysteries | 5 Comments

Wives and Daughters (film)

Posted on July 22, 2009 by

Earlier this summer, I read Elizabeth Gaskell’s lovely long novel Wives and Daughters (you can read my review of it here.) In the comments, several of you told me that I would enjoy the BBC adaptation of it, so when … Continue reading →

Posted in Bookish films, Classics, Fiction | 8 Comments

Gone, Baby, Gone (film)

Posted on July 6, 2009 by

I read Dennis Lehane’s mystery-thriller Gone, Baby, Gone back in 2004. I was on something of a Lehane kick that year: I read all four of his Kenzie-Gennaro private eye novels, plus his standalone novel Shutter Island. The books are … Continue reading →

Posted in Bookish films, Contemporary, Fiction, Mysteries | 3 Comments

About a Boy

Posted on April 22, 2009 by

This has to be the most light-hearted book about severe bullying, dysfunctional relationships, and suicidal depression I’ve ever read. You have to hand it to Nick Hornby. About a Boy reads as if he went out into the street in London … Continue reading →

Posted in Bookish films, Contemporary, Fiction | 8 Comments

The Tale of Despereaux

Posted on March 29, 2009 by

I got out of the habit of reading children’s books years ago, not because I decided I outgrew them or lost interest, but mostly because they weren’t on my radar. A children’s book would have to become a phenomenon for … Continue reading →

Posted in Bookish films, Children's / YA Lit, Speculative Fiction | 11 Comments

Bleak House (miniseries)

Posted on March 21, 2009 by

Even while I was reading Bleak House a couple of weeks ago, I found myself looking forward to watching the recent (2005) BBC adaptation of it. Several people had recommended it to me (including Teresa), and I had had a … Continue reading →

Posted in Bookish films | 2 Comments