Book Riot's Read Harder Challenge discussion

Use this space to discuss books you’re reading or that might fit the 14th Read Harder task. Sign up for our new Read Harder newsletter to get recommendations for each task delivered straight to your inbox! https://bookriot.com/newsletter/read-...

Still haven't read The Devil Wears Prada so I think that's on my list.

The 25th Hour by David Benioff

To All the Boys I've Loved Before by Jenny Han

Stardust

I may use Nightare Alley because I recently added it to my TBR, and learned the movie version comes out this month.

Alternatively, I may read a book that inspired a Miyazaki film like Kiki's Delivery Service or Howl's Moving Castle.

Leslie Ann wrote: "I may use Nightare Alley because I recently added it to my TBR, and learned the movie version comes out this month.

Alternatively, I may read a book that inspired a Miyazaki film l..."

I didn't even think of a using a Studio Ghibli film, what a good idea!

Pretty sure I’ll have to fudge this. I rarely watch tv or movies and anything I can think of I’ve already read the book. Hopefully my memory comes up with something .

House of Gucci by Sara Gay Forden

American Psycho or Jurassic Park

Serendipity wrote: "Pretty sure I’ll have to fudge this. I rarely watch tv or movies and anything I can think of I’ve already read the book. Hopefully my memory comes up with something ."

I was also having trouble with this because if I know a movie/TV adaptation is coming out that I want to watch, I usually try to read the book first! i asked my partner for some ideas because he's a movie buff, and we came up with quite a few!

Room
Jurassic Park
Breakfast at Tiffany's and Three Stories
Metropolis By Thea von Harbou
August: Osage County
My Neighbor Totoro
Sex and the City
Orange Is the New Black

Lovecraft Country

I'm reading Lovecraft Country (Matt Ruff). I enjoyed the TV show and I'm curious about the book.

I'm doing the queer challenge and realized I've seen Love, Simon but not read the Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda. The only other one I could think of without a bunch of sleuthing is Legally Blonde (not queer that I know of).

The 101 Dalmatians

I'm presently leaning towards either North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell (I love the miniseries) or Howl’s Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones (I love the Miyazaki film).

I recently started watching 'The Wheel of Time'. I'm currently reading the first book, 'The Eye of the World'.

Since there are 15 books it will take me well into 2022 to get through them all.

The Wheel of time series by Robert Jordan

Maybe The Shining, The Silence of the Lambs, or The Hobbit, or There and Back Again for me. Or maybe a little lighter with To All the Boys I've Loved Before.

I might go outside the box with this one. I just saw Come From Away last week while it was in town and I'll probably do The Day the World Came to Town: 9/11 in Gander, Newfoundland or Channel of Peace: Stranded in Gander on 9/11.

I might go outside the box too and do a loose documentary adaptation. I have Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup on my TBR, and loved the documentary The Inventor on HBO.

Some others could be Death at Seaworld: Shamu and the Dark Side of Killer Whales in Captivity (Blackfish), Going Clear: Scientology, Hollywood, and the Prison of Belief, or How to Survive a Plague: The Inside Story of How Citizens and Science Tamed AIDS.

Going to read A Man Called Ove. I liked the movie a lot better than I thought I would.

Is anyone else struggling with this one because they always try to read the book before they see the film? I remember desperately reading Interview With The Vampire because I was determined to finish it before the film came out!

I think I'll have to go for The Bridges of Madison County

This one deserved some thought! ... and inspiration here

Some I might read include a lot of options:
The Talented Mr. Ripley
Shutter Island
Stories of Your Life and Others (it's been on my wishlist forever! Thanks to the poster who mentioned this - Arrival is based on the main story)
North and South (another poster-inspired one; I also loved the mini-series)
Hidden Figures
Crazy Rich Asians
Call the Midwife: A True Story of the East End in the 1950s
True Grit
The Virgin Suicides

Jessica wrote: "This one deserved some thought! ... and inspiration here

Some I might read include a lot of options:
The Talented Mr. Ripley
Shutter Island
[book:Stories of Your Life ..."

Oh, I hadn't thought of Call the Midwife!

One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
I've never actually seen the movie but I have watched "Ratched" and loved it!

Rebecca wrote: "I'm doing the queer challenge and realized I've seen Love, Simon but not read the Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda. The only other one I could think of without a bunch of sleuthing..."

I had no idea Legally Blonde was a book! I need to search that out. Simon is a really sweet read. I almost never read YA. but did so for a previous Read Harder and really liked it.

Alex wrote: "Leslie Ann wrote: "I may use Nightare Alley because I recently added it to my TBR, and learned the movie version comes out this month.

Alternatively, I may read a book that inspire..."

Hey this is great I actually have My Neighbor Totoro sitting on my shelf. I didn't even think it would fit here. I was planning on Crazy Rich Asians

I have a thing where I usually hate watching a movie without reading the book first - but I do watch a lot of Hallmark movies - which are often based on books...without reading the books (i like my romance a little less wholesome and a lot more racy).

Throw a dart at Stephen King and there's probably a movie version of his book, my favorites are The Green Mile, The Myst, The Dead Zone, and Dreamcatcher.

If you want something quick there's James Patterson's Sundays at Tiffany's, Suzanne's Diary for Nicholas, Women's Murder Club (they all start with a #), Along Came A Spider or Kiss the Girls.

Then there's:
The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton
Rumble Fish by S.E.Hinton
That Was Then This is Now by S.E. Hinton
The Andromeda Strain by Michael Chrichton
Twelve Patients: Life and Death at Bellvue Hospital (New Amsterdam)
True Blood/Sookie Stackhouse series by Charlaine Harris
Dayshift by Charlaine Harris (Midnight Texas)
Gone with the Wind

If you're still stuck send me a message I'd be glad to do some more excavating of my brain matter lol

Elizabeth wrote: "I might go outside the box too and do a loose documentary adaptation. I have Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup on my TBR, and loved the documentary The Invento..."

Elizabeth wrote: "I might go outside the box too and do a loose documentary adaptation. I have Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup on my TBR, and loved the documentary The Invento..."

Elizabeth wrote: "I might go outside the box too and do a loose documentary adaptation. I have Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup on my TBR, and loved the documentary The Invento..."

I loved 'Death at Seaworld.' It's such a tragic read and a reason why I'll never go back to that place. It's been a long while since I read it but I still remember.

Watched The Princess Bride with our grandkids over Thanksgiving and all the adults talked about how we’d never read the book. 😂 So this one feels like an easy choice for me.

With Season 2 releasing today, there's always the Witcher books.

A bunch John Grisham's books are movies.
Same with Michael Crichton
A bunch of Philip K. Dick books
The English Patient
Lord of The Rings Series
Harry Potter
The Hobbit
Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy
Kiss the Girls
Along Came a Spider
Dan Brown's Books
Fire in the Hole Justified is based on this short story
A Discovery of Witches
Virgin River
Stealing Home
Big Little Lies
Little Fires Everywhere
Outlander
The Handmaid's Tale
A Game of Thrones
Anne of Green Gables
The Queen's Gambit
Dune

I just had another one, and it left my brain. I'll probably remember at like 3am >.<

Tiffany wrote: "American Psycho or Jurassic Park"

Just in case you aren't aware, (but you are recommending it, so maybe you are! :) ) My husband read American Psycho, and said it's really tough to get through, and also very graphic. He says the movie is very tame compared to the movie.

Bridgerton!

Emily wrote: "Tiffany wrote: "American Psycho or Jurassic Park"

Just in case you aren't aware, (but you are recommending it, so maybe you are! :) ) My husband read American Psycho, ..."

I actually was putting those down as what I might read. Thanks for letting me know its violent. I'll still probably read it but its good to know going in.

Tiffany wrote: "Emily wrote: "Tiffany wrote: "American Psycho or Jurassic Park"

Just in case you aren't aware, (but you are recommending it, so maybe you are! :) ) My husband read Ame..."

You're welcome! And good luck :)

The American: A Special Edition of A Very Private Gentleman

This would work too

City of Bones
The Hunger Games

Kiki's Delivery Service was my daughter's favorite movie as a child, I didn't know it was a book. The Complete Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck Vols. 1-2 Boxed Set because it makes me laugh.

Dani wrote: "Maybe The Shining, The Silence of the Lambs, or The Hobbit, or There and Back Again for me. Or maybe a little lighter with [book:To All the Boys I've Loved Bef..."

The Shining is fantastic, reread it last year.

M wrote: "Still haven't read The Devil Wears Prada so I think that's on my list."

It's so good! I read it either right before or right after seeing the film, and I loved both. They're slightly different but both are very good. It's actually hard for me to decide which I like more.

Rebecca wrote: "I'm doing the queer challenge and realized I've seen Love, Simon but not read the Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda. The only other one I could think of without a bunch of sleuthing..."

Thanks, Rebecca - I think you just solved my dilemma. I *loved* that movie and I have also not read the book, though I've been meaning to since I saw the movie, and I'm pretty sure I bought the Kindle edition. It's on my list now!

Tiffany wrote: "American Psycho or Jurassic Park"

Just a heads-up: I haven't read Jurassic Park but I did read American Psycho when it first came out, years before the film version, and it is DARK, DARK, DARK. I actually hated the film version at first (I still don't *love* it) because they made it into a sort of satire/dark comedy deal, whereas the book is gruesome and graphic and extremely violent. I lent it to my English professor at the time (she said she really wanted to read it) but she returned it after reading about 3 chapters and said she just couldn't stomach it. There's no way they could've made a film and followed the book to the letter.

Don't get me wrong - I *loved* the book and would definitely recommend it, but it's nothing like the movie.

Emily wrote: "Tiffany wrote: "American Psycho or Jurassic Park"

Just in case you aren't aware, (but you are recommending it, so maybe you are! :) ) My husband read American Psycho, ..."

This is true; I can attest to that.

Hmmm... I saw Blade Runner for the first time in 1984 and have seen it a zillion times after that, but I *still* haven't read the book! Decisions, decisions...

Wow!
These are great lists and got some great suggestions. I struggled through the book, Dune, because it was on the PBS 100 America Great Reads list..I didn't realize a movie was coming out, but I did watch it.

I'm thinking: Atonement by Ian McEwan
A Beautiful Mind by Sylvia Nasar
The Princess Bride
The Shawshank Redemption: Different Seasons...wow, I didn't know that it was written by Stephen King
To All the Boys I've Loved Before by Jenny Han
Hidden Figures by Margot Lee Shetterly
Dances with Wolves by Michael Blake
Stardust by Neil Gaiman (I didn't know that was a book)
The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

Fun list to compile :) My top two are Hidden Figures & Atonement

Thinking of A Single Man by Christopher Isherwood, the source for the Colin Firth film.

You

Alaina wrote: "House of Gucci by Sara Gay Forden"

Great suggestion! I meant to read this before I watched the movie, but didn't have time.

Friendly reminder that any Marvel (or DC) movie you might have seen has a huge library of source material, including modern adaptations.

Ta-Nehisi Coates wrote Black Panther, Vol. 1: A Nation Under Our Feet, Book One

Wonder Woman: Warbringer

Also, most film noir is based off of books. If you haven't seen one, these films are old classics that should be pretty easy to stream somewhere.

The Maltese Falcon
The Big Sleep
Double Indemnity

I think I'm going to try The Last Wish
because I LOVE The Witcher show