Books to Movies

So at the beginning of the year I pinned an article listing the books that were being made into movies this year. (Here's the article.) I almost always like the book better than the movie and I would always prefer to read the book before seeing the movie so I was excited about this list. I've finished most of the books I thought I'd give my reviews on the books!

1.  Labor Day by Joyce Maynard - This was a good book. However, I'm not sure I really care about seeing the movie.
2. The Monument's Men by Robert M. Edsel and Bret Witter - This book was pretty boring. I only made it about 1/3 of the way through before I gave up. However I love the cast of the movie and have heard great things about the movie. I think it probably plays out better on the big screen than in a book.
3. Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead - If you liked the Twilight series then you'll like this book (and the 5 that come after it!). I ended up reading all 6 books in the series and am almost finished with the Boodlines series which is a spin-off. It's not a deep series but it has interesting characters and is an easy read.
4. Winter’s Tale by Mark Helprin - I think I made it about 50 pages into this book and then I gave up. It was so odd and hard to follow! I ended up going and reading the reviews and most people didn't like it so I didn't feel bad about quitting.
5. A Long Way Down by Nick Hornby - This is sitting on my kitchen table...waiting for me to finish another book and then it's next up!
6. Divergent by Veronica Roth - I read all 3 books in this series. They were good and I would definitely want to see the movies.
7. The Fault in Our Stars by John Green - This was good in a teenage angst kind of way. Worth reading.
8. The Hundred-Foot Journey by Richard C. Morais - hmm..for some reason this never made it onto my holds list at the library...once I catch up with the books I have waiting to be read I'll add this to my list!
9. The Giver by Lois Lowry - I read this a LONG time ago but I definitely enjoyed it much more as an adult. I think I was probably too young when I first read it to really understand the whole society in the book.
10. If I Stay by Gayle Forman - I'm on a mile long wait list for this book at the library...hopefully that means it's good!
11. Dark Places by Gillian Flynn - This was well written but like Gone Girl (see below) I was disgruntled when I finished.
12. This Is Where I Leave You by Jonathan Tropper - I LOVED this book about a VERY dysfunctional family. I found myself often laughing out loud. I really want to see the movie.
13. The Maze Runner by James Dashner - This is sitting in my kindle waiting for me to finish Outlander.
14. Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn - I read this last year. I was so aggravated and disgusted with humanity by the time I finished. While I was reading it I was mad but felt compelled to continue reading. I think that I have a love hate relationship with Gillian Flynn. I'm always so aggravated with her books but I just can't stop reading the story (I think it's a desire to see how bad she can mess up the ending)! I do think I'd like to see this movie.
15. Wild by Cheryl Strayed - I started this and my digital download from the library expired before I got too far into it but I think I'll revisit it when I'm in a book lull. It's kind of a slow paced book, but well written and easy to read, and I was in the middle of reading a few books that were much more exciting.
16. Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand - There were parts that dragged a little but overall a great book and a great TRUE story. I think this movie is probably really good.

I'll do another update once I finish the rest of them!