1. Fool by Christopher Moore - He actually talked about this possibly being made into a stage play (!!!) but I would also love to see this on screen. King Lear but from the Fool's point of view, with lots of dirty jokes and some very touching moments.
2. The Big Over Easy by Jasper Fforde - I considered the Thursday Next series, but I'm not sure if it would work on screen. The Nursery Crime series, however, has a shot. And Hollywood seems to be all about re-purposing characters. Abraham Lincoln is about to be a vampire hunter, Edgar Allen Poe is going to help detectives solve murders based on his crimes, so why can't Jack Spratt be a detective working to solve the Humpty Dumpty murder?
3. The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins - I realize this has been made into a movie but awhile ago and I haven't seen it. Haven't just finished reading this and LOVING a number of the characters (Marian, Fosco, Mr. Fairlie) it would be so much fun to actually see them. If there could be references to Marian being a velociraptor all the better.
4. Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke- This might work better as a mini-series but regardless, this would be so much fun on screen. Magic brought to life in Victorian England? Yes please!
5. Zeitoun by Dave Eggers - It's funny and heartbreaking, and don't movies always advertise that you'll laugh and you'll cry? This is just the type of story the academy loves to award. AND it's based on a true story. Really I'm surprised it hasn't happened yet.
6. 11/22/63 by Stephen King - I actually heard they were making this into a movie, which isn't really surprising. King movies can be pretty hit or miss but the fact that this one isn't a horror story means there's more chance things will go right.
7. This Is Where I Leave You by Jonathan Tropper - Middle-aged white guy problems but oh so funny. The Foxman family hasn't been in the same room as one another in years but with the father's death everyone comes together. Of course Judd's wife won't be joining the family, seeing how Judd just caught her in bed with his boss. Judd's in crisis which sucks for him but is hilarious for us.
8. Tokyo Vice by Jake Adelstein - Jake is the only American working at the Japanese newspaper working the crime beat and he learns of Tokyo's seedy underbelly. He wrote the book because he learned too much about some Yakuza crime bosses and figured if the book was out there, there's no reason to silence him. Hollywood loves crime stories, especially ones with conspiracies. And again, true story!
9. My Name is Will: A Novel of Sex, Drugs and Shakespeare by Jess Winfield - It's Shakespeare so, you know, classy. But it's also sex and drugs so, you know, Hollywood. Everybody wins! There's a contemporary story of a professional student studying Shakespeare and then scenes of Shakespeare's early inspirations. Like a prequel to Shakespeare in Love. Kind of.
10. Time and Again by Jack Finney - Another time travel story but different from King's telling. There's no famous political figure but we do get to visit New York in the 1800s. And there's a mystery! Plus a lot of the setting is spent in my "if I could live anywhere I'd want to live here" building, NYCs Dakota.
What books do you think would make great movies?
