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Don’t Point that
Thing at Me by
Kyril Bonfiglioli
The recent mov i e
Mortdecai
is based on
a series of comic novels
recounting the capers
of the bizarre aristo-
cratic art dealer Charlie
Mor tdeca i , pl ayed
on the big screen by
Johnny Depp. Written
by British writer Bonfi-
glioli, the series started
with the publication of
Don’t Point that Thing
at Me in 1973 and was
adored by readers and
critics for its dry satire
and black humour. The
books – there are four
in total – continue to
attract a cult following
to this day!
Mockingjay by
Suzanne Collins
American writer Col-
lins has hit the jackpot
with her hugely suc-
cessful book trilogy
The Hunger Games
,
set in a dystopian
universe where chil-
dren are selected to
partake in televised
death matches (or
Hunger Games) each
year.
Mockingjay
is
the third of the series
and was published in
2010, with the movie
set to wow audiences
as much as the two
p r e v i o u s b o o k s -
turned-f i lms when
it arrives this year.
Popular actress Jen-
nifer Lawrence takes
the lead as protagonist
Katniss Everdeen.
When it comes tomovies, 2015 is going tobe another bigyear of book adaptations, so
why not get ahead of the game and read the books before you hit the cinema?
Read Before You Watch
H
ollywood
seems to be enjoying a love
affair with books, with both old and new
titles experiencing the big screen treatment
and a world of literary characters being
dragged from the page to the cinema by
some of the hottest actors and directors
around.
Adapting a book into a movie always divides audiences,
causing endless debates about whether the book or film is
better and whether actors deliver satisfactory portrayals of
characters often much loved by readers.
With 2015 looking to be another year packed with books-
turned-movies, here are some super tomes you should try and
read before hitting the cinema, allowing you to embrace the
discussion on accuracy and check that your favourite actor
is doing a decent job.
Still Alice by Lisa
Genova
This book hit the
New
York Times
bestseller
list, and for good rea-
son!
Still Alice
recounts
the emotional journey
of an accomplished
and highly intelligent
p ro f e s s o r who i s
diagnosed with Al-
zheimer’s disease and
struggles to cope with
the gradual decline of
her mind. Published in
2007, the book earned
much support from
the Alzheimer’s com-
munity for its accurate
and sensitive portrayal
of the disease, and the
f i lm version (wi th
award-winner Julianne
Moore in the title role)
has attracted similar
praise.
Far from the
Madding Crowd by
Thomas Hardy
Published in 1874 and
labelled a classic, this
much-loved book was
Hardy’s first literary
success and captured
hearts with its tale of a
woman torn between
three potential lovers
against a backdrop of
English countryside.
The movie version
of the book is due
mid-2015 and will see
Carey Mulligan taking
the role of love-torn
Bathsheba.
Insurgent by
Veronica Roth
I t may be label led
‘young adult fiction’,
but
Insurgent
is a grip-
ping read for adults
too. This is the second
in a science fiction
trilogy set in a post-
apocalyptic version
of Chicago in which
people are divided
into factions based on
their personalities. The
first book,
Divergent
,
was released in movie
form in 2014 with Kate
Winslet and Shailene
Woodley starring, both
of whom return for
Insurgent
when it hits
the big screen this year.