I am a reader. A newbie in terms of how long I have been a reader, but still a reader nonetheless. I got back into reading (for fun) about a year ago now and in that time I have managed to read quite a few books that have been adapted into movies in that span of time, so I thought why not ranked those movies. However there’s a catch, I’m not ranking these movies by how much I like them, in fact I haven’t even seen most of these movies I’m ranking. Instead, I’m ranking them by how much I enjoyed/liked the books they are based on. I may ruffle some feathers here with my ranking depending on how much you like said movies or books, but hey enjoyment is subjective.

17. Apocalypse Now/Heart of Darkness

This is what I meant by ruffling some feathers. Heart of Darkness is one of those books where I think I was (and still am) too young to had read it. This is one of those books I was forced to read because of school and I barely understood anything. Thank you Sparknotes, I don’t how I would have gotten through this book without you. I am definitely going to watch the movie, Apocalypse Now, it’s a all time classic and I do want to read Heart of Darkness again one day, hopefully when I’m older and am actually able to understand it.

16. Call of the Wild

Are you sensing a trend here? I don’t like books that are forced onto me, school! That’s why I didn’t read books for so long. I thought I didn’t like reading books for so long, but it just turned out that I just don’t like books that schools choose for us to read. Call of the Wild, is fine. It’s not terrible, but it’s not something I’ll ever read again. I actually hate any type media that focuses on dogs, yes that especially includes movies. I hate them so much so that I don’t even watch movies about dogs. That probably stems from my childhood trauma of having watched Old Yeller. Like seriously who plays that for 5 year old and expects them to be normal afterwards?

15. The Diary of Anne Frank

Another book I was way too young to have read, but even at the young age of 12 this book just made me so sad. I knew the backstory of the book and knowing what came after, it’s such a sad and horrifying book to read. You can’t enjoy reading this book, it’s impossible. You can appreciate it, but I can’t see how someone could read this book and enjoy it. I couldn’t then and I still can’t.

14. Bridget Jones’s Diary

My most recent read, I read this last week to be exact, so my opinion is fresh in my mind. I have actually seen this movie, and I believed that’s why I didn’t like the book as much. I had watched the movie months ago and really enjoyed it. The movie is faithful to the book, but without the visuals the book doesn’t feel special in hindsight. I laughed only two times reading the book, compared to having big laughs while watching the movie. This might be one of the few times you’ll find me liking the movie more than the book.

13. The Sun Is Also A Star

I’m a sucker for a good well written romance and The Sun Is Also A Star (at least the book) is exactly that. Is it unrealistic and a little cheesy? Yes and yes, but that didn’t hinder my enjoyment of the book. It was a fast sweet read. So fast that I read it in one day, I was that enthralled with the book. I have not seen the movie and based off the reviews for it, I really don’t want to.

12. Fahrenheit 451

The rare exception of me liking a book my school had me read. I enjoyed reading this book when I first read it, I didn’t love it, but I feel like I could one day when I’m older longing for my youth by reading a book I read while in high school. I seen a little bit of the movie and from what I saw it was okay I guess. It looked like it changed some things from the book that I didn’t particularly liked, but I never finished it, so I can’t really say too much about it. Either way, good book, meh movie.

11. Vampire Academy

Remainder, ranking by book not movie. I actually have never seen the Vampire Academy movie, but I hear it’s terrible. I liked the book, it’s has plenty of teenage angst, but ignoring that I think it’s pretty good. There’s nothing too special or unique about it compared to other YA supernatural books, but I enjoyed it for it was. Luckily I hear the sequels get better and better, so I look forward to continuing the series.

10. To All The Boys I Loved Before

Another interesting one where I watched the movie first and then read the book. I really liked the movie, I thought it was very sweet and cute. I don’t know if a movie can be described as adorable, but if they can then the To All The Boys movie would be described as exactly that. I wanted to read the book to get more of the movie’s sweetness and cuteness. However, the book isn’t as good in that regard compared to the movie. Not to say I didn’t like the book, because I did. But I will admit, I think the movie is infinitely better than the book. I don’t say that often about book adaptions, so don’t take this for granted. I will say that I did liked the book enough that I will finish the series once I gather some free time for them and I am excited about the sequel to the movie.

9. A Raisin In The Sun

I read A Raisin In The Sun, a long time ago, such a long time ago that I don’t remember a lot about it, but I remember really enjoying reading it. Which is surprising because it has all the elements a child (which is what I was when I read this) may find boring to read about. Like money trouble and family life, but I somehow did not find this boring at all when I was child which means it must have been good. Haven’t seen the movie, but I am indeed planning on watching it eventually.

8. Little Women

Also read for school, no surprise there. However, I did really loved reading this book. My only actual negative and why this book is as low as it is, is simply because it’s quite long. I don’t mind long books, but when they start repeating themselves or you can see something in the book is filler, it leaves a bad taste in your mouth and this happened with Little Women toward the middle/end of the book. I enjoyed it nevertheless, but I probably would have ranked this higher if it was a little shorter than it was. But, it’s a classic that I adore. I haven’t seen any of adaptations of the book yet, but seeing that there’s a new one on the way means it won’t be much longer until I do.

7. The Girl On The Train

I never planned on reading The Girl On The Train, even with all the hype I had heard surrounding it. And by hype I mean hearing good things about it/it’s a Gone Girl ripoff. I haven’t even read Gone Girl for myself yet, a book The Girl On The Train is heavily influenced by. So I didn’t even think that I would ever go out my way to read it. And yet, I saw The Girl On The Train at my local library and decided why not and I read it after all. Boy am I glad I did, it’s a very good book. It does feature all aspects of a traditional thriller, but seeing as I haven’t read many thrillers at this point, this was up my alley. I would say The Girl On The Train was my first ever real thriller, a genre that I love now. So thanks, The Girl On The Train, you opened the doors for thriller books for me. I haven’t seen the movie, but hearing the reviews for it, I think that’s probably for the best.

6. To Kill A Mockingbird

There’s nothing I can say about To Kill A Mockingbird that hasn’t already been said before, it’s a classic of American literature. I am just glad that I am apart of the huge group that does actually love this book. I have somehow never seen the movie. Believe me I know… how is that possible? I don’t know how that’s possible, but it’s true I have somehow escaped seeing this movie, but I have read and loved the book, so I think that should be enough. I do eventually want to see the movie, I just hope I liked (maybe even love) it as much as I loved the book.

5. The Unbearable Lightness Of Being

This is it. This is it. This is the book that got me back into reading. Talk about getting back into reading with a bang too. I loved The Unbearable Lightness of Being when I first read it and I still do. It obviously isn’t my favorite book anymore, you can probably tell by it’s ranking, but it still holds a special place in my heart for helping me rediscover what I loved about literature in the first place. I will admit that I have avoided the movie, mainly because I have heard mixed reviews of it. Some liked it, some think the book is way better. I don’t know, maybe one day I’ll watch it for myself and form my opinion of it. Until then, I’ll just stick with the book.

4. A False Report/Unbelievable

Technically Unbelievable is a Netflix miniseries, not a movie, but it felt right to include it on this list. I didn’t even know Netflix was adapting this true story into a miniseries, but when I read reviews of it I knew it was the same story I had read only just a few months ago. I don’t remember why I read A False Report: A True Story of Rape in America, but I do remember the feeling of disgust and anger I felt while reading it. If you seen the show or read the book, or the article the book expanded on, you know why I felt that way reading it. It’s a tough book to read and I assume a tough show to watch, but it’s an important one. I was impressed with how much the authors didn’t treat the topic of A False Report lightly, but still manages to be respectful to the victims they wrote about. I am so grateful to see a story like this one be treated and told with such respect by it’s authors and the show-runners of the show. That’s why it’s ranked as high it is. I do want to watch the show, but I don’t think I’m ready to be disgusted or angry again liked I was with the book at least just not yet.

3. The Hate U Give

I’m going to be honest here, I adore this book. So much so that I read it twice within the span of a few months apart, just so I would be prepared for the movie that was coming out. A movie that I have actually seen and I have actually enjoyed. I do believe the book is better than the movie (I know, what a shocker). The movie doesn’t do anything wrong per say…but it’s just…my love for the book basically overshadows the movie in just about every single way. Hence why it’s ranked so high, but there were two books that I loved even more than The Hate U Give which truly says something.

2. Brain On Fire

This is the one book I am going to recommend off this list, not because I don’t like the other books on this list as much as this one, but because this is a story that blew my mind or should I say set my own brain on fire (Am I clever or what?). A book that I recommend to everyone, even if you’re not a reader because it’s just that fascinating and intriguing. I don’t want to go into depth about what it’s about because I went in pretty much in the dark and you should as well. You just need to know this is based off a true story, told from the woman who experienced it firsthand. It’s an incredible read and shows just how we aren’t always in control of our bodies, and yes that includes our brains. Scary stuff. P.S., I have not seen the movie and I won’t because it reportedly fails on every level where the book succeeds, so don’t think you can just pass this book up and watch the movie on Netflix, because that would be a mistake on your part. Read the book and thank me later when you do.

1. Simon vs. the Homo Spaiens Agenda/Love, Simon

This is yet another book where I watched the movie first and then afterwards decided to read the book. Unlike the other ones on this list, I loved and actually connected with this book as much as I did with the movie which is a impressive feat in of itself. With the movie, I cried tears of mostly sadness, but with the book, if I did cry it was mostly tears of happiness. I connected with these characters in the film and book, so much so that I felt like I could see a piece of myself in each of them. Thinking about the movie and the book puts a smile on my face and isn’t that the feeling we should all want to experience with whatever type of media we’re into? Whether that be movies, books, television, video games, music, etc. We should all feel happy or feel something…anything for whatever our niche is, that’s why we have them.