More Reel Books
Still Inspiring Readers & Movie Directors

Books provide a rich source of material for the big screen. The movies on this list, appearing in alphabetical order by movie title, were released in the years 2003 to 2008. Call numbers are provided for nonfiction titles and titles for youth.

Please note that the Library may not own all of these movies, nor were all of the movies available in DVD format at the time this list was created.

3:10 to Yuma
Based on a short story found in Three-Ten to Yuma: And Other Stories by Elmore Leonard

21
Based on Bringing Down the House: The Inside Story of Six MIT Students Who Took Vegas for Millions, Ben Mezrich
364.172092 MEZ

Atonement
Based on Ian McEwan’s novel by the same name

Because of Winn-Dixie
Kate DiCamillo’s novel by the same name
J DICAMILLO

Bee Season
Myla Goldberg’s novel inspired this movie

The Bourne Ultimatum
Based on Robert Ludlum’s novel by the same name

Brokeback Mountain
Based on the Annie Proulx short story

Capote
Inspired by Gerald Clarke’s book, Capote: A Biography
B CAPOTE

Casino Royale
Based on Casino Royale: A James Bond Novel by Ian Fleming

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
Based on Roald Dahl’s novel
J DAHL

Charlie Wilson’s War
Based on Charlie Wilson’s War: The Extraordinary Story of the Largest Covert Operation in History, George Crile
958.1045 CRI

Christmas with the Kranks
Based on John Grisham’s novel Skipping Christmas

Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe
Based on C.S. Lewis’ The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe
 J LEWIS

The Constant Gardener
John Le Carré wrote the bestselling novel

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
From F. Scott Fiztgerald’s The Curious Case of Benjamin Button and
Other Jazz Age Stories

The Da Vinci Code
Based on the Dan Brown novel

The Devil Wears Prada
Based on the novel by Lauren Weisburger

Ella Enchanted
Based on Gail Carson Levine’s novel by the same name
JH LEVINE

Eragon
Christopher Paolini’s novel by the same name
YA FIC PAOLINI

Evening
Susan Minot’s novel by the same name

Fast Food Nation
From Eric Schlosser’s Fast Food Nation: The Dark Side of the All-American Meal
394.1 SCH

Feast of Love
Based on Charles Baxter’s The Feast of Love

Flags of Our Fathers
Based on the book by James Bradley
940.5426 BRA

Freedom Writers
Based on The Freedom Writers Diary: How a Teacher and 150 Teens Used Writing to Change Themselves and the World Around Them
305.235 FRE

Girl with a Pearl Earring
Based on Tracey Chevalier’s novel by the same name

The Golden Compass
Philip Pullman’s novel by the same name
YA FIC PULLMAN

Gone, Baby, Gone
Dennis Lehane’s novel by the same name

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
J.K. Rowling’s novel

Holes
Based on the novel by Louis Sachar
YA FIC SACHAR

A Home at the End of the World
Based on Michael Cunningham’s novel

House of Sand and Fog
The novel by the same name was written by Andre Dubus

I Am Legend
The novel by the same name was written by Richard Matheson

I, Robot
Isaac Asimov wrote the novel in 1950

In Her Shoes
Inspired by Jennifer Weiner’s novel

Inkheart
Based on the book by Cornelia Funke  JH FUNKE

Into the Wild
Jon Krakauer’s book by the same name
917.98045 KRA

Jarhead
Based on Anthony Swofford’s memoir
Jarhead: A Marine’s Chronicle of the Gulf War and Other Battles
956.70442 SWO

Jumper
Steven Gould’s novel

The Kite Runner
Khaled Hosseini’s novel by the same name

The Last King of Scotland
Giles Foden’s novel

Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events
Based on The Bad Beginning and other novels by Lemony Snicket
JH SNICKET

The Life Before Her Eyes
Based on the novel by Laura Kasischke

Little Children
Based on Tom Perrotta’s novel by the same name

Lord of the Rings, the Return of the King
Based on J.R.R. Tolkien’s
The Return of the King: Being the Third Part of the Lord of the Rings

Love in the Time of Cholera
Based on the novel by Gabriel García Marquez

Marley & Me
Based on John Grogan’s Marley & Me: Life and Love with the World’s Worst Dog
636.7527 GRO

Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World
Based on the Jack Aubrey novels by Patrick O’Brian

Memoirs of a Geisha
Arthur Golden’s novel

A Mighty Heart
From A Mighty Heart: The Brave Life and Death of My Husband, Danny Pearl,
Mariane Pearl
B PEARL

Million Dollar Baby
From F.X. Toole’s book Rope Burns: Stories from the Corner

The Missing
Based on The Last Ride by Thomas Eidson

Must Love Dogs
Based on Claire Cook’s novel

The Namesake
From Jhumpa Lahiri’s novel by the same name

No Country for Old Men
Based on the novel by Cormac McCarthy

North Country
Based on Clara Bingham’s book Class Action: The Story of Lois Jenson and the Landmark Case that Changed Sexual Harassment Law
331.4133 BIN

The Notebook
Nicholas Sparks wrote the novel

Notes on a Scandal
Based on What Was She Thinking?: Notes on a Scandal by Zoe Heller

Open Range
Based on Lauran Paine’s novel The Open Range Men

The Other Boleyn Girl
Philippa Gregory’s novel by the same name

P.S. I Love You
Based on Cecelia Ahern’s novel P S, I Love You

The Painted Veil
Based on the novel by W. Somerset Maugham

Persepolis
Based on Marjane Satrapi’s nonfiction book
955.05 SAT

The Prestige
Based on Christopher Priest’s novel by the same name

The Pursuit of Happyness
Based on Chris Gardner’s work with the same title
332.62092 GAR

The Reader
Bernhard Schlink’s novel by the same name

Reservation Road
The novel by John Burnham Schwartz

Revolutionary Road
Richard Yates’ novel by the same name

The Ruins
Based on the novel by Scott Smith

The Runaway Jury
Based on the novel by John Grisham

Sahara
Clive Cussler wrote the novel

The Sentinel
Based on Gerald Petievich’s novel by the same name

She’s the Man
Based on William Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night, or, What You Will  
822.33 Q7

Shooter
Based on Stephen Hunter’s novel Point of Impact

Shopgirl
Based on Steve Martin’s novel

Sideways
Based on the novel by Rex Pickett

The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants
Ann Brashares wrote the novel
YA FIC BRASHARES

Slumdog Millionaire
Based on the novel Q&A by Vikas Swarup

Snow Angels
Based on Stewart O’Nan’s book by the same name

Stardust
Based on Stardust by Neil Gaiman

The Stepford Wives
Based on Ira Levin’s novel

Taking Lives
Michael Pye wrote the novel by the same name

Thank You for Smoking
Based on the novel by Christopher Buckley

Then She Found Me
Elinor Lipman’s novel by the same name

There Will Be Blood
Based on the Upton Sinclair novel Oil!

Timeline
Based on Michael Crichton’s novel by the same name

Troy
Based on Homer’s poem The Iliad
883.01 HOM

An Unfinished Life
Based on Mark Spragg’s novel by the same name

Vanity Fair
Based on Vanity Fair: A Novel Without a Hero by William Makepeace Thackeray

War of the Worlds
From H.G. Wells’ The War of the Worlds

Zodiac
Based on Robert Graysmith’s book by the same name
364.1523 GRA

There are many more films that are based on novels and other books. Additional titles may be found on the companion list Reel Books. If you wonder if your favorite movie was based on a book, Ask Us!

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