top10tuesday 081820: Books that should be adapted into Netflix Shows

Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together.

That Artsy Reader Girl

I’m substituting this week’s prompt of “Characters from Different Books Who Should Team Up,” since I could not think of any.

Instead, I went with the 08/18/20 prompt:  Books that Should be Adapted into Netflix Shows/Movies (submitted by Nushu @ Not A Prima Donna Girl)

I am always thinking, “would this make a good show?”

1

Old Man’s War by John Scalzi

• 332 pages, Kindle Edition
• First published December 27, 2005
• Genres: Science Fiction Fantasy, Space Opera, Military Fiction

John Perry did two things on his 75th birthday. First, he visited his wife’s grave. Then he joined the army.
…  Everybody knows that when you reach retirement age, you can join the CDF. They don’t want young people; they want people who carry the knowledge and skills of decades of living. You’ll be taken off Earth and never allowed to return. You’ll serve two years at the front. And if you survive, you’ll be given a generous homestead stake of your own, on one of our hard-won colony planets.

goodreads

This one is for the Boomers: brand new adult bodies, albeit green ones, and our mature brains being respected for all their knowledge.

Oh yeah, there’s some military stuff going on, whatever. (And I remember lots of sex at least at first. 😁)

2

The Last Cattle Drive by Robert Day

• 266 pages, Kindle Edition
• First published December 1, 1976
• Genres: Fiction, 1970s Rural America

… Day’s lively portrait of his beloved home state of Kansas, often saddled by stereotypical images of being sternly Protestant, conservative, and teetotalling, instead becomes an example of a vibrant, varied society of free-wheeling individuals, rural and city men and women, who enjoy their tomato beer and whiskey and have strong opinions about what is wrong with the U.S. government and incorrect television and film versions of Kansas and the West.

Kansas Press

Although I am concerned this one might not have aged well, the parts I remember were funny and felt real. (Caveat: I was born and grew up in Kansas.)

3

Sombrero Fallout by Richard Brautigan

• 193 pages, Kindle Edition
• First published January 1, 1976
• Genres: Fiction, American, Literature

Concerns a writer trying to cope with the break-up of a relationship. Trying to escape his misery, he begins a story about a sombrero that falls out of the sky and lands in a small town. Unable to concentrate he throws the pages in the bin, and that’s when it starts to take on a life of its own.

goodreads

I would like to expose the entire world to some Richard Brautigan.

4

The Cloud Seeders by James Zerndt

• 259 pages, Kindle Edition
• First published July 1, 2012
• Genres: CliFi, Fiction, SciFi, Apocalypic, Dystopian

Serve Your Country, Conserve Your Water, Observe Your Neighbor.
This is the slogan of the Sustainability Unit and of a country gone eco-hysterical. After nearly twelve months without rain and the hinges of the world barely still oiled, Thomas and his younger brother, Dustin, set out across a drought-ridden landscape in search of answers. What they discover along the way will change their lives, and their country, forever.

goodreads

Even though I read this back in 2016, and barely remember the details of it, it is the first book I think of when thinking about stories that should be made into TV shows.

The interactions and conversations between the brothers and the oldest brother’s girlfriend felt real. A good on-the-road journey.

5

The Passenger by Lisa Lutz

• 321 pages, Kindle Edition
• First published March 1, 2016
• Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Thriller, Crime

… thriller is about a woman who creates and sheds new identities as she crisscrosses the country to escape her past: you’ll want to buckle up for the ride!

Forty-eight hours after leaving her husband’s body at the base of the stairs, Tanya Dubois cashes in her credit cards, dyes her hair brown, demands a new name from a shadowy voice over the phone, and flees town. It’s not the first time.
She meets Blue, a female bartender who recognizes the hunted look in a fugitive’s eyes and offers her a place to stay. With dwindling choices, Tanya-now-Amelia accepts. An uneasy―and dangerous―alliance is born.

goodreads

This would probably be a one season only series – but what a wild ride.

6

A Son for a New Day by Sarah Pinsker

• 384 pages, Kindle Edition
• First published September 10, 2019
• Genres: SciFi, Dystopian, Music, LGBTQA+

In the Before, when the government didn’t prohibit large public gatherings, Luce Cannon was on top of the world. One of her songs had just taken off and she was on her way to becoming a star. Now, in the After, terror attacks and deadly viruses have led the government to ban concerts, and Luce’s connection to the world—her music, her purpose—is closed off forever.
Rosemary Laws barely remembers the Before times. She spends her days in Hoodspace, helping customers order all of their goods online for drone delivery—no physical contact with humans needed. By lucky chance, she finds a new job and a new calling: discover amazing musicians and bring their concerts to everyone via virtual reality. The only catch is that she’ll have to do something she’s never done before and go out in public.

Goodreads

How are we not already living like this? 🤣 This series could have great music and remind everyone to follow instructions when there is a legit pandemic.

7

Code Name Hélène by Ariel Lawhon

• 464 pages, Kindle Edition
• First published March 31, 2020
• Genres: Historical Fiction, WWII, Women

It is 1936 and Nancy Wake is an intrepid New Zealand expat living in Paris who has bluffed her way into a reporting job for Hearst newspaper. She is fighting to cover the disturbing reports of violence coming out of Vienna and Berlin when she meets the wealthy French industrialist Henri Fiocca. No sooner does Henri sweep Nancy off her feet and convince her to become Mrs. Fiocca than the Germans invade France and she takes yet another name: a code name.

goodreads

Based on a true story. There is love, espionage, and life/death decisions to be made.

8

Deacon King Kong by James McBride

• 384 pages, Kindle Edition
• First published March 3, 2020
• Genres: Historical Fiction, Literary, Mystery, African American

… what happens to the witnesses of a shooting.
In September 1969, a fumbling, cranky old church deacon known as Sportcoat shuffles into the courtyard of the Cause Houses housing project in south Brooklyn, pulls a .45 from his pocket, and in front of everybody shoots the project’s drug dealer at point-blank range.

goodreads

This story has it all: murder right off the bat, diverse and distinct characters, and the mystery of why.

9

Our Missing Hearts by Celeste Ng

• 352 pages, Kindle Edition
• First published October 4, 2022
• Genres: SciFi, Literary, Dystopian

… a mother’s unbreakable love in a world consumed by fear.

Twelve-year-old Bird Gardner lives a quiet existence with his loving but broken father, a former linguist who now shelves books in a university library. Bird knows to not ask too many questions, stand out too much, or stray too far. For a decade, their lives have been governed by laws written to preserve “American culture” in the wake of years of economic instability and violence. To keep the peace and restore prosperity, the authorities are now allowed to relocate children of dissidents, especially those of Asian origin, and libraries have been forced to remove books seen as unpatriotic—including the work of Bird’s mother, Margaret, a Chinese American poet who left the family when he was nine years old.

goodreads

For all your relatives who do not believe another four years of Trump would not be harmful to the nation. Futuristic look at an alternate history.

10

The Poppy War by R.F. Kuang

• 545 pages, Kindle Edition
• First published May 1, 2018
• Genres: High Fantasy, Historical Fiction (inspired by China’s 20th century), Myths

When Rin aced the Keju—the Empire-wide test to find the most talented youth to learn at the Academies—it was a shock to everyone: to the test officials, who couldn’t believe a war orphan from Rooster Province could pass without cheating; …
Because being a dark-skinned peasant girl from the south is not an easy thing at Sinegard. Targeted from the outset by rival classmates for her color, poverty, and gender, Rin discovers she possesses a lethal, unearthly power—an aptitude for the nearly-mythical art of shamanism. Exploring the depths of her gift with the help of a seemingly insane teacher and psychoactive substances, Rin learns that gods long thought dead are very much alive

goodreads

This one would be great on HBO with the same level of production as Game of Thrones.

Thoughts