What are your criteria for a good book-to-film adaptation? Are you a devotee and demand utter and complete faithfulness to the book? Do you appreciate a retelling with a new perspective and a good twist? Or are you just looking for an accurate visual which brings the story to life? What about the anomaly—a book inspired by a film? Regardless of where you stand, here are some popular book-to-film adaptations and a couple of documentaries you can read and /or stream using your library card. 

Let the debate begin. Which is better: the book or the film? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.

The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo

Harriet Vanger, a scion of one of Sweden's wealthiest families disappeared over forty years ago. All these years later, her aged uncle continues to seek the truth. He hires Mikael Blomkvist, a crusading journalist recently trapped by a libel conviction, to investigate.

• Borrow the book or e-book
• Stream the movie

Romeo & Juliet

Shakespeare's tragic tale of star-crossed lovers and feuding families.

• Borrow the play or e-play
• Stream the movie 

The Imitation Game 

It is only a slight exaggeration to say that the British mathematician Alan Turing (1912-1954) saved the Allies from the Nazis, invented the computer and artificial intelligence, and anticipated gay liberation by decades—all before his suicide at age forty-one.

• Borrow the book or e-book
• Stream the movie

The Giver

The Giver, the 1994 Newbery Medal winner, has become one of the most influential novels of our time. The haunting story centers on twelve-year-old Jonas, who lives in a seemingly ideal, if colorless, world of conformity and contentment. Not until he is given his life assignment as the Receiver of Memory does he begin to understand the dark, complex secrets behind his fragile community. 

• Borrow the book or e-book
• Stream the movie

Freakonomics

Which is more dangerous, a gun or a swimming pool? Which should be feared more: snakes or french fries? Why do sumo wrestlers cheat? In this groundbreaking book, leading economist Steven Levitt—Professor of Economics at the University of Chicago and winner of the American Economic Association's John Bates Clark medal for the economist under 40 who has made the greatest contribution to the discipline—reveals that the answers.

• Borrow the book or e-book
• Stream the documentary

The Paperboy 

The sun is rising over Moat County, Florida, when Sheriff Thurmond Call is found on the highway, gutted like an alligator. A local redneck is tried, sentenced, and set to fry. Then Ward James, hotshot investigative reporter for the Miami Times, returns to his rural hometown with a death row femme fatale who promises him the story of the decade. 

• Borrow the book or e-book
• Stream the movie

Food Inc. 

Aided by expert commentators such as Michael Pollan and Eric Schlosser, the film poses questions such as: Where has my food come from, and who has processed it? What are the giant agribusinesses and what stake do they have in maintaining the status quo of food production and consumption? How can I feed my family healthy foods affordably? Expanding on the film's themes, the book Food, Inc. will answer those questions through a series of challenging essays by leading experts and thinkers. This book will encourage those inspired by the film to learn more about the issues, and act to change the world

• Borrow the book or e-book
• Stream the documentary

The King's Speech 

It's the eve of World War II, and King Edward VIII has abdicated the throne of England to marry the woman he loves. Never has the nation needed a leader more. But the new monarch, George VI—father of today's Queen Elizabeth II—is painfully shy and cursed with a terrible stammer. How can he inspire confidence in his countrymen when he cannot even speak to them? Help arrives in speech therapist Logue, who not only is a commoner, but Australian to boot.

• Borrow the book or e-book
• Stream the movie 

August: Osage County

August: Osage County is a dark, hilarious, and deeply touching story of the strong-willed women of the Weston family, whose lives have diverged until a family crisis brings them back to the Oklahoma house they grew up in and the dysfunctional woman who raised them.

• Borrow the book or e-book
• Stream the movie 

Summaries provided via NYPL’s catalog, which draws from multiple sources. Click through to each book’s title for more.

Have trouble reading standard print? Many of these titles are available in formats for patrons with print disabilities.