Have you ever been so excited when you found out one of your favorite books was to be made into a movie only to be highly disappointed or even disgusted by the movie? You would leave the theater or turn off your DVD player wondering, “What in the world were they thinking?"

One of my favorite teen reads growing up was V.C. Andrews's Flowers in the Attic. I read it in the 7th grade and the series was one of the first “grown-up” books I ever read. Then in 1987, I did back flips when I found out they were making Flowers in the Attic into a movie. Sad to say, the movie was beyond the definition of awful. They even had the gall to change the ending where the surviving children escape to murder their mother. The only good thing about the “creative license” ending was that it prohibited that the other books in the series — Petals on the Wind and If There Be Thorns — will never be touched and made into disappointing sequels.

Here’s a small list of my favorite books that were made into awful movies:

How The Grinch Stole Christmas (2000)
starring Jim Carrey, directed by Ron Howard
book written by Dr. Seuss

The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (2003)
starring Sean Connery, directed by Stephen Norrington
book written by Alan Moore

Twilight (2008)
starring Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson, directed by Catherine Hardwicke
book written by Stephenie Meyer

Planet of the Apes (2001)
starring Mark Wahlberg and Helena Bonham Carter, directed by Tim Burton
book written by Pierre Boulle

The Time Machine (2002)
starring Guy Pearce, directed by Simon Wells
book written by H.G. Wells

Blood and Chocolate (2007)
starring Agnes Bruckner and Hugh Dancy, directed by Katja von Garnier
book written by Annette Curtis Klause

Cat In the Hat (2003)
starring Mike Myers, directed by Bo Welch
book written by Dr. Seuss

I’m sure anyone can add some of their favorite books that were violated by the movie industry to my list. I highly recommend the above books that are available through the New York Public Library. If you’re brave enough to withstand watching any of these movies, don’t waste your money. The majority of the above movies are available through the New York Public Library for free.