Books and Movies That Matter


Books and Movies That Matter, or What I Learned at the Movies

 

This group aims to discuss books and movies about things that matter, like: Life & Death, Freedom & Loss, Love & Passion, Friendship & Family, Choices & Change, Inspiration & Truth.

 

Month

Movie Theme

Movie

Book By

Jan

Inspiration

October Sky

Homer Hickam

Feb

Love

Painted Veil

W. Somerset Maugham

Mar

Life

My Sister’s Keeper

Jodi Picoult

Apr

Death

One True Thing

Anna Quindlen

May

Freedom

Atlas Shrugged

Ayn Rand

Jun

Loss

Accidental Tourist

Anne Tyler

Jul

Passion

Wuthering Heights

Emily Bronte

Aug

Friendship

Fried Green Tomatoes

Fannie Flagg

Sep

Family

Joy Luck Club

Amy Tan

Oct

Choices

House of Sand & Fog

Andre Dubus

Nov

Change

Primal Fear

William Diehl

Dec

Truth

Gone Girl

Gillian Flynn

 

Other possibilities:

      saddest movies

      funniest movies

      animal movies

      biographical

      movies about singers

      movies about teachers

      movies about religion

      movies about prejudice

      movies about events

      movies about growing up

      historical movies

      thrillers

      oscar winners

      holiday movies

 

Inspirational 

Billy Elliot

Rudy

Yes Man

Pleasantville

October Sky (bk)

Apollo 13

Truth 

The Invention of Lying

Liar, Liar

Click

Gone Girl (bk)

 

Choices 

Adaptation

House of Sand & Fog (bk)

The Lookout

Cider House Rules (bk)

 

Historical

Sarah’s Key (bk)

Freedom 

Atlas Shrugged (bk)

Shawshank Redemption

The Truman Show

 

War

Sophies Choice (bk)

The Pianist

Shindler’s List (bk)

The Book Thief (bk)

 

The Kite Runner (bk)

Slumdog Millionaire

Friendship 

Bucket List

Fried Green Tomatoes (bk)

Change 

Rain Man

Groundhog Day

Psychological 

Good Will Hunting

Prince of Tides (bk)

Primal Fear (bk)

Death 

Meet Joe Black

One True Thing (bk)

The Lovely Bones (bk)

 

Death Penalty 

Life of David Gale

Green Mile

A Time to Kill (bk)

The Chamber

Dead Man Walking

Just Cause (bk)

True Crime

Prison Escape 

The Great Escape

*Shawshank Redemption

The Way Back

Papillon

Lockout

Romantic 

Gone with the Wind (bk)

Pride and Prejudice (bk)

WutheringHeights (bk)

Shopgirl

Bruce Almighty “Now that’s a prayer”

Somewhere in Time

Accidental Tourist (bk)

The Painted Veil

Indecent Proposal

Musicals 

Moulin Rouge

Phantom of the Opera

Les Miserables (bk)

Cabaret

Amadeus

 

Men/women 

Tootsie

All of me

 

George Clooney 

Up in the Air

Descendants (bk)

*indicates might be a good discussion possibility  

 

 

Romantic Comedy 

When Harry Met Sally

Somethings Got to Give

Fools Rush In “Love is a gift, Alex, not an obligation”

Overboard

Murphy’s Romance

Doc Hollywood

 

Sci-Fi 

Avatar

*The Matrix

*A.I.

Back to the Future

*Minority Report

Star Wars

Star Trek

*Inception

Dark 

*DarkCity

Fargo

Clay Pigeons

MysticRiver (bk)

Drive

Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (bk)

Tear Jerkers 

*The Joy Luck Club (bk)

The Notebook (bk)

P.S. I love you (bk)

The Other Side of the Mountain

Awakening

Holiday Movies 

The Family Stone

Planes Trains, and Automobiles

Little Women (bk)

 

Sports 

Hoosiers

42

61

Chariots of Fire

Moneyball (bk)

Animals 

Seabiscuit (bk)

Secretariat

Old Yeller

Marley and Me (bk)

My Dog Skip

Teachers 

Dead Poets Society

Stand and Deliver

Mr. Holland’s Opus

Ron Clark Story

Freedom Writers

Music of the Heart

Coach Carter

Dangerous Minds

To Sir with love

The Emperor’s Club

Singers 

Coal Miner’s Daughter

Buddy Holly Story

LaBamba

Ray

Walk the Line

What’s Love Got to Do With It?

 

 

 

Movies – Books

Read the book, watch the movie, discuss!

Our focus is on selections where the movie is available in DVD and plan to usually watch them on our own. The meetings will focus on discussion of both the movie and the book it is based on.

 

My Movie Review (doc) - this form can be helpful to take notes after watching the movie.

Recipe for Reading (pdf) - this brochure describes the ingredients of book appeal and has a book report card.

Combined Books/Movies Discussion Guide (pdf)

 

Discuss online @My-bookclub.com | Bookbuffet.com

 

Check the days and times which best fit into your schedule:

Monday        Tuesday        Wednesday   Thursday       Friday 

Mornings      Afternoons    Evenings 

 

 

Movie/Book Possible List:

Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell @Amazon @IMDB On DVD | @litlovers.com

Life of Pi by Yann Martel @Amazon @IMDB On DVD | @litlovers.com

Team of Rivals by Doris Kearns Goodwin, Lincoln @Amazon @IMDB On DVD @litlovers.com

Les Miserables by Victor Hugo @Amazon @IMDB On DVD

 

2014 Movies:

Labor Day by Joyce Maynard @Amazon @IMDB DVD release date | @litlovers.com

Monuments Men

The Fault in Our Stars by John Green @Amazon @IMDB Theater release date Jun 2014 | DVD release date | @litlovers.com

Winter's Tale by Mark Helprin @Amazon @IMDB Theater release date | DVD | @litlovers.com

 

We welcome suggestions to add to our list:

Reese Witherspoon Goodreads List

Litlovers and Screenthoughts: Movies Meet Bookclub

Find ideas at Mid-Continent Library Based on the Book

American Film Institute

Teachwithmovies.org

Are Movie and Book both available? (Check Amazon.com)

Are Discussion Questions available? (Check litlovers.com, readinggroupguides)

 

Good titles for discussion have:

 

 Our attempt to keep things simple is based on Real Simple's No Obligation Book Club

Tools for Book Discussion Groups from ALA