Reading the 2020 Awards Season: Golden Globes Edition
Nominees for the 2020 Golden Globes were announced this week, and the Hollywood Foreign Press Association has picked out a bookish bunch!
Inspiration for this crop of films and TV shows comes from diverse source material—ranging from a book first published in 1868 (Little Women!), to popular bestsellers, to longform articles in Esquire and Vanity Fair. Read up on the originals before the awards are announced on January 5 of the new year.
Movies based on books or articles
The Irishman
Based on I Heard You Paint Houses by Charles Brandt
The first words Jimmy Hoffa ever spoke to Frank "the Irishman" Sheeran were, "I heard you paint houses." To paint a house is to kill a man. The paint is the blood that splatters on the walls and floors. In the course of nearly five years of recorded interviews, Frank Sheeran confessed to Charles Brandt that he handled more than twenty-five hits for the mob, and for his friend Hoffa.
Sheeran's story includes new information on other famous murders including those of Joey Gallo and JFK, and provides rare insight to a chapter in American history.
Little Women
Based on Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
The classic story of the March family, whose four daughters are growing up in New England in the mid-1800s. Little Women has thrilled generations of readers. It is the story of sisters—Jo, Meg, Amy and Beth—and of the courage, humor and ingenuity they display to survive poverty and the absence of their father during the Civil War.
The Two Popes
Based on The Pope by Anthony McCarten
From an Academy Award-nominated screenwriter comes the revealing tale of an unprecedented transfer of power, and of two very different men who both happen to live in the Vatican. The play chronicles the events behind the unexpected resignation of Pope Benedict XVI and the election of Pope Francis, tracing the lives of both men and discussing the consequences of having two living popes in residence at the Vatican.
Where’d You Go Bernadette
Based on Where’d You Go Bernadette by Maria Semple
When her notorious, hilarious, volatile, talented, troubled, and agoraphobic mother goes missing, teenage Bee begins a trip that takes her to the ends of the Earth to find her. Bee compiles e-mail messages, official documents, and secret correspondence, creating a touching novel about a family coming to terms with who they are, and the power of a daughter's love for her imperfect mother.
Richard Jewell
Based on a Vanity Fair article by Marie Brenner: “American Nightmare: The Ballad of Richard Jewell” (plus, a book about him)
On July 30, 1996, the media identified Richard Jewell as the F.B.I.'s prime suspect in Atlanta's Centennial Olympic Park bombing. For the first time, the 34-year-old security guard tells his extraordinary story, to Marie Brenner: his brief moment as a national hero, his hounding by the Feds and the press, and his eccentric friendship with the unknown southern lawyer who helped him through his public torment.
A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood
Based on an Esquire article, "Can You Say ... Hero?" by Tom Junod (plus, many books and DVDs by and about Fred Rogers)
Fred Rogers has been doing the same small good thing for a very long time...
Motherless Brooklyn
Based on Motherless Brooklyn by Johnathan Lethem
Brooklyn's very own self-appointed Human Freakshow, Lionel Essrog, is an orphan whose Tourettic impulses drive him to bark, count, and rip apart our language in startling and original ways. Together with three veterans of the St. Vincent's Home for Boys, he works for small-time mobster Frank Minna's limo service cum detective agency. When Frank is fatally stabbed, one of Lionel's colleagues lands in jail, the other two vie for his position, and the victim's widow skips town. Lionel's world is suddenly topsy-turvy, and this outcast who has trouble even conversing attempts to untangle the threads of the case while trying to keep the words straight in his head. A brilliantly original, captivating homage to the classic detective novel by one of the most acclaimed writers of his generation.
TV shows based on books or articles
Big Little Lies
Based on Big Little Liesby Liane Moriarty (plus, check out our readalikes blog)
Follows three mothers, each at a crossroads, and their potential involvement in a riot at a school trivia night that leaves one parent dead in what appears to be a tragic accident, but which evidence shows might have been premeditated.
Killing EveBased on Codename Villanelle by Luke Jennings
Villanelle (a codename, of course) is one of the world's most skilled assassins. A catlike psychopath whose love for the creature comforts of her luxurious lifestyle is second only to her love of the game, she specializes in murdering the world's richest and most powerful. But when she murders an influential Russian politician, she draws a relentless foe to her tail.
Eve Polastri (not a codename) is a former MI6 operative hired by the national security services for a singular task: to find and capture or kill the assassin responsible, and those who have aided her. Eve, whose quiet and otherwise unextraordinary life belies her quick wit and keen intellect, accepts the mission.
The ensuing chase will lead them on a trail around the world, intersecting with corrupt governments and powerful criminal organizations, all leading towards a final confrontation from which neither will emerge unscathed. Codename Villanelle is a sleek, fast-paced international thriller from an exciting new voice in fiction.
Game of ThronesBased on A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin (plus GRRM reading suggestions, characters reading suggestions, and readalikes)
Long ago, in a time forgotten, a preternatural event threw the seasons out of balance. In a land where summers can last decades and winters a lifetime, trouble is brewing.
Sweeping from a harsh land of cold to a summertime kingdom of epicurean plenty, A Game of Thrones tells a tale of lords and ladies, soldiers and sorcerers, assassins and bastards, who come together in a time of grim omens. Amid plots and counter-plots, tragedy and betrayal, victory and terror, allies and enemies, the fate of the Starks hangs perilously in the balance, as each side endeavors to win that deadliest of conflicts: the game of thrones.
Unparalleled in scope and execution, A Game of Thrones is one of those rare reading experiences that catch you from the opening pages, won’t let you go until the end, and leaves you yearning for more.
Catch-22
Based on Catch-22 by Joseph Heller
Set in the closing months of World War II in an American bomber squadron off the coast of Italy, Catch-22 is the story of a bombardier named Yossarian who is frantic and furious because thousands of people he has never even met keep trying to kill him.
Chernobyl
Based on Voices from Chernobyl: The Oral History of a Nuclear Disaster by Svetlana Alexievich (plus, a blog post about e-resources on Chernobyl)
On April 26, 1986, the worst nuclear reactor accident in history occurred in Chernobyl and contaminated as much as three-quarters of Europe. Voices from Chernobyl is the first book to present personal accounts of the tragedy. Journalist Svetlana Alexievich interviewed hundreds of people affected by the meltdown—from innocent citizens to firefighters to those called in to clean up the disaster—and their stories reveal the fear, anger, and uncertainty with which they still live. Comprised of interviews in monologue form, Voices from Chernobyl is a crucially important work, unforgettable in its emotional power and honesty.
Fosse/Verdon
Based on Fosse by Sam Wasson
We see Bob Fosse's legacy everywhere—from Broadway to 'Billy Jean' to Beyonce's moves in the 'Single ladies' video. Yet in spite of Fosse's deep cultural significance, no biography has ever brought him fully to life, unveiling the man behind the bowler hat and the swaggering sex appeal. Now, ... cultural historian Sam Wasson traces Fosse's numberless reinventions of himself over a career that would spawn The Pajama Game, Cabaret, Pippin, Chicago, All That Jazz, and other iconic works of art and earn him Tonys, Emmys, and an Oscar."
The Loudest Voice
Based on The Loudest Voice in the Room by Gabriel Sherman
An inside account of Fox News offers insight into its operations and influence, covering the original launch of the cable news network by Roger Ailes and Rupert Murdoch and the ways in which Fox has become a dominant force in American politics.
Summaries provided via NYPL’s catalog, which draws from multiple sources, and sometimes edited for clarity and length. Click through to each book’s title for moreHave trouble reading standard print? Many of these titles are available in formats for patrons with print disabilities.
Staff picks are chosen by NYPL staff members and are not intended to be comprehensive lists. We'd love to hear your ideas too, so leave a comment and tell us what you’d recommend. And check out our Staff Picks browse tool for more recommendations!