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The Independent's 25 Books That Should Have Never Been Made Into Films

"It makes sense for Hollywood to look to the written word for inspiration when it comes to producing new films. But the sad truth is, there's become an over-reliance on using pre-existing material to either find the next big franchise or to capitalise on the success of a bestseller. It's fair enough – these adaptations will always be guaranteed large box office takings thanks to the book's readers merely showing up to see how the film has translated certain parts to the screen. While there are solid examples of successful big-screen adaptations, there have more than likely been a larger number of botch jobs. Nothing is more disappointing than seeing a film version of your favourite book and realising minutes in that the director has misjudged the novel's spirit or two actors have been cast in the wrong roles and have no chemistry whatsoever. Below, we rank the 25 books that should have been left alone and never made into films." - independent.co.uk
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from independent.co.uk · made by SteveAzo
avg. score: 7 of 25 (29%)
required scores: 1, 4, 6, 8, 11 

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Dune (Frank Herbert)
Dune
1
Frank Herbert
The Bonfire of the Vanities (Tom Wolfe)
The Bonfire of the Vanities
2
Tom Wolfe
Billy Bathgate (E.L. Doctorow)
Billy Bathgate
3
E.L. Doctorow
The Scarlet Letter (Nathaniel Hawthorne)
The Scarlet Letter
4
Nathaniel Hawthorne
Battlefield Earth (L. Ron Hubbard)
Battlefield Earth
5
L. Ron Hubbard
Captain Corelli's Mandolin (Louis De Bernieres)
Captain Corelli's Mandolin
6
Louis De Bernieres
The Time Machine (H.G. Wells)
The Time Machine
7
H.G. Wells
Dreamcatcher (Stephen King)
Dreamcatcher
8
Stephen King
Enduring Love (Ian McEwan)
Enduring Love
9
Ian McEwan
Fever Pitch (Nick Hornby)
Fever Pitch
10
Nick Hornby
The Da Vinci Code (Dan Brown)
The Da Vinci Code
11
Dan Brown
Eragon (Christopher Paolini)
Eragon
12
Christopher Paolini
Running With Scissors (Augusten Burroughs)
Running With Scissors
13
Augusten Burroughs
The Time Traveller's Wife (Audrey Niffenegger)
The Time Traveller's Wife
14
Audrey Niffenegger
Cloud Atlas (David Mitchell)
Cloud Atlas
15
David Mitchell
The Hobbit (J.R.R. Tolkien)
The Hobbit
16
J.R.R. Tolkien
The Book Thief (Markus Zusak)
The Book Thief
17
Markus Zusak
The Great Gatsby (F. Scott Fitzgerald)
The Great Gatsby
18
F. Scott Fitzgerald
The Giver (Lois Lowry)
The Giver
19
Lois Lowry
Kill Your Friends (John Niven)
Kill Your Friends
20
John Niven
The Girl on the Train (Paula Hawkins)
The Girl on the Train
21
Paula Hawkins
Me Before You (Jojo Moyes)
Me Before You
22
Jojo Moyes
The Dark Tower (Stephen King)
The Dark Tower
23
Stephen King
On Chesil Beach (Ian McEwan)
On Chesil Beach
24
Ian McEwan
Northern Lights (Philip Pullman)
Northern Lights
25
Philip Pullman
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