Books
Hollywood loves adaptations — especially when the source material is a bestselling book. For proof, just take a look at 2017's Academy Award nominees. If you’re a firm believer in reading the book first, you have your work cut out for you: these are the eight books to read before you watch the Oscars ceremony this weekend.
Naturally, since so many movies are inspired by or adapted from literature, Oscars season means reading season. Last year, it seemed like every film was based on a book: from Brooklyn (based on Brooklyn by Colm Tóibín) to Carol (based on The Price of Salt by Patricia Highsmith) to The Martian (based on The Martian by Andy Weir) to Room (based on Room by Emma Donoghue).
This year is no different. Of the films nominated, many have literary inspiration, which means you have quite a few books to add to your TBR pile before watching the awards ceremony. Here are some of the top reads you should flip through before watching the awards on February 26th.
1
'Stories Of Your Life And Others' by Ted Chiang
Ted Chiang's short story Story of Your Life inspired the tension-filled sci-fi Oscar nominee, Arrival.
2
'Fences' by August Wilson
August Wilson's play about Troy Maxson won him both a Tony Award and a Pulitzer Prize. Fences is based on his work, and now the film is nominated for Best Picture, Best Actor in a Leading Role, Best Actress in a Supporting Role, and Best Adapted Screenplay.
3
'Redemption At Hacksaw Ridge' By Booton Herndon
The biopic Hacksaw Ridge follows Desmond Doss, a conscientious objector during World War II who was awarded the Medal of Honor. Redemption at Hacksaw Ridge tells Desmond's story.
4
'A Long Way Home' by Saroo Brierley
In the memoir that inspired Lion, Saroo Brierley details how he was separated from his birth mother, adopted by an Australian couple, and then found his birth mother 25 years later.
5
'Hidden Figures: The Story of the African-American Women Who Helped Win the Space Race' by Margot Lee Shetterly
Hidden Figures is another film based on a true story: During the time of the Civil Rights movement, a group of African-American women worked for NASA as "human computers," brilliant mathematicians who advanced science and technology and helped advance some of America's greatest space achievement. The film — which is nominated for Best Picture — is based on the book by Margot Lee Shetterly.
6
'Oh...' by Philippe Djian
Isabelle Huppert is nominated for best actress in a leading role for her performance in Elle, which is based on the novel Oh... by Philippe Dijan.
7
'Tony and Susan' by Austin Wright
Austin Wright's story about Susan Morrow and her first husband, a novelist named Edward Sheffield. This dazzling novel inspired Tom Ford's Oscar nominated film Nocturnal Animals.
8
'Florence Foster Jenkins: The Life of the World's Worst Opera Singer' by Nicholas Martin and Jasper Rees
Meryl Streep stars as Florence in the film Florence Foster Jenkins, for which she is nominated for Best Actress in a Leading Role. The biography Florence Foster Jenkins: The Life of the World's Worst Opera Singer goes into even further detail about the painfully untalented but enticingly confident opera singer.
