If there is a decent book in the world, it will eventually be taken over by Hollywood and created into a visual media. In a world of Harry Potter and all of the Nicholas Sparks novels, novels normally turn into movies. However, there are a few books that become television shows.
There are television shows that are currently on as well as older television shows that are based on books. There are comedy books, dramatic books and (too many) vampire books. There have been book/TV shows on HBO, ABC Family and NBC. The range is endless.
There are more than ten television shows that are based on books. These ten are the most popular and the most surprising television shows. There are old shows and new shows.
With each show, there is the book title, author name, the number of books in the series and why its so great. There is also a small clip from the television show.
Here are the top 10 best TV shows based on books.
[new page=’A Town, A Team, And A Dream]
10. Friday Night Lights
Book Title: Friday Night Lights: A Town, A Team, And A Dream
Author: H.G. Bissinger
Number of books: One
What makes it great: This is based on an uplifting story and it is a football story. With a football story, you can have games every week and school every day. Even when the book runs out, the TV show can spread everything out. It also helps that the writing in the book and television show have the same tones so they go well together. This book was also created into a movie so there is three times the material
[new page=The Southern Vampire Mysteries]
9. True Blood
Book Title: The Southern Vampire Mysteries
Author: Charlaine Harris
Number of books:13
What makes it great: Like The Vampire Diaries, True Blood is based on a book. You would think that having two shows based on books about vampires would get old. However, True Blood is the better book series of the two. With 13 books in the Vampire Mysteries, the show has an ample amount of material to draw from and will never run out of idea.
[new page=Pretty Little Liars]
8. Pretty Little Liars
Book Title: Pretty Little Liars
Author: Sara Shepard
Number of books: 16 (more are planned)
What makes it great: The Pretty Little Liars show hardly follows the Pretty Little Liars books. Major plot points and character names are the same but the information within takes tons of liberty with the text. However, the major plot points are the most important part. And, reading the books doesn’t spoil anything.
[new page=The Birth, High Times, and Corruption of Atlantic City]
7. Boardwalk Empire
Book Title: Boardwalk Empire: The Birth, High Times, and Corruption of Atlantic City
Author: Nelson Johnson
Number of books: One
What makes it great: This is a great book that made a great show. Because there was so much corruption in Atlantic City, there is a lot of material. And, even though the show is based on a book, based on a true story, if you combine all of the information it makes everything better.
[new page=Dexter]
6. Dexter
Book Title: Dexter
Author: Jeff Lindsay
Number of books: 7
What makes it great: As good as Dexter was, the book series was better. While the television series is full of witty dialogue, the entire books are witty. The books did help with the show but the show depended on the books but also added their own information.
[new page=A Song of Ice and Fire]
5. Game of Thrones
Book Title: A Song of Ice and Fire
Author: George R. R. Martin
Number of books: 5 (with more to come)
What makes it great: George R. R. Martin helps with the show to make sure that it has the same tone as the book and it holds true. Because the books are long enough, there is enough material within all of the books to fill in all of the time. Positive about the books, there is no nudity.
[new page=MASH]
4. M*A*S*H
Book Title: MASH
Author: Richard Hooker
Number of books: 15
What makes it great: The book is based on Hooker’s real life story while fighting in the war. The television series uses that for its advantage. Hooker, after the show’s success, wrote more MASH books but none of them were good enough to be adapted for the show. What is great about the series is that, while it is based on a book, they added their own material to make it their own.
[new page=Pronto]
3. Justified
Book Title: Pronto and Riding the Rap
Author: Elmore Leonard
Number of books: Two
What makes it great: This television series combines multiple of Elmore Leonard’s books and short stories. It’s great because they take such different archs and fit them into one series. It also stays true to the locations within the book (Hazard, Kentucky) while being filmed in Los Angeles. The book adjusts well to screen.
[new page=About a Boy]
2. About a Boy
Book Title: About a Boy
Author: Nick Hornby
Number of books: One
What makes it great: About a Boy has been made into a TV show and a movie. The book follows Will, an unemployed cool guy, and his dorky neighbor kid Marcus. It is hilarious and heart warming. The book is good for any age. The television series is not based on the film and rather on the book, so the book is unique enough that it can fit into one film and into an entire television series.
[new page=House of Cards]
1. House of Cards
Book Title: House of Cards
Author: Michael Dobbs
Number of books: Three
What makes it great: The Netflix original series does follow the books as closely as it should. While the characters are the same, Netflix takes liberty with everything else. That being said, both the series and the books are filled with political drama and have interesting dialogue. While the House of Cards book and series aren’t necessarily the best on the list, it is the most surprising.