I’ve really missed doing Friday Favorites, and since no one was currently hosting it, Cait @ Functionally Fictional decided to jump into the gap. Each week, she provides a prompt, and I get to talk about my favorite books that fit the topic. Feel free to join in – the more the merrier!

This week’s topic is book to movie or series adaptations, and it’s a tough one for me because I have such a vivid imagination. Somehow, the screen version of the book never quite lives up to what I pictured while reading the book. But every so often, there are some that wind up being really great. Here’s some of my favorites:

1. The Hunger Games — I was immediately hooked on the Suzanne Collins books when I discovered them, but I love how these movies were brought to life. 
2. The Last Kingdom — my nephew got me sucked into this historical fiction series written by Bernard Cornwell, and while the show isn’t fully faithful to the books, it’s close enough to keep me happy.
3. Trainspotting — the book by Irvine Welsh was one of those where I literally had to subvocalize because it’s written in Scottish dialect, and it uses a lot of slang words that I had to look up. And while the movie was as dark and gritty as the book, I found it even more engaging.
4. The Silence of the Lambs — this book by Thomas Harris is terrifyingly good, but the movie version was incredible, mostly because the performances by Jodie Foster as Clarice was outstanding, and who could forget Anthony Hopkins as Hannibal Lecter?
5. Outlander — this is another of my favorite historical fiction series, and while the show deviates from the story in some really significant ways, I love how the show is done as well. 
6. Mayfair Witches — I’ve loved the Anne Rice series for decades, and the new television show is very different from the books, but so far it’s really good and I’m already hooked.
7. Shadow and Bone — okay, so it’s pretty clear that the show is done differently than the books, but simply seeing things from the books brought to the screen is incredible, and I love both in different ways.
8. Sharp Objects — I’m a Gillian Flynn fan, and this was one of my favorite of her books, and loved Amy Adams in this role. Both are so dark and twisted, and I thought the show did a great job of adapting the book.
9. The Handmaid’s Tale — this is one of those cases where the show is better than the book in my opinion. I’m hopelessly addicted to the show and I’m fully invested in the story at this point.
10. Kindred — the book by Octavia E. Butler is mindblowingly good. The show isn’t quite the same, but I loved how it was done and can’t wait for season 2.

What are some of your favorite book to movie/show adaptations?