I Want My Book TV

Here are some excellent books that have been made into excellent shows!

Game of Thrones by George R. R. Martin
I'll admit it.  I didn't start reading these books until I started watching the HBO show, but you almost need to just to keep up with the complexity!  What I like best about this series is that the TV version is so excellent and well casted, in addition to following the books so perfectly, that reading them only adds to the thrill.  For me, it almost mirrors the Harry Potter franchise by making epic cinematic choices based off of epic characters and story lines.  And just like Harry Potter, I find it difficult to choose a favorite character.
For everyone out there who thinks Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings was so great, watch the Game of Thrones trailer from Season 2 below.  No disrespect to the great J. R. R. Tolkien (I love him, I just can't stand Peter Jackson), but it makes Lord of the Rings look like Lord of the Dance.

Pretty Little Liars series by Sara Shepard

I know what you're thinking.  Is she really going to put this ABC Family teen-angst fest next to Game of Thrones?  Has she lost her mind?  The answer is yes.  But not in the way you think.

This is one of my favorite guilty pleasures.  Why?  Because the overriding themes of mystery and death fit like a glove next to these perfectly primped divas.  And while they oftentimes have uncontrollable bitch face and you get the feeling that the actors have grandkids older than the characters they're playing, I can't stop watching and waiting.  I love it!

The thing about guilty pleasures is that you get to enjoy the guilt.  This is also evident in my love of Gossip Girl, when at the end of season 1 I thought I was going to kill someone if Chuck Bass and Blair didn't end up together.  These shows take you out of the real world and into a para-reality.  You get to become the prom queen, and then you get to murder her. Oh, if only my 17 year riot grrrl self could see me now!

So, yes, I will continue to watch pretty girls spilling dirty secrets while they deal with lip balm crises at the same time.  And guess what?  Pretty people have problems too!  The show discusses dealing with divorced parents, eating disorders, long stays in mental hospitals, and coming out as a lesbian in a neighborhood that I think might actually contain Barbie's Dream House.  Honestly, the biggest problem I've had in the last two years is coming up with a new way to empty the litter box successfully.  Those clumps just get so frustrating!

Plus the Little Liars looks are always on point, making me seriously considering taking on a high school intern whose sole purpose would be to assemble my outfits everyday.

The best part about the outfits in this show is that characters rarely even comment on them.  They'll just dive right into sleuth mode or show up at a crime scene in this and no one will question it.  I'm seriously right now you guys!    

 They even have perfectly coordinated pieces for the apparently endless amount of themed dances their school puts on.  I mean really, who has victorian ballgowns and masquerade ensemble that readily available at all times?  I don't know either, but what I do know is that I want them to be my friends immediately.

In summary, even though the books and show tended to drift in different directions pretty quickly (why does that sound familiar?  Oh right because every tv show based on a book ever!), I feel this deserves a spot on the list.  Don't make me send 'A' after you if you disagree!  XOXO. Emoticon smiley face.