Where Is Your Bookmark? (06/02/2015)

When I read Sarah McCoy's The Baker's Daughter three years ago, I was swept up into the stories of both Elsie and Reba. I knew I would be reading more by the author at some point, and so I was very excited to jump into The Mapmaker's Children. McCoy's latest novel yet again straddles two time periods, this time that of the Civil War era and the abolitionists and modern day. It's the story of two women whose lives weave together "the past to the present, forcing each of them to define courage, family, love, and legacy in a new way." [excerpt from publisher]

First Paragraph of The Mapmaker's Children:

The old house on Apple Hill Lane shuddered against the weighty snow that burdened its pitch. The ancient beams moaned their secret pains to the wintering doves in the attic. The nesting duo pushed feathered bosoms together, blinked, and nodded quickly, as if to say, Yes-Yes, we hear, yes-yes,we know, while down deep in the cellar, the metal within the doll's porcelain skull grew crystals along its ridges. Sharp as a knife. The skull did all it could to hold steady against the shattering temperature for just one more minute of one more hour.

Teaser from 22% into the e-book: 

"What if it snows," she whispered. "They can't hang a man in a snowstorm--can't bury the dead in frozen ground." Mary's eyes were bloodshot and dark as a train soot. She needed sleep, if only an hour or two.


What do you think? Would you keep reading?  

*                    *                    *

This week's Top Ten Tuesday theme hosted by Broke and Bookish is Top Ten Books I'd Love To See As Movies/Tv Shows. Wouldn't you know it, the first books that come to mind have already been made into movies or television shows. Probably because they are already movies and television shows. I looked through my book review archive and selected the first ten titles that jumped out at me that I think would make great movies or television shows.  But only if they are done right.  I suppose that goes without saying.

1. I love it when a true story is turned into a movie, and Allison Hoover Bartlett's The Man Who Loved Books Too Much: The True Story of a Thief, a Detective, and a World of Literary Obsession would make a good one, drawing in readers, book collecters and anyone who loves a good true crime story.  

2. I love fantasy novels and movies. Lena Coakley's young adult novel, Witchlanders, about two young men from different lands, born enemies, whose fates bring them together not only deserves more attention, but I think it could make a great movie if given the chance.  I mean, there's magic even.  I wouldn't be able to resist.

3. I heard a rumor that Lisa Lutz, author of The Spellman Files, would not mind seeing her books become a television series, and I think that would be great. I have only yet read the first book, but I am already smitten with the characters, and how fun would a television show about a family of P.I.'s be? A lot, I imagine!

4. I really like the show Agent Carter, which aired this past winter/spring. As I watched, I couldn't help but wish someone would make a television show out of Susan Elia MacNeal's Maggie Hope series about a female spy in England during World War II (the first book in the series is Mr. Churchill's Secretary). I do love women in roles like that, not to mention the time period.

5. If ever there was an Oscar contender among my top ten list today, I think American Rust by Philipp Meyer would be it. This one actually may become a movie soon from what I have read. It's set in a small Pennsylvania town focusing on two young men whose lives are irrevocably changed because of a violent death. If the director, screenwriters and actors can capture the feel of that dying town and its people . . . well, it could be a masterpiece.  

6. I am not the only one who would like to see Lisa O'Donnell's novel, The Death of Bees, about two sisters who bury their parents in their backyard translated into a movie.  I can't imagine how it could be nearly as nuanced and lovely as the book, but one can hope, right?

7. David Peace's Tokyo Year Zero was such an interesting reading experience. Set right after World War II Japan, it is the story of a detective determined to solve a series of murders that appear to be connected even despite the lack of resources and lack of interest by those around him. Japan at that time in history would make for an interesting backdrop for a movie or television series for sure.

8. As I read Marcus Sakey's novel, The Two Deaths of Daniel Hayes, I was already envisioning it on the big screen. I'm partial to crime thrillers and this book is nonstop action from the moment Daniel wakes up on the beach unable to remember who he is to the entire time he tries to retrace his steps leading up to his memory loss, including finding his dead wife who he may or may not have murdered. It really is a wild ride and would make a great movie.

9. Another book that had me on the edge of my seat as I read and would make a great movie is Liz Strange's Erased, a science fiction novel set in space. I love a good science fiction movie, especially with a strong female lead. This one is full of action, tension and smart characters. If done right, it would look great on the  big screen.

10. Because I cannot resist the pull of stories set around World War II, I was immediately drawn to Michael C. White's Beautiful Assassin, which is a novel about a Russian sniper. Beautiful Assassin is at once a war story, a political thriller, and a historical novel with a touch of romance.  I think it would make for an interesting and worthwhile movie.

What about you? What books would you like to see translated into a movie or television show?

---

 © 2015, Wendy Runyon of Musings of a Bookish Kitty. All Rights Reserved. If you're reading this on a site other than Musings of a Bookish Kitty or Wendy's feed, be aware that this post has been stolen and is used without permission.