There’s the first new “Star Wars” film in a decade along with a slew of franchise reboots like “Mad Max: Fury Road” and “Terminator Genisys.”
However, 2015 may be the year to add something extra to your culture plate. Perhaps your New Year’s resolution is to read a little more, or maybe you always want to and can’t find what to read or the time.
Reading books being made into or tied to movies makes that resolution easier. It narrows the selection and connects to something everyone loves: watching movies. Here are five pop culture books to prepare you for 2015.
- “Jurassic Park” by Michael Crichton: With “Jurassic World” hitting theaters this summer to reboot the franchise, it’d be good to go back and see where this strange world and concept came from. Everyone of a certain age has seen the 1993 Steven Spielberg film, but do they know the original dinosaur-fused stories came from a novel by Michael Crichton? Maybe it’s time to give him his due.
- “Fight Club” by Chuck Palahniuk: Sure, there’s no new “Fight Club” movie coming out anytime soon, but there is a sequel from Palahniuk hitting shelves in comic book form. The sequel can probably be enjoyed by both fans of the novel and the David Fincher-directed movie of madness. However, to get the full enjoyment of the limited series, it’s best to delve into the book that inspired Fincher, Brad Pitt and Edward Norton to turn on a camera, throw some punches and create a film revered by a generation.
- “American Sniper” by Chris Kyle, Scott McEwen, Jim DeLefice: Clint Eastwood’s new movie is earning raves from many critics. What’s most impressive is how true it seems to be staying to Kyle’s actual persona, captured by the man himself in the bestselling book. No movie can fully capture Kyle’s perspective (though this one seems to come damn close), so after enjoying the movie it’s be best to hear the tale firsthand in Kyle’s own Texas born and bred slang. It’s a hell of a read and makes for a perfect partnership with the film.
- “Fifty Shades of Grey” by E.L. James: Sure, maybe the book is terrible. However, the movie adaptation is about to become the next big franchise if Hollywood has anything to say about it. For pop culture and even curiosity’s sake, it may be worth picking it up to see what all the fuss is about. Besides, there’s tons of erotic fiction released every year, especially in the digital age of books, so there’s got to be something that makes this novel different, right?
- “Paper Towns” by John Green: After “The Fault in Our Stars” broke everyone’s hearts last year, John Green became the new go-to author for heart-wrenching teen tales. Move over Nicholas Sparks. Another Green novel, “Paper Towns,” will hit theaters this Summer. Might as well get the surprises of the story out of the way because we know we’ll be seeing this one in theaters just like “Stars.” The book will let us know how many tissues we should bring with us. Hopefully none.