Our favorite books that inspired Oscar wins

The Academy Awards are around the corner. As usual, Oscar has been inspired this year by movies that originally were books. Little Children is up for a couple acting awards. Meryl Streep, Forest Whitaker, Will Smith, and Judi Dench respectively owe The Devil Wears Prada, The Last King of Scotland, The Pursuit of Happyness, and What Was She Thinking? (which was adapted into Notes on a Scandal) grateful mentions in their acceptance speeches, since these books originated the characters for which the actors have been acknowledged.

Yes, Hollywood owes much to books. And the Academy Awards would be smart someday to honor its literary legacy. In a way, we’ve beat them to the punch with the following list of books we loved that became recent big winners on the big screen:

• Sophie’s Choice, by William Styron: No other screen performance can beat Meryl Streep’s in this movie, and when you read the book you’ll understand how well she captured the title character’s astounding and heartbreaking life.
• Close Range: Wyoming Stories, by Annie Proulx: Brokeback Mountain is but one story in this collection, and it’s telling and rare that simply a dozen or so pages could inspire such an acclaimed and moving film.
• The Thin Red Line, by James Jones: We love Terrence Malick’s masterful adaptation of this novel for its breathtaking beauty and its profound, contemplative look at the inward impact and personal violence of war.
• The Hours, by Michael Cunningham: It’s hard to beat this brilliant, Pulitzer-winning take on Mrs Dalloway that was adapted into an Oscar-winning film.
• The Remains of the Day, by Kazuo Ishiguro: This sentimental favorite captures the anguish of unrequited love and the tragedy of the wasted life.

OK, we admit this is a pretty grim bunch of books. But you know Oscar: He loves heartbreak and sacrifice.