You’ve been trying to beat the heat as SpaceCoast Living’s latest magazine inspired you to do in this month’s issue.  Achieve that goal with the additional help of these classic summer reads. The best part? ALL of these books are coming to the movies too! 
After all, there is something ridiculously exciting about reading a book you’ll be viewing later as a feature film, isn’t there? Especially when that book is one of your all time favorites, like Anna Karenina, by Leo Tolstoy. It’s even more exciting, when Anna is to be played by such a convincing actress as Keira Knightly. Watch the trailer here! 

What do you think about actor Leonardo DiCaprio, as Gatsby, for The Great Gatsby, a film adaptation of  F. Scott Fitzgerald’s most famous american novel? How will Jay Gatsby’s and Daisy Fay Buchanan’s love be portrayed in director Baz Luhrmann rendition of the jazz age? Watch the trailer here. 
Great Expectations, an all time classic, by Charles Dickens, is sure to entice you. Each film version seems to get better. Particularly with a coming film starring Helena Bonham Carter as Miss Havisham.  Really, who could play a creepier Miss Havisham? Watch the trailer here. 
Then, there is one of the all time childhood favorites, The Hobbit, by JRR Tolkiens. All you die hard Lord of the Rings fans, cry no more. This film transforms Tolkien’s fantasy literature, bringing back many of your favorite characters from the epic trilogy. Watch the trailer here. 
Perhaps you are looking for something from a contemporary author? No problem. Life of Pi, written by Yann Martel, is an adventure novel, full of imagination and symbolic meaning. Academy award winning director, Ang Lee, has created a film from this best selling novel and it will be opening the New York Film Festival this year. According to the Chicago Tribune, it is slated to be “one of the fall’s clear awards contenders.” Watch the trailer here. 

So, have I piqued your curiosity yet? No? Fine. Last try. Grab Stephen Chbosky’s quirky tale about teenage outsiders, in The Perks of Being a Wallflower. You’ll be happy to know that the up coming film, by the producers of Juno, will be staring the beautiful Emma Watson. Watch the trailer here. 

As for me, I’m headed to the book store right now. I’ve got to find The Life of Pi. I can’t believe I missed that one!

Once you’ve made your choice, lose yourself in the story. Let the characters take you far away from the heat of the Florida sun. Than, meet me later at the movies! 
Tennessee transplant, Jaimee Preston, is excited to call the Space Coast her new home. With an avid love for adventure, all things outdoors, and writing, she hopes to inspire readers to see their community with fresh eyes and new perspective. Read more from Jaimee on her blog  http://inmywilderness.blogspot.com or email her at jaimeeonthespacecoast@gmail.com.