With “Water for Elephants” and the upcoming “Something Borrowed” making big waves on the big screen, and with movies such as “The Help,” “The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo,” “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2” and “Twilight: Breaking Dawn,” coming soon, let’s look at a handful of other stories that have started as books – and have made the leap to the big screen. These picks are perfect for book clubs; why not read the book and then get together to watch the film?

Or, with films appropriate for younger viewers, why not encourage your kids and teens to pick up the book first, then discuss it with you before you watch the movie together? It’s a great way to encourage reading – and a little family bonding.

Here are some of my favorites:

• Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll
• Atonement by Ian McEwan
• Breakfast at Tiffany’s by Truman Capote
• Bridges of Madison County by Robert James Waller
• The Color Purple by Alice Walker
• Confessions of a Shopaholic by Sophie Kinsella
• The DaVinci Code by Dan Brown
• The Devil Wears Prada by Lauren Weisberger
• Dracula by Bram Stoker
• Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert
• Field of Dreams (The name of the book is “Shoeless Joe”) by W.P. Kinsella
• Fight Club by Chuck Palahniuk
• Forrest Gump by Winston Groom
• The General’s Daughter by Nelson DeMille
• Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell
• The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
• The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold
• Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil by John Berendt
• Must Love Dogs by Claire Cook
• A Perfect Storm by Sebastian Junger
• Practical Magic by Alice Hoffman
• P.S. I Love You by Cecelia Ahern
• Seabiscuit by Laura Hillenbrand
• Silence of the Lambs by Thomas Harris
• To Kill a Mocking Bird by Harper Lee
• The Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum
GREAT FOR KIDS
• Charlotte’s Web by E.B. White
• Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs by Judi and Ron Barrett
• Diary of a Wimpy Kid by Jeff Kinney
• The Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling
• The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis
• Polar Express by Chris Van Allsburg
• The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants by Ann Brashares (for teens)
• Stuart Little by E.B. White
• The Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo
• Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak

For a more comprehensive list from the Oxford County Library in Ontario, Canada, click here.

And to see the segment on the morning news, click here.

During my monthly appearance on the WESH-NBC morning news (available in the Orlando market), I talked about my top book picks for Valentine’s Day – and some of my favorite “pamper yourself” picks. Here they are (with clickable links)!

BOOKS

• Thumb Love, by Elisa Primavera:
• Twosomes: Love Poems from the Animal Kingdom, by Marilyn Singer, illustrated by Lee Wildish
• Real Live Boyfriends: A Ruby Oliver Novel, by E. Lockhart:
• Haunting Jasmine, by Anajali Banerjee:
• Laugh, Cry, Eat Some Pie, by Deanna Davis, PhD:
• The Last Song, by Nicholas Sparks:
• Live and Let Love: Notes from Extraordinary Women on the Layers, the Laughter and the Litter of Love, edited and with an introduction by Andrea Buchanan:
• Plus, two of my books:
  The Art of French Kissing
  and
  Italian for Beginners

PAMPER-YOURSELF PRODUCTS

• Davines LOVE Lovely Smoothing Conditioner
• Lierac Moisturizing Velvet Mask
• Lierac Hydra-Chrono Fluide Fraicheur (moisturizer)
• Lierac Gentle Cleansing Water
• Philip B Chocalicious Gift Set
• Valentine’s Day martini glasses
• Pacifica Perfumes
• Tarte Lisurgence Lipstains
• Tarte Amazonian Clay 12-Hour Blush

To see the two video segments on WESH, click here for the book segment, and here for the book/product segment.

The holidays are over, but for readers, the fun is just beginning. Many of you received gift cards from Barnes & Noble, Borders, Amazon or other bookstores; others are simply savvy about all the post-holiday sales. Let’s take a look at how to get the best bang for your post-holiday book buck!

Look for Combo Books

One of the best ways to get book deals is to look for multiple books in one, which are often sold for as much as – or less than – a single-title book. These two books – one for kids, one for teens – are both great picks:

 The BIG Red Book of Beginner Books: This single hardcover ($15.99) contains six classic picture books: The Digging-est Dog, I Want to Be Somebody New, Robert the Rose Horse, Sam and the Firefly, Stop That Ball, and The Very Bad Bunny. All six are perfect for reading aloud, or for beginning readers to begin reading on their own.

Keep Me In Your Heart: This 614-page tome ($9.99) contains three novels by novelist Lurlene McDaniel: Saving Jessica, Telling Christina Goodbye and Letting Go of Lisa. All three are about love and loss during the teenage years.

Look for Bargain Audiobooks

If you’re shopping in a bookstore, look for stickers identifying audiobooks as Value Priced books. For teens, especially those who like action and mystery, James Patterson’s Max and Daniel X: Watch the Skies, are both just $9.98. For adults, look for audiobooks such as James Patterson’s Swimsuit and Michael Connelly’s The Lincoln Lawyer, for just $14.98 each. Considering that these audiobooks give you 7 hours and 11 hours of entertainment, respectively, and that the Connelly book is currently being made into a major motion picture, you’re getting quite a deal.

Look for Paperbacks

 New releases are always fun to read, of course, but look for new-release paperbacks to get the biggest bang for your buck. Mass-market paperbacks, such as K.L. Dionne’s eco-thriller Boiling Point, are almost always under $10; this one is $7.99. Trade paperbacks have the heft of a hardcover, but the price and convenience of a paperback; T. Jefferson Parker’s fast-paced and suspenseful Iron River is a good example at $14.

Look for Books You Need

Sometimes the best deals are the ones on books you’ll really use. That’s why I think books such as Alison Sweeney’s The Mommy Diet are such a good deal. This one rings in at $24, but how many of us have started the year out with a resolution to lose weight? This book is geared toward moms-to-be and new moms who wish to drop some pounds. There’s a book out there for every New Year’s resolution you’ve made; spend some time browsing and don’t be afraid to spend a little more if the book truly addresses your needs.

Browse the Bargain Racks

Online and in stores, searching specifically for Bargain Books can be your best bet. In major bookstores such as Barnes & Noble and Borders, there are usually several shelves of bargain books right up front; prices are often between $5 and $10, often for previous bestselling hardcovers. Online, go straight to the Bargain Book sections on major online retail sites such as the one at BarnesandNoble.com. For example, in a few minutes of browsing yesterday, I came across a Patricia Cornwell hardcover for just $3.99 – and 82 percent savings – and a great book by my friend Jane Porter for just $2.99, a 78 percent savings.

Use Your E-Reader 

Finally, many of you had e-readers already or received them as holiday presents. Take advantage of the bargains in online stores – stores for Kindle, Nook and Sony all offer free and discounted e-books, and there are links all over the internet to over a million books written before 1923 – such as Treasure Island and The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes — that are now part of the public domain; because these books are out of copyright, you can access them for free. See Kindle’s free book collection here. Finally, if you have a Sony Reader, like I do, you can also access lots of new release books through your local public library, right from your home computer, and transfer them to your reading device at no cost. Visit your local library’s web site for more information.

Happy reading! View the NBC segment here.

Kristin Harmel’s THE BLUE HOUR, in which a bakery owner discovers the truth about her grandmother’s escape from France during WWII, a journey that takes her to a synagogue and a mosque in Paris, uncovers a long-hidden family secret, and leads her to a new love of her own, to Abby Zidle at Gallery, in a pre-empt, by Holly Root at Waxman Literary Agency (NA).

**
For Young Readers
• Snowbots by Aaron Reynolds and David Barneda
• 10 Trim-the-Tree’ers: A Holiday Counting Book by Janet Schulman, illustrated by Linda Davick
• Christmas with the Mousekins by Maggie Smith

For Middle Grade Readers (ages 8-12)
• Storyteller by Patricia Reilly Giff

For Young Adult Readers (ages 12 and up)
• Trash by Andy Mulligan
• Vixen by Jillian Larkin

For Any Age
• Nelson Mandela’s Favorite African Folktales (the audiobook)

For Adult Readers

FOR THE DISNEY LOVER
• Why? Because We Still Like You by Jennifer Armstrong

FOR THE MYSTERY LOVER
• Michael Connelly’s Harry Bosch Box Set

FOR THE BOOK LOVER
• Writers Gone Wild by Bill Peschel
• The Man Who Loved Books Too Much by Allison Hoover Bartlett

FOR THE ROMANTIC
• On Christmas Eve by Thomas Kinkade and Katherine Spencer

FOR THE SPORTS FAN
    * Countdown to Lockdown by former WWE wrestler Mick Foley

FOR THOSE WHO LIKE TO LAUGH
• Earth (The Book) by Jon Stewart
• Simple Times by Amy Sedaris

FOR THE MUSIC LOVER
• Life by Keith Richards (the audiobook, narrated in part by Johnny Depp)
• Don’t Shoot! I’m the Guitar Man by Buzzy Martin

See the TV segment here (for the kids recommendations) or here (for the adult recommendations).

If you’re traveling anywhere this holiday season, there’s no better way to pass the time than a book. Sure, on a flight, you can bring your personal DVD player along, but you have to power down during takeoff and landing. And on a car trip, particularly if you’re driving, watching a movie isn’t exactly practical. Enter books and audiobooks, ideal for keeping you — and your kids — occupied and entertained.

Here are my favorite books and audiobooks for travel this holiday season, as I discussed on the WESH-NBC morning news.

For Young Kids

• How Rocket Learned to Read by Tad Hills: Recommended for ages 4-8, this is a great picture book about a tiny yellow bird who teaches a reluctant dog how to read. Great for budding readers — especially kids who are worried about leaving a family pet home while they travel!
• Gigi In the Big City by Cherise Mericle Harper: Recommended for ages 4-8, Gigi is a perfect book for a mom and daughter to read together if you’re anticipating a long airport delay or time together in the back seat of the car. The flaps are so fun that I kind of want to take it with me on my next trip, even though I don’t have kids!

For Middle Grade Readers (Ages 8-12)

• Modern Fairies, Dwarves, Goblins, and Other Nasties: A Practical Guide by Miss Edythe McFate, by Lesley M. M. Blume and David Foote: This is one of those middle-grade books you’ll want to steal when your child is done. All set in modern-day New York, it features eight engaging stories of kids who encounter supernatural creatures. So much fun!
• The Pandora Series by Carolyn Hennesy: You may know author Hennesy as Diane Miller on the ABC soap General Hospital, so you might be surprised at just what a fun author she is too! A funny, modern spin on the classic story of Pandora’s Box, Hennesy’s series has been hailed by Publishers Weekly for its “witty juxtapositions of modern popular culture and classical Greek legend.”

For Young Adult  Readers (Ages 12 and up)

• Dash & Lily’s Book of Dares, by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan: From the writers of the unforgettable Nick & Norah’s Infinite Playlist comes an awesome story of two teenagers in New York, alone, at Christmastime, who communicate through a red notebook before they even meet. An edgy love story that will appeal to both boys and girls, it features some great New York locations, including the Strand bookstore and the Macy’s in Herald Square.
• Revolution, by Jennifer Donnelly: This is one of those YA books you’re going to want to borrow from your daughter when she’s done. It’s an awesome novel that weaves together the life of a present-day grieving teenager with the life of a teen girl trying to save a prince during the French Revolution. Filled with a surprising blend of danger, mystery, emotion and good old rock’n'roll.

For Adult Readers

These recommendations were tough for me; there are so many well-written, engaging books on the market right now that it was nearly impossible to narrow it down. So for holiday travel, I stuck to books that moved quickly, were interesting and well-written, and that can be great sources of conversation once you arrive at your destination. These books — some fiction and some non-fiction — are also perfect to share with friends and family; each of them has wide appeal. You can see me discuss these books in more detail on the TV segment on WESH.

• Whistlin’ Dixie in a Nor’easter by Lisa Patton
• The Junior Officers’ Reading Club: Killing Time and Fighting Wars by Patrick Hennessey
• Unlikely Allies: How a Merchant, a Playwright and a Spy Saved the American Revolution by Joel Richard Paul
• Keep The Change: A Clueless Tipper’s Quest to Become the Guru of the Gratuity by Steve Dublanica
• Oogy: The Dog Only a Family Could Love by Larry Levin
• An Object of Beauty by Steve Martin (Yes, the actor! He’s also an incredible writer!)

Audiobooks

My favorite thing about long car trips is the chance to listen to audiobooks. As much as I love to curl up and read in a quiet corner — or on my balcony in the morning with a cup of coffee — there’s something about having a voice professional read to you that’s absolutely delightful. Here are four of my favorite new releases for long drives. The first, Nelson Mandela’s Favorite African Folktales, is just as perfect for a drive with your whole family as it is for a drive alone, plus, the proceeds benefit children in South Africa orphaned and impacted by HIV/AIDS. Between all the amazing celebrity narrators, the great stories, and the benefit to charity, I’d give this one ten stars — on a four-star scale.

• Nelson Mandela’s Favorite African Folktales
• An Object of Beauty by Steve Martin
• The Reversal by Michael Connelly
• Safe Haven by Nicholas Sparks (or click here for a shorter, abridged version)

Happy holidays! I’ll be back in December with recommendations for the best books to buy for everyone on your holiday gift list.

In the meantime, see my “Books for Holiday Travel” segment on WESH here.