A quick glance at the list of Oscar® nominees confirms that 2014 was a great year at the movies. It was also a very good year for moviegoing readers: of the eight films nominated for Best Picture, fully half were based on books, with additional lit-love nods in categories like Best Actress. All told, book-based films racked up a healthy 29 nominations.
Below, we’ve tallied the books you need to read if you really want to be in the know come the big night, February 22.
American Sniper, by Chris Kyle
Clint Eastwood’s adaptation of Kyle’s military memoir earned six nominations including Best Picture, Best Adapted Screenplay, and Best Actor for Bradley Cooper. Kyle’s fellow marines in Iraq called him “The Legend”; he is credited as the deadliest sniper in American military history. His complex and moving memoir demonstrates the most important fact about modern warfare: No matter how complex the technology, no matter how sophisticated the tactics, it’s still a conflict fought by human beings.
Alan Turing: The Enigma, by Andrew Hodges
This biography of Alan Turing, a mathematical genius who cracked Nazi codes and helped birth the computer age, served as the inspiration for The Imitation Game, which collected eight nominations, including Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Actor for Benedict Cumberbatch. The book delves deeper into Turing’s life than any film could hope to, touching on his career triumphs and hidden personal tragedies: once his homosexuality came to light, he agreed to chemical castration in lieu of prison time, and ultimately committed suicide.
Foxcatcher, by Mark Schultz and Dave Thomas
The adaptation of this bizarre true story of murder, madness, and wrestling won Steve Carrell a Best Actor nomination for his career-redefining performance as John E. du Pont, heir to the du Pont fortune, who fell victim to mental illness and paranoia, eventually committing murder. Channing Tatum and Mark Ruffalo (nominated for Best Actor in a Supporting Role) play the Olympic wrestling champion siblings who fascinate du Pont and who are pulled into his orbit.
Traveling to Infinity: The True Story Behind The Theory of Everything, by Jane Hawking
Jane Hawking’s touching memoir of her marriage to living legend Stephen Hawking was brought to the screen with grace and insight as The Theory of Everything, which was nominated for five awards, including Best Picture and Best Actor. With uncompromising honesty, Jane Hawking’s clear-eyed memoir recounts her turbulent marriage, Stephen’s struggle with the disorder that eventually confined him to a wheelchair, their contentious divorce, and their ultimate reconciliation.
Still Alice, by Lisa Genova
Julianne Moore is the frontrunner in the Best Actress category for her portrayal of a women succumbing to early-onset Alzheimer’s disease in the adaptation of Genova’s sleeper hit, which was originally self-published and went on to sell millions of copies through word of mouth. A trained neuroscientist, Genova brings authenticity to the heartbreaking story of a woman who has everything—including the knowledge that she’s going to lose it all.
Gone Girl, by Gillian Flynn
Rosamund Pike picked up a Best Actress nomination for her revelatory turn as the enigmatic Amy, the girl at the center of Gillian Flynn’s duplicitous thriller. The faithful film is a masterful lesson in cinematic suspense, and the book is a must-read. Flynn spins out a tale of unreliable narrators, fractured timeframes, and marital discord without dropping a thread.
Wild, by Cheryl Strayed
Reese Witherspoon earned a nomination as Best Actress for portraying Strayed in this adaptation of her memoir of love, loss, addiction, and hiking the Pacific Crest Trail. Laura Dern also nabbed a surprise nod in the Best Supporting Actress category for her portrayal of Strayed’s mother. Pick up the book to delve deep into Strayed’s psyche, following her journey one painful step and one well-chosen word at a time.
Inherent Vice, by Thomas Pynchon
Nobody does psychedelia quite like Pynchon, but Paul Thomas Anderson got close with the first-ever filmed adaptation of the reclusive author’s work, which has picked up a Best Adapted Screenplay nomination. Pynchon ventures into the detective genre with 1960s L.A. private eye Doc Sportello, whose ex-girlfriend washes up on his shore with a bizarro tale about a kidnapping plot against the billionaire she happens to be in love with. Doc quickly becomes trapped in a tangled web of intrigue, and also charged with a murder. Both book and film are notoriously complex, so you’ll want to experience both formats to piece together all the clues.
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