You may not have noticed but 2012 is definitely the Year of the Books-to-Movies. There are at least 20 movies coming out this year that were originally novels or children’s books.

I hope you didn’t miss The Hunger Games, The Woman in Black: A Ghost Story or The Amityville Horror, but in case you did here are my top 10 movies to see in the 2^nd half of this year:

1. The Hobbit (December 14^th) –Originally intended as a children’s book, this is the tale of Bilbo Baggins, a hobbit who travels with a group of dwarves to the Lonely Mountain, home of the dragon, Smaug the Magnificent, in order to reclaim the treasures that have been stolen from them. Finally, Bilbo is able to return home with a special treasure of his own.

2. The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 2 (November 16^th) – Against the wishes of the Volturi, Edward Cullen has kept his new young bride, Bella, human until the birth of their half-human, half-vampire child, Renesme, forced him to turn Bella or loose her. With Jacob now implanted on half-breed, an epic battle is coming with the Volturi that will force the Cullen family to call on their friends, fur coat or not. This is the epic conclusion to the Twilight Saga.

3. The Great Gatsby (Christmas 2012) – Nick Carraway, a Midwesterner, is sucked in to the mysterious and old-fashioned life of his eccentric neighbor Jay Gatsby. This classic tale of the Roaring 1920’s is full of romance, intrigue and gluttony.

4. Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Killer (June 22^nd) – In 1818, 9-year old Abraham Lincoln watches as his mother dies from illness inflicted on her by a vampire. Blessed with extraordinary height, strength and skill with an ax, Lincoln devotes his life to the study and destruction of vampires on a killer rampage that leads him all the way to Washington, D.C. (On my “to read” list!)

5. The Bourne Legacy (August 3^rd) – Jason Bourne has retired from the CIA and now lives a quiet life as a Georgetown professor until one day he is nearly assassinated by a faceless gunman. Suddenly Bourne finds himself the number one suspect in the murder of his two close associates and it’s obvious that his legacy has come back to haunt to him.

6. On the Road (Coming Soon) – Dean and Sal, poster children for the “Best Generation,” chronicle their journey across the U.S. fueled by Jazz music and drug-induced visions. (On my “to read” list)

7. Life of Pi (December 21^st) – Pi Patel is the son a zookeeper and a story teller. While traveling on a cargo ship fromJapan to North American, the ship sinks and leave Pi alone on a lifeboat full of zoo animals including a Bengal Tiger named Richard. Richard manages to eat the other animals, but with Pi’s knowledge of animals, he’s able to outsmart the tiger until they land off the coast ofMexico. Mexican authorities are skeptical of Pi’s story so he tells another that may be more believable, but is it true?

8. Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days (August 3^rd) – Greg Heffley is living his dream summer vacation inside the house playing video games, but his mother’s desire to see Greg engaging in outside activities with other kids threatens to ruin his whole summer break.

9. Les Miserables (Christmas 2012) – Victor Hugo’s “towering novel of Jean Valjean, his unjust imprisonment, and his lifelong flight from a relentless police officer.” (as described on Amazon.com)

10. Snow White and the Huntsman (June 1^st) – A fairy tale collected by the infamous Brothers Grimm in 1812, this is the story of a vain queen who cannot bear to be less fair than her step-daughter Princess Snow White. Snow White escapes the wrath of the queen by running into the forest where she grows up surrounded by nature and befriended by 7 dwarves. When the queen learns of her survival she plots against her and is able to put Snow White into eternal rest until a fair prince finds her and brings her back to life. The movie is bound to put some twists to this ever-evolving fairy tale and I look forward to seeing how Kristen Stewart pans out as Snow White.

What is your favorite book that got made into a movie?