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The month of May is National Short Story Month! To celebrate this form of fiction we here at Quirk Books present to you seven movies you might not know were adapted from short stories—perfect for short and sweet additions to your TBR!

The ‘80s: Jake Ryan, Aqua Net bangs, Trapper Keepers, where babysitters went on adventures, Goonies never said die, and Sweet Valley High made us wish we had a twin. *Wipes nostalgic tear.*

Until I can find Doc and a time traveling DeLorean I visit the ‘80s like everyone else, via movies. But did you know lots of your favorite ‘80s movies were adapted from books? Whether the book is better than the movie (nearly always the case) it is, at the very least, partially different and contains more information. So here are 12 totally awesome ‘80s movies adapted or inspired from books you’ll probably want to read.

Over the last decade, Marvel Studios has become one of the biggest driving forces at the box office. A cinematic year is not complete without at least two major Marvel blockbusters destroying all of the competition. In 2012, The Avengers became the third highest grossing film of all time and the highest grossing Disney produced film ever. Now, the sequel, Avengers: Age of Ultron stands to beat its predecessor’s records with a predicted $217 million opening weekend.

But before you head off to the movie theater to watch the magic unfold on the big screen, take a look at some of these characters' defining moments in their original origin stories: the comic books.

Here at Quirk Books we continue to celebrate National Women’s History Month. This time we bring you six movies based on the lives of real women writers.

While the Oscars always highlight adaptations of books with their Adapted Screenplay category, this year’s Original Screenplay selections feature something a little unusual. Birdman arrived last fall and built up some serious and unexpected hype by the year’s end, eventually earning nine Oscar nominations, tied only with The Grand Budapest Hotel for most nominations this year. And at its center is a well-loved short story, published over thirty years ago but never adapted for the big screen.

Birdman, co-written and directed by Alejandro González Iñárritu, is not actually an adaptation – it’s an original work about an adaptation. The film portrays the struggles of a former Hollywood superstar named Riggan Thomson (Michael Keaton) as he attempts to stage a theatrical version of Raymond Carver’s short story “What We Talk About When We Talk About Love” that he’s adapting, directing, and starring in himself. It is not going as well as he’d hoped.

The books are almost always better than the movies. At least, I can't think of one example where the movie is better. Sure, sometimes the movies are as good as the books, but then watching the movie has (most likely) spoiled the pacing of the book for you. Or it's made you imagine the characters in a way you never would've. Or it's just made you less likely to read the book. 

Well, you will think to yourself, I have watched the movie, which is almost like—nope, no don't even finish the thought. Instead, let's all make the commitment to read those books before we watch their movie adaptions.