War Horse among books to read before you see the film

With a slew of films derived from great books on the way, here are five titles that really deserve to be read ahead of being viewed.

From left, Benedict Cumberbatch, Patrick Kennedy and Tom Hiddleston in War Horse, Steven Spielberg's adaptation of Michael Morpurgo's First World War story.

Some of the biggest films coming to cinemas over the next few months are based on novels, teenage fiction or comic books, beginning with The Adventures of Tintin, a Steven Spielberg and Peter Jackson collaboration based on the much-loved comic books of the Belgian artist Hergé and opening in UAE cinemas on Thursday.

Books: The National Reads

Book reviews, festivals and all things literary

Films: The National watches

Film reviews, festivals and all things cinema-related

It will be quickly followed by Twilight: Breaking Dawn, the final book in Stephenie Meyer's Twilight trilogy, and which has been split (read: stretched) into two films, Harry Potter-style; save yourself the suspense and just read the book.

Jackson is also producing and directing two films based on JRR Tolkein's The Hobbit. So while we wait for the cinematic return to the land of elves, hobbits, dwarves and sorcerers, it's a great time to rediscover the classic fantasy book. Kathryn Stockett's The Help and Stieg Larsson's crime novel The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo are both eagerly awaited, thanks to their success as page-turning bestsellers.

But no matter how well the film turns out, it’s rarely as good as the book it is based on (or at the very least has to condense the original ruthlessly), which is why you should get your hands on the five titles listed here before the film versions are ­released.

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

Published in 1974, John le Carré’s spy novel is widely and deservedly regarded as a classic, and has already been adapted into an award-winning 1979 TV series, with Alec Guinness as the central character George Smiley. Now a film version has been made with Gary Oldman as Smiley, Colin Firth as Bill Haydon and an impressive supporting cast that includes Tom Hardy, Mark Strong and John Hurt. Some critics have described the plot as head-scratchingly complex, so read the book first to understand Smiley’s machinations as the retired spymaster closes in on a Soviet double agent working in the British secret service.

The Hunger Games

Suzanne Collins's book was dubbed "the next Twilight" simply because it has a girl at its centre plus two male characters completing the love triangle, and is the first book in a trilogy of teenage novels. That is where the similarities end, however, as the story of Katniss Everdeen is set in post-apocalyptic America, and the Hunger Games are an annual event in which one boy and one girl from each of the land's 12 districts fight to the death. Jennifer Lawrence, an Academy Award nominee for The Winter's Bone this year, stars as Katniss, while Josh Hutcherson and Liam Hemsworth can expect to be pin-ups among teenage girls by playing Peeta and Gale in one of the hottest movies of 2012.

The Invention of Hugo Cabret

Described by the author Brian Selznick as "not a exactly a novel, not quite a picture book, not really a graphic novel, or a flip book or a movie, but a combination of all these things", The Invention of Hugo Cabret is the story of an orphan, Hugo, who lives in the walls of a Paris railway station and finds his world changed forever when he meets an eccentric young girl and the old man who runs the station toy shop. A beautifully illustrated book, which became the first novel to win the Caldecott Medal, its film adaptation Hugo has been made by Martin Scorsese, helming his first 3D movie. The cast includes Asa Butterfield as Hugo, Chloë Moretz, Sacha Baron Cohen and Jude Law.

We Bought a Zoo

In 2006, Benjamin Mee, his wife Katherine, their two young children and his mother and brother moved into a rundown zoo on the edge of Dartmoor in England. His witty and moving memoir tells how the family learnt to manage staff and more than 200 animals, and cope with the tragedy that followed when Katherine became ill and died, leaving Ben with children and a menagerie to care for. The director, Cameron Crowe, has relocated Ben’s story to California with Matt Damon in the lead role, and filled out the cast with actors including Scarlett Johansson and Thomas Haden Church. Still, nothing has quite the effect of Mee’s funny, heartfelt words on the page.

War Horse

Spielberg has been very busy this year, following The Adventures of Tintin with this big-screen adaptation of Michael Morpurgo's children's novel, War Horse. It is the story of Joey, young Albert's beloved horse, who is sold to the cavalry during the First World War. Joey's journey takes him to France, where he is ridden by Captain Nicholls, and to the dangers of no-man's-land, while Albert embarks on his own mission to find his horse and bring him home. Already an award-winning stage play, this is a film to watch come Oscar time, with a cast that includes David Thewlis, Benedict Cumberbatch, Tom Hiddleston and young Jeremy Irvine as Albert.

Follow us on Twitter and keep up to date with the latest in arts and lifestyle news at twitter.com/LifeNationalUAE