With one month to go before the Academy Awards, here’s a recap of the films nominated for best picture, with a special note on the ones based on books!

• The Artist, written and directed by Michel Hazanavicius. Okay, this isn’t based on a book, but it’s worth mentioning because it’s rated PG-13 — for a disturbing image and a crude gesture. Well, it is a silent film…

• The Descendants, directed by Alexander Payne and adapted from the 2009 novel by Kaui Hart Hemmings.

• Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close, directed by Stephen Daldry and adapted from the 2005 novel by Jonathan Safran Foer.

• The Help, written and directed by Tate Taylor and adapted from the 2009 novel by Kathryn Stockett.

• Hugo, directed by Martin Scorsese and adapted from the 2007 novel The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick. The book won the Caldecott Medal in 2008 — the first novel to do so (the Caldecott is an award for illustrated books).

• Midnight in Paris, written and directed by Woody Allen.

• Moneyball, directed by Bennett Miller, adapted from the 2003 nonfiction book Moneyball: The Art of Winning An Unfair Game by Michael Lewis.

• The Tree of Life, written and directed by Terrence Malick.

• War Horse, directed by Steven Spielberg, adapted from the 1982 novel by Michael Morpurgo.

Nine best picture nominations this year, with six of them based on books. Not too shabby!

Of course, there is also considerable disappointment that the last film in the Harry Potter series, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2, didn’t make the cut. Although 10 films were nominated for best picture last year, a rules change this year required a film to receive a certain number of first place votes in order to be considered for Best Picture. Muggles and their rules…

See you on the red carpet on February 26th!