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For this year’s Oscars aka the Academy Awards coming on 26 February, many of the contenders for the Best Picture category are adapted from or based on books: six out of the nine nominees. This is the highest number of film adaptations we’ve seen these few years. Click here to find out more about books that have served as the inspiration for films in recent years.

Here are some of the books you would want to get acquainted with this Award season. (Book summaries taken from NoveList unless otherwise specified.)

The Help by Kathryn Stockett
Nominated for: Best Picture, Actress in a Leading Role, Actress in a Supporting Role
Limited and persecuted by racial divides in 1962 Jackson, Mississippi, three women, including an African-American maid, her sassy and chronically unemployed friend, and a recently graduated white woman, team up for a clandestine project.

The Invention of Hugo Cabret: A Novel in Words and Pictures by Brian Selznick
Nominated for: Best Picture, Directing
When twelve-year-old Hugo, an orphan living and repairing clocks within the walls of a Paris train station in 1931, meets a mysterious toy seller and his goddaughter, his undercover life and his biggest secret are jeopardized.

Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game by Michael Lewis
Nominated for: Best Picture, Actor in a Leading Role, Actor in a Supporting Role
First published in 2003, Moneyball looks at how sabermetrics – the analysis of baseball through the use of statistics measuring in-game activity – was used by general manager Billy Beane to assemble the Oakland Athletics baseball team in the face of a dire financial situation in 2002. The team went on to hit a historical 20-game winning streak.

War Horse by Michael Morpurgo
Nominated for: Best Picture, Cinematography
Joey the horse recalls his experiences growing up on an English farm, his struggle for survival as a cavalry horse during World War I, and his reunion with his beloved master.

Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer
Nominated for: Best Picture, Actor in a Supporting Role
Oskar Schell, the nine-year-old son of a man killed in the World Trade Center attacks, searches the five boroughs of New York City for a lock that fits a black key his father left behind.

The Descendants by Kaui Hart Hemmings
Nominated for: Best Picture, Directing, Actor in a Leading Role
A descendant of royalty and one of the largest landowners in Hawaii, Matthew King struggles to deal with his out-of-control daughters – ten-year-old Scottie and seventeen-year-old Alex – as well as his comatose wife, who they are about to remove from life support.