This month saw the 400th anniversary of the birth of John Milton, the great English poet best known for his epic On December 16, Jane Austen will turn a sprightly 233. In honor of her tremendous contributions to literature and popular culture, we thought we'd take this opportunity to point out the ongoing trend of books and movies inspired by her novels. There are those that put modern twists on her timeless stories, like the book credited with heralding in the chick lit genre—With the holiday season in full swing, there's no shortage of films that can heighten the cheer or help you unwind from all the excitement. Here are a few fun facts about some of our favorites: The English language is so prominent in world culture, it's all too easy for us to overlook authors who contribute in other languages. Recently, the Three Percent blog, among others, has been conducting a campaign to raise awareness of books that are translated into English and published here in the USA. Towards the same end, we take a look back at some of the highlights of the year's translated fiction:Chicago by Alaa Al AswanyEverything Under the Sky by Matilde AsensiThe Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery2666 by Roberto BolañoNazi Literature in the Americas by Roberto BolañoSenselessness by Horacio Castellanos MoyaWhite King by Gy'orgy DragomanDetective Story by Kértesz ImreThe Girl on the Fridge by Etgar KeretReal world by Natsuo KirinoThe Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg LarssonBeaufort by Ron LeshemTo Siberia by Per PettersonDeath with Interruptions by Jose SaramagoCamera by Jean-Philippe ToussaintFriendly Fire: A Duet by A. B. YehoshuaAlso noteworthy, the 2008 Nobel Prize in Literature went to Jean-Marie Le Clezio. We have several of his books translated into English. Meanwhile, American publishers have been racing to make his work more available, just an exampl