Books To Read Before The Movie Comes Out (Rest of 2016/Early 2017)

As a book lover I do tend to like to read a book first before I watch the movie. “We can’t see this movie because I haven’t gotten to the book yet” being one of a few annoying bookworm things my husband is probably sick of hearing me say. I don’t ALWAYS get to the books and sometimes give up and watch the movie depending on how interested I am but for the most part, if I’m super interested in the book, I’ve GOT to get it read before the movie. A lot of it is because it takes me more time to read a book than it does to watch a movie so I’d rather do that and THEN see how it’s translated on the big screen…even if I already know the plot twists and what happens. I’d be way less likely to watch a movie and then go back and read a book knowing what happens — except maybe in extreme cases where I know the book has WAY more detail and is markedly different.

(I’m curious about your book to movie habits!! Let me know in the comments.)

ANYWAYS, here’s a list of book to movies coming out during the rest of 2016 and early 2017!

The Girl On the Train by Paula Hawkins: Don’t get spoiled! Read the hottest mystery/thriller of the past couple years before it’s out on the big screen! The Girl On The Train is out in theaters October 7.

“The Girl on the Train is the story of Rachel Watson’s life post-divorce. Every day, she takes the train in to work in New York, and every day the train passes by her old house. The house she lived in with her husband, who still lives there, with his new wife and child. As she attempts to not focus on her pain, she starts watching a couple who live a few houses down — Megan and Scott Hipwell. She creates a wonderful dream life for them in her head, about how they are a perfect happy family. And then one day, as the train passes, she sees something shocking, filling her with rage. The next day, she wakes up with a horrible hangover, various wounds and bruises, and no memory of the night before. She has only a feeling: something bad happened. Then come the TV reports: Megan Hipwell is missing. Rachel becomes invested in the case and trying to find out what happened to Megan, where she is, and what exactly she herself was up to that same night Megan went missing”

Miss Peregrine’s House For Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs: I looooved this book so much and I remember feeling like it would translate to an awesome movie….and here we are! PLUS TIM BURTON. Miss Peregrine’s House For Peculiar Children is in theaters September 30.

“When Jacob discovers clues to a mystery that spans different worlds and times, he finds Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children. But the mystery and danger deepen as he gets to know the residents and learns about their special powers”

The Light Between Oceans by M.L. Stedman: I really have a love for historical fiction dramas and this one sounds sooo good and the movie preview has me even more excited to read it first. The Light Between Oceans is in theaters September 2.

“A lighthouse keeper and his wife living off the coast of Western Australia raise a baby they rescue from an adrift rowboat.”

The Ninth Life of Louis Drax by Liz Jensen: I mean, this is the first line of the book: “I’m not most kids. I’m Louis Drax. Stuff happens to me that shouldn’t happen, like going on a picnic where you drown.” EDGE OF YOUR SEAT KIND OF STUFF where you need to know why this kid has all these near fatal events happen to him always. The 9th Life of Louis Drax is in theaters September 2.

“A psychologist who begins working with a young boy who has suffered a near-fatal fall finds himself drawn into a mystery that tests the boundaries of fantasy and reality.”

The Queen of Katwe: A Story of Life, Chess, and One Extraordinary Girl’s Dream of Becoming a Grandmaster by Tim Crothers: The story of Phiona Mutesi, a young Ugandan girl training to be a world chess champion, is off to the big screen and will chronicle Phiona growing up poor in Uganda, falling in love with chess and quickly rising to be one of the best. The Queen of Katwe is in theaters September 29.

Highest Duty: My Search For What Really Matters by Chesley Sullenberger: I’m a sucker for biopics like Sully and I was very interested to hear that Chesley Sullenberg’s story would be told on the big screen though I was sad to hear about how hard things were in the aftermath of his heroic safe landing of a plane in the Hudson. The movie is based on those events and this memoir. Sully is in theaters September 9.

Middle School: The Worst Years Of My Life by James Patterson: If you love middle grade lit or are looking for a more family friendly movie experience, check out this middle grade series by James Patterson which looks hilarious and fun! Middle School: The Worst Years of My Life is in Theaters October 7.

“Imaginative quiet teenager Rafe Katchadorian is tired of his middle school’s obsession with the rules at the expense of any and all creativity. Desperate to shake things up, Rafe and his best friends have come up with a plan: break every single rule in the school and let the students run wild” — CBS Films

Nerve by Jeanne Ryan: If high stakes thrillers are your thing, check out Nerve — which reminds me of The Hunger Games meets Panic by Lauren Oliver. Nerve came out in theaters end of July but I had to include it.

“A high school senior finds herself immersed in an online game of truth or dare, where her every move starts to become manipulated by an anonymous community of “watchers.”

A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness: I’ve owned this book for a while but every time I get close to reading it I wimp out because I’ve been told how emotional it is and how it will wreck you….which is normally totally Jamiebait especially with a book that has garnered rave reviews from everyone I know. I just feel like everything I’ve heard about how it deals with grief might knock me on my ass and I need to be prepared for that. DEF going to be reading this before the movie comes out….when I put my big girl pants on. A Monster Calls is in theaters January 6, 2017.

“A boy seeks the help of a tree monster to cope with his single mom’s terminal illness”

Wilson by Daniel Clowes: If you are a graphic novel lover, check out this one from the writer who brought us Ghost World!! Wilson is in theaters March 3, 2017. 

“A lonely, neurotic and hilariously honest middle-aged man reunites with his estranged wife and meets his teenage daughter for the first time”

The Dark Tower series by Stephan King: It seems like everything Stephen King is a movie or a tv show and his popular Dark Towers series is no exception for cinematic inspiration in the upcoming movie The Dark Tower, so, dive right in with book 1 — The Gunslinger! The Dark Tower is in theaters February 17, 2017.

“Gunslinger Roland Deschain roams an Old West-like landscape in search of the dark tower, in the hopes that reaching it will preserve his dying world.”

A Dog’s Purpose by W. Bruce Cameron: Pass me the tissues already! A DOG TRYING TO FIND HIS PURPOSE IN THIS WORLD? DOGS ARE TOO GOOD FOR THIS WORLD. And yes, I am a crazy dog lady who loves my dog more than most people and treats him like he is a human child. FIGHT ME. A Dog’s Purpose out in theaters January 27, 2017.

“A dog looks to discover his purpose in life over the course of several lifetimes and owners”

Hidden Figures by Margot Lee Shetterly: If you like non-fiction and are looking for some ultimate #blackgirlmagic , this true story about the important contributions of black women to NASA that went unacknowledged in history should be on your to-be-read list. Hidden Figures is out in theaters December 25.

“A team of African-American women provide NASA with important mathematical data needed to launch the program’s first successful space missions.”

A Long Way Home by Saroo Brierley: If you like memoirs, A Long Way Home is going to hit theaters as a movie called Lion. Could make for a good book club book if your book club is open to non-fiction that might read like fiction! Lion is out in theaters November 25.

“A five-year-old Indian boy gets lost on the streets of Calcutta, thousands of kilometers from home. He survives many challenges before being adopted by a couple in Australia; 25 years later, he sets out to find his lost family.”

Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk by Ben Fountain: If your taste tends to lean towards satirical and you like books that examine war, the effects, the coverage of war and the ~business~ of war, check this one out! Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk out in theaters November 11.

“19-year-old Billy Lynn is brought home for a victory tour after a harrowing Iraq battle. Through flashbacks the film shows what really happened to his squad – contrasting the realities of war with America’s perceptions”

Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver: Popular YA author Lauren Oliver’s debut novel is finally hitting the big screen and the cast looks awesome! Have been enjoying Lauren sharing from the set! Before I Fall is out in theaters April 7, 2017.

“A popular teenage girl is killed in a car wreck and relives that fateful day a number of times, learning more about herself and others in the process.”

Wonder by RJ Palacio: I shamefully have not read this one but I’ve been meaning too and now that I know there is a release date I’m ready to hopefully discover the magic that has reader of all ages raving about this one.

“A young boy born with a facial deformity is destined to fit in at a new school, and to make everyone understand he’s just another ordinary kid, and that beauty isn’t skin deep”

And here are some book-to-movie adaptations that are in various levels of production with no release date if you are feeling like being an overachiever and getting THOSE read before the movie/tv show:

Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher: I loved this book many years ago when I read it and I’m very curious for how it will translate on to a tv show.

“A teenage girl commits suicide, but before doing it she records her suicide note on cassette tapes, and then sends the tapes to 13 people who she deemed responsible for her death”

The Lost City of Z by David Grann: This film had quite the ups and downs to get made but it finally did and the cast includes people like Charlie Hunnam, Robert Pattison and Sienna Miller.

“In 1925, Fawcett ventured into the Amazon to find an ancient civilization, hoping to make one of the most important discoveries in history. For centuries Europeans believed the world’s largest jungle concealed the glittering kingdom of El Dorado. Thousands had died looking for it, leaving many scientists convinced that the Amazon was truly inimical to humans. But Fawcett, whose daring expeditions inspired Conan Doyle’s The Lost World, had spent years building his scientific case. Captivating the imagination of millions round the globe, Fawcett embarked with his son, determined to prove that this ancient civilization–which he dubbed Z–existed. Then his expedition vanished.” Written by Random House (NY)

The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls: I have owned this book for an embarrassingly long time and this is giving me the kick in the pants to read it sooner rather than later. It’s in post-production and is likely coming out in 2017 at some point.

“A young girl comes of age in a dysfunctional family of nonconformist nomads with a mother who’s an eccentric artist and an alcoholic father who would stir the children’s imagination with hope as a distraction to their poverty.”

Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty: This one is going to be a mini-series on HBO which I think is going to be great — I’m all about the miniseries these days. Likely will be premiering in 2017!

“Things take a dark turn for a group of moms whose perfect lives begin to unravel.”

Famous in Love by Rebecca Serle: This is going to be such a fun tv series that will come out in 2017 on ABC Family (sorry I can’t call it Freeform without wanting to gag a little, viva la ABC Family!). No precise date for the premiere quite yet!

“An ordinary college student gets her big break in a Hollywood blockbuster and must navigate through an undeniable chemistry with her two co-leads, while uncovering the truth about a missing popstar.”

My Cousin Rachel by Daphne Du Maurier: I AM SO DELIGHTED. Everyone knows Rebecca if you had to read it for school but I love My Cousin Rachel by Daphne Du Maurier to be even better and this Gothic mystery is going to be such a great movie. Allegedly it’s going to be out 2017 — imdb has it in post-production sooo fingers crossed there is more news!

“A young Englishman plots revenge against his mysterious, beautiful cousin, believing that she murdered his guardian. But his feelings become complicated as he finds himself falling under the beguiling spell of her charms.”

Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys: One of my favorite books by one of my favorite historical fiction authors!! I’m NOT prepared to see this on the big screen but I can only hope it will get more people reading this woman’s incredible books! They are changing the name to Ashes in the Snow for the movie (I’m assuming because of the FSoG franchise…might be confusing) and I see it’s in post-production with possibly a 2017 release??

“In 1941, an aspiring artist and her family are deported to Siberia amidst Stalin’s brutal dismantling of the Baltic region. In a seemingly hopeless place, love is the only means of survival.”

Which books are you interested in reading before you watch the movie? Are there any where you might skip the book but watch the movie? Any books you didn’t realize were going to be movies? What are your book-to-movie habits? Do you HAVE to read the book first? Are you even into books being made into films as a book lover? Tell me all your general thoughts about book to movie adaptations! 

P.S: check out Your Ultimate Beach Read Guide for 2017 (40+ Summer Must-Reads) or Ten Book Lists To Check Out

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