16 Books To Read Before They Become Films!
As a proud bibliophile, I am always excited about my favourite books coming alive on the big screen; I never let go of an opportunity to analyse them… in painstaking detail! Sure, not all movies are as great as their books, but still worth a watch, no?
Personally, I watch movie adaptations just so I can see if the director brings to life my favourite character the way I imagined him/ her while reading the book. My two cents: Read these books before their movie adaptations release in 2018, so you can do the same.
1. A WRINKLE IN TIME BY MADELEINE L’ENGLE
Book Summary: After Meg’s scientist father disappears, three peculiar beings send her, her brother, and her friend to space to find him. Watch the trailer here.
Who’s Starring: Oprah Winfrey, Chris Pine, Mindy Kaling, Reese Witherspoon
Release Date: March 9
2. ANNIHILATION BY JEFF VANDERMEER
Book Summary: A biologist signs up for a dangerous, secret expedition where the laws of nature don’t apply. Watch the trailer here.
Who’s Starring: Natalie Portman, Tessa Thompson, Jennifer Jason Leigh
Release Date: February 23
3. EVERY DAY BY DAVID LEVITHAN
Book Summary: A shy teenager, who wakes up in another body every day, falls for someone. Watch the trailer here.
Who’s Starring: Maria Bello, Angourie Rice, Debby Ryan
Release Date: February 23
4. RED SPARROW BY JASON MATTHEWS
Book Summary: Dominika Egorova, a ballerina, is recruited to Sparrow School, a Russian intelligence service. She is forced to use her body as a weapon, and her first mission threatens to unravel the security of both nations. Watch the trailer here.
Who’s Starring: Jennifer Lawrence, Joel Edgerton, Charlotte Rampling
Release Date: March 2
5. SIMON VS. THE HOMO SAPIENS AGENDA BY BECKY ALBERTALLI
Book Summary: The movie is called, Love, Simon. Simon is gay, but nobody knows that until a classmate finds out. Watch the trailer here.
Who’s Starring: Nick Robinson, Katherine Langford, Jennifer Garner, Josh Duhamel
Release Date: March 16
6. READY PLAYER ONE BY ERNEST CLINE
Book Summary: The creator of a virtual reality world, OASIS, dies and releases a video where he challenges all OASIS users to find his Easter Egg. Wade Watts finds the first clue and would do anything to win the ultimate prize. Watch the trailer here.
Who’s Starring: Olivia Cooke, Hannah John-Kamen, Simon Pegg
Release Date: March 30
7. WHERE’D YOU GO, BERNADETTE BY MARIA SEMPLE
Book Summary: 15-year-old Bee does everything she can to track her anxiety-ridden mother after she disappears, and she discovers her troubled past in the process.
Who’s Starring: Cate Blanchett, Kristen Wiig, Judy Greer
Release Date: May 11
8. CRAZY RICH ASIANS BY KEVIN KWAN
Book Summary: Rachel heads to Singapore for his boyfriend, Nicholas’s, best friend’s wedding. She soon realizes that he is not what he appears to be. Three wealthy Chinese families prepare for the wedding of the year.
Who’s Starring: Constance Wu, Henry Golding, Ken Jeong, Michelle Yeoh
Release Date: August 17
9. THE LITTLE STRANGER BY SARAH WATERS
Book Summary: It is the story of Dr Faraday, the son of a housemaid, who has built a life of quiet respectability as a country doctor in 1947.
Who’s Starring: Domhnall Gleeson, Charlotte Rampling, Will Poulte
Release Date: August 31
10. THE DARKEST MINDS BY ALEXANDRA BRACKEN
Book Summary: After a disease kills 98% of America’s children, the surviving 2% develop superpowers and are placed in internment camps until a 16-year-old girl escapes and joins a group of teens.
Who’s Starring: Mandy Moore, Gwendoline Christie, Amandla Stenberg
Release Date: September 14
11. BOY ERASED BY GARRARD CONLEY
Book Summary: The gay son of a Baptist preacher is forced to participate in a gay conversion program supported by the church.
Who’s Starring: Nicole Kidman, Russell Crowe, Joel Edgerton
Release Date: September 28
12. FIRST MAN: THE LIFE OF NEIL A. ARMSTRONG BY JAMES R. HANSEN
Book Summary: It talks about the life of the astronaut, Neil Armstrong, the first man to walk on the moon.
Who’s Starring: Claire Foy, Pablo Schreiber, Ryan Gosling
Release Date: October 12
13. THE BLACK HAND BY STEPHAN TALTY
Book Summary: Based on a true story, an NYPD officer, Joe Petrosino, seeks justice against a ruthless Italian-American gang in New York.
Who’s Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio
Release Date: 2018
14. THE GUERNSEY LITERARY AND POTATO PEEL PIE SOCIETY BY MARY ANN SHAFFER AND ANNIE BARROWS
Book Summary: Post World War II, a writer forms an unexpected bond with the residents of Guernsey Island and decides to write a book about their experiences during the war.
Who’s Starring: Lily James, Michiel Huisman, Jessica Brown Findlay
Release Date: April 20
15. THE HATE U GIVE BY ANGIE THOMAS
Book Summary: A teenage girl witnesses police kill her friend and has to testify at the trial.
Who’s Starring: Amandla Stenberg, Issa Rae, Regina Hall, Anthony Mackie
Release Date: 2018
16. DUMPLIN’ BY JULIE MURPHY
Book Summary: A girl with the nickname, Dumplin, enters a beauty pageant to win over the boy she likes and stick it to the other girls at school.
Who’s Starring: Danielle Macdonald, Jennifer Aniston, Luke Benward
Release Date: 2018