Spring Reading List: 46 Books to Read Before They're Movies
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You don't just have all the books becoming movies this year to look forward to, avid adaptation seekers — there are always new books Hollywood is optioning for the next big thing. If you're in search of a new book and would like to check out something you'll also be able to see in a theater one day, look no further. Spring-clean your reading list so you can add one of these titles to your bookshelf, and then catch up on 100 books that are being adapted next.
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Thank You For Your Service by David Finkel
- What it's about: This nonfiction book follows the lives of soldiers who have come back from overseas, and the PTSD, sympathy, and life they face back at home.
- Who's starring: Amy Schumer and Miles Teller are starring.
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Ready Player One by Ernest Cline
- What it's about: Teenager Wade Watts gets sucked into a virtual universe in a dystopian future society in 2044.
- Who's starring: Tye Sheridan will play Wade, Olivia Cooke will play his love interest, and Ben Mendelsohn will costar in the sci-fi flick, which is being directed by Steven Spielberg.
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Through the Looking Glass by Lewis Carroll
- What it's about: The sequel to Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland has spawned a film sequel to 2010's Alice in Wonderland. Six months later, Alice has another adventure through said looking glass and meets characters such as the Jabberwocky.
- Who's starring: Mia Wasikowska and Johnny Depp are reprising their roles as Alice and the Mad Hatter, respectively.
- Watch the trailer for Alice Through the Looking Glass.
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The BFG by Roald Dahl
- What it's about: In the children's classic, a young girl, Sophie, befriends the titular big friendly giant.
- Who's starring: Mark Rylance is playing the Giant, and Steven Spielberg will direct the live-action adaptation.
- Watch the trailer for The BFG.
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The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins
- What it's about: In this mystery, a woman thinks she may know something about a crime involving a couple she sees on her train commute every day. Here are more details about the adaptation.
- Who's starring: Emily Blunt is starring (see the cast here), and The Help's Tate Taylor is directing.
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A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness
- What it's about: A young boy deals with bullying and his mother's illness by inventing a fantasy world filled with monsters and other creatures.
- Who's starring: Felicity Jones will play Mum, with Liam Neeson and Sigourney Weaver costarring.
- Watch the trailer for A Monster Calls.
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Inferno by Dan Brown
- What it's about: The Da Vinci Code series continues with Robert Langdon's latest adventure as he tries to stop another international scheme by following clues in Dante's The Divine Comedy.
- Who's starring: Tom Hanks will reprise his role as Langdon, and Felicity Jones will costar as Sienna Brooks. Ben Foster will play the villain.
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Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them by J.K. Rowling
- What it's about: Rowling revisits the Harry Potter universe in this book about Newt Scamander, who "wrote" the textbook that Potter and his classmates would study.
- Who's starring: Eddie Redmayne will star in the film trilogy; see who else has been cast. David Yates has signed on to direct.
- Watch the trailer for Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.
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Silence by Shusaku Endo
- What it's about: Set in 17th-century Japan, the book follows the story of Jesuits who are trying to bring Christianity into Japan.
- Who's starring: Andrew Garfield is playing Father Rodrigues in the film, which is being directed by Martin Scorsese. Adam Driver and Liam Neeson are also playing priests.
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The Circle by Dave Eggers
- What it's about: A young woman, Mae Holland, takes a job at a Google-like tech company, where she quickly climbs the corporate ladder.
- Who's starring: Emma Watson is starring as Mae, alongside Tom Hanks and John Boyega. James Ponsoldt is directing.
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The Queen of Katwe by Tim Crothers
- What it's about: It's the true tale of Phiona Mutesi, a Ugandan teen from poverty who becomes one of the world's best chess players.
- Who's starring: David Oyelowo will star as the man who mentors Phiona, and Lupita Nyong'o will play her mother.
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The Zookeeper's Wife by Diane Ackerman
- What it's about: This true story follows the keepers of the Warsaw Zoo, who helped to save hundreds of people from the Nazis in World War II by smuggling them into empty cages.
- Who's starring: Jessica Chastain will star with Daniel Bruhl in the movie.
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Looking For Alaska by John Green
- What it's about: A cerebral teen falls for a girl, the titular Alaska, in the first novel from The Fault in Our Stars author John Green.
- Who's starring: There's no cast yet, but the screenplay will be adapted by the same team who did The Fault in Our Stars.
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The November Criminals by Sam Munson
- What it's about: A misbehaving high-school senior investigates the death of his classmate.
- Who's starring: Ansel Elgort and Chloë Grace Moretz will star. Catherine Keener also has a supporting role.
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Nerve by Jeanne Ryan
- What it's about: In this YA novel, a high-school senior gets caught up in a creepy online game of truth or dare.
- Who's starring: Emma Roberts and Dave Franco are starring.
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A Hologram For the King by Dave Eggers
- What it's about: A struggling businessman heads to Saudi Arabia for a fight to save his finances, hoping to steer clear of foreclosure and pay his daughter's college tuition.
- Who's starring: Tom Hanks will star in the film adaptation, which Tom Tykwer is directing.
- Watch the trailer for A Hologram For the King.
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The Light Between Oceans by M. L. Stedman
- What it's about: A lighthouse keeper and his wife discover a baby and a dead body near their home off the coast of Australia after WWI.
- Who's starring: Michael Fassbender will star, alongside Alicia Vikander as his wife.
- Watch the trailer for A Light Between Oceans.
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Me Before You by Jojo Moyes
- What it's about: In this love story, young Louisa forms a bond with Will, the paralyzed man she is employed to help.
- Who's starring: Emilia Clarke is playing Louisa opposite Sam Claflin. Other costars include Matthew Lewis, who you can see in this on-set roundup. Here is the whole cast and everything else we know about the movie.
- Watch the trailer for Me Before You.
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Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates by Mike and Dave Stangle
- What it's about: Real-life brothers Mike and Dave Stangle put out a Craigslist ad for wedding dates and the ad went viral; their experience with the ad and the subsequent search around the country is chronicled in their book.
- Who's starring: Adam DeVine and Zac Efron (who will be shirtless a lot) are playing Mike and Dave, along with Anna Kendrick and Aubrey Plaza.
- Watch the trailer for Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates.
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The Lost City of Z by David Grann
- What it's about: In this true tale, Grann tells the story of how British explorer Percy Fawcett got lost searching for an ancient, fabled civilization in the Amazon in 1925.
- Who's starring: Charlie Hunnam will play Fawcett, and Robert Pattinson and Sienna Miller will costar in the film, which will be directed by James Gray. Here's all the info about the adaptation.
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Miss Peregrine's Home For Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs
- What it's about: In this YA novel, a teenager named Jacob explores the ruins of a strange house on an island near Wales, UK.
- Who's starring: Eva Green and Asa Butterfield will star, with Tim Burton directing.
- Watch the trailer for Miss Peregrine's Home For Peculiar Children.
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Love May Fail by Matthew Quick
- What it's about: A woman dealing with the breakup of her marriage heads back to her hometown to clear the name of a former teacher.
- Who's starring: Emma Stone will star in the movie, which is being adapted by Mike White.
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Illuminae by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff
- What it's about: This young adult sci-fi tale is the first book in a trilogy about Kady and Ezra, two former love interests whose planet is invaded in the year 2575. Breakup stress and intergalactic warfare abound.
- Who's starring: No one has been cast yet, but Brad Pitt is producing the film.
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The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls
- What it's about: The memoir of Jeannette Walls chronicles her unconventional and sometimes bizarre upbringing and relationship with her parents.
- Who's starring: Brie Larson will take on the role of Jeannette.
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Where'd You Go, Bernadette by Maria Semple
- What it's about: After her mom, Bernadette, disappears, 15-year-old Bee dives into emails, documents, and secret correspondence to find her.
- Who's starring: Richard Linklater is set to direct the film, and Cate Blanchett has been cast as Bernadette. Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber — the writers behind (500) Days of Summer — are set to write the screenplay.
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Fifty Shades Darker by E L James
- What it's about: In this Fifty Shades of Grey sequel, Christian Grey and Anastasia Steele's relationship deepens as he lets her in a little more.
- Who's starring: Jamie Dornan and Dakota Johnson will reprise their roles as Christian and Ana, along with many new and returning cast members. Here's everything else we know about the adaptation and the set pictures.
- Watch the teaser for Fifty Shades Darker.
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Fifty Shades Freed
- What it's about: The final book in the Fifty Shades saga, Christian and Ana navigate their most dangerous treacherous relationship yet: marriage.
- Who's starring: Jamie Dornan and Dakota Johnson fill the shoes of Christian and Ana again, while newcomers like Arielle Kebbel will join the franchise. Here is the Fifty Shades Freed cast so far.
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Live by Night by Dennis Lehane
- What it's about: Set in the Prohibition era of the '20s, the novel tells the story of a Boston thief who finds success as a rum runner.
- Who's starring: Ben Affleck is writing, directing, and starring in the film, marking his second time adapting one of the author's books (his directorial debut came with the adaptation of Lehane's Gone Baby Gone). Chris Messina, Zoe Saldana, and Sienna Miller are costarring.
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Annihilation by Jeff Vandermeer
- What it's about: In this thriller, a biologist sets out on an expedition to a mysterious area to find out what killed her husband there.
- Who's starring: Natalie Portman, Jane the Virgin's Gina Rodriguez, and Tessa Thompson will costar. Oscar Isaac also joined the cast of the film, which will be directed by Ex Machina's Alex Garland.
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The Silent Wife by A. S. A. Harrison
- What it's about: The book changes perspective between a couple who has been together for 20 years while she takes care of him and he cheats on her.
- Who's starring: Nicole Kidman will produce and star in the adaptation as the wife.
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Goat by Brad Land
- What it's about: The memoir of a young man, Brad Land, who joined a fraternity at college in an already fragile emotional state, only to be hazed and tormented.
- Who's starring: Ben Schnetzer will play Brad, with Nick Jonas as his brother.
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The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt
- What it's about: This coming-of-age tale tells the story of a boy and his fascination with a tiny but special painting.
- Who's starring: The adaptation has not been cast yet, but we have many ideas about who should star.
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The Rules of Inheritance by Claire Bidwell Smith
- What it's about: This memoir follows Bidwell Smith's experiences with love, loss, and grief in the wake of her parents' deaths.
- Who's starring: Jennifer Lawrence will star in the film adaptation as Claire.
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Home Is Burning by Dan Marshall
- What it's about: Marshall's memoir tells the story of his return home as a 20-something to help take care of his mother and father, diagnosed with cancer and ALS, respectively.
- Who's starring: Miles Teller will star and produce, and Jonathan Levine is directing.
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The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson
- What it's about: The unbelievable true story of Daniel Burnham, the architect responsible for the construction of the Chicago World's Fair in 1893, and Dr. H. H. Holmes, a serial killer who used the fair to lure victims to his own "World's Fair Hotel" — and to their deaths.
- Who's starring: Leonardo DiCaprio will play the sick-minded Holmes, though there's no word yet on who will step in as Burnham. Martin Scorsese will direct.
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All the Bright Places by Jennifer Niven
- What it's about: In this young adult romance, a girl named Violet falls for Finch, a boy who is intent on ending his life.
- Who's starring: Elle Fanning is starring, and Miguel Arteta is directing.
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Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk by Ben Fountain
- What it's about: A soldier and his squad survive a battle in Iraq and come back to the US for a promotional tour that includes a stop at a Thanksgiving Day football game.
- Who's starring: Kristen Stewart, Garrett Hedlund, and newcomer Joe Alwyn are attached to star. Ang Lee will direct.
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Forgive Me, Leonard Peacock by Matthew Quick
- What it's about: A young, disturbed man plans a murder-suicide in this YA drama.
- Who's starring: Channing Tatum and his producing partner Reid Carolin are codirecting, and Tatum may star in the film.
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The Mountain Between Us by Charles Martin
- What it's about: Two strangers on a charter plane crash in the wilderness and have to depend on each other to survive.
- Who's starring: Idris Elba will star as the male lead.
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Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
- What it's about: The relationship of two young Nigerians is tested by long distance and immigration issues when one of them moves to America.
- Who's starring: Lupita Nyong'o will play the female lead opposite David Oyelowo, while Brad Pitt is producing.
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Max Perkins: Editor of Genius by A. Scott Berg
- What it's about: This biography of Max Perkins sheds light on the life of the book editor of literary greats like Thomas Wolfe and F. Scott Fitzgerald.
- Who's starring: Colin Firth is playing Perkins, while Jude Law has the role of author Wolfe in the adaptation (which is called, simply, Genius).
- Watch the trailer for Genius.
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The Dark Tower by Stephen King
- What it's about: Stephen King's magnum opus is a series that follows "gunslinger" Roland Deschain as he moves through a magical society, looking for the titular Dark Tower.
- Who's starring: Idris Elba and Matthew McConaughey have both joined the adaptation. See who else has been cast.
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A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle
- What it's about: Fourteen-year-old Meg Murry's father goes missing after working on a government project, setting off Meg's fantastical journey through space and time.
- Who's starring: Ava DuVernay will direct the adaptation, and though the movie hasn't been cast yet, we have a lot of casting ideas.
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Sorta Like a Rockstar by Matthew Quick
- What it's about: An upbeat teen's positive outlook is challenged by personal tragedy in this YA drama.
- Who's starring: No one has been cast yet, but Youth in Revolt's Miguel Arteta has signed on to direct.
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The Secret Life of the Lonely Doll by Jean Nathan
- What it's about: In thos nonfiction piece, author Nathan tracks down 1950s writer Dare Wright, who had written the childrens' book The Lonely Doll.
- Who's starring: Naomi Watts ans Jessica Lange will costar, and Gia Coppola will direct the adaptation.
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The Death Cure by James Dashner
- What it's about: In the final book in the Maze Runner series, Thomas finally attempts to take down the organization WICKED.
- Who's starring: Dylan O'Brien is reprising his role as Thomas.
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