Summer Reading List: 36 Books to Read Before They're Movies
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It's always a good time to crack a new book, but Summer gives you even more excuses to add titles to your reading list. Even if you don't go on vacation, the warm temps encourage you to spend languid days by the pool or in a hammock, chilling with a new book. Knowing there are so many options out there, for this list we're focusing on the latest books that are being turned into movies. There is always a long list of adaptations in development, but this list has movies that are about to come out, plus some books that we only recently learned will be turned into movies.
01
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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, T.J. Miller, and Simon Pegg will costar in the sci-fi flick, which is being directed by Steven Spielberg.
02
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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.
03
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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.
- Watch the trailer for The Girl on the Train.
04
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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.
05
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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.
- Watch the trailer for Inferno.
06
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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.
07
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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.
08
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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.
09
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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.
- Watch the trailer for The Queen of Katwe.
10
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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.
- Watch the trailer for Nerve.
11
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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.
12
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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.
13
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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.
14
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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.
15
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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.
16
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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.
17
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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 head up the movie cast as Jeannette, with Naomi Watts and Woody Harrelson as her parents.
18
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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.
19
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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.
20
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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 and all the details we have.
21
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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.
22
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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.
23
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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.
24
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25
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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.
26
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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.
27
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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.
28
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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.
29
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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.
30
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Map of Bones by James Rollins
- What it's about: The second novel in Rollins's Sigma Force franchise is a fictional account of what happens to the stolen bones of the three magi present for Jesus's birth.
- Who's starring: No one has been cast yet.
31
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Let It Snow by John Green, Maureen Johnson, and Lauren Myracle
- What it's about: This holiday-set anthology connects three intertwining romantic tales.
- Who's starring: No one has been cast yet, but Pitch Perfect screenwriter Kay Cannon is working on the screenplay, and Luke Snellin will direct.
32
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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 is playing the male lead opposite Kate Winslet.
33
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The Son by Jo Nesbo
- What it's about: A young man is in prison because he has confessed to the crimes of others, but he breaks out to avenge his murdered father.
- Who's starring: Jake Gyllenhaal will star with his Prisoners director Denis Villeneuve at the helm.
34
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Wonder by R.J. Palacio
- What it's about: Wonder tells the story of Auggie Pullman, a boy who is born with a facial deformity, and his struggle to fit in at a new school.
- Who's starring: Room's Jacob Tremblay is playing Auggie, and Julia Roberts will play his mother.
35
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Beautiful Ruins by Jess Walter
- What it's about: Spanning decades, the book kicks off in 1962 on the Italian coast, following the ups and downs of a love affair that ends in Hollywood years later.
- Who's starring: Imogen Poots will play Dee Moray, and Todd Field will direct the film adaptation.
36
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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.