I don’t know about you but I do love to read a good book and then watch the adaptation of the book on the big screen.
Invariably, I always prefer the book but it’s entertaining nevertheless to watch the movie.
Having said that, some of my favorite books turned into TV shows are done really well. These include A Game of Thrones, Outlander and The Walking Dead. The Walking Dead is based off the graphic novels. Both the graphic novels and adaptations are excellent!
Quite a few times I have discovered the great books after I’ve seen the show or movie. Who knew that there were so many books that become movies?
Here’s a chance to read the book before you watch the movie. There are so many books that turned into movies out there to choose from!
Here are some to look out for in books to movies 2018.
1.The Death Cure by James Dashner.
Synopsis:
It’s the end of the line.
WICKED has taken everything from Thomas: his life, his memories, and now his only friends—the Gladers. But it’s finally over. The trials are complete, after one final test.
Will anyone survive?
What WICKED doesn’t know is that Thomas remembers far more than they think. And it’s enough to prove that he can’t believe a word of what they say.
The truth will be terrifying.
Thomas beat the Maze. He survived the Scorch. He’ll risk anything to save his friends. But the truth might be what ends it all.
The time for lies is over.
Book three of the Maze Runner trilogy was released January 2018.
2. Peter Rabbit adapted from The Tale of Peter Rabbit by Beatrix Potter.
Synopsis:
The Tale of Peter Rabbit is the original classic by Beatrix Potter. The Tale of Peter Rabbit was first published by Frederick Warne in 1902 and endures as Beatrix Potter’s most popular and well-loved tale. It tells the story of a very mischievous rabbit and the trouble he encounters in Mr McGregor’s vegetable garden!
Released February 9, 2018.
3. Fifty Shades Freed by E. L. James.
Synopsis:
When unworldly student Anastasia Steele first encountered the driven and dazzling young entrepreneur Christian Grey it sparked a sensual affair that changed both of their lives irrevocably. Shocked, intrigued, and, ultimately, repelled by Christian’s singular erotic tastes, Ana demands a deeper commitment. Determined to keep her, Christian agrees.
Now, Ana and Christian have it all—love, passion, intimacy, wealth, and a world of possibilities for their future. But Ana knows that loving her Fifty Shades will not be easy, and that being together will pose challenges that neither of them would anticipate. Ana must somehow learn to share Christian’s opulent lifestyle without sacrificing her own identity. And Christian must overcome his compulsion to control as he wrestles with the demons of a tormented past.
Just when it seems that their strength together will eclipse any obstacle, misfortune, malice, and fate conspire to make Ana’s deepest fears turn to reality.
This book is for mature audiences.
Released February 14, 2018.
4. Red Sparrow by Jason Sparrows.
Synopsis:
In the grand spy-tale tradition of John le Carré comes this shocking thriller written with insider detail known only to a veteran CIA officer.
In present-day Russia, ruled by blue-eyed, unblinking President Vladimir Putin, Russian intelligence officer Dominika Egorova struggles to survive in the post-Soviet intelligence jungle. Ordered against her will to become a “Sparrow,” a trained seductress, Dominika is assigned to operate against Nathaniel Nash, a young CIA officer who handles the Agency’s most important Russian mole.
Spies have long relied on the “honey trap,” whereby vulnerable men and women are intimately compromised. Dominika learns these techniques of “sexpionage” in Russia’s secret “Sparrow School,” hidden outside of Moscow. As the action careens between Russia, Finland, Greece, Italy, and the United States, Dominika and Nate soon collide in a duel of wills, tradecraft, and—inevitably—forbidden passion that threatens not just their lives but those of others as well. As secret allegiances are made and broken, Dominika and Nate’s game reaches a deadly crossroads. Soon one of them begins a dangerous double existence in a life-and-death operation that consumes intelligence agencies from Moscow to Washington, DC.
Page by page, veteran CIA officer Jason Matthews’s Red Sparrow delights and terrifies and fascinates, all while delivering an unforgettable cast, from a sadistic Spetsnaz “mechanic” who carries out Putin’s murderous schemes to the weary CIA Station Chief who resists Washington “cake-eaters” to MARBLE, the priceless Russian mole. Packed with insider detail and written with brio, this tour-de-force novel brims with Matthews’s life experience, including his knowledge of espionage, counterintelligence, surveillance tradecraft, spy recruitment, cyber-warfare, the Russian use of “spy dust,” and covert communications. Brilliantly composed and elegantly constructed, Red Sparrow is a masterful spy tale lifted from the dossiers of intelligence agencies on both sides of the Atlantic. Authentic, tense, and entertaining, this novel introduces Jason Matthews as a major new American talent.
Released March 2, 2018, starring Jennifer Lawrence and Joel Egerton.
5. Ready Player One by Ernest Cline.
Synopsis:
In the year 2045, reality is an ugly place. The only time teenage Wade Watts really feels alive is when he’s jacked into the virtual utopia known as the OASIS. Wade’s devoted his life to studying the puzzles hidden within this world’s digital confines—puzzles that are based on their creator’s obsession with the pop culture of decades past and that promise massive power and fortune to whoever can unlock them.
But when Wade stumbles upon the first clue, he finds himself beset by players willing to kill to take this ultimate prize. The race is on, and if Wade’s going to survive, he’ll have to win—and confront the real world he’s always been so desperate to escape.
Much anticipate movie directed by Steven Spielberg is to be release date March 29, 2018. Read the book review.
6. A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle.
Synopsis:
It was a dark and stormy night; Meg Murry, her small brother Charles Wallace, and her mother had come down to the kitchen for a midnight snack when they were upset by the arrival of a most disturbing stranger.
“Wild nights are my glory,” the unearthly stranger told them. “I just got caught in a downdraft and blown off course. Let me be on my way. Speaking of way, by the way, there is such a thing as a tesseract”.
Meg’s father had been experimenting with this fifth dimension of time travel when he mysteriously disappeared. Now the time has come for Meg, her friend Calvin, and Charles Wallace to rescue him. But can they outwit the forces of evil they will encounter on their heart-stopping journey through space?
Released March 2018 starring Oprah Winfrey, Storm Reid, Reese Witherspoon and Mindy Kaling.
7. Midnight Sun by Trish Cook.
Synopsis:
Seventeen-year-old Katie Price has a rare disease that makes exposure to even the smallest amount of sunlight deadly. Confined to her house during the day, her company is limited to her widowed father and her best (okay, only) friend. It isn’t until after nightfall that Katie’s world opens up, when she takes her guitar to the local train station and plays for the people coming and going.
Charlie Reed is a former all-star athlete at a crossroads in his life – and the boy Katie has secretly admired from afar for years. When he happens upon her playing guitar one night, fate intervenes and the two embark on a star-crossed romance.
As they challenge each other to chase their dreams and fall for each other under the summer night sky, Katie and Charlie form a bond strong enough to change them – and everyone around them – forever.
Starring Bella Thorne. Release date, March 2018.
8. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows.
Synopsis:
Written with warmth and humor as a series of letters, this novel is a celebration of the written word in all its guises, and of finding connection in the most surprising ways.
“I wonder how the book got to Guernsey? Perhaps there is some sort of secret homing instinct in books that brings them to their perfect readers.”
January 1946: London is emerging from the shadow of the Second World War, and writer Juliet Ashton is looking for her next book subject. Who could imagine that she would find it in a letter from a man she’s never met, a native of the island of Guernsey, who has come across her name written inside a book by Charles Lamb….
As Juliet and her new correspondent exchange letters, Juliet is drawn into the world of this man and his friends—and what a wonderfully eccentric world it is. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society—born as a spur-of-the-moment alibi when its members were discovered breaking curfew by the Germans occupying their island—boasts a charming, funny, deeply human cast of characters, from pig farmers to phrenologists, literature lovers all.
Juliet begins a remarkable correspondence with the society’s members, learning about their island, their taste in books, and the impact the recent German occupation has had on their lives. Captivated by their stories, she sets sail for Guernsey, and what she finds will change her forever.
Written with warmth and humor as a series of letters, this novel is a celebration of the written word in all its guises, and of finding connection in the most surprising ways.
Release date, April 2018.
9. Where’d You go Bernadette? by Maria Semple.
Synopsis:
A compulsively readable and touching novel about misplaced genius and a mother and daughter’s role in an absurd world.
Bernadette Fox is notorious. To her Microsoft-guru husband, she’s a fearlessly opinionated partner; to fellow private-school mothers in Seattle, she’s a disgrace; to design mavens, she’s a revolutionary architect, and to 15-year-old Bee, she is a best friend and, simply, Mom.
Then Bernadette disappears. It began when Bee aced her report card and claimed her promised reward: a family trip to Antarctica. But Bernadette’s intensifying allergy to Seattle – and people in general – has made her so agoraphobic that a virtual assistant in India now runs her most basic errands. A trip to the end of the earth is problematic.
To find her mother, Bee compiles email messages, official documents, secret correspondence – creating a compulsively readable and touching novel about misplaced genius and a mother and daughter’s role in an absurd world
Read the book review.
Release date, May 2018.
10. Crazy Rich Asian by Kevin Kwan.
Synopsis:
Crazy Rich Asians is the outrageously funny debut novel about three super-rich, pedigreed Chinese families and the gossip, backbiting, and scheming that occurs when the heir to one of the most massive fortunes in Asia brings home his ABC (American-born Chinese) girlfriend to the wedding of the season.
When Rachel Chu agrees to spend the summer in Singapore with her boyfriend, Nicholas Young, she envisions a humble family home, long drives to explore the island, and quality time with the man she might one day marry. What she doesn’t know is that Nick’s family home happens to look like a palace, that she’ll ride in more private planes than cars, and that with one of Asia’s most eligible bachelors on her arm, Rachel might as well have a target on her back. Initiated into a world of dynastic splendor beyond imagination, Rachel meets Astrid, the It Girl of Singapore society; Eddie, whose family practically lives in the pages of the Hong Kong socialite magazines; and Eleanor, Nick’s formidable mother, a woman who has very strong feelings about who her son should–and should not–marry. Uproarious, addictive, and filled with jaw-dropping opulence, Crazy Rich Asians is an insider’s look at the Asian JetSet; a perfect depiction of the clash between old money and new money; between Overseas Chinese and Mainland Chinese; and a fabulous novel about what it means to be young, in love, and gloriously, crazily rich.
Release date, August 2018.
11. Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn.
Synopsis:
Fresh from a brief stay at a psych hospital, reporter Camille Preaker faces a troubling assignment: she must return to her tiny hometown to cover the murders of two preteen girls. For years, Camille has hardly spoken to her neurotic, hypochondriac mother or to the half-sister she barely knows: a beautiful thirteen-year-old with an eerie grip on the town. Now, installed in her old bedroom in her family’s Victorian mansion, Camille finds herself identifying with the young victims—a bit too strongly. Dogged by her own demons, she must unravel the psychological puzzle of her own past if she wants to get the story—and survive this homecoming.
Read the book review.
Release date, August 2018.
Synopsis:
When Ruby woke up on her tenth birthday, something about her had changed. Something frightening enough to make her parents lock her in the garage and call the police. Something that got her sent to Thurmond, a brutal government “rehabilitation camp.” She might have survived the mysterious disease that had killed most of America’s children, but she and the others emerged with something far worse: frightening abilities they could not control.
Now sixteen, Ruby is one of the dangerous ones. When the truth comes out, Ruby barely escapes Thurmond with her life. She is on the run, desperate to find the only safe haven left for kids like her—East River. She joins a group of kids who have escaped their own camp. Liam, their brave leader, is falling hard for Ruby. But no matter how much she aches for him, Ruby can’t risk getting close. Not after what happened to her parents. When they arrive at East River, nothing is as it seems, least of all its mysterious leader. But there are other forces at work, people who will stop at nothing to use Ruby in their fight against the government. Ruby will be faced with a terrible choice, one that may mean giving up her only chance at having a life worth living.
Release date, September 14, 2018.
13. Mowgli adapted from The Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling.
Synopsis:
Since its publication in 1894, Rudyard Kipling’s beloved masterpiece The Jungle Book has been celebrated by generations of readers. Composed of seven tales, each one accompanied by a poem, The Jungle Book introduces a lush, colorful world full of adventure and danger. The first three tales include some of the most charming and unforgettable characters in literature—the man-cub Mowgli, the black panther Bagheera, the wise brown bear Baloo, and the ruthless tiger Shere Khan. The other four tales each tell the story of a different animal, such as the travels of the white seal Kotick; the battle between the courageous mongoose Rikki-Tikki-Tavi and the deadly cobra Nag; Toomai and the elephant dance; and the camp animals of the queen’s guard.
Release date, October 19, 2018. Movie starring Rohan Chand, Matthew Rhys, and Freida Pinto.
14. Girl In The Spider’s Web by David Lagercrantz.
Synopsis:
She is the girl with the dragon tattoo—a genius hacker and uncompromising misfit. He is a crusading journalist whose championing of the truth often brings him to the brink of prosecution.
Late one night, Blomkvist receives a phone call from a source claiming to have information vital to the United States. The source has been in contact with a young female superhacker—a hacker resembling someone Blomkvist knows all too well. The implications are staggering. Blomkvist, in desperate need of a scoop for Millennium, turns to Salander for help. She, as usual, has her own agenda. The secret they are both chasing is at the center of a tangled web of spies, cybercriminals, and governments around the world, and someone is prepared to kill to protect it . . .
The duo who captivated millions of readers in The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, The Girl Who Played with Fire, and The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest join forces again in this adrenaline-charged, uniquely of-the-moment thriller.
In theaters November 9, 2018.
15. How The Grinch Stole Christmas! by Dr. Seuss.
Synopsis:
“Every Who down in Who-ville liked Christmas a lot . . . but the Grinch, who lived just north of Who-ville, did NOT!” Not since “’Twas the night before Christmas” has the beginning of a Christmas tale been so instantly recognizable. This heartwarming story about the effects of the Christmas spirit will grow even the coldest and smallest of hearts. Like mistletoe, candy canes, and caroling, the Grinch is a mainstay of the holidays, and his story is the perfect gift for young and old.
And don’t forget to celebrate Grinch-mas this Christmas season, the annual holiday tradition inspired by How the Grinch Stole Christmas that encourages readers to grow their hearts three sizes by doing good deeds!
Release date, November 2018.
16. Mary Poppins Returns adapted from Mary Poppins by P. L. Travers
Synopsis:
From the moment Mary Poppins arrives at Number Seventeen Cherry-Tree Lane, everyday life at the Banks house is forever changed.
It all starts when Mary Poppins is blown by the east wind onto the doorstep of the Banks house. She becomes a most unusual nanny to Jane, Michael, and the twins. Who else but Mary Poppins can slide up banisters, pull an entire armchair out of an empty carpetbag, and make a dose of medicine taste like delicious lime-juice cordial? A day with Mary Poppins is a day of magic and make-believe come to life!
Release date, December 2018.
Books To Movies
I am looking forward to watching Ready Player One the movie. I really enjoyed reading the book and wonder if the movie will do it any justice. The trailer looks good but hey they always show the good parts of the movie!
I am also reading Sharp Object by Gillian Flynn right now, having read Dark Places last August. So Sharp Objects is another movie I will be looking forward to seeing as well.
Oh I am so looking forward to reading some of these books!
Have you read any of these books listed on our books to movie 2018? Do you like to read the books and then watch the movie? I’d love to know.
Happy reading!
Discover your next great read!
Wow! These books sound like they would make great movies! Thanks for sharing!
Am looking for to the movie or TV show for crazy rich asians
I haven’t seen A Wrinkle in Time yet, but I very much want to. I actually just bought the book for my ten-year-old niece who expressed interest in it.
Hi Alicia!
A Wrinkle in Time looks like it’s going to be fun to watch. I have it on my TBR.
Great list compilation! I really am eager to watch Ready Player One and The Darkest Minds but those are two that I need to read the book for. Of course I shall be watching the Death Cure because I read the series ages ago and am kind of reliving it again (even though they are different from the books) by watching the movies. I am so excited for another Mary Poppins as well 😀
I read the Maze Runner series a while ago too and to be honest I can’t remember much of it. The movie will refresh my memory I hope. In any case, the movie will wrap it up quick.
Thanks for stopping by at Arlene’s Book Club!
I haven’t read Ready Player One but I have seen the trailers for the movie and I have to say it looks really cool! Not sure if the book is for me but I’m willing to give the movie a go.
Hi Emily!
I saw Ready Player One with my son recently and thought it was okay. My son really enjoyed it. 🙂
I hope you enjoy the movie!
I always prefer the book too! But still always want to see how close the movie or TV adaptation was. I have heard the Walking dead series graphic novels are really good. But I feel like I ruined it for myself by watching the TV series..lol
The graphic novels for the Walking Dead are excellent and the show is good too, though it’s going downhill since this last season with Negan. The show has moved away from the novels so it’s easier to enjoy the series without too much comparisons.
I’m forever reading the book *after* seeing the film! 🙂 I also openly admit to loving film adap. book covers! (I know, such a bookish sin! Lol.)
You crack me up Cee!
I don’t watch much TV now as I spend most of my free time reading…I am forever catching up too!
Loved all the books turned into movies. I must say, I really enjoy the movie versions, as a lot of the time they “tighten” up the story, as I’m not a big fan of a novel with over 300 pages…sometimes just to much of extra stuff. I like to use my own imagination, having only simple descriptions. Movies are fast and to the point, (most are, but some can just go in the trash) but this is just my opinion. It all has to do with the way my brain works.
Hi Linda!
I am the opposite when it comes to books over 300 pages. I like them long, especially if they are really good.
It’s nice to watch a movie that wraps everything up in 2 hours but I feel you miss so much though.
I’m the same way, Dinh. I have to read before I watch. That’s why my hubby ditched me and have watched The Martian without me! That’s just cold!! =)
LOL, I hope he doesn’t ditch you too often.
I’ve yet to watch The Martian, perhaps we should watch it together some time? If only you live closer!