Top Ten Books I Want to Read Before they Hit the Screen

 

Top Ten Tuesday

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature from The Broke and the Bookish. This week is freebie week and I’m featuring the books I want to read before they hit the screen. Book adaptations are huge and since I prefer to read the book before seeing the movie I definitely have some catching up to do!

Here are the books I want to read before they hit the screen:

Me & Earl & The Dying Girl by Jesse Andrews – This upcoming film won the 2015 Sundance Grand Jury Prize and has some good early buzz. This is the story of Greg, a boy who is forced to spend time with Rachel, a girl with leukemia. Look for this one on June 12.

Paper Towns by John Green – I’ve still only read Green’s The Fault in Our Stars so maybe I’ll catch up with each movie release. This film stars Nat Wolff and Cara Delevingne. In theaters July 24

The Scorch Trials by James Dashner – I never read The Maze Runner though I really liked the movie so maybe I’ll read this one while I wait for Sept. 18 to come around.

Dare Me by Megan Abbott – This author is double lucky- two of her books are getting the TV treatment. Dare Me is going to be an HBO series, and Fever is coming to MTV. Dare Me is a murder mystery set in the world of high school cheerleading.

The Martian by Andy Weir – This adaptation has star power and an A-list director in Ridley Scott. Mark Watley (Matt Damon) gets stranded on Mars after a dust storm hits and his crew takes off.  He has to find a way to survive and get a message back home. Look for The Martian on Nov. 25.

Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs – My kid just read the first two books (and the graphic novel) back to back and insists that I read them too. The Tim Burton movie is filming now (called Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiars) and eyeing a March 2016 release.

Luckiest Girl Alive by Jessica Knoll – This hot new mystery just hit shelves last week, and already Reece Witherspoon is on board to produce the movie version. This twisty story is about a girl with a perfect, glamorous job with a secret to protect that threatens everything.

The Price of Salt (Carol) by Patricia Highsmith – The film version is called Carol. Directed by Todd Haynes, this film stars Rooney Mara as Therese, a 1950s department store employee who falls for an older woman (Cate Blanchett). It just premiered at Cannes to rave reviews. Look for it to hit theaters in December.

Where’d You Go, Bernadette by Maria Semple – It was rumored earlier this year that Richard Linklater was in talks to direct this one. Hopefully that will happen! This epistolary novel is about a girl on a quest to find her unhinged mother.

Every Secret Thing by Laura Lippman – The film version just came out in limited release and has a great cast featuring Elizabeth Banks, Diane Lane and Dakota Fanning. The mystery crime story is about two teens fresh out of juvie for their crime of killing an infant, who are under the microscope when another child has gone missing. This sounds really unsettling actually!

What book adaptations do you have your eye on?

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26 thoughts on “Top Ten Books I Want to Read Before they Hit the Screen

  1. Great idea for a top ten, Lucy! Ive read several of these, The Martian, Paper Towns, and Miss Peregine’s, and I’m dying to read Bernadette. Hope you get a chance to read them!

  2. Anne says:

    Run, do not walk, to get your copy of THE MARTIAN. everyone in my family listened to the audiobook of it and LOVED IT. Hope you enjoy it too.
    My TTT

    1. Lucy says:

      I have the audio of THE MARTIAN so I’m so glad to hear it was a big hit for your family!! I’ll have to fit it in sooner rather than later.

  3. I like to read books before they hit the screen as well. I’m a big believer in book before movie! Great list!

  4. Ooh, great list! I am so looking forward to seeing Me Earl and the Dying Girl on screen – I wasn’t the biggest fan of the book (it was just okay for me) but the film has Connie Britton and my ultimate celebcrush Nick Offerman, so I CANNOT wait to see it!
    I really want to read The Martian – I am not the biggest fan of Ridley Scott as a director, but I think he definitely has potential of making a movie set in space quite spectacular.
    The Price of Salt/Carol is one I am really looking forward to as well – I haven’t read the book, but Todd Haynes is a spectacular director, so the film ought to be amazing!

    1. Lucy says:

      I agree- the cast of Me & Earl is fantastic. I wonder if I should see the film before reading the book, especially since you weren’t a big fan of it.

      Carol just recently got my attention because of the Cannes raves but it sounds incredible!

      Lots of good adaptations to look forward to- thanks for sharing your thoughts, Milka!

  5. JJ says:

    Great idea for a top ten! I do the same thing, I always have to read the book first if I’m really excited about a movie that’s based on a book.

    JJ recently posted: Top Ten Tuesdays #5
  6. The books are always much better than the movies, so, yes, I agree!

    Here’s mine: Best Moving-and-Starting-Over Books!

    Deb Nance at Readerbuzz recently posted: Best Moving-and-Starting-Over Books
  7. Love your topic choice, there are so many fantastic book/film adaptations coming soon, and I’m with you on catching up on the books before seeing them. Thanks for putting a few new ones on my radar!
    My TTT

    Rosy @ The Review Diaries recently posted: Top Ten Non-Fiction Books
  8. Rebecca says:

    This list makes me so happy – look at all the books getting TV and movie treatment! And not just super popular titles either. I’m definitely more interested to check some of these out now. I didn’t know M&E&TDG was coming out and I really want to read that, so I best get to it soon. Will have to check out Dare Me, too!

    1. Lucy says:

      It is interesting that we hear about all the John Green and dystopian series movies hitting the big screen but there are some under the radar titles as well. And I’m especially excited about Dare Me, and since it was just announced we have lots of time to catch up on the book 🙂
      Thanks for stopping by, Rebecca!

  9. Me and Earl and the Dying Girl is high on my list for reading before the movie. The other one I would like to read is Every Secret Thing. Where’d You Go, Bernadette was such a great book I would love to see how they do a movie with it. Great topic and picks!

    Grace @ Rebel Mommy Book Blog recently posted: Top Ten Favorite Covers From My TBR
  10. Lindea says:

    I really want to read Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children before it hits the big screen too. In my mind this movie will be so great.

  11. I hope Where’d You Go, Bernadette makes it to the big screen too!

    bermudaonion (Kathy) recently posted: Review: Aquarium
  12. Michael says:

    Wait…how did I miss that there’s a movie version of Every Secret Thing coming out?!?

    I looooooooooved that book so much.

    Now, I’m really excited.

    Michael recently posted: Top Ten Tuesday: Assigned Reading
    1. Lucy says:

      Every Secret Thing is out already! And it has a 31% Rotten Tomatoes score 🙁 I still want to see it though. You can find out where it’s playing / rent it online here: http://gowatchit.com/movies/every-secret-thing-268940

      You’ve made me very excited to read the book! Let me know what you think of the movie if you see it.

  13. The Martian is hands down one of my favorite books 🙂

    Felicia The Geeky Blogger recently posted: Task It Tuesday: Write RT Wrap Up Post
  14. I read and LOVED ME AND EARL AND THE DYING GIRL……but the movie is even better. The AUTHOR of the book wrote the screenplay and he did a great job of taking what was important in the book and putting it in the movie. Also the teens looked and acted like teens. I think it will be compared a lot to TFIOS, but I thought ME AND EARL was SOOOOO funny. I was laughing so hard — and the loudest — in the theater. I saw it at an early screening.

    I am also excited to read LUCKIEST GIRL ALIVE. It sounds creepy and sort of like Gone Girl. I had no idea that Megan Abbott’s books will be made into TV shows!!! How cool. Guess I gotta read those too? 🙂

    1. Lucy says:

      Ooh you already saw the movie! I think it’s great when author’s write the screenplay and you make the movie sound fantastic!
      And yes there are Gone Girl comparisons to Luckiest Girl Alive- I always fall for those even though the books are usually nothing like GG.

  15. Kim Barker says:

    Great list! I haven’t heard of The Martian. I’m going to have to check it out.

  16. We Heart YA says:

    BERNADETTE is SO funny! Can’t wait to see it on the big screen.

    Is it wrong that, in some cases, when we learn of a movie, we decide just to see that *instead* of reading the book? [hangs head in shame]

    1. Lucy says:

      Oh yay I’ll have to fit in a read of BERNADETTE soon.

      And no it’s not wrong at all 🙂 Sometimes I only watch the movie, and sometimes seeing the movie first inspires me to read the book!

  17. I really want to read Me and Earl and the Dying Girl before it comes out. I have a signed copy from years ago that I still haven’t read. Must do it soon!

    fishgirl182 @ nite lite recently posted: WonderCon Spotlight: Orphan Black
    1. Lucy says:

      Very cool that you have a signed copy of Me & Earl! I hope you enjoy it.

  18. Annette says:

    I actually bought Maria Semple’s book in hardback… ages ago. So I really should try to read it before the movie comes out! RE John Green, I watched the trailer for Paper Towns and it looks SO GOOD. I’m glad TFIOS was such a success at the box office – I’m sure that’s why PT is being made. 🙂

  19. kay says:

    This list makes me so happy! I had no idea Bernadette was getting an adaptation. I read the book not long after it came out, so a while ago, but I still remember it vividly and fondly. Exciting news!

    I also had no idea about Peregrine’s adaptation. I read the first book and liked it. I’m not surprised Tim Burton has his hands on it!

    And now I need to read Dare Me, which has been on my shelf way too long!

    kay recently posted: The Disappearing Curio

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