Spring is set to thaw us out pretty soon, but while you shiver by the fire, why not grab a book? We have a list of the hottest things to read before they'll next be adapted for the big screen. There are the movies coming out soon you maybe didn't know were based on books, like Red Sparrow, plus the latest news from books that are being optioned for film, like Trevor Noah's autobiography. Read our list so you can start reading one of these!
The Grand Escape by Neal Bascomb
- What it's about: The true story follows three WWII pilots who are captured and put in a POW prison in Germany — and who, as the title suggests, escape from it.
- Who's starring: There's no cast yet, but Room director Lenny Abrahamson will direct the adaptation.
- Release date: TBD
The Sun Is Also a Star by Nicola Yoon
- What it's about: A young woman, Natasha, falls in love in New York City . . . just before she and her family are set to be deported back to Jamaica.
- Who's starring: Yara Shahidi [2] will play Natasha.
- Release date: TBD
On Chesil Beach by Ian McEwan
- What it's about: A young couple dates and marries in quick succession, but immediately runs into trouble on their honeymoon night.
- Who's starring: Saoirse Ronan (who was nominated for an Oscar for her last Ian McEwan adaptation, Atonement) plays lead character Florence, opposite Billy Howle as her husband, Edward.
- Watch the trailer for On Chesil Beach [3].
- Release date: May 18, 2018
Born a Crime by Trevor Noah
- What it's about: The autobiography of The Daily Show host Trevor Noah, who was the product of an illegal interracial marriage in South Africa under apartheid, where his mother was subsequently jailed because of her "crime."
- Who's starring: Lupita Nyong'o will executive produce and star as Noah's mother, Patricia.
- Release date: TBD
The Silent Wife by A.S.A. Harrison
- What it's about: The book changes perspectives 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 [4] will produce and star in the adaptation as the wife.
- Release date: TBD
The Aftermath by Rhidian Brook
- What it's about: In a war-torn post-WWII Germany, a British colonel moves into Hamburg to rebuild the city with his wife. They move into the home of a German man and his daughter, which has deep consequences for all of them.
- Who's starring: Jason Clarke is playing the colonel, Keira Knightley [5] is starring as his wife, and Alexander Skarsgard is playing their German host.
- Release date: 2018
Bel Canto by Ann Patchett
- What it's about: Roxane, an American soprano, travels to South America to perform a private concert, which is then crashed by guerrilla forces.
- Who's starring: Julianne Moore will star as Roxane alongside Ken Watanabe and Demián Bichir. Paul Weitz will direct.
- Release date: 2018
The Mothers by Brit Bennett
- What it's about: A secret haunts the residents of a black community in a Southern California town.
- Who's starring: Kerry Washington [6] will produce with no word on whether or not she will also star.
- Release date: TBD
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 [7] as Bernadette. Kristen Wiig, Billy Crudup, and Judy Greer are also set to star. Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber — the writers behind (500) Days of Summer — are writing the screenplay.
- Release date: Oct. 19, 2018
The Black Hand by Stephan Talty
- What it's about: Set in the Summer of 1903, a detective investigates a crime outbreak that has ties to the beginnings of the mafia in America.
- Who's starring: Leonardo DiCaprio [8] will star in and produce the adaptation.
- Release date: 2018
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows
- What it's about: Following the end of World War II, London writer Juliet Ashton is looking for inspiration for her next book when she becomes acquainted with a wild crew on Guernsey Island after receiving a letter. She becomes drawn into the world of the man who wrote to her and his friends under Nazi occupation.
- Who's starring: Michiel Huisman, Lily James [9], and Glen Powell will costar in the adaptation.
- Watch the trailer for The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society [10].
- Release date: April 19, 2018
The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion
- What it's about: An awkward genetics professor falls for a woman who does not fit into his ascribed criteria, the titular Rosie.
- Who's starring: Ryan Reynolds [11] is attached to potentially star.
- Release date: 2019
The Girl in the Spider's Web by David Lagercrantz
- What it's about: In the first book since David Lagercrantz took over the Millennium trilogy from the late Stieg Larsson, Lisbeth investigates an organization called the Spider Society.
- Who's starring: Claire Foy is playing [12] Lisbeth Salander, taking over from Rooney Mara. Lakeith Stanfield and Stephen Merchant costar.
- Release date: Oct. 19, 2018
First Man: The Life of Neil A. Armstrong by James R. Hansen
- What it's about: The life of astronaut Neil Armstrong, the first man to walk on the moon.
- Who's starring: Ryan Gosling [13] is playing Neil Armstrong in the biopic, which reunites him with La La Land director Damien Chazelle. Claire Foy is playing his wife, Janet, and Jon Bernthal also costars.
- Release date: Oct. 12, 2018
Rogue Male by Geoffrey Household
- What it's about: The classic British novel follows a man who attempts to assassinate a dictator who is hunted by authorities himself after he fails.
- Who's starring: Benedict Cumberbatch will produce and star.
- Release date: TBD
Luckiest Girl Alive by Jessica Knoll
- What it's about: A glamorous 20-something New Yorker hides a dark secret in her past.
- Who's starring: No one has been cast yet, but Reese Witherspoon [14] is producing the movie.
- Release date: TBD
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: John Crowley will direct, and Ansel Elgort will play Theo; here's the rest of the cast [15].
- Release date: Oct. 11, 2019
Dune by Frank Herbert
- What it's about: The cult-classic novel weaves an interstellar epic in a not-too-distant future.
- Who's starring: Oscar-nominated director Denis Villeneuve will direct the adaptation, which hasn't been cast yet.
- Release date: TBD
The Bookseller by Cynthia Swanson
- What it's about: In the 1960s, single Kitty owns a bookshop but dreams of a life where she's married with children — and she starts to blur the lines between reality and fantasy.
- Who's starring: Julia Roberts [16] will play Kitty.
- Release date: TBD
Red Sparrow by Jason Matthews
- What it's about: Russian prima ballerina Dominika turns spy after her ballet career ends.
- Who's starring: Jennifer Lawrence plays Dominika [17] in the adaptation. Joel Edgerton and Charlotte Rampling also star.
- Watch the trailer for Red Sparrow [18].
- Release date: March 2, 2018
The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas
- What it's about: The timely novel (one of our favorites of the year [19]) tells the story of young Starr Carter, who witnesses her best friend being killed at the hands of a police officer.
- Who's starring: Amandla Stenberg is playing Starr, Regina King will play her mother, and Anthony Mackie, Common, and Issa Rae all costar.
- Release date: TBD
Truly Madly Guilty by Liane Moriarty
- What it's about: A suburban couple attend a disastrous barbecue in this mystery.
- Who's starring: Nicole Kidman [20] and Reese Witherspoon [21] (who both star in another Moriarty adaptation, Big Little Lies) will produce the adaptation, though there is no news yet on whether either actress will star.
- Release date: TBD
The Husband's Secret by Liane Moriarty
- What it's about: Big Little Lies author Liane Moriarty [22] spins a tale of three women linked by a devastating secret.
- Who's starring: Blake Lively [23] will star as Cecelia.
- Release date: TBD
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 Sam Mendes will produce and potentially direct the film adaptation.
- Release date: TBD
The Seconds by Anders Roslund and Borge Hellström
- What it's about: A convict works undercover for the FBI infiltrating the mob's drug trade in NY.
- Who's starring: Rosamund Pike, Clive Owen [24], Ana de Armas, and Joel Kinnaman are starring.
- Release date: Aug. 17, 2018
The Devil in the White City by Eric 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 [25], though there's no word yet on who will step in as Burnham. Martin Scorsese [26] will direct.
- Release date: TBD
Death on the Nile by Agatha Christie
- What it's about: The follow-up to 2017's Murder on the Orient Express, this Hercule Poirot mystery has the famous detective investigating a murder on the Egyptian river.
- Who's starring: Kenneth Branagh will likely reprise his role as Poirot and direct as well.
- Release date: 2019
The Rhythm Section by Mark Burnell
- What it's about: When a woman loses her whole family in a plane crash, she seeks revenge after being recruited by an intelligence agency.
- Who's starring: Blake Lively [27] (who has been unrecognizable on set [28]) is playing Stephanie. Jude Law [29] costars.
- Release date: 2019
Crazy Rich Asians by Kevin Kwan
- What it's about: New York-based Nick brings his girlfriend, Rachel, home for a wedding in Singapore, where she discovers he's vastly wealthy — and that she may not fit into that world.
- Who's starring: The movie adaptation has a huge, well-known cast [30] including Constance Wu and Ken Jeong. Jon Chu is directing.
- Release date: Aug. 17, 2018
Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertelli
- What it's about: In this coming-of-age novel, high school junior Simon hasn't come out yet, but he's forced to do so when a classmate finds out.
- Who's starring: 13 Reasons Why [31]'s Katherine Langford will play the female lead, Leah, and Everything, Everything's Nick Robinson will play Simon. Greg Berlanti will direct.
- Watch the trailer for Love, Simon [32].
- Release date: March 16, 2018
Boy Erased by Garrard Conley
- What it's about: A young gay Baptist is forced to go to a conversion program put on by his church.
- Who's starring: Nicole Kidman [33], Russell Crowe [34], and Joel Edgerton are starring.
- Release date: Sept. 28, 2018
The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah
- What it's about: Two sisters in France end up in different positions during WWII; one fights with the resistance and one becomes a prisoner.
- Who's starring: Sam Claflin is starring, and Michelle MacLaren will direct.
- Release date: Jan. 25, 2019
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 [35] in the movie, which is being adapted by Mike White.
- Release date: TBD
The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness
- What it's about: In the first novel of the Chaos Walking series, Todd Hewitt and Viola Eade, two teens living on an Earth-like planet, are affected by a plague called The Noise but discover a way to control it. The movie adaptation is being called Chaos Walking.
- Who's starring: Daisy Ridley is playing Viola, and Tom Holland [36] will star as Todd.
- Release date: Mar. 1, 2019
The Secret by Rhonda Byrne
- What it's about: The inspirational self-help guide that posits that a person can will their desires into reality with thought.
- Who's starring: Katie Holmes [37] will star in the adaptation, in which she's playing a widow who meets a handyman who believes in The Secret.
- Release date: TBD
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 [38] will star with his Prisoners director Denis Villeneuve at the helm.
- Release date: TBD
The Game by Neil Strauss
- What it's about: Former self-described AFC (average frustrated chump) Neil Strauss got fed up with being a mediocre dater and infiltrated an underground society of pick-up gurus. The book is part memoir, part how-to guide.
- Who's starring: James Franco [39] will both produce and star in the film as pick-up artist Mystery.
- Release date: TBD
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 [40] will direct the adaptation, and the three Mrs. have been cast: Reese Witherspoon [41] will play Mrs. Whatsit, Mindy Kaling will play Mrs. Who, and Oprah Winfrey [42] will play Mrs. Which. See the whole cast [43] here.
- Watch the trailer for A Wrinkle in Time [44].
- Release date: March 9, 2018
The Paper Bag Princess by Robert Munsch
- What it's about: Called a "feminist fairy tale," the story follows a princess who has to save her prince from a dragon while clad in the titular paper bag.
- Who's starring: While Elizabeth Banks and Margot Robbie are both producing, Robbie is the only one of them who may star.
- Release date: TBD
The Darkest Minds by Alexandra Bracken
- What it's about: In the futuristic YA novel, the government tries to intern and suppress young people with special abilities, including 16-year-old Ruby.
- Who's starring: Amandla Stenberg will play Ruby, and Mandy Moore [45] will play a doctor.
- Release date: Sept. 14, 2018
Into the Water by Paula Hawkins
- What it's about: In the May 2017 novel from the writer of The Girl on the Train, the bodies of a woman and that of a teenage girl are found at the bottom of the same river in a small town.
- Who's starring: The novel was optioned in February by Dreamworks, but no one has been cast yet.
- Release date: TBD
Witness For the Prosecution by Agatha Christie
- What it's about: The short story follows a courtroom drama of a murder case with lots of twists, turns, and marital intrigue.
- Who's starring: Ben Affleck [46] will direct and star in the movie.
- Release date: 2019
In a Dark, Dark Wood by Ruth Ware
- What it's about: Writer Nora attends the bachelorette [47] party of a friend she hasn't seen in 10 years, and on the weekend away, things go from drinks and fun to heart-pounding mystery.
- Who's starring: No one has been cast yet, but Reese Witherspoon [48] is producing and screenwriter Natalie Krinsky is adapting the screenplay.
- Release date: TBD
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.
- Release date: TBD
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 [49].
- Watch the trailer for Ready Player One [50].
- Release date: March 30, 2018