A long time ago, we talked about whether the book was always better than the movie. At that time we gave you a few of our all time favorite adaptations. We thought it was time for an update, because there have been so many adaptations available at cinemas and streaming services this year. And there are more to come! So while you wait for a movie or show, why not read the book?
The following adaptations are more or less in order of their release date. All the links will take you to the library catalog, so you can place the corresponding book directly on hold and get reading before the movies and shows are released (or catch up on what you might have missed!). And don’t forget, the library lends out Rokus with Disney+, HBO Max, and Apple TV+.
TV SERIES
The Expats (Amazon Prime Video, released January 2024)
Expats follows “the vibrant lives of a close-knit expatriate community: where affluence is celebrated, friendships are intense but knowingly temporary, and personal lives, deaths and marriages are played out publicly—then retold with glee.
Read the book: The Expatriates by Janice Y.K. Lee
3 Body Problem (Netflix, March 2024)
Set in present-day London, this show (the third adaptation and the first in English) follows a group of scientist friends who all make contact in some way with an extraterrestrial civilization. Flashbacks take us to secret military bases in Cold War times while current day grapple with….
Read the book (the first in a trilogy): The Three-Body Problem by Cixin Liu
A Gentleman in Moscow (Amazon Prime, March 2024)
Set against the backdrop of post-Revolutionary Russia, where Count Alexander Rostov is stripped of his title and material wealth, and placed under house arrest for life in a grand Moscow hotel. Unlikely friendships, fleeting romance and the hotel’s occupants open the Count’s eyes to the hidden wonders of the hotel, and the enduring power of human connection. After losing everything, he must learn that true riches are found in love, courage and community.
Read the book: A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles
The Sympathizer (hulu, April 2024)
Near the end of the Vietnam War, a spy who was embedded in the South Vietnam army flees to the United States and takes up residence in a refugee community, where he continues to gather intelligence and report back to the Viet Cong.
Read the book: The Sympathizer by Viet Thanh Nguyen
Lady in the Lake (Apple TV+, July 2024)
When the disappearance of a young girl grips the city of Baltimore on Thanksgiving 1966, the lives of two women, Maddie Schwartz and Cleo Sherwood, converge on a fatal collision course.
Read the book:Lady in the Lake by Laura Lippman
Uglies (Netflix, September 2024)
In a futuristic dystopia with enforced beauty standards, a teen awaiting mandatory cosmetic surgery embarks on a journey to find her missing friend.
Read the book: Uglies by Scott Westerfeld
MOVIES
Spaceman of Bohemia (February 2024)
Six months into a solo mission, a lonely astronaut confronts the cracks in his marriage with help from a mysterious creature he discovers on his ship.
Read the book: Spaceman of Bohemia by Jaroslav Kalfař
Harold and the Purple Crayon (August 2024)
Inside his book, adventurous Harold can make anything come to life simply by drawing it. After he grows up and draws himself off the book’s pages and into the physical world, he soon learns his trusty crayon can set off more hilarious hijinks than he thought possible. However, when the power of unlimited imagination falls into the wrong hands, it will take all of his creativity to save both the real world and his own.
Read the book: Harold and the Purple Crayon by Crockett Johnson
It Ends With Us (August 2024)
Lily Bloom moves to Boston to chase her lifelong dream of opening her own business. A chance meeting with charming neurosurgeon Ryle Kincaid soon sparks an intense connection, but as the two fall deeply in love, she begins to see sides of Ryle that remind her of her parents’ relationship. When Lily’s first love, Atlas Corrigan, suddenly reenters her life, her relationship with Ryle gets upended, leaving her with an impossible choice.
Read the book: It Ends With Us by Colleen Hoover
Wicked (November 2024)
Misunderstood because of her green skin, a young woman named Elphaba forges an unlikely but profound friendship with Glinda, a student with an unflinching desire for popularity. Following an encounter with the Wizard of Oz, their relationship soon reaches a crossroad as their lives begin to take very different paths. Part 2 comes out in November 2025!)
Read the book: Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West by Gregory Maguire
COMING IN 2025
The Amateur (April 2025)
Follows a CIA cryptographer, who manages to blackmail his agency into training him to let him go after a group of terrorist who killed his wife in London.
Read the book: The Amateur by Robert Littell
