10 Books to Read Before They Become Movies and TV Shows This Year
Your summer reading and viewing list just got better.
Summer is in full swing, which means you're probably working your way through your summer reading list. And if you're looking for another read to thrill you and chill you, you've definitely come to the right place.
The Sinner by Petra Hammesfahr is an internationally best-selling psychological thriller exploring why a young mother named Cora stabbed a man to death one sunny summer afternoon by the lake. Not only will you become so totally engrossed in this novel, but it will also leave you wanting more.
Luckily, there is more of The Sinner on the way. An eight-episode series based on the novel premieres on USA on Wednesday, August 2 at 10/9c. The series follows Det. Harry Ambrose (Bill Pullman) as he becomes obsessed with trying to get to the bottom of why Cora (Jessica Biel) committed the aforementioned crime. So it looks like we just solved the problem of what you're going to be watching on TV this summer, too. You're welcome.
Jessica Biel stars as Cora in The Sinner. Photo: USA
The Sinner isn't the only book hitting the screen this year. There are tons of buzzy titles that you're going to want to add to your reading list and viewing list this summer and beyond. Check them out, below.
1. Midnight, Texas
Photo: NBC
Things are about to get weird on Midnight, Texas, a new NBC series based on Charlaine Harris' trilogy of the same name. The show follows the offbeat residents of a remote Lone Star State town, from vampires to witches to psychics and everything in between. But these outsiders need to stick together to keep their way of life intact from those threatening to disrupt it, including biker gangs, cops, and even themselves. So Midnight, Texas is really a story about family, albeit a very eccentric one.
2. The Dark Tower
Photo: Sony Pictures Entertainment
Your new favorite dystopian action-adventure flick of the summer is here. Idris Elba and Matthew McConnaughey star in The Dark Tower, a big-screen adaptaion of Stephen King's series of the same name, where they go head-to-head to duke it out and basically determine the fate of the universe. You could say the stakes are pretty high in this movie, so be prepared to be on the edge of your seat for this one.
3. The Glass Castle
Photo: Lionsgate
Based on the memoir of the same name, The Glass Castle tells the coming-of-age story of author Jeannette Walls, who is played by Brie Larson in the film, in a family of free-spirited nomads, including an alcoholic father (Woody Harrelson) and an artistic mother (Naomi Watts). Be prepared for this movie to bring on the feels.
4. IT
Photo: Warner Bros.
If 1990's original film adaptation of Stephen King's IT gave you nightmares, you ain't seen nothing yet. Pennywise the Dancing Clown is back and creepier than ever. We need to sleep with the lights on just from watching the trailer for this remake.
5. The Mountain Between Us
Photo: Twentieth Century Fox
If you want more Idris Elba (and who doesn't, really?), he's starring in another page-to-screen adaptation this year opposite Kate Winslet. The A-listers lead the movie version of Charles Martin's novel The Mountain Between Us as two strangers that have to come together to survive after a plane crash leaves them stranded on a snow-covered mountain. The Mountain Between Us is the romantic disaster movie we all need right now.
6. Mindhunter
Photo: Netflix
Netflix's upcoming series Mindhunter will follow an agent in the FBI's Elite Serial Crime Unit as he tries to track down serial killers and rapists. The show is based on the book Mind Hunter: Inside the FBI's Elite Serial Crime Unit by John Douglas and Mark Olshaker. With David Fincher at the helm and starring Jonathan Groff, Mindhunter should be nothing short of a thrill ride.
7. Thank You For Your Service
Photo: Universal Pictures
Based on David Finkel's book of the same name, Thank You For Your Service explores the life of a group of U.S. soldiers returning home from Iraq. Starring Miles Teller and Amy Schumer, in a rare dramatic turn, Thank You For Your Service should be incrdedibly compelling.
8. Murder on the Orient Express
Photo: Twentieth Century Fox
If the all-star cast of the upcoming, new film adaptation of Agatha Christie's classic murder-mystery novel doesn't wow you (Johnny Depp! Penelope Cruz! Judi Dench! Michelle Pfeiffer!), all of the amazing old-timey mustaches surely will. This is going to be one unforgettable whodunnit.
9. Wonder
Photo: Lionsgate
It's tough out there, so if you're in the need of a bit of a pick-me-up, Wonder, based on the best-selling children's novel by R.J. Palacio, is sure to warm your heart. The movie follows August Pullman (Jacob Tremblay), a boy with a facial difference, as he attends a mainstream school for the first time. Julia Roberts and Owen Wilson star as Auggie's parents, and you know you're going to need tissues while watching this film.
10. The Disaster Artist
Photo: a24films
The Disaster Artist is a movie based on a book about the making of what is widely considered to be one of the worst movies ever made: The Room. Of course, The Room has since become a cult phenomenon, thanks to how awesomely bad it is. And now you can see just how it came to be in this movie based on Greg Sistero (who starred as Mark in the original film) and Tom Bissell's book, The Disaster Artist: My Life Inside the Room, The Greatest Bad Movie Ever Made.
Get ready for The Sinner's premiere by checking out the series' trailer, below.
