If you are like me and need to read the book before the movie, you’ll need to do a lot of reading to keep up with all the movie adaptations coming out this year. 2016 will be a big year for book to screen adaptations although much heavier on the YA genre and relatively little in terms of literary fiction. Here are some of the most talked about upcoming movie adaptations due out in 2016:
Note: You can read longer synopses of the books below by clicking on the title. Trailers posted when available.
The 5th Wave by Rick Yancey. Based on a young adult series that I’ve actually read, this book is an apocalyptic book with aliens. Surprisingly, I seem to have given it 4 stars (according to goodreads) although I have a different, and less stringent, rating system for young adult literature. The movie stars Chloë Grace Moretz. Release Date: Jan 15
The Finest Hours by Michael J. Tougias and Casey Sherman. The book is based on the true story of a coast guard rescue during a 1952 storm off the coast of Cape Cod. Chris Pines will play the lead. Release date: Jan 29
Pride and Prejudice and Zombies by Seth Grahame-Smith. I love Pride and Prejudice and The Walking Dead is one of my favorite shows on television. I haven’t read the book, but it despite my love of both Jane Austen and TWD, this looks ridiculous. Release date: Feb 5
The Choice by Nicholas Spark. For the record, I really hate his books and wanted to pass over this one, but lots of people love them. Ugh, I refuse to post the trailer. Google it if you want to watch it. Release date: Feb 5
Allegiant (Divergent Series) by Veronica Roth. This is the third and final book of the Divergent series. I’m embarrassed to admit that I have read the books and I’ve seen the first two movies. I actually liked the movies despite their awful reviews. Like the Hunger Games, it will be divided into two movies: one coming out this year and one in 2017. Release date: March 18
The Jungle Books by Rudyard Kipling. I loved the original movie as a child although when I saw it as an adult, I was shocked by the blatant racism. The movie coming out this year is live action remake of the disney version and it stars Lupita Nyong’o, Bill Murray, and Scarlett Johansson.
Alice Through the Looking-Glass by Lewis Carroll. Another Disney adaptation. This is the sequel to the 2010 Alice in Wonderland movie starring Jonny Depp and Mia Wasikowska. They reprise their roles along with a stellar cast. I’m looking forward to this movie. Release Date: May 27
Me Before You by Jojo Moyes. One of those overhyped books that I didn’t read precisely because of the hype. It’s a romantic novel centered around the relationship between a young woman who needs a job and a depressed wheelchair-bound young man whose family hires her care for him. Release Date June 3
The BFG by Ronald Dahl. Based on Dahl’s classic, Bill Hader will play the giant. I think it looks good and I love Bill Hader. Yet another Disney adaptation coming out in 2016. This one is directed by Steven Spielberg. Release date July 1
The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins. This was perhaps one of the most talked about books last year and was dubbed the “new Gone Girl.” I haven’t read it – another case of a book that I have avoided because of the hype. I also didn’t love Gone Girl. I thought it was okay but I didn’t get the level of amazement the book received. This movie stars Emily Blunt. Release Date: Oct 7
A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness. I quite like Patrick Ness’ YA books. I haven’t read this particular book yet, although it is sitting on my shelf. It has won several awards. The movie comes out Oct 14. Here’s the goodreads summary:
The monster showed up after midnight. As they do. But it isn’t the monster Conor’s been expecting. He’s been expecting the one from his nightmare, the one he’s had nearly every night since his mother started her treatments, the one with the darkness and the wind and the screaming…
This monster is something different, though. Something ancient, something wild. And it wants the most dangerous thing of all from Conor.
Inferno by Dan Brown. I have mixed thoughts about Dan Brown. I think he tells great stories but his writing style is less than stellar. I find myself buying and reading his books, hating the writing but being quite engaged in the storyline. His books read like movie scripts so they usually translate well. Inferno, however, was probably one of my least favorites of all his books. Tom Hanks once again will play the role of Robert Langdon. Release Date Oct 14
Silence by Shusaku Endo. This is a great book and one of the 1001 books to read before you die. We reviewed the book last year and you can read that review here. The movie is directed my Martin Scorsese and is staring Andrew Garfield as Father Rodrigues. As such, this is the one book on this list that I really want to watch. Release date: November 2016.
Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs. A YA novel about a mysterious island near Wales. I thought the book was just okay but it could be a good movie. Release date: Dec 25
I blethered on already about the Hidden Christians on the Read Around the World page, so I’ll just say that I’m looking forward to Silence. I still haven’t read the book. I quite often read books after seeing films. I often find that if I’ve read a book first, the film version disappoints me, but never the other way around.
My mother in law recommended The Girl on the Train to me, so I’m going to give that a go at some point. I hope it isn’t the new Gone Girl, I hope that’s just lazy journalism on the part of reviewers and publicists, because I loathed Gone Girl. I borrowed it from a friend and have never been so glad not to have wasted money on a purchase!
interesting. I will get disappointed when movies aren’t as good as books but I don’t like to see movies first because I want to learn about plot twists from the actual source rather than the hollywood version of events.
About The Girl on the Train, it has made lots of lists comparing the two but from people I know who have read both, they do claim they are different. I didn’t loathe Gone Girl. I have it a 3 star rating. While everyone raved about the twists, I predicted them ahead of time and didn’t think it was anything worth raving about. I actually liked the movie better than the book. I hope you like The Girl on the Train better though.
I think I generally prefer to see a film version first because it rarely has an effect on my later immersion in the book, whereas the world I create when reading the book can be too intense for a director to match. There’s a BBC adaptation of War & Peace on tv here at the moment, and it is suffering!
I can’t describe how much I hated Gone Girl. I hated all of the characters, and like you I found the plot utterly predictable. I didn’t see the film because my sister saw it and told me it was as bad as the book! I trust my MIL’s reading taste, though, so am fairly confident I’ll enjoy The Girl on the Train.
Fantastic Beasts will be worth going to the theater, and Silence should be really good. I read Me Before You right after it came out and thought it was just okay. Jen- you are missing nothing with P&P and Zombies- I read it as a challenge from my kids- yeah. Not impressed with the book.
I am really looking forward to a few of these, most especially Alice Through the Looking Glass, but also Fantastic Beasts and The Jungle Book. The BFG is a childhood favorite, so I may take my kids to see it.
★ Hated it & no redeeming additional qualities noted. Recommend avoiding it.
★★ Disliked it, may have 1 redeeming quality (writing style, novelty, etc).
★★★ Liked it or may have a few interesting qualities.
★★★★ Really liked it & it has at least a couple interesting qualities.
★★★★★ Loved almost everything about it. Only a few, if any, minor limitations noted.
Book Worm’s rating system
★ Bah I really hated this would not even pass this to my worst enemy
★★ I really didn't like this but would consider giving it to my worst enemy for vengeful purposes
★★★ this was an enjoyable way to pass the time not great not horrendous
★★★★ really enjoyed this book there was something about it that made me think
★★★★★ wow I loved this book I am now out recommending it to all my friends, will keep to re read even though I have banned re reads
Book Worm
jenp27
Nicole Del Sesto
The Reader's Room 
I blethered on already about the Hidden Christians on the Read Around the World page, so I’ll just say that I’m looking forward to Silence. I still haven’t read the book. I quite often read books after seeing films. I often find that if I’ve read a book first, the film version disappoints me, but never the other way around.
My mother in law recommended The Girl on the Train to me, so I’m going to give that a go at some point. I hope it isn’t the new Gone Girl, I hope that’s just lazy journalism on the part of reviewers and publicists, because I loathed Gone Girl. I borrowed it from a friend and have never been so glad not to have wasted money on a purchase!
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interesting. I will get disappointed when movies aren’t as good as books but I don’t like to see movies first because I want to learn about plot twists from the actual source rather than the hollywood version of events.
About The Girl on the Train, it has made lots of lists comparing the two but from people I know who have read both, they do claim they are different. I didn’t loathe Gone Girl. I have it a 3 star rating. While everyone raved about the twists, I predicted them ahead of time and didn’t think it was anything worth raving about. I actually liked the movie better than the book. I hope you like The Girl on the Train better though.
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I think I generally prefer to see a film version first because it rarely has an effect on my later immersion in the book, whereas the world I create when reading the book can be too intense for a director to match. There’s a BBC adaptation of War & Peace on tv here at the moment, and it is suffering!
I can’t describe how much I hated Gone Girl. I hated all of the characters, and like you I found the plot utterly predictable. I didn’t see the film because my sister saw it and told me it was as bad as the book! I trust my MIL’s reading taste, though, so am fairly confident I’ll enjoy The Girl on the Train.
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Fantastic Beasts!!! 😱 I haven’t read Girl on the Train before but now that the movie is coming out I am really gonna read it really soon!
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Fantastic Beasts will be worth going to the theater, and Silence should be really good. I read Me Before You right after it came out and thought it was just okay. Jen- you are missing nothing with P&P and Zombies- I read it as a challenge from my kids- yeah. Not impressed with the book.
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I am really looking forward to a few of these, most especially Alice Through the Looking Glass, but also Fantastic Beasts and The Jungle Book. The BFG is a childhood favorite, so I may take my kids to see it.
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