There is a specific pleasure in watching an adaptation when you've read the book: you catch every casting choice, notice what they kept and what they changed, and feel the private satisfaction of knowing the story's depths the screen version can only gesture at. And there's a specific frustration in watching an adaptation when you haven't — the nagging sense that everyone else is getting more out of this than you are.
The window between a book's announcement as an adaptation and its actual release is often surprisingly long. Some of the TV series below have been in development for years. That means you have time — often plenty of it — to read the source material before you watch. Use it.
Below is our complete list of notable books being adapted for film and television in 2025 and 2026. We've included status notes where we have them and affiliate links to the books so you can pick up a copy right now.
Movies: Books Coming to the Big Screen
The Nightingale — Kristin Hannah
The long-awaited film adaptation of Hannah's WW2 epic has had a complicated journey — originally announced with Elle Fanning and Dakota Fanning attached, the project has spent years navigating industry disruptions. The sisters-in-occupied-France story remains one of the most beloved novels of the past decade, and the adaptation when it arrives will likely be one of the most-anticipated literary films in years. Now is the ideal time to (re)read it.
Intermezzo — Sally Rooney
Rooney's 2024 novel — about two brothers grieving their father and the complicated women in their lives — was one of the most-discussed literary novels of the year. Film rights have been acquired, continuing the Sally Rooney adaptation pipeline that produced the acclaimed Hulu/BBC series for Normal People and Conversations with Friends. Rooney's prose is interior and dense, which means the adaptation will be a significant creative translation — read the novel first to fully appreciate what they're working with.
Fourth Wing — Rebecca Yarros
The dragon-rider fantasy that dominated bestseller lists in 2023-2024 has film rights in development. The five-book Empyrean series is still in progress, with Yarros publishing new installments — which means an adaptation would be riding a still-growing wave. The combination of military academy setting, enemies-to-lovers romance, and elaborate dragon-bonding magic makes this a strong visual candidate. Start with Fourth Wing and continue to Iron Flame while the production develops.
The Covenant of Water — Abraham Verghese
Verghese's sweeping multigenerational novel set in South India across three generations of a family connected by water — and by a mysterious inherited condition — is being produced by Steven Spielberg's Amblin Entertainment. That level of production interest signals a significant adaptation. The novel is long (736 pages), richly detailed, and covers over 70 years of Indian history alongside intimate family drama. It won the Dayton Literary Peace Prize and was a New York Times notable book. Read it before Spielberg's version shapes your image of it.
Orbital — Samantha Harvey
Harvey's Booker Prize-winning novel follows six astronauts aboard a space station through a single day — sixteen orbits of the Earth — observing the planet below while their inner lives surface. The novel is quiet, lyrical, and meditative in ways that adapt poorly to screen, which makes any adaptation a fascinating challenge. Interest in the project has grown significantly since the Booker win. At 136 pages, this is the shortest book on this list — you can read it in an afternoon and have plenty of time to decide how you'd adapt it yourself.
James — Percival Everett
Percival Everett's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel retells Adventures of Huckleberry Finn from the perspective of Jim — here named James — the enslaved man Huck accompanies down the Mississippi. Everett's version is sardonic, furious, and often very funny, revealing dimensions of the original story that Twain could not or would not tell. Film adaptation is in development following the Pulitzer win. If you haven't read it, do so immediately — it's one of the most important American novels in years and also genuinely enjoyable to read.
TV & Streaming: Books Coming to the Small Screen
The Stormlight Archive — Brandon Sanderson
Sanderson's magnum opus — ten planned volumes set in the world of Roshar, with two massive books already among the bestselling fantasy novels of the 21st century — has a TV adaptation in development. The scale of the undertaking is enormous: The Way of Kings alone runs over 1,000 pages. The right approach would be a prestige drama with a long run, and that's reportedly the direction. Sanderson has spoken positively about the development. With the first two books published and more in progress, you have plenty to read while the production develops.
The Wheel of Time Season 3 — Robert Jordan
Amazon Prime Video's adaptation of Robert Jordan's epic fantasy series returns for Season 3, drawing from The Shadow Rising. The series has been Amazon's flagship fantasy offering since The Rings of Power, and Season 3 is expected to expand the world significantly — including the Aiel Waste storyline that book fans consider some of the best material in the series. If you've watched seasons 1-2 but haven't read the books, now is the perfect time to catch up with the source material before the next season drops.
A Court of Thorns and Roses — Sarah J. Maas
Hulu's adaptation of Maas's beloved fae fantasy series has been one of the most anticipated announcements in genre TV. The five-book series has a massive and passionate fanbase that will bring enormous viewership — and enormous scrutiny — to any adaptation. The casting decisions in particular are expected to generate significant conversation. The good news: with five books in the main series plus novellas and spin-offs, there's plenty of material to read before the first episode drops. Start from the beginning; the payoff in book 2 is worth the setup.
Outlander: Blood of My Blood — Diana Gabaldon / Starz
Starz's prequel series to the hit Outlander drama follows the parents of Jamie Fraser and Claire Randall before the events of the main series. The original Outlander ran for seven seasons and earned a devoted following for its combination of time travel, romance, and Scottish history. The prequel is expected to appeal both to existing fans of the show and to new viewers — and Gabaldon's nine-book original series remains excellent preparation. If you've never read Outlander, start now; it's one of the most addictive series in the romance-adjacent historical fiction genre.
The Tattooist of Auschwitz — Heather Morris
The Peacock and Sky Atlantic miniseries adapted Heather Morris's based-on-a-true-story novel about Lale Sokolov, a Slovakian Jew who was forced to tattoo identification numbers on fellow prisoners at Auschwitz — and who fell in love with one of them. Harvey Keitel stars as the older Lale. The series received mixed reviews but significant viewership; the novel it's based on was a global bestseller. For readers who want to understand what the show takes from the source and what it changes, reading the book first is the way to go.
Conversations with Friends & the Sally Rooney Universe
Following the critical success of Normal People (Hulu/BBC, 2020) and Conversations with Friends (Hulu/BBC, 2022), Element Pictures continues to develop Sally Rooney's work for screen. Intermezzo rights have been acquired and a film or limited series is in development. Rooney's work translates unusually well to the screen — her novels are character-driven and dialogue-heavy in ways that reward adaptation. Conversations with Friends is the least-read of her novels and is quietly excellent; now is a good time to catch up before more Rooney content arrives.
The Thursday Murder Club — Richard Osman (Netflix)
Netflix's film adaptation of Richard Osman's beloved cozy mystery stars Helen Mirren, Ben Kingsley, Celia Imrie, and Pierce Brosnan as the four elderly amateur sleuths — arguably the best possible cast for this story. The film arrived in 2025 to strong viewer numbers. If you haven't read the book, it's funnier, warmer, and more emotionally satisfying than the film can fully convey in two hours; the four-book series gives you much more time with these characters. Start with The Thursday Murder Club and work through the series.
Pachinko — Min Jin Lee (Apple TV+ Season 2)
Apple TV+'s acclaimed adaptation of Min Jin Lee's multigenerational Korean-Japanese saga returns for its second season, continuing to track the Baek family across generations and decades. Season 1 was one of the most visually and emotionally ambitious dramas on any streaming platform, weaving between time periods with a distinct visual language for each era. If you watched Season 1 without reading the novel, Season 2's arrival is the perfect motivation to finally pick up one of the most important novels of the past decade. The book covers more ground than the show can.
Should You Always Read the Book First?
The honest answer: it depends on the book, the adaptation, and what you want from each.
Read the book first when:
- The book is the kind of interior, meditative experience that no screen adaptation can fully capture. (Orbital, Normal People, The Nightingale.)
- The book has details, subplots, and character depth that the adaptation will necessarily condense. (Almost every fantasy adaptation — Stormlight, ACOTAR, Wheel of Time.)
- You want the book to be a fresh experience on its own terms rather than a fact-check of the adaptation.
Watch first (or watch only) when:
- The adaptation is widely considered equal to or better than the source. (Rare, but it happens.)
- You've already found you don't like the author's prose style and the adaptation is your preferred format.
- The book is very long and dense and you want to know if the story is for you before committing.
In general: if you're on the fence, read the book. You almost never regret it.
Frequently Asked Questions
What books are being made into movies in 2025?
Key 2025 adaptations include The Thursday Murder Club (Netflix, now streaming), with The Nightingale, Fourth Wing, James by Percival Everett, and The Covenant of Water in various stages of development and production. Release dates shift frequently; the list above reflects the most current information available as of May 2025.
Is A Court of Thorns and Roses being made into a TV show?
Yes. Hulu has the series in development. As of 2025, the project is progressing but no premiere date has been confirmed and casting has not been officially announced. Sarah J. Maas's involvement has been confirmed in various interviews. Given the scale of the source material and the size of the fanbase, expect the announcement to be a major entertainment news event.
Where can I keep track of upcoming book-to-screen adaptations?
The best resources are SpinToRead's own Book to Screen page, which we update regularly. For broader coverage, Deadline and Variety track film rights acquisitions in real time, and r/books on Reddit maintains community threads on major adaptations. For any specific book you love, searching "[book title] adaptation" on Goodreads will surface fan discussions of the latest news.
More reading: Book to Screen Hub • Books That Are Better Than the Movie • Full Book Recommendations
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