Coming Soon: Favorite Books on the Big Screen

(This article is reprinted from my monthly book column in Vital! magazine)

Hollywood’s trend of making movies from books shows no sign of slowing down. In fact, there will be over 40 movies released in 2015 adapted from books! From classics to recent hits, novels to nonfiction, the movie theaters will be filled with bookish films all year. A few have already been released, like American Sniper and Still Alice, but there are plenty more to come – and you still have time to read the books before the movies come out!  Here are some of the highlights, listed by release date:

The Longest Ride by Nicholas Sparks – Sparks fans will be excited to see this novel about two intertwined love stories set in North Carolina – April 10

Child 44 by Tom Rob Smith – This 2008 thriller about children being murdered in the Soviet Union is the first book in a trilogy – April 17

Far From the Madding Crowd by Thomas Hardy – The classic tale of a woman juggling three suitors – May 1

Me Before You by Jojo Moyes – A heart-breaking love story from the very popular 2012 novel about a young woman and the paralyzed man she cares for – August 21

Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert – Popular classic novel about a farm girl intent on escaping to a life in high society – TBA but aiming for summer

Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer (movie will be titled Everest)– Uber-popular 90’s nonfiction book about a harrowing Everest climb, with an all-star cast including Jake Gyllenhaal, Keira Knightley, and Josh Brolin – September 18

The Martian by Andy Weir – Last year’s Gravity meets McGyver sci fi hit about an astronaut left alone on Mars hits the big screen with Matt Damon in the lead role – November 25

In the Heart of the Sea by Nathanial Philbrick – Sure to be a hit with Ron Howard at the helm of this adaptation of the nonfiction book about the Essex whaleship – December 11

Dark Places by Gillian Flynn – Fans of the novel and movie Gone Girl will be excited to see another Flynn novel in the theaters, starring Charlize Theron – TBA

The Light BetweenOceans by M.L. Stedman – Popular 2012 novel about a childless couple living in a lighthouse and the baby they find – TBA

Room by Emma Donahue – Stunning 2010 novel about a mother and son being held captive in a small room – TBA

See you in the theaters!

(This article is reprinted from my monthly book column in Vital!, The magazine for Active Older Adults, available free in public places like libraries and drugstores in Delaware, North Carolina, and South Carolina.)

The last two are the movies I most want to see - and the only books on this list I've already read, though I do have The Martian, Dark Places, and In the Heart of the Sea waiting on my shelf. Which move adaptations are you excited to see this year?