5 books you need to read before their screen adaptions are released this year.

Consider your summer reading list sorted.

Book-to-screen adaptions have given us some of the best big-screen, little-screen masterpieces of the last few years – think Big Little Lies, Crazy Rich Asians and To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before. 

And it seems 2020 is set to be just as wonderful for the world of screen adaptions with some best-sellers and an Aussie classic being made into films.

Here are five books you need to read before their screen adaptions are released later this year.

1. The Dry

Jane Harper's debut novel The Dry, released in 2015 with over a million copies sold worldwide, focuses on a murder-investigation in rural Australia.

The screen adaption by Made Up Stories was filmed in Victoria earlier last year, and is set to be released in early 2020. Eric Bana, who played John in Netflix's Dirty John, plays the lead role of Aaron Falk. It will be directed by award-winning filmmaker Robert Connolly.

2. Normal People

Released in 2018 by Sally Rooney, this Bildungsroman novel has become one of those books that everyone recommends after reading. It follows the love story of on-again-off-again couple Marianne and Connell over a five year period. The brilliance of the book comes from its simplicity.

In 2020, it will be released as a 12-episode adaption by Element Pictures and BBC Three, and made available on streaming service Hulu, starring Daisy Edgar-Jones and Paul Mescal.

3. You Should Have Known

Jean Hanff Korelitz's 2014 novel You Should Have Known is being adapted into a miniseries by HBO, the same streaming service responsible for Chernobyl and Game of Thrones. The series will also see Nicole Kidman be reunited with Big Little Lies creator David E. Kelley.

The story follows the successful relationship therapist Grace Sachs who is about to release a book called 'You Should Have Known' - which argues that women should follow their gut-instincts when red flags arise in their partners. However just as her self-help book is about to be released, her own marriage begins to unravel.

The series adaption, which will be titled The Undoing, is set to have a star-studded cast with acclaimed Australian actress Nicole Kidman as Grace Sachs, and Hollywood favourite Hugh Grant playing Grace's husband Jonathan Sachs.

4. Little Fires Everywhere

Critically-acclaimed book Little Fires Everywhere, published in 2017 and written by Celeste Ng, is being turned into a miniseries, spearheaded by actress and producer Reese Witherspoon, who owns production company Hello Sunshine.

The novel focuses on a suburban neighbourhood filled with secrets, with the novel's central themes being motherhood and mystery. When released, it was an instant New York Times bestseller.

The miniseries is set to be streamed on Hulu this year and will star Reese Witherspoon, Kerry Washington and Joshua Jackson.

5. Chaos Walking

Chaos Walking is an upcoming film adapted from Patrick Ness' 2009 The Knife of Never Letting Go, the first novel in his Chaos Walking trilogy.  

The film will star Daisy Ridley and Tom Holland, as well as singer Nick Jonas. The book is sci-fi, and sees a boy grow up in a town where there is no women, only men, and humans can hear everyone else's thoughts.

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Do you have any great books to add to this list? Let us know in the comments section below!