The books to read now before their film adaptations come out in 2026

Last year served up some incredible book-to-film adaptations, including Freida McFadden’s thrilling The Housemaid, starring Sydney Sweeney and Amanda Seyfried, while Renée Zellweger returned in the final instalment of Helen Fielding’s beloved Bridget Jones series: Mad About The Boy. Happily for book and film buffs everywhere, 2026 is set to see a new wave of exciting adaptations hit the big screen, and we can’t wait to see how these stories are brought to life.

It’s a bumper year for classic literature, as Wuthering Heights, Sense And Sensibility and a new Chronicles Of Narnia tale are all getting the cinematic treatment this year. Meanwhile, romcom die-hards will likely already be excited about Emily Henry’s People We Meet On Vacation landing on Netflix this month. And who could have missed the news that the sequel to 2006’s The Devil Wears Prada, based on the books by Lauren Weisberger, is also heading our way this spring?

However, if you’re the sort of person who likes to read the book before watching the film adaptation (and any bibliophile will tell you this is the correct and only way to do it), then you’re going to want to add these books to your TBR pile, stat.

Maggie O’Farrell’s bestselling book tells the untold story of William Shakespeare and Agnes Hathaway’s marriage and the impact the death of their 11-year-old son, Hamnet, had on their relationship, an event that is widely believed to have inspired Shakespeare’s masterpiece Hamlet. The film adaptation (directed by Nomadland’s Chloé Zhao and starring Jessie Buckley and Paul Mescal as Agnes and William) is highly anticipated by fans of the book, so if you’re yet to read it, we suggest starting now.

In cinemas 9 January

Shop Hamnet by Maggie O’Farrell (Tinder Press) at Bookshop, £10.99

For any Emily Henry fans who’ve yet to read her 2021 novel, People We Meet On Vacation (originally called You And Me On Vacation), you’ve got a few days to gobble up the story in book form before the film version drops on Netflix. The bestselling romance novel follows foes-turned-friends Poppy and Alex as they commit to spending one summer holiday together every year, but will their friendship turn into something more as 10 years of holidays tick by? Perfect reading for fans of One Day.

On Netflix 9 January

Shop People We Meet On Vacation by Emily Henry (Penguin Books) at Bookshop, £9.99

Lauded as a masterpiece of memoir and nature writing, Helen Macdonald’s international bestselling tale of love, loss and nature is being turned into a major film, starring Claire Foy as Helen and Brendan Gleeson as Helen’s father, Alisdair. H Is For Hawk tells Helen’s true story of coping with her father’s death by adopting and raising a goshawk named Mabel, through which Helen comes to terms with the pain and beauty of being alive.

In cinemas 23 January

Shop H Is For Hawk by Helen Macdonald (Vintage) at Bookshop, £10.99

Director Emerald Fennell’s much-anticipated take on Emily Brontë’s powerful tale of love, violence and obsession comes to the big screen this February. Margot Robbie and Jacob Elordi take the roles of star-crossed lovers Cathy and Heathcliff, while Charlie xcx has written a companion album of original songs for the film. From the look of the trailer, the film appears to be loosely inspired by its original source material, but we still think it’s worth a dive (or another dive) into Brontë’s 1847 novel ahead of the film’s release, if only to whet your appetite for what promises to be a daring take on the classic.

In cinemas 13 February

Shop Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë (Penguin USA) at Bookshop, £16.99

If you enjoyed The Martian, get ready to love Project Hail Mary. From the same author and destined to become a sci-fi classic, the story follows school teacher and former biologist Ryland Grace (who’ll be played by Ryan Gosling in the upcoming film), who wakes up on board a spacecraft millions of miles away from civilisation. It’s up to him to save humanity and Earth from perishing, except he can’t even remember his own name, let alone what his assignment is. Edge of your seat stuff.

In cinemas 20 March

Shop Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir (Cornerstone) at Bookshop, £9.99

Excitement is nearly palpable for the long-awaited sequel to 2006’s The Devil Wears Prada, but thankfully, it’s nearly time to see Meryl Streep, Anne Hathaway, Emily Blunt and Stanley Tucci all reprise their roles once more. Lauren Weisberger’s sequel novel, Revenge Wears Prada: The Devil Returns, catches up with Andy having recently turned 30, about to get married and now a successful magazine editor in her own right, working with her former Runway colleague Emily before Miranda Priestly re-enters her life. However, it’s been reported that the film, simply called The Devil Wears Prada 2, is only loosely based on Weisberger’s second book and will introduce some new story elements, too. Nevertheless, if it feels as though time is moving at a glacial pace as you await the film’s 1 May release. A read of the book should tide you over for now.

In cinemas 1 May

Shop Revenge Wears Prada: The Devil Returns by Lauren Weisberger (HarperCollins) at Bookshop, £10.99

One of the biggest cinematic releases of the year is going to be Christopher Nolan’s version of The Odyssey. Sure, the ancient Greek epic might not have been on your reading bingo card for 2026, but if there was ever a reason to read the well over 2,000-year-old mythological tome, an upcoming remake starring Zendaya, Anne Hathaway, Lupita Nyong’o, Tom Holland, Matt Damon and Robert Pattinson is the best reason we can think of. However, all you really need to know is that it’s about a man on a long journey home after the Trojan war (you’re welcome).

In cinemas 17 July

Shop The Odyssey by Homer (Union Square & Co.) at Bookshop, £7.99

If you didn’t read it at school, now is the time to dig into Jane Austen’s Regency-era tale of love, social class and the struggle for personal agency, as a new film starring Daisy Edgar-Jones and Fiona Shaw is heading to the big screen. In the 19th century novel, sisters Elinor (Edgar-Jones) and Marianne Dashwood must leave their Sussex estate and move in with a distant relative, while facing romance and money troubles. As with all of Austen’s novels, the story is an acute exploration of women’s societal standing of the time, peppered with her signature wit and irony.

In cinemas 26 September

Shop Sense And Sensibility by Jane Austen (Ashridge Publishing) at Bookshop, £9.99

Colleen Hoover fans will be overjoyed that yet another of the author’s books is being turned into a film this year, with Anne Hathaway and Dakota Johnson starring. Whatever your thoughts on It Ends With Us, put those aside, as this one sounds especially gripping in its own right. Lowen Ashleigh (Johnson) is hired to ghostwrite novels for bestselling author Verity Crawford (Hathaway), who’s unable to finish them after an accident. However, while residing at the Crawfords’ home to work, Lowen begins to uncover disturbing truths.

In cinemas 2 October

Shop Verity by Colleen Hoover (Sphere) at Bookshop, £10.99

Barbie director Greta Gerwig brings her magic to Narnia with the latest instalment in The Chronicles Of Narnia franchise: The Magician’s Nephew. Technically a prequel, it’s the first chronological book in the fantastical series and is set to star Daniel Craig, Carey Mulligan and, excitingly, Emma Mackey as the White Witch. But before all that, dive into the book that tells how and why Aslan the lion originally created the magical world of Narnia, where all things are possible.

In cinemas and on Netflix this autumn

Shop The Chronicles of Narnia: The Magician’s Nephew by CS Lewis (HarperCollins) at Bookshop, £8.99

2026 must be the year of prequels, as another adaption of a beloved series comes to life on the screen by way of Sunrise On The Reaping, part of Suzanne Collins’s Hunger Games series. Set 24 years before Katniss Everdeen and the events of the first novel, it’s the 50th annual Hunger Games, and to celebrate the milestone, four tributes are being called from each district to compete. When Haymitch Abernathy of District 12 is called up to take part, he soon understands he’s been set up to fail – but will he fight anyway?

In cinemas 20 November

Shop Sunrise On The Reaping by Suzanne Collins (Scholastic) at Bookshop, £19.99

Images: courtesy of publishers