Read the books that have inspired a number of new movies and TV shows coming in the next few months of 2019.
Donnybrook
Frank Bill
FICTION Bill Frank
Fiction
A film adaptation of this dark novel about an underground, no-holds-barred fighting tournament in southern Indiana will be distributed by IFC this year.
- Jason
The Umbrella Academy
Gerard Way
COMIC Umbrella
Graphic Novels
"In an inexplicable worldwide event, forty-seven extraordinary children were spontaneously born by women who'd previously shown no signs of pregnancy. Millionaire inventor Reginald Hargreeves adopted seven of the children; when asked why, his only explanation was, 'To save the world.' These seven children form The Umbrella Academy, a dysfunctional family of superheroes with bizarre powers. Their first adventure at the age of ten pits them against an erratic and deadly Eiffel Tower, piloted by the fearsome zombie-robot Gustave Eiffel. Nearly a decade later, the team disbands, but when Hargreeves unexpectedly dies, these disgruntled siblings reunite just in time to save the world once again" -- from publisher's web site.
Netflix will release a series based on this comic featuring a dysfunctional family of superheroes, originally created and written by Gerard Way and illustrated by Gabriel Bá.
- Jason
The boy who harnessed the wind : creating currents of electricity and hope
William Kamkwamba
BIOGRAPHY Kamkwamba, William
Nonfiction
An enterprising teenager in Malawi builds a windmill from scraps he finds around his village and brings electricity, and a future, to his family.
A new Netflix movie directed, adapted by, and starring Chiwetel Ejiofor (12 Years a Slave) based on the true story and book by William Kamkwamba. The story of a boy in Malawi helping his village by building a wind turbine after reading about them in a library book.
- Jason
Transit
Anna Seghers
FICTION Seghers Anna
Fiction
A new film adaptation by German filmmaker Christian Petzold (included in the Criterion Collection for "Phoenix") of Anna Seghers’s novel. NYRB Classics calls her book "an existential, political, literary thriller that explores the agonies of boredom, the vitality of storytelling, and the plight of the exile with extraordinary compassion and insight."
- Jason
Shrill : notes from a loud woman
Lindy West
BIOGRAPHY West, Lindy
Nonfiction, Memoir
"Presents a series of essays by the American writer and comedian, dealing with issues of body image, popular culture, feminism, and social justice,"--NoveList.
A six-episode series is coming to Hulu based on Lindy West's feminist memoir of the same name.
- Jason
A discovery of witches
Deborah E. Harkness
SCIENCE FICTION Harkness, Deborah E.
Fiction, Fantasy
Witch and Yale historian Diana Bishop discovers an enchanted manuscript, attracting the attention of 1,500-year-old vampire Matthew Clairmont. The orphaned daughter of two powerful witches, Bishop prefers intellect, but relies on magic when her discovery of a palimpsest documenting the origin of supernatural species releases an assortment of undead who threaten, stalk, and harass her.
AMC will run season 1 of this adaptation of Deborah Harkness’s bestselling fantasy book series in April.
- Jason
Pet sematary
Stephen King
FICTION King, Stephen
Fiction, Horror
A new adaptation of Stephen King's horror novel about a pet cemetery that reanimates the dead comes to theaters in April. My coworkers were scared just watching the trailer.
- Jason
Codename Villanelle
Luke Jennings
FICTION Jennings Luke
Fiction, Suspense
Villanelle (a codename, of course) is one of the world's most skilled assassins. A catlike psychopath whose love for the creature comforts of her luxurious lifestyle is second only to her love of the game, she specializes in murdering the world's richest and most powerful. But when she murders an influential Russian politician, she draws a relentless foe to her tail.
Season 2 of Killing Eve returns this April to BBC America, based on Luke Jennings' "Codename Villanelle" novel about the complex cat-and-mouse relationship between assassin Oxana Vorontsova and former British MI5 agent Eve Polastri.
- Jason
The new TBS series "Miracle Workers" starring Daniel Radcliffe and Steve Buscemi was created by Simon Rich and based on his novel "What in God's Name".
- Jason