This past year, my excitement for reading, alongside many others, has grown exponentially. I find myself always adding books to my “to be read” (TBR) list, or taking the longer route at Target so I can see what books they have in stock. For me, reading allows me to escape into a new world with new characters and as I read, I picture it all going down much like how one watches a movie. I get extremely excited when I find out a book I read is getting a TV/movie adaptation—especially when they get the cast just right. That being said, I have compiled a list of books I have read that have adaptations coming out in 2022 that I think are definite must-reads.
Conversations with Friends by Sally Rooney
After the success of the adaptation from Rooney’s most popular book, Normal People, when it was turned into a Hulu miniseries, another one of her books (that was released just a year before the infamous Normal People) is getting an adaptation. Starring Joe Alwyn, Jemima Kirke, Alison Oliver, and Sasha Lane, the story follows two best friends and ex-girlfriends, Frances (played by Oliver) and Bobbi (played by Lane) as they navigate adulthood together through Frances’ love for writing and Bobbi’s strong political opinions. Together, they meet Melissa (Kirke) and her husband, Nick (Alwyn), which leads to complications in the romantic, platonic, and familial relationships surrounding them.
The show is set to release on Hulu in early-to-mid 2022.
My Policeman by Bethan Roberts
Set in 1950s Brighton, England, My Policeman is set around three individuals and their intertwining lives. The movie adaptation starring Harry Styles as Tom Burgess, Emma Corrin as Marion Taylor, and David Dawson as Patrick Hazlewood, explores the themes of love, loyalty, and passion. Marion is friends with Tom’s sister and has always found herself swooning over him. Once Tom chooses his career as a policeman, he meets Patrick on duty. The book explores the relationships between Marion and Tom, Tom and Patrick, and everything that ties the three together.
The movie is set to release on Amazon prime sometime this year.
Daisy Jones and the Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid
Author of the very popular, The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, Reid has a few more tricks up her sleeve. With rumors of an adaptation for Seven Husbands in the future, Reid is preparing for the release of a miniseries for another one of her popular books, Daisy Jones and the Six. Starring frontrunners Riley Keough and Sam Claflin, among others, this book explores the dramatic rise and fall of a legendary rock band in Los Angeles in the 1970s. What readers love about this book, and hope gets portrayed well in the adaptation, is the way the book is written as if it were a transcript of a documentary. With quotes and interviews from all the band members as well as their friends, families, and coworkers, you get everyone’s point of view, as well as twists and turns along the way.
The TV show is set to release on Amazon prime in late 2022.
While there are no exact release dates for any of these, they have all finished filming and are said to be coming out this year. With adaptations for other books I have read being rumored to come out in the following years, I am anxiously awaiting the release of these transformations as the books they are based on helped to define my reading habits of 2021. Whether or not you plan on watching these shows, I definitely recommend picking up at least one of these books and giving it a try. While you do that, I will sit here and count down the days until my favorite books come to life.