BookLovers: Now streaming: read the books now playing on a TV near you
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It’s hot as Hades here in SouthCoast, and if you’re headed to the beach or pool, you’ll want a big juicy stack of books.
This week, I have 5 recommendations that are currently on a screen near you. Read with popcorn. (Just watch out for seagulls.)
1. I’m currently rereading Jane Austen’s “Persuasion” because A, I just love being transported to that time period, and B, the latest adaptation starring Dakota Johnson just hit Netflix this week, and it rekindled my interest.
I could reread any of Austen’s books any time. I love her humor, her storytelling — and most of all, the pure escape of living in early 1800s England for a while. If you’re a fan of “Downton Abbey” and period dramas but haven’t read Austen since high school, it’s time to reread the tale of Anne Elliot and Captain Wentworth.
2. #ICYMI: J.R. Moehringer’s 2006 bestselling memoir, “The Tender Bar,” is now an Amazon film directed by George Clooney and starring Ben Affleck, Tye Sheridan, Lily Rabe, and Christopher Lloyd. The book is outstanding and so ripe for adaptation you could watch it in your head.
As Moehringer writes in the prologue, “As an only child, abandoned by my father, I needed a family, a home, and men… I needed mentors, heroes, role models… The bar provided me with all the men I needed and one or two men who were the last thing I needed. Long before it legally served me, the bar saved me.” A beautiful coming-of-age memoir.
3. Jon Krakauer’s 2003 bestseller, “Under the Banner of Heaven,” is now an FX limited series. Krakaeur is an outstanding journalist, whose eye for details and storytelling is tremendous. His article-turned-bestseller “Into the Wild” was also adapted into a hit movie, directed by Sean Penn. This true crime story now stars Andrew Garfield. Honestly, anything Krakauer writes, I’ll read.
4. Agatha Christie adaptations are all the rage right now. Kenneth Branagh directed and starred as Hercule Poirot in Christie’s classic “Murder on the Orient Express” in a 2017 adaptation, and now has another Poirot classic, “Death on the Nile,” out now with Gal Gadot, Russell Brand, Sophie Okonedo, Dawn French, and Jennifer Saunders. Meanwhile, the Hugh Laurie-directed “Why Didn’t They Ask Evans?” streams on BritBox via Amazon. Of these, “Orient Express” is by far the best read. For my money, the three best Christie books: “The Death of Roger Ackroyd,” “The ABC Murders,” “And Then There Were None.”
5. Sally Rooney’s “Conversations with Friends,” is now a series on Hulu. The book was outstanding. You might remember I named Rooney’s “Normal People” as one of the best books of 2019. That bestseller also became a hit Hulu series. Hulu has now adapted the Irish writer’s first novel.
It’s a cliche line, but Rooney, now 31, does feel like the voice of a generation. Named a 2022 TIME 100 most influential person, the Irish writer nails growing up in the 2000s. “Conversations” is the story of Frances, pursuing a career in publishing, and her best friend Bobbi as they’re drawn into the world of a slightly older married couple. Signature Rooney, it explores philosophy, female relationships, romance, and social behavior.
I’m almost out of room, but a few more:
6. Min Jin Lee’s National Book Award finalist and New York Times bestseller “Pachinko” is now streaming on Apple TV+ — but the book is far better. Masterpiece.
7. Karin Slaughter’s “Pieces of Her” is now a series on Netflix
8. Taylor Adams’s 2017 novel, “No Exit,” is a movie on Hulu
9. “Deep Water" by Patricia Highsmith, starring Ben Affleck (he’s a busy reader, apparently) is a movie on Hulu.
Now that’s a page-turning summer reading list, BookLovers — just add Milk Duds.
Lauren Daley is a freelance writer. She tweets @laurendaley1. Read more at https://www.facebook.com/daley.writer.
This article originally appeared on Standard-Times: BookLovers: Now streaming: read the books now playing on a TV near you
