5 books I’m re-reading before their screen adaptations drop in 2026

Reading ahead of the adaptation cycle has long been my way of understanding a story. These five books are on my list before 2026 arrives.

The year 2026 is crowded with adaptations drawn from contemporary publishing and literary history. (Source: Shutterstock)

I have always preferred to encounter stories first as books rather than as film or television adaptations filtered through a director’s vision, a screenwriter’s interpretation, and actors’ performances. This preference likely stems from the fact that, growing up, reading was my primary source of engagement and entertainment.

Film and television adaptations typically come later for me, and Harry Potter was the first major film adaptation I saw after reading the novels. While its special effects were impressive, certain aspects of such an immersive literary world were inevitably ignored, flattened, or failed to translate with the same depth. This is not an indictment of the films, only an acknowledgment of how difficult it is to compress a novel in another medium, whether film or OTT series.

As a result, I make it a point to read a work before interpretation, condensation, and amplification reshape it for a wider audience. Reading allows the story to form privately, in imagination, rather than arriving already mediated by someone else’s creative choices.

With 2026 already crowded with adaptations drawn from contemporary publishing and literary history, I have been revisiting some of the books releasing as film or TV series this year. Returning to these titles now feels like a way of restoring focus to the text itself. Reading ahead of an adaptation creates space to consider structure, tone, and intention, without the pressure of comparison.

People We Meet on Vacation by Emily Henry

An adaptation of People We Meet on Vacation by Emily Henry will release this January.

First published in 2021, Emily Henry’s novel (Berkley Books), published as You and Me on Vacation in the UK and Australia, has been enjoyed by legion readers. Critics have praised it for its emotional acuity and its treatment of adult relationships. Despite its visibility, it has been on my TBR List (to-be-read list) so far. It will premiere on Netflix on January 9, 2026, so it will be one of my first reads of the new year. It will be interesting to see how Henry’s book translate on the screen.

Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë

The new film adaptation of Wuthering Heights stars Margot Robbie and Jacob Elordi. A screengrab of the poster.

One has to be living under the rock to have missed the trailer for the new film adaptation of Wuthering Heights, directed by Emerald Fennell and starring Margot Robbie and Jacob Elordi was released earlier this year. Its steamy trailer caused quite the controversy with litterateurs criticising Elordi’s casting as Heathcliff, who has been described as a “dark-skinned gypsy” in the novels. The actors are significantly older than the characters, and the trailer romanticises the story through erotic imagery. The film, slated to be released across theatres on February 13, right in time for Valentine’s Day is one of the most anticipated films of the year. I have already re-read the novel, and look forward to see Robbie’s version of this classic come to life on screen.

Also Read | Why Wuthering Heights is not a romance. The misreading of Emily Brontë’s classic

Sense & Sensibility by Jane Austen

The cover of three Jane Austen's books, including Sense and Sensibility

Sense and Sensibility was Jane Austen’s first book. (Source: Unsplash)

Almost a decade has passed since I read Jane Austen’s Sense and Sensibility. Janeites across the world celebrated the author, who would have turned 250 this December, throughout the year, but predictably the focus remained on her most popular novel Pride and Prejudice. Sense and Sensibility was her very first novel, and was first published anonymously, simply saying ‘By A Lady’ where the author’s name should have been. Now, a new big-screen adaptation directed by Georgia Oakley and starring Daisy Edgar-Jones as Elinor Dashwood, is set for release in September 2026. This version, with a script by Diana Reid , follows the Dashwood sisters’ journey through love and financial hardship in Georgian England, featuring Esmé Creed-Miles as Marianne and actors such as Caitríona Balfe and George MacKay.

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Verity by Colleen Hoover

Verity by Colleen Hoover will keep you guessing till the end. (Source: amazon)

Verity is the book I delayed reading the longest, although most of my friends have read it. Released in 2018, it isa psychological romantic thriller by American author Colleen Hoover that marks a notable departure from her earlier contemporary romance novels. The story follows struggling writer Lowen Ashleigh, who is hired to complete a bestselling series after its author, the eponymous Verity Crawford, is left incapacitated by a car accident. While staying at the Crawford family home, Lowen discovers an unpublished manuscript that exposes disturbing confessions about Verity’s obsession with her husband and the deaths of their twin daughters. As Lowen grows romantically involved with Jeremy, the boundaries between truth, manipulation, and fiction become increasingly unstable. It is one adaptation I am most keen to watch.

Sunrise on the Reaping by Suzanne Collins

A still from the teaser of The Hunger Games Sunrise on the Reaping.

Hunger Games fans are eagerly awaiting this adaptation. Sunrise on the Reaping (2025) is a dystopian novel by Suzanne Collins and the second prequel to The Hunger Games trilogy, set 24 years before Katniss Everdeen’s story. The novel centers on the 50th Hunger Games, the Second Quarter Quell, and follows 16-year-old Haymitch Abernathy. Forced into an arena designed to humiliate and control, Haymitch confronts not only brutal physical dangers but the Capitol’s manipulation of truth through propaganda and spectacle. As he resists the Games’ narrative expectations, his defiance exposes the fragile mechanisms of authoritarian power. This prequel to The Hunger Games revisits a fictional world that has had lasting cultural influence. Reading it ahead of its screen adaptation offers an opportunity to focus on Suzanne Collins’s political concerns and narrative construction, elements that have always been central to her work and its impact.

Aishwarya Khosla

Aishwarya Khosla is a key editorial figure at The Indian Express, where she spearheads and manages the Books & Literature and Puzzles & Games sections, driving content strategy and execution. Her extensive background across eight years also includes previous roles at Hindustan Times, where she provided dedicated coverage of politics, books, theatre, broader culture, and the Punjabi diaspora. Aishwarya's specialty lies in book reviews and literary criticism apart from deep cultural commentary where she focuses on the complex interplay of culture, identity, and politics. Her intellectual rigor and authority in socio-political topics are underscored by a significant academic achievement: she is a proud recipient of The Nehru Fellowship in Politics and Elections. This fellowship required intensive study and research into political campaigns, policy analysis, political strategy, and communications, directly informing the analytical depth of her cultural commentary. As the dedicated author of The Indian Express newsletters, Meanwhile, Back Home and Books 'n' Bits, Aishwarya provides consistent, curated, and trusted insights directly to the readership. She also hosts the podcast series Casually Obsessed. Her established role and her commitment to examining complex societal themes through a nuanced lens ensure her content is a reliable source of high-quality literary and cultural journalism. Write to her at aishwaryakhosla.ak@gmail.com or aishwarya.khosla@indianexpress.com. You can follow her on Instagram: @aishwarya.khosla, and X: @KhoslaAishwarya. ... Read More