Here are four books you’ll want to pick up before their movie adaptations hit the screen!

Frankenstein by Mary Shelley

Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley was merely 18 years old when she wrote Frankenstein, the gothic novel first published in 1818. However, the edition most widely read today is the 1832 version, which she revised in her 30s, much later in life. Her novel, a cornerstone of science fiction, follows Victor Frankenstein, a young scientist whose attempt to create life sets off tragic consequences that endanger everything he holds dear. A profound philosophical tale that explores ambition, isolation, and a deep and relatable yearning for belonging. Arguably one of the English Romanticism’s greatest works of prose fiction, inspiring numerous movie adaptations, the latest released in theatres on October 30th this year.

If any director was going to take on this project, Mexican filmmaker and author Guillermo del Toro is the right man for the job. He is well known for his works in horror and fiction. Some of his notable displays of creativity include “The Shape of Water”, “Pan’s Labyrinth”, and “Crimson Peak”, to name a few. The casting of this movie has the pop-culture world in an excited frenzy due to the talented actors and actresses who will bring life to our Netflix screens with this upcoming release. Jacob Elordi, a rising actor in the industry, best known for his intense portrayals of morally complex characters such as Nate Jacobs in Euphoria and Elvis Presley in Priscilla. Mia Goth notably known for her roles as Maxine Minx and Pearl, and Oscar Issac, playing Victor Frankenstein, coming off the Dune Series, are all starring in this movie, and the range of raw talent and skill of this cast should be enough to move this book up on anyone’s TBR (to be read) list.

Hamnet by Maggie O’Farrell

Maggie O’Farrell’s award-winning novel Hamnet reimagines the life of William Shakespeare’s family in 16th-century Stratford, as they grapple with the loss of their son, brother, and friend. Shifting perspectives reveal how grief, identity, and mourning shape each family member in profoundly different ways, creating a layered portrait of loss. O’Farrell’s lyrical prose and purposeful use of repetition suspend time for the reader, making the story feel both intimate and timeless—a quality that makes it an ideal candidate for the big screen.

The historical drama adaptation is directed by Chloé Zhao, the Chinese filmmaker, screenwriter, and producer best known for Nomadland. That film, which follows Fern (Frances McDormand) as she embarks on a road-bound life after an economic collapse in rural Nevada, earned Zhao critical acclaim and made her one of only three women ever to win Best Director at the Golden Globes. For this project, Zhao is joined by author Maggie O’Farrell, who co-wrote the screenplay, blending her lyrical storytelling with Zhao’s cinematic vision. The film stars Paul Mescal as William Shakespeare and Jessie Buckley as his wife, Agnes—two talents well-suited to carry the emotional weight of this intimate story. Inspired by the real-life death of Shakespeare’s young son, Hamnet is set to release on November 27, with a runtime of 2 hours and 5 minutes.

The Odyssey by Homer

The Odyssey is one of the oldest surviving works of Western literature and remains a cornerstone of higher education curricula. The epic follows Odysseus on his 10-year journey home after the Trojan War, while also weaving in the struggles of his son, Telemachus, and his wife, Penelope. Penelope, a grieving wife, faces relentless pressure from suitors to remarry and accept that her husband is gone. Meanwhile, Telemachus is forced to step into his father’s role too soon, confronting both literal and metaphorical monsters in his quest to protect his mother and search for Odysseus. At its heart, the story is about grief: Odysseus loses his men, Penelope loses her husband, and Telemachus loses his father. With such an ancient text, much of today’s discourse centers on which translation best captures its essence, with a few modern contenders leading the debate: Robert Fitzgerald, Robert Fagles, Simon Armitage, and the first female translator of the Greek works, Emily Wilson.

British filmmaker Christopher Nolan seems to be the only director that avid movie-watchers trust with this massive project. A story this old and beloved by the masses needs precision, and a cinematic effect that takes its sweet time with this classic and perfects each character. Nolan is known for performing well with massive films like Interstellar, Oppenheimer, Insomnia, and Tenet. The movie adaptation‘s stacked cast is full of fan favourites like Tom Holland, Matt Damon, Zendaya, and Robert Pattinson, to name a few. It is not crazy to believe this move might break the movie theatres, but hopefully, readers are breaking the spine of their copy of Homer’s epic before the July 17th, 2026, release date. 

Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë

Wuthering Heights is a famous twisted revenge tale written by English author Emily Brontë in 1847 under the pen name “Ellis Bell”. Brontë is argued to be the strongest writer out of her two similarly well-regarded sisters, Charlotte and Anne, and Wuthering Heights is her best work. The story follows Catherine and Heathcliffe, who examine a toxic, destructive kind of love between these two characters from different social classes, through the perspective of a housemaid, Nelly Dean.

Set against the cold, desolate backdrop of northern England, the novel unfolds with a stark portrayal of human nature, its haunting prose steeped in dark desires and tortured emotions. The characters’ unlikability, coupled with the gothic melancholy that permeates every page, has cemented the book as a favourite winter read for many. Long debated as either a romance or a tragedy, this latest film adaptation—directed by Emerald Fennell—chooses its stance on the question by premiering on Valentine’s Day.   

The film adaptation of Wuthering Heights has yet to have a true-text movie adaptation. Emerald Fenell is a writer, director, and producer who has worked on period dramas: Anna Karenina (2012), The Danish Girl (2015), and Vita and Virginia (2018). So, taking on the dull colours of Yorkshire Moor and the antiquated language of the 1800’s won’t be out of the ordinary for this established director.

The casting choice of this film sparked online discourse given that Heathcliff (Jacob Elordi) is canonically described as a person of colour, a detail that deeply shapes his perspective and social position within the novel. Starring opposite the Australian native of Basque descent is Margot Robbie as Catherine Earnshaw. These two high profile leads in addition to BRAT summer artist, Charli XCX haunting the trailer with her vocals has created an atmospheric edge that has generated widespread buzz, sparking conversations not only about the film’s interpretation but also inspiring many to finally dust off the classic from their shelves or borrow it from local libraries in anticipation.

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This isn’t a list built around a theme. These books are the theme. They’re weird, wild, and smart enough to leave a mark. Some are here to redeem your Stack of Shame; others, you’ll want to conquer before the adaptation drops and ruins it. All are meant to be read with a highlighter in one hand and an exorcist on speed dial. Welcome to your seasonal syllabus. Read bravely.

Summerween Starter Pack

Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier

Yes, it’s Gothic. But to reduce Rebecca to its genre is to miss the point entirely. It’s less a haunted house story than a meditation on class insecurity, feminine rivalry, and the theater of marriage. Every sentence drips with suppressed hysteria. There are no real ghosts—only the echo of a woman too vivid to die quietly.

The Vet’s Daughter by Barbara Comyns

A slippery, sinister little novel that reads like a nursery rhyme penned by someone who’s seen too much. Comyns writes with eerie plainness about telekinesis, grief, and girlhood under patriarchal surveillance. You finish it breathless, unsure if what you read was beautiful or grotesque.

Perfume: The Story of a Murderer by Patrick Süskind

If synaesthesia had a dark side, it would be this novel. Set in the rank sensuality of 18th-century France, it follows an unloved man with a nose so finely attuned it becomes a weapon. The prose is lush and nauseating. You’ll feel as though you’re suffocating in flower rot and infant sweat—and still turn the page.

Frankenstein by Mary Shelley

Read it again. Not for the monster, but for the way Shelley wrote it: in a fit of genius, by candlelight, surrounded by men who couldn’t match her. The creature is tragic. The real horror is how men play god and then recoil from the mirror.

Stack of Shame Redemption

Everyone has one. The books you claim to have read—or at least intended to. Now is the time to redeem yourself.

The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion

Grief, but without the maudlin self-pity that lesser writers lean on. Didion dissects mourning with surgical detachment. She doesn’t cry on the page; she observes herself crying and writes it down, coolly, precisely.

My Brilliant Friend by Elena Ferrante

The Neapolitan novels are not “about female friendship.” That’s a lazy tagline. They’re about power, intellect, class, and the long shadow that one brilliant woman can cast over another’s life. Read it for the rage that simmers beneath the prose.

Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë

You were probably assigned it once. You probably skimmed it. Now read it properly, as an adult. Jane is not meek, not bland, not simply a governess in love. She’s a moral force. A woman who knows what she’s worth even when the world doesn’t.

Read It Before the Adaptation

Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë

Not Charlotte. Emily. For too long this novel has been misread by pop culture as a mere romance. It is not romantic, it’s elemental. Heathcliff is not a brooding hero; he is a curse incarnate. The moors don’t haunt your dreams, they unravel your mind.

Emerald Fennell’s adaptation, slated for a February 13, 2026 release, promises to be provocatively abrasive—bold, visually stylised, and unafraid to court controversy . Yet none of that translates the landscape as Brontë intended: relentless, unforgiving, and vividly alive.

Read Wuthering Heights like you would a storm. Let the narrative’s brutality and its uncanny rhythms overwhelm you. The novel demands immersion—not as entertainment, but as reckoning.

Carolyn Bessette (fashion book, fragments)

With the American Love Story series landing in February 2026, the inevitable rush to render her image onscreen looms large . Before the cameras reduce her to costume and set design, pick up CBK: Carolyn Bessette Kennedy: A Life in Fashion by Sunita Kumar Nair. It’s more than a picture book, it’s a quiet reclamation.

This volume unfolds like a private museum of restraint and poise. The long blonde hair, signature red lip—they are not just aesthetic details. They are a language of control, of crafting an identity in defiance of public spectacle . Carolyn spoke not through words, but through texture, muted color palettes, and clothes whose labels had been quietly removed. She redefined luxury as the absence of excess.

The book gathers not superficial exaltations, but reflections from insiders, Calvin Klein, Michael Kors, Manolo Blahnik, who respected that she made fashion feel like silence made audible.  It is a statement of enduring elegiac grace, more personal than any screen portrayal can hope to be.

So read it first. Let the real Carolyn resonate in your mind before the adaptation invites reductive dramatisation.

These books don’t belong in a beach tote. They belong on the nightstand of a woman with blackout curtains drawn in daylight, her iced coffee sweating beside a half-burned Diptyque candle. She is not reading to escape. She is reading to be consumed.

If you recognise yourself in her, then yes—you’re reading correctly.

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About Recommended Reading: In this opposites-attract YA rom-com inspired by Emma, a failed romantic gesture puts a damper on a queer teen bookseller’s summer of book matching and matchmaking until a handsome lifeguard and romance skeptic waltzes into his bookstore. Sometimes you get a second chance at happily ever after when you least expect it . . .

Hi, I’m Bobby Ashton, main character of the young adult rom-com Recommended Reading. I’m known around my town as the Book Whisperer, i.e. the fat, nice, gay boy who can matchmake anyone with their next perfect read and partner. Here are ten romances ranging from the classics to up-and-coming legendary novels that you will match with… and maybe a few extra credit bonus picks thrown in for good measure because you can never make just one (or ten) book suggestions(s).

Emma by Jane Austen

I’ve always felt a certain affinity for Emma Woodhouse. She’s smart, blessed, driven, and accomplished. She gives back to her community and has a knack for matchmaking. We’re very similar. But she’s got a touch of superiority and a few blindspots that make her her own worst enemy and nearly cost her her chance at true love. Maybe we’re too similar.

Speaking of, if you loved the original or the movie Clueless, L.C. Rosen wrote a queer YA contemporary version called Emmett.

A Girl Like That by Tanaz Bhathena

It takes guts and skill to start your debut YA novel with the death of the lovers and still draw the readers in. Bhathena’s got both in spades! You’ll love Zarin, labeled as a bad girl when she is displaced to Saudi Arabia, and Porus, who only has eyes for her despite everyone’s warnings. The talent and depth of thought the author poured into the characters and story is clear from the first page to the last.

Bonus! Bhathena’s sophomore YA is a sweet, cozy rom-com, and her latest novels are fierce, girl power fantasies inspired by medieval Indian mythology with great banter.

Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë

Emily Brontë’s (of the famous Brontë  siblings) only published this one novel. The intensity! The passion! The devotion that defies death! The songs by Kate Bush and Céline via Meatloaf! Heathcliff is one of the original brooding bad boys, stomping around the Yorkshire moors as he and Catherine pine for one another. True love has never been so deliciously sadomasochistic. Read the OG classic that inspired both the Twilight and Fifty Shades franchises which, in turn, helped legitimize fanfic.

Autobiography of Red: A Novel in Verse by Anne Carson

Anne Carson reimagines an ancient Greek myth into a contemporary coming-of-age love story. Geryon uncovers the potential of his art when Herakles, the object of Geryon’s affection, leaves at the height of infatuation and reappears years later. Told in verse, Geryon’s monstrosity and journey through heartbreak is gut-wrenching and uplifting at the same time. Readers will ache with Geryon in this romance where maybe the lovers shouldn’t end up together.    

Out of the Blue by Jason June

You can’t go wrong with a Jason June rom-com. I dare you. Double dog dare you. You can’t! Every single one is an absolute delight. OOTB has a familiar Little Mermaid feel with Crest, the merperson, on their mer version of Rumspringa, as they must aid a human before time runs out and they remain stuck on land forever. Enter dual narrator, plus-size swimmer, Sean, who has just been publicly dumped by his boyfriend and is devastated by the unforeseen breakup. Seems like Crest found his human to help and what better way than to pretend to be a couple. Fake lovers to true love trope? Hello! Yes!

Bonus points if you check out the rest of Jason June’s titles. Extra credit super duper bonus points if you also check out the audiobooks because Jason June is a superb voice actor and hearing the author read their work as intended is pretty special.

All My Friends are Superheroes by Andrew Kauffman

Tom is just a normal guy stuck in a world where everyone is a superhero, including his wife, the Perfectionist. When his wife’s ex uses his powers to make the Perfectionist no longer see or hear Tom, he must somehow get her to before she moves on perfectly, as per her name, and forgets him forever. This one is a short novel and makes a perfect gift even for non-readers who don’t have a lot of time to commit. Prepare for your nails to dig into the cover of the book as you flip those pages and hope Tom manages to save his relationship.

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

Two magicians challenge one another to a magical duel to prove who can raise the best successor, in a battle that will result in death. The venue, a midnight circus that arrives filled with spectacles unlike anyone has ever seen. But it all disappears by the morning. The contenders, Celia and Marco, who fall in love with one another’s spells and then each other even when they know they must win the competition or perish. High stakes much? Lavish descriptions of settings create an unforgettable story of seemingly doomed love.

A Merry Little Meet Cute by Julie Murphy and Sierra Simone

What do you get when two writing best friends, one known for her revolutionary body-positive writing and one known for her no-holds-barred romance. A series of Christmas adult romances following former boyband members and unforgettable female leads that are like spicy Hallmark holiday movies in book form. AMLMC is the first book in the series that follows bad boy boyband member, Nolan, who needs to redeem his image through good behaviour and a wholesome holiday film, and Bee, a curvaceous adult film star who accidentally gets cast opposite Nolan, her teen crush and the guy who subscribes to her content. Sex positive and body positive, you will fall in love with the main characters and all the side characters. There are three Christmas Notch Series novels, two novellas, and three bonus chapters to keep you busy from January through December.

Extra credit if you want to delve into either author’s awesome other books that range from warm-your-heart to set-your-loins-on-fire.

Saga by Brian K. Vaughan and illustrated by Fiona Staples

Imagine if Romeo and Juliet were from two warring, intergalactic species instead of families and not only survived, but had a daughter who decided to tell their story in graphic novel space opera form. The result would be Saga. Better yet, the parent lovers bond over their shared adoration of a romance novel! Books really do bring couples together! A broad spectrum of diversities coupled with positive messaging about acceptance and tolerance provides the perfect balance of heart-melting and kickass moments.

The post The Book Whisperer’s Annotated Recommended Reading (AKA Bobby Ashton’s Brief List of Romances You Don’t Want to Miss) appeared first on The Nerd Daily.

Now that it’s officially fall for half of the world and the weather has turned cold and crisp for half of the world, it means it’s also time to welcome the Halloween season! It’s that time of the year to get spooky, to spend your nights watching and reading horror until Halloween ends, and of course, to put up crazy decorations and wear costumes! To help you spice up your Halloween reads, we are here to suggest a few books and themes that would be perfect for a Halloween binge!

Read A Classic

There are many options you can choose for this prompt, including Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, Dracula by Bram Stoker, Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte, The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde, and Inferno by Dante.

Read A Book About Witches

What’s Halloween without a few witches? The obvious choice for this prompt would be Harry Potter, but if you want something different, you can read Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia, A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness, How to Hang A Witch by Adriana Mather, and Truthwitch by Susan Dennard. Or you know, you can always read the book adaptation of Hocus Pocus!

Read A Book About Curses

Any kind of curse will do! You can read Anna Dressed in Blood by Kendare Blake, Compulsion by Martina Boone, The Wicked Deep by Shea Ernshaw, and Strange Grace by Tessa Gratton.

Read A Book About Foreign Myth/Folk Stories

For this prompt, you can read The Girl from the Well by Rin Chupeco, American Gods by Neil Gaiman, and obviously Rick Riordan’s books. If you want something new, you can read an East Asian stories anthology, A Thousand Beginnings and Endings.

Read A Book About Grim Reapers/Death

I really love reading death as a personification, as death/grim reapers always have such a unique voice. They can be really had to find as there are rarely books about them, but you can read The Book Thief by Markus Zusak, Scythe by Neal Shusterman, A Dirty Job by Christopher Moore, and Death or Ice Cream by Gareth P. Jones

Read A Book With An Unreliable Narrator

Unreliable narrators is defined as a narrator whose credibility has been compromised, either because they are the culprit, didn’t remember what happened, or something else. Some of the books with unreliable narrators are The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin, Dangerous Girls by Abigail Haas, The Girl On The Train by Paula Hawkins, and The Dead House by Dawn Kurtagich.

Read A Book With A Creepy Cover

I think we can agree the Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children series have creepy covers! Other options include Daughters unto Devil by Amy Luckavics, Say Her Name by James Dawson, and The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson.

Happy October! Let us know if you plan on reading any along with the books you will be reading this Halloween in the comments below!

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Happy Women’s History Month! For those of you who aren’t aware, March is known as women’s history month in the United States, along with International Women’s Day on March 8th, to celebrate women’s contribution in history and modern society. In honour of all of the great and talented women out there, we have featured female directed movies and must-read female grim dark authors. Today, we will bring you some talented historical female authors, of whose timeless work defied the rules at its time or contributed to the feminist movement.

Read on to discover our picks of great historical female authors and tell us if you will be checking one of them out!

Jane Austen

One of the most famous female authors of all time with Jane Austen’s most famous work is undoubtedly Pride and Prejudice. Her books often filled with satire and critique towards the society of her time, which usually revolves around marriage for standing and money, as well as the division between social classes. Throughout her life, she wrote seven books as well as other works, but she lived in a time where women have to marry and were not allowed to work, so she defied the rules by being an author and remain unmarried.

The Bronte Sisters

The Bronte sisters consist of Charlotte, Emily, and Anne Bronte, all of whom penned their own books during the nineteenth century. Charlotte Bronte is the author of Jane Eyre, while Emily and Anne wrote Wuthering Heights and The Tenant of the Wildfeld Hall. Their family was close friends with fellow female author, Elizabeth Gaskell, whom eventually wrote the first biography of the family.

Harper Lee

Harper Lee is the person behind one of the most beloved classic, To Kill A Mockingbird. The book brings up the theme of racism and courage, something that was a very sensitive topic at the time of its publication. Harper Lee did not publish anything else since, until Go Set A Watchman in 2015 at the age of 88 before she passed away the following year.

Virginia Woolf

One of the most famous modern female authors is Virginia Woolf, who is credited as a pioneer in using stream of consciousness style of writing. She wrote many books in her life, however, her books were more appreciated after her death in 1970s with the rise of the feminist movement.

Agatha Christie

The Queen of Mystery’s life is as mysterious as her books, but she’s listed as the best-selling author of all time. Her famous characters include Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple, they have been subject of countless adaptations, the latest is Murder on the Orient Express, which was released in 2017.

Betty Friedan

Betty Friedan is one of the leading figures in the second wave of feminist movement in the 1960s. In fact, it is her book, The Feminine Mystique, that sparked the movement. Despite not liking it personally, I could see how the book made such a big impact towards the society at that time, and I really enjoyed the insight I got from it. Her other book, The Second Stage, talks about the extremist in the feminist movement.

Margaret Atwood

She’s the author of the The Handmaid’s Tale and Alias Grace, which were adapted into television series in 2017. Margaret Atwood is quite the talented one as she have many other awards and nominations for her books.

Any other female historical authors you would add to this list? Tell us in the comments below!

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