Books to Read and Stream October 2021: Part 2

Welcome to the SheReads Bookish Entertainment column! Each week, enjoy a new article by Garrett Billings— Bookstagrammer, blogger, book-to-screen junkie—on all things Reading + Hollywood. Stars’ book club picks and trailer reveals, book-to-screen news and book pop culture, and of course, Gare’s specialty, choosing his ideal Hollywood casts for book adaptations—Bookish Entertainment has you covered.  

2021 was a great year for book adaptations and with 2022 right around the corner, it looks like next year could be even better! From new imprints to renewed tv shows to upcoming movies, here’s the latest scoop on what you can expect for upcoming adaptations!

Sure—you’ve probably binged adaptations of your favorite stories on Netflix like You or To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before, but now Netflix is going to influence your wishlist even more! Recently Netflix announced that they are set to be hosting a book club to introduce readers and viewers to screen adaptations of their upcoming material. Hosted by Orange Is the New Black’s Uzo Aduba, Netflix will have a different book selection each month that is to coincide with an upcoming release. Throughout the month, Netflix will have Aduba host conversations with the authors, creators and cast. The first pick is Passing by Nella Larsen, a Renaissance-era story following Black women who can pass as white and choose to live on opposite ends of the color line in New York in 1929.

Lisa Gardner’s Before She Disappeared is becoming to series! Entertainment One just acquired the rights to most recent Gardner story with Hilary Swank to executive produce and star. The story, released in January 2021, is about a recovering alcoholic named Frankie Elkin who helps find missing people that society has given up on. While the series was just been announced, now is the perfect time to pick up the book: the second story in the Frankie Elkin series is set to be released January 2022.

Tessa Thompson’s Viva Maude has partnered with Gaumont to adapt the novel Luster by Raven Leilani to HBO. The novel, released in the summer of 2020, follows a young Black artist named Edie who finds herself in a relationship with a white man in an open relationship. Eventually, Edie moves in with her lover and his wife in the suburbs. Jackie Sibblies Drury and Lileana Blain-Cruz are set to write the script for the show. No casting announcements have been made yet.

Matthew Lopez recently made history as the first Latino playwright to win a Tony Award for best play. Now, Lopez is set to make his directorial debut through the LGBTQA+ romantic comedy Red, White, & Royal Blue”adaptation based on the book by Casey McQuiston, centered on a modern, star-crossed couple: Alex Claremont-Diaz, the son of the president of the United States and his relationship with Prince Henry, the grandson of the Queen of England.

Since its release in 2017, One of Us Is Lying by Karen McManus has been one of the most buzzed about YA thrillers, hitting every single “must read” list! In a twisted version of The Breakfast Club, five high school students walk into detention and only four come out. With the murdered student being an outcast who runs a gossip app of the high school, all four surviving characters had a motive to kill him before he revealed their deep, dark secrets. If you’ve read this one, then you’re in luck! The series adaptation of the YA whodunnit will be laid out in eight episodes.

With season three of You just hitting Netflix on 10/15, Netflix has announced that America’s favorite lovestruck stalker, Joe Goldberg, is set to be returning to your living room sooner than you think. You has been one of Netflix’s most successful shows, so it’s no surprise that less than 48 hours before season three hit Netflix, they announced it would also be returning for season four. Although no other details have been announced, fans do speculate season four will not be the last as it was not announced as a final season. No other cast members have been announced at this time.

HBO Max and Emma Stone are set to develop a series adaptation of A Flicker in the Dark by Stacy Willingham, which is set to hit shelves in January. Emma Stone and Dave McCrary’s Fruit Tree and A24 will be producing the show. The upcoming novel follows a young psychologist, who found out as a young girl that her father confessed to murdering six teenage girls in her small hometown. Now, two decades later, her life begins to spiral when local teens begin to go missing in the same way.

The Last Mrs. Parrish took the book world by storm when it was chosen as a Reese Witherspoon book club pick and now, the novel by the writing duo of sisters Liv Constantine is going to become a movie on Netflix. The story is about a con-woman who infiltrates her way into the lives of The Parrishes by befriending the wife and seducing the husband in hopes of being the next Mrs. Parrish. Lynne and Valerie Constantine are set to executive produce, along with Margaret Chernin and Liza Chasin.

Independent publisher Zando has a mission to collaborate with influential creators and authors to acquire and publish titles under their own imprints. Recently, Zando announced their first two founding publishing partners are none other than Lena Waithe and Gillian Flynn. Waithe is set to publish titles under Hillman Grad Books, while Flynn is set to publish under Gillian Flynn Books. In the deal, both are set to publish 4 to 6 books within a 3 year span. Hillman Grad Books is set to feature underrepresented voices through memoir, fiction and YA. Gillian Flynn Books will feature fiction and non-fiction in different genres. Be on the lookout for more partners to be announced in the next few months!