Books to Read Before the Movie Versions Come Out

Books are the prequel to countless up and coming major films these days. Rather than waiting for the movie to come out, refresh your reading list ahead of time, and you'll be first in line to say that the book was better when it comes out.

Here's your definitive guide to the book-based movies releasing in 2014 and 2015. The films are sorted by release date so you can pace your reading.

1. The Giver 

Lois Lowry's dystopian children's book is being made into a movie for the first time, with Meryl Streep and Jeff Bridges. The film comes out Aug. 15, 2014.

 

2. Gone Girl

Ben Affleck is starring in an adaptation of Gillian Flynn's dark bestseller about a husband looking for his missing wife, with a cast that includes Rosamund Pike and Neil Patrick Harris. Gone Girl comes out Oct. 3, 2014.

 

3. The Wild

Cheryl Strayed's memoir about trying to get out of her downward spiral by naively embarking on the Pacific Crest Trail... despite having no hiking experience. Reese Witherspoon stars in the movie adaptation, which premieres Dec. 5, 2014.

4. Macbeth

Shakespeare's tale of greed and ambition is getting a remake starring Michael Fassbender and Marion Cotillard. The film will premiere in 2014.

 5. Inherent vice

Thomas Pynchon 1970-set stoner-noir thriller is getting the movie  treatment from Paul Thomas Anderson, with a cast including Joaquin Phoenix, Josh Brolin, Owen Wilson, Reese Witherspoon and Benicio Del Toro. Look for it on Dec. 12, 2014.

6. Serena

Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence star as a timber magnate and his wife in this Depression-era film based on the bestselling novel by Ron Rash. The film will premiere in 2014.            

7. Suite Francaise

based on the novel that follows a romance between a French woman and a German soldier in Nazi-occupied France, finally published 60 years after author Irène Némirovsky died in Auschwitz. This adaptation stars Michelle Williams and Matthias Schoenaerts and in 2014.

8. Child 44

This film is based on Tom Rob Smith's crime novel set in Soviet Russia stars Tom Hardy, Jason Clarke and Gary Oldman. The movie will premiere April 17, 2015.