
In the age of Netflix, Hulu, and DVR, do people still watch TV shows the times that they’re on and wait a week for the next episode? I would much rather jump into a show late in the game so I can binge-watch as many episodes as I can, one after the other, without waiting for the next one. It’s because I have no patience; it’s the same reason I read the last page of every book I get first to see what the outcome will be and if the book will be worth my time.
I’m not even sorry.
Did you know that many of the most binge-worthy shows on television and television platforms were actually based on books first? If you’re anything like me and need to know what happens before it happens to the characters, check out these books before watching its television counterpart! The Aurora Public Library District also owns several of these shows (look for the *) as well for you to check out on DVD.

On Netflix:
13 Reasons Why by Jay Asher
The Shannara Chronicles series by Terry Brooks
House of Cards by Michael Dobbs*
Gossip Girl series by Cecily von Ziegesar
A Series of Unfortunate Events series by Lemony Snicket
Pretty Little Liars series by Sara Shepard
The Vampire Diaries series by L.J. Smith*
Orange is the New Black by Piper Kerman*
The Walking Dead comic book series by Robert Kirkman*
Dexter series by Jeffry Lindsay
Alias Grace by Margaret Atwood
Longmire series by Craig Johnson*
The Carrie Diaries by Candace Bushnell
Altered Carbon by Richard K. Morgan (ILL)
Anne with an E (Based on the Anne of Green Gables series by L.M. Montgomery)
Sherlock (Based on the Sherlock Holmes novels by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)*
Mindhunter by John Douglas
Hemlock Grove by Brian McGreevy (ILL)
Hulu:
The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood
Rizzoli & Isles series by Tess Gerritsen
Bones (Based on the Temperance Brennan series by Kathy Reichs)*
Castle Rock (Based on stories by Stephen King)
HBO:
True Blood (Based on the Sookie Stackhouse series by Charlaine Harris)
Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty
Game of Thrones series by George R.R. Martin*
Starz:
Outlander series by Diana Gabaldon*
American Gods by Neil Gaiman
The White Queen series by Philippa Gregory
Amazon Prime:
Poldark series by Winston Graham*
Call the Midwife (Based on the memoirs of Jennifer Worth)
Justified (Based on the Raylan Givens series by Elmore Leonard)*

Epix:
Get Shorty by Elmore Leonard
Regular Television:
The Magicians by Lev Grossman
The Alienist by Caleb Carr
Instinct (Based on Murder Games by James Patterson)
The Terror by Dan Simmons
Lucifer (Based on the Sandman series by Neil Gaiman)
Famous in Love by Rebecca Serle (ILL)
Midnight, Texas series by Charlaine Harris
Elementary (Based on the Sherlock Holmes novels by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)*
The 100 series by Kass Morgan
More:
Friday Night Lights by H.G. Bissinger*
Under the Dome by Stephen King*
Little Women by Louisa May Alcott (Miniseries)
Sex and the City by Candace Bushnell
Castle series by Richard Castle (Tie-in novels)*
New Shows Airing in 2018:
Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn (HBO)
C.B. Strike (Based on the Cormoran Strike series by J.K. Rowling HBO)
The Miniaturist by Jessie Burton (PBS)
Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury (HBO)
Sweetbitter by Stephanie Danler (Starz)

What is your favorite television adaptation from a book? Mine is a toss-up between Outlander and Gossip Girl. Allegedly Hulu bought the rights to Sarah J. Maas’s Throne of Glass series to be made into a television show; if you know anything about me, you know that I’m still jumping up and down with excitement.
Interested in more? Check out this blog on Goodreads for more movies and television shows based on books coming out this spring.
Happy Reading (and Watching)!