Are you a reader that likes to read the book before you see the movie? If so, check out this list of books that are being adapted for the screen.

“The Housemaid” by Freida McFadden. Many McFadden readers will say the “The Housemaid” is the book that hooked them and it seems that filmmakers agree. The movie is set to be released in the U.S. December 19, 2025.

“People We Meet on Vacation” by Emily Henry. The Netflix adaptation is set to be released early 2026.

“Regretting You” by Colleen Hoover. The DVD will be out in February 2026. “Verity” also by Colleen Hoover, will hit theaters in October 2026.

“The Christmas Ring” by Karen Kingsbury. The DVD is out and will be in our library soon.

“The Count of Monte Cristo” by Alexandre Dumas. A new film was released in 2024 and the DVD is out.

“Save Us” by Mona Kasten. The popular “Maxton Hall” series on Prime is based on this book. Two other books by Kasten, “Save Me” and “Save You,” are in the same series.

“The Long Walk” by Stephen King. This movie is already out on DVD! I was interested to find out that King wrote this book when he was still in college. It was published in 1979, under the pseudonym Richard Bachman

“Margo’s Got Money Troubles” by Rufi Thorpe. The adaptation will be released on Apple TV+ in April 2026.

“Down Cemetery Road” by Mick Herron. This is a popular Apple TV+ thriller series.

“Project Hail Mary” by Andy Weir. The movie release date is March 20, 2026.

Now is a good time to share one of my greatest purchasing frustrations. While I love purchasing books and movies for the library, the advent of streaming has complicated the task. Back in the day, DVD release dates were often known and shared when the film was in theaters. Now, some movies and TV series will never make it to DVD. Netflix and Apple TV+ series, for example, may only be available to stream on those platforms. Series on Amazon Prime might come out on DVD, but only when they lose streaming viewers. And Amazon often stops selling DVDs when they decide to “restream” a film, a holiday film for example.

The biggest pain point for me is that everyone does not have access to certain films and television shows; home internet and streaming subscriptions are necessary for viewing. Usually, libraries can fill that gap! But under current circumstances, the library cannot make them accessible because libraries cannot purchase the content. So, although the library has the books on the list above, all the corresponding DVDs may not make it to the collection. I’ll be trying!

If you’d like to request these or any other books, visit www.newulmlibrary.org and choose Library Catalog, or call the library at 507-359-8331. New Ulm Public Library is located at 17 North Broadway and is open from 9:30 a.m.-8 p.m., Monday-Thursday and 9:30 a.m.-5 p.m., Friday-Saturday. The library will close at 1:30 p.m. on Christmas Eve and will be closed for Christmas Day.