Listed below are some of the most popular Netflix movies based on books. Maybe this will inspire you to watch a movie adapted from a book you’ve read and loved or read the book that your favorite movie is based on. While reading allows your imagination to create a scene and may challenge you to think critically, a movie provides visual and audio stimulation to the audience. Whichever you prefer, these stories can offer both. Enjoy our list of books to Netflix movies.
The Social Network
The Social Network movie is based on the book The Accidental Billionaires: The Founding of Facebook: A Tale of Sex, Money, Genius, and Betrayal by Ben Mezrich. This story based on true events shows how the now well-known app Facebook was created by Harvard student Mark Zuckerberg. The plot of the story follows how with the success of the global social networking site came legal trouble and complications in Zuckerberg’s personal life. The movie was adapted from the book in 2010, one year after it was published, and went on to receive multiple awards.
21
This 2008 film is based on the New York Times bestseller book Bringing Down the House: The Inside Story of Six MIT Students Who Took Vegas for Millions by Ben Mezrich, a true story about a group of MIT card counters commonly known as the MIT Blackjack Team, who used their genius abilities to win big gambling in Las Vegas.
Molly’s Game
Another read based on a true story, Molly’s Game: From Hollywood’s Elite to Wall Street’s Billionaire Boys Club, My High-Stakes Adventure in the World of Underground Poker, written by Molly Bloom. The book is the basis for the 2017 film “Molly’s Game.” This scandalous story follows former Olympic skier Molly Bloom as she finds herself running the world’s most exclusive high-stakes poker game for some of the most well-known celebrities, business moguls, and millionaires, leading her to become a major target for the FBI.
The Duff
This 2010 teen novel, The DUFF, written by Kody Keplinger focuses on a high school teen Bianca, who discovers that she is the “DUFF” of the group or designated ugly fat friend. The story follows her journey of finding confidence and, to her surprise, romance. The novel was adapted into a successful film in 2015.
Bird Box
This horror novel written by Josh Malerman is set in an apocalyptic near-future world. Bird Box follows Malorie and her two children on their journey to safety from an unknown presence that has taken over, which drives people to deadly violence. Both the novel and the Netflix film, adapted in 2018, switch between present and past to unravel this ominous thriller.
The Giver
The classic dystopian novel, The Giver, written in 1993, was later adapted into a film in 2014. In this science fiction story, twelve-year-old Jonas lives in what seems to be a utopian society. It is not until he is given his life assignment as the Receiver of Memory that he becomes exposed to the dark secrets behind his fragile community.
The Last Letter From Your Lover
Over forty years, two women’s stories of love, loss, and betrayal are intertwined in Jojo Moyes’s tear-jerking novel, The Last Letter From Your Lover. Reporter Ellie finds a collection of love letters from 1965 and sets out to solve the mystery of this secret affair. The romantic drama was recently adapted into a Netflix film in 2021, starring Shailene Woodly and Felicity Jones.
The Weekend Away
The Weekend Away by Sarah Alderson is a suspenseful story of best friends Orla and Kate. After Kate goes missing after a night out on their trip to Lisbon (Croatia in the movie), it is up to Orla to piece together the clues to figure out what happened. The book was recently turned into a Netflix movie earlier in 2022.
Dumplin
Number-one New York Times bestseller Dumplin is about self-proclaimed fat girl Willowdean, or Dumplin, who starts to lose the confidence she has had all her life. To take control of her self-image, she challenges herself to enter a beauty pageant and surprises everyone, especially herself. This inspiring, feel-good book was adapted into a Netflix film in 2018 and stars actresses like Jennifer Anniston and Danielle Macdonald.
The Imitation Game
The World War II novel by Andrew Hodges, Alan Turing: The Enigma, was the basis for the movie “The Imitation Game.” The book is a biography of the British mathematician Alan Turing who invented computer science and artificial intelligence to save the allies from the Nazis. The 2014 film is inspired by this story and follows how Alan works with cryptanalysts to break the German’s Enigma Code.
If you want even more book-to-movie recommendations, additional titles are available on DiscoverBooks.com and our shopping app. With low prices for all customers and free shipping on orders of $12 or more in the contiguous United States, Discover Books is a great place to fulfill all your reading needs. Interested in Disney books to movies, see our previous blog post Where Did Disney get His Ideas?.
