15 books to read before they hit theaters in 2016

The 2016 film lineup is filled with adaptations, from non-fiction thrillers to sci-fi series.

Filmmakers are taking a new crack at classics like "The Jungle Book" and "Alice in Wonderland," and will be shining a spotlight on one of the most daring Coast Guard rescues of all time.

Will you read the books first?

Books hitting the big screen in 2016

"13 Hours: The Inside Account of What Really Happened in Benghazi" by Mitchell Zuckoff

Jan. 15

In "13 Hours," Zuckoff, a journalism professor at Boston University, shares the story of a group of U.S. security contractors who were stationed at a secret CIA annex in Benghazi, Libya, on the night of the 2012 attacks.

The film adaptation, directed by Michael Bay, brings the assault on the diplomatic compound to the big screen, with John Krasinski, of "The Office" fame, taking a dramatic role.

"The 5th Wave" by Rick Yancey

Jan. 22

Brace yourself for another wave of young adult apocalyptic sci-fi adaptations. Yancey's book, which is the first in a trilogy, does "for aliens what 'Twilight' did for vampires," according to USA Today.

The book follows 16-year-old Cassie as she defends her family against an alien invasion that brings earthquakes, tsunamis and a devastating plague.

"The Finest Hours: The True Story of a Heroic Sea Rescue" by Michael J. Tougias and Casey Sherman

Jan. 29

In 1952, two oil tankers off the coast of New England found themselves in the center of a brutal storm, wind-whipped and battered by rough seas. Unable to withstand the winds and the water, both tankers split in half, setting the stage for one of the most dramatic rescues in the history of the U.S. Coast Guard.

The film follows the rescuers and the crews of the SS Pendleton and the SS Fort Mercer. Chris Pine, Eric Bana, Casey Affleck and other familiar faces fill out the cast.

"Pride and Prejudice and Zombies" by Jane Austen and Seth Grahame-Smith

Feb. 5

Mr. Darcy, meet the undead. Grahame-Smith has made a career out of adding a supernatural spin to classic tales, and this is the second of his monster mash-ups to get the big-screen treatment. (Anybody remember "Abraham Lincoln, Vampire Hunter"?)

If Elizabeth Bennet is one of your favorites, you're about to see a whole different side of the quick-witted heroine when she's forced to kill zombies up and down the English countryside. In this version, Darcy could prove a fatal distraction in Lizzy's fight against those in want of a brain.

"Me Before You" by Jojo Moyes

March 4

Moyes' spin on romance follows Louisa Clark, who takes a job as a caretaker for Will Traynor, a young man recently paralyzed in an accident.

Will was once a world-traveling extreme athlete, and he's yet to come to terms with his new reality. As Louisa and Will get know each other, Will's secret plans threaten their relationship.

Emilia Clark, of "Game of Thrones" fame, ditches her dragons for this dramatic love story.

"Allegiant" by Veronica Roth

March 18

Splitting the final book of wildly successful young adult series into two movies has become the new normal. "Allegiant" marks the the beginning of the end for Roth's "Divergent" trilogy — the final installment will come out next year.

Fans obsessed with the fate of Tris Prior and her beau, Four, who we last saw trying to save society in the ruins of Chicago, will find out what's beyond the gates in this film.

"The Jungle Book" by Rudyard Kipling

April 15

Mowgli, Baloo, Bagheera and Shere Kahn return in this 3-D live animation version of Kipling's classic tale. Walt Disney Pictures is still running the show, but the update of their cartoon classic is much darker.

Familiar voices include Bill Murray, Scarlett Johansson, Ben Kingsley, Idris Elba, Christopher Walken and Lupita Nyong'o.

"Through the Looking Glass" by Lewis Carroll

May 27

If you loved Tim Burton's first take on "Alice in Wonderland," here's another tea party for you to attend. (If you didn't love Burton's take, you're not alone.) Burton isn't at the helm this time, but his style is still in abundance.

Johnny Depp returns as the Mad Hatter, and Anne Hathaway and Helena Bonham Carter take on the roles of the White and Red Queens. Mia Wasikowska also returns as Alice herself.

"The BFG" by Roald Dahl

July 1

Delumptious! Hopscotchy! Whoopsey-splunkers! Dahl's magical classic of the dream-collecting giant is being adapted by Steven Spielberg for a summer release.

When little Sophie stays awake late enough to spot the giant on his rounds, he whisks her off to his land, which is filled with much more bloodthirsty, bone-crunching giants than he.

("BFG" stands for "Big Friendly Giant," remember?)

"Tarzan of the Apes" by Edgar Rice Burroughs

July 1

This year's other jungle-centric reboot follows Burroughs' hero of very few words, Tarzan.

"The Legend of Tarzan" film follows the often-shirtless vine-swinger as he returns to the jungle after spending years away in London.

"The Girl on the Train" by Paula Hawkins

Oct. 7

Hawkins' modern thriller became the fastest-selling adult hardcover debut ever when it was released last January. Hollywood wasted no time scooping it up, with many critics calling it the next "Gone Girl."

The story centers on Rachel, a woman who catches sight of something on the train for an instant — something that changes her life forever. More details than that will reveal too much. Emily Blunt has been cast in the role, which she told Entertainment Weekly was "the most challenging thing I've ever done."

"A Monster Calls" by Patrick Ness

Oct. 14

Siobhan Dowd, the award-winning author, had a final idea for a book before she died of cancer: It would be the story of a boy and an ancient monster in his backyard.

Ness picked up the idea after Dowd's death and wrote "A Monster Calls": about a boy, his terminally ill mother and a monster that has come for the truth. The deeply sad and darkly funny book is now being adapted into a film with Liam Neeson and Sigourney Weaver.

"Billy Flynn's Long Halftime Walk" by Ben Fountain

Nov. 11

Fountain's sharp satire of Americans' reaction to the war in Iraq centers on the survivors of Bravo Squad as they stop in Texas on their "Victory Tour." After being welcomed onto the field by the Dallas Cowboys during the team's Thanksgiving game, they receive some unexpected orders.

The book won the 2012 National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction. Directed by Ang Lee, the film will premiere in November.

"Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them" by J.K. Rowling

Nov. 18

Rowling can't leave the magical world behind her. Years after the last "Harry Potter" book, she's back as the screenwriter for a tale that predates the "Potter" story.

Set long before the characters we know best were born, "Fantastic Beasts" follows Newt Scamander as he explores New York's secret world of witches and wizards. (Yes, there's an American Hogwarts.)

"Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children" by Ransom Riggs

Dec. 25

A story of a mysterious island and an abandoned orphanage that once housed children with peculiar powers? Of course Tim Burton is involved.

Burton is directing the first film in the "Miss Peregrine" series, based on Riggs's eerie, supernatural tales. The books incorporate actual vintage photographs into the story lines — eerie images you won't be able to un-see.

The series kicks off when Jacob, a teenage boy, follows a family secret to a foggy island, where he makes some very strange new friends.

Correction (Jan. 7, 2016): An earlier version of this story incorrectly identified "Pride and Prejudice and Zombies" as the first adaptation of Seth Grahame-Smith's books. It is his second. "Abraham Lincoln, Vampire Hunter" came out with a vengeance in 2012.