Sure, spending winter days curled up on the couch is tempting, but, in my opinion, one of the best ways to spend a chilly day is sunk into a movie theater seat, noshing on popcorn and becoming immersed in a story. And unlike the summer comics-inspired, blockbuster season, winter movies are often more cerebral and intricate. Not surprisingly, some of the most exciting upcoming releases are based on well-known books. Whether you just can't bear to see a movie before you've had a chance to read the book or seeing the movie inspires you to explore the original source material, we've put together a list of about-to-be-released movies and their book counterparts which, of course, you can check out from the library.

Just Mercy (January 10)

Just Mercy follows young lawyer Bryan Stevenson and his history-making battle for justice. After graduating from Harvard, Bryan had his pick of lucrative jobs. Instead, he heads to Alabama to defend those wrongly condemned or who were not afforded proper representation. One of his first, and most incendiary, cases is that of Walter McMillian, sentenced to die for the notorious murder of an 18-year-old girl, despite a preponderance of evidence proving his innocence. In the years that follow, Bryan becomes embroiled in a labyrinth of legal and political maneuverings and overt and unabashed racism as he fights for Walter, and others like him, with the odds—and the system—stacked against them.

Cast: Michael B. Jordan , Jamie Foxx, Brie Larson, O'Shea Jackson Jr., Tim Blake Nelson, Rob Morgan, Rafe Spall, Lindsay Ayliffe, C.J. LeBlanc, Ron Clinton Smith.

Based on the Book: Just Mercy: A Story of Justsice and Redemption by Bryan Stevenson

Bryan Stevenson was a young lawyer when he founded the Equal Justice Initiative, a legal practice dedicated to defending those most desperate and in need: the poor, the wrongly condemned, and women and children trapped in the farthest reaches of our criminal justice system. One of his first cases was that of Walter McMillian, a young man who was sentenced to die for a notorious murder he insisted he didn't commit. The case drew Bryan into a tangle of conspiracy, political machination, and legal brinksmanship and transformed his understanding of mercy and justice forever.

The Rhythm Section (January 31)

Blake Lively stars as Stephanie Patrick, an ordinary woman on a path of self-destruction after her family is tragically killed in a plane crash. When Stephanie discovers that the crash was not an accident, she enters a dark, complex world to seek revenge on those responsible and find her own redemption.

Cast: Blake Lively, Jude Law, Max Casella, Daniel Mays, Richard Brake, Raza Jaffrey, Tawfeek Barhom, Sterling K. Brown.

Based on the Book: The Rhythm Section: A Stephanie Patrick Thriller by Mark Burnell

When Stephanie Patrick learns that a terrorist bomb was responsible for the plane crash that killed her family, she embarks on a plan for revenge that includes training to become a terrorist herself.

Dolittle (January 17)

After losing his wife seven years earlier, the eccentric Dr. John Dolittle, famed doctor and veterinarian of Queen Victoria’s England, hermits himself away behind the high walls of Dolittle Manor with only his menagerie of exotic animals for company. But when the young queen falls gravely ill, a reluctant Dolittle is forced to set sail on an epic adventure to a mythical island in search of a cure, regaining his wit and courage as he crosses old adversaries and discovers wondrous creatures.

Cast: Robert Downey Jr., Antonio Banderas, Michael Sheen, Jim Broadbent, Carmel Laniado.

Based on the books of Hugh Lofting, especially  The Voyages of Doctor Dolittle 

The Three Christs (January 10)

TheThree Christs follows Dr. Alan Stone who is treating three paranoid schizophrenic patients at the Ypsilanti State Hospital in Michigan, each of whom believed they were Jesus Christ. What transpires is both comic and deeply moving.

Cast: Richard Gere, Peter Dinklage, Walton Goggins, Bradley Whitford, Charlotte Hope, Julianna Margulies.

Based on the Book: The Three Christs of Ypsilanti by Milton Rokeach

On July 1, 1959, at Ypsilanti State Hospital in Michigan, the social psychologist Milton Rokeach brought together three paranoid schizophrenics. The men had one thing in common: each believed himself to be Jesus Christ. Their extraordinary meeting and the two years they spent in one another’s company serves as the basis for an investigation into the nature of human identity, belief, and delusion that is poignant, amusing, and at times disturbing.

The Turning (January 24)

The Turning takes us to a mysterious estate in the Maine countryside, where newly appointed nanny Kate is charged with the care of two disturbed orphans, Flora and Miles. Quickly though, she discovers that both the children and the house are harboring dark secrets and things may not be as they appear. 

Cast: Mackenzie Davis, Finn Wolfhard, Brooklynn Prince, Joely Richardson.

Based on the Book: The Turn of the Screw by Henry James

A chilling ghost story, wrought with tantalising ambiguity, Henry James's The Turn of the Screw tells of a nameless young governess sent to a country house to take charge of two orphans, Miles and Flora. Unsettled by a dark foreboding of menace within the house, she soon comes to believe that something malevolent is stalking the children in her care. But is the threat to her young charges really a malign and ghostly presence or something else entirely? The Turn of the Screw is James's great masterpiece of haunting atmosphere and unbearable tension.

Color Out of Space (January 24)

After a meteorite lands in the front yard of their farm, Nathan Gardner and his family find themselves battling a mutant extraterrestrial organism that infects their minds and bodies, transforming their quiet rural life into a technicolor nightmare.

Cast: Nicolas Cage, Joely Richardson, Madeleine Arthur, Q'orianka Kilcher, Tommy Chong.

Based on the Short Story: "The Colour Out of Space" in Tales by H.P. Lovecraft

In this Library of America volume, the best-selling novelist Peter Straub brings together the very best of H. P. Lovecraft's fiction in a treasury guaranteed to bring fright and delight both to longtime fans and to readers new to his work. Early stories such as "The Outsider," "The Music of Erich Zann," "Herbert West–Reanimator," and "The Lurking Fear" demonstrate Lovecraft's uncanny ability to blur the distinction between reality and nightmare, sanity and madness, the human and non-human. "The Horror at Red Hook" and "He" reveal the fascination and revulsion Lovecraft felt for New York City; "Pickman's Model" uncovers the frightening secret behind an artist's work; "The Rats in the Walls" is a terrifying descent into atavistic horror; and "The Colour Out of Space" explores the eerie impact of a meteorite on a remote Massachusetts valley.
 

Book summaries provided via NYPL’s catalog, which draws from multiple sources. Click through to each book’s title for more.