Booked and Busy
Book to Screen News - July 2025
Summer is in FULL force! Many 90-degree days where the air conditioner has been earning it’s keep, dining al fresco with friends, and watching the first proper Summer blockbuster of the season (hello F1).
July has officially arrived though, and I can’t wait to see what this month brings! Concerts, Summer romance books, fireworks on the Fourth of July - let’s freaking go!
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July Watch List:
As part of this year’s Fathom Big Screen Classics series, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest will be re-released to theatres for two nights only; July 13th and July 16th. The movie adaptation swept the 1976 Oscars in the top categories and starred Jack Nicholson in one of his most celebrated roles – what many people today might not know however is that this movie was based on a best-selling novel by Ken Kesey – fingers crossed I’ll be able to read and screen this one!
The FINAL season of The Summer I Turned Pretty (based on the book series by Jenny Han) will be releasing on Amazon Prime beginning July 16th – fingers crossed #teamconrad is endgame because I won’t be able to handle it otherwise!
June Highlights:
As a lifetime White Sox fan I felt blessed to be able to attend an amazing southside celebration honoring the new Pope - and fellow Sox fan - Pope Leo. It was truly so heartwarming to see so many Chicagoans come together to celebrate the first ever American Pope!
News:
Sense & Sensibility by Jane Austen (which I happen to have FINALLY read for the first time this year, and I also screened the Ang Lee movie adaptation after – loved them both) is set to be adapted once again in a new movie version starring none other than Daisy Edgar-Jones! This adaptation is being brought to us by the same team that created the classic 2005 version of Jane Austen’s Pride & Prejudice (it will again be a production from Focus Features & Working Title) which makes me cautiously optimistic (I’m still a bit apprehensive just because I really love the original movie adaptation that starred Kate Winslet and Alan Rickman).
Sense & Sensibility Adaptation Starring Daisy Edgar-Jones (via Deadline)
Laura Dave’s sequel to her best-selling book (The Last Thing He Told Me) – which was turned into a hit Apple TV+ series starring Jennifer Garner – is set to release early in 2026 and will be titled The First Time I Saw Him. I am sooooo excited about this, and I hope it means that we’ll be getting a second season of the show as well!
Exclusive Excerpt from The First Time I Saw Him (via People)
After the success of Greenlights Matthew McConaughey is back with a collection of personal poetry and prayers aptly titled Poems & Prayers which releases this September!
Two of my current favorite actors Penn Badgley and Meghann Fahy are about to be rom-com stars as it has been announced that they are set to star in the adaptation of Sarah Hogle’s novel You Deserve Each Other - I haven’t read this one yet, but I might just have to add it to my TBR after this news!
Just For Fun:
American Eagle has once again collaborated with The Summer I Turned Pretty for an adorable collection to coincide with the FINAL season – my personal favorite items from the collection are linked below (how cute are the Whale of a Tale Bookshop items?!).
AE Whale of a Tale Bookshop Graphic Sweatshirt
AE Whale of a Tale Bookshop Graphic T-Shirt
AE Cousin's Beach Graphic Sweatshirt
One of my absolute favorite small businesses, Girl Tribe Co, recently released a new line of clothing and accessories aptly called Book Tok + Coffee Club and yes, it’s as amazing as it sounds! Check out the entire collection at the link below. My personal favorites are the Dear Reader and No Shelf Control tees – in case you were wondering 😊.