Books! Coming To a Television Near You

There's a conspiracy afoot! The entertainment industry is determined to make a TV watcher out of me. First they pull me in with Game of Thrones, forcing me to pay for HBO even though I watch it on my friend Sarah's "Dude TV" every week because it's more entertaining on a very large screen and with friends who also read the books. Then they send me Entertainment Weekly, eventually getting me hooked on Orphan Black.

Fun fact: The new Daario Naharis from Game of Thrones was on Orphan Black this week!

But apparently those shows weren't enough. Now they're making even more books I've read into TV shows and miniseries! C'mon you guys. I've got writing to do. It's not fair.

Spoiler: Jamie and Claire always end up looking like this.

The one that has me the most excited at present is Outlander, based on Diana Gabaldon's series, coming to Starz this summer. I love everything about these books. Their length, history lessons, the many references to Jamie's hair color (No, it's not just red!). 

I'm about to begin the seventh book in the series. The eighth book comes out in June. Cue fangirl squee.

If like me you are not fluent in Gaelic or perhaps just appreciate a Scottish accent check out this video sent to me months ago by my friend Julie, who got me reading the books and in fact loaned me the first six. The video really helped with an important word which I mispronounced for five lengthy books.

I told you they were lengthy

With something like 10,000 pages in the Outlander series alone Gabaldon has given Starz more than enough material for the show (Dear Mr. Martin, please take note). That's not counting The Lord John spin off books or the novellas. I have no idea how many of them there are as I'm wary of spoilers and won't even add those on Goodreads yet.

It doesn't end there. While I'm incredibly suspicious about what my TV is trying to do to my writing time, I'm also thrilled to have more book adaptations on the way.

I saw on Lev Grossman's Twitter earlier this week that The Magicians will be coming to the SyFy Channel. The third book in the series, The Magician's Land, is coming out this August.

Just last month it was announced that HBO and the BBC will be co-producing a three part miniseries based on J.K. Rowling's The Casual Vacancy.

The Dovekeepers will be a four-hour miniseries on CBS sometime in 2015. I first heard about it from Alice Hoffman herself. Sorry I'm not sorry that I'm still bragging about that time I met one of my favorite writers.

Finally last Sunday waiting for Game of Thrones to start, I saw a commercial for The Leftovers series coming to HBO, which is based on the novel by Tom Perrotta. I've been meaning to read this since it was on The NY Times Best of 2011 list. I know it's currently 2014...I'm so behind. At least the show will force me to read it now.

I'm sure there are even more books coming to the small screen, but these are the ones that have reached me over the last few months. Perhaps a trend started after HBO's success with Game of Thrones? I'm just hoping the schedules of these shows are staggered or I'll be forced to invest in DVR. Who'd have guessed that being an avid reader would lead to such an uptick in my cable bill?

What I'm Loving Lately: Orphan Black

Several months ago I randomly began receiving regular issues of Entertainment Weekly. I have no idea how I was selected for this as I don't watch television much. Still all my bills are paperless and it's nice to get mail I guess. The magazine proved useful before the Oscars and when wrapping a birthday present for a friend who loves pretty much everything television.

Recently I got this copy:

Orphan Black? Hmm? Clones? What's this?

It's a show about clones, people! Maybe you don't know this but clones and genetic augmentation plots a course that leads right up my nerd alley.

Orphan Black is a Sci-Fi drama. I was all like, "You can stop convincing me. You had me at clones." The show is about a troubled orphan punk named Sarah who sees a woman who looks exactly like her commit suicide at the train station. Unable to resist the pull of the coincidence or the purse left on the platform, Sarah goes to the woman's apartment and delves into the life of her possible twin. However, instead of a long lost family, Sarah discovers a host of clones from all over the world. Oh, and someone has begun killing them off.

The first season is available on Amazon Instant (sorry to Netflix only customers) and the new season starts April 19th. I've been binge watching season 1 and will actually have to upgrade my cable to get BBC America which isn't included in my super basic package. Yes, it's that serious.

I see what you did there Entertainment Weekly.

Well played.