Books

What to Read Next Based on Your Most Recent Netflix Binge

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Let me guess: One of your New Year’s resolutions was to “read more,” but it’s just so easy to let Netflix play its next episode? We have the perfect antidote: A list of book recommendations based on your current Netflix binge. Enjoy!

 

 

If you can’t stop watching Manhunt

Monica Hesse
American Fire: Love, Arson, and Life in a Vanishing Land

Like the Discovery miniseries focused on the Unabomber, we know who committed the crimes in American Fire right away. Instead of focusing on “whodunnit,” this true crime book by Monica Hesse focuses on how the criminals were caught and why they committed their crimes. This focus on the investigation and motive may appeal to fans of Manhunt, and there is no blood in the book for those who are typically squeamish about true crime.

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If you can’t stop watching Stranger Things

Edgar Cantero
Meddling Kids: A Novel

Imagine the gang from Stranger Things all grown up and (gasp!) living their separate lives. That’s what you’ll get in Meddling Kids, a dark and supernatural novel from Edgar Cantero about a group of old friends who dubbed themselves the “Blyton Summer Detective Club” back in 1977. Now in 1990, the gang’s back together, and the story that ensues is very Stranger Things meets Scooby Doo.

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If you can’t stop watching The Crown

Michelle Moran
The Heretic Queen: Heiress of Misfortune, Pharaoh's Beloved

Can’t get enough royal drama? Try The Heretic Queen by Michelle Moran, a historical fiction novel set in ancient Egypt. The story features Nefertari, the niece of former Egyptian queen Nefertiti and the last remaining member of her now-cast-aside royal family. Like the Netflix series about Queen Elizabeth II, plotlines of power and passion abound.

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If you can’t stop watching Black Mirror

Alexander Weinstein
Children of the New World: Stories

Love the dark, WTF episodes of Black Mirror? Try Children of the New World by Alexander Weinstein, a collection of speculative short stories rife with over-dependence on technology in a near-future world. Virtual reality? Check. Creepy implants? Check. Manufactured people? You bet. If you’ve seen it in Black Mirror, you can read a similarly terrifying story in Children of the New World.

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If you can’t stop watching Dear White People

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Americanah

This book pairing is so obvious I didn’t even want to recommend it at first, but on the off-chance you haven’t read Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie yet, there’s no time like the present. In this modern classic, Ifemelu emigrates from Nigeria to the US, where she starts a blog titled Raceteenth or Various Observations About American Blacks (Those Formerly Known as Negroes) by a Non-American Black.

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If you can’t stop watching 13 Reasons Why

Jandy Nelson
The Sky Is Everywhere

If teenagers dealing with serious tragedy amid everyday high school problems is your thing, The Sky is Everywhere by Jandy Nelson offers plenty of opportunities for tears without forgetting to make you laugh. After Bailey dies, her twin sister Lennie must move on without her sister but also without her best friend. Yes, there are some tired YA tropes in here (unnecessary love triangle? yup), but Nelson’s prose is so beautiful, you won’t mind.

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If you can’t stop watching Making a Murderer

Bryan Stevenson
Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption

If the true story of Steven Avery gave you the feels (wherever those feels fell on the spectrum of angry to sad to frustrated), you must read Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson. This semi-autobiographical nonfiction book addresses various aspects of the criminal justice system with a special focus on the story of Walter McMillian, a wrongfully convicted man on death row in Alabama in the 1980s and 1990s.

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Don’t see your show on the list? Leave your favorite TV show in the comments and we’ll respond with a book suggestion!