Coming attractions: 8 books being adapted for the big screen

Ben Affleck, Martin Scorsese, Luc Besson and Kenneth Branagh have all used books as the basis for their latest movies, opening in theaters next year.

Here's a pick of eight novels to enjoy before the movie adaptations land in 2017.

1) Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie

Those who have never read the 1934 novel, featuring Belgian sleuth Hercule Poirot, can enjoy a new movie version from Kenneth Branagh. The director also stars as the detective, who is traveling on the Orient Express when an American passenger is killed in the middle of the night. He's joined on board the famous train by Johnny Depp, Daisy Ridley, Michelle Pfeiffer, Judi Dench, Michael Pena and Josh Gad.

US release: November 22, 2017

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2) Silence by Shusaku Endo

Martin Scorsese has adapted a 1966 bestselling Japanese novel for his 24th feature film, starring Andrew Garfield, Liam Neeson and Adam Driver. The novel tells the story of Portuguese Jesuits who travel to Japan in the 17th century in search of their mentor, who disappeared while trying to spread the Christian faith.

US release: January, 2017

3) Live by Night by Dennis Lehane

After Gone Baby Gone in 2007, Ben Affleck has once again dipped into Dennis Lehane's back catalog. This time, the director tells the story of Joe Coughlin, the son of a Boston police captain who follows a completely different path from his father by entering the world of organized crime, becoming a bootlegger, a rum-runner and a gangster in Prohibition-era America. The director also stars in the movie, alongside Zoe Saldana, Elle Fanning, Scott Eastwood and Sienna Miller.

US release: January 13, 2017

4) Fifty Shades Darker by E.L. James

The naive Anastasia Steele and the rich businessman with SM tendencies, Christian Grey, are due back on the big screen in 2017 in the movie adaptation of the second book in E.L. James' trilogy. Dakota Johnson and Jamie Dornan step back into the lead roles, joined this time by Kim Basinger.

US release: February 10, 2017

5) Tulip Fever by Deborah Moggach

Set in 17th-century Amsterdam, Tulip Fever is a love story between a woman married to an arms dealer and a young painter. It's now being turned into a movie by Justin Chadwin. Alicia Vikander, Christoph Waltz and Dane DeHaan star as the three characters in this love triangle, alongside Cara Delevingne, Jack O'Connell and Kevin McKidd.

US release: February 24, 2017

6) Beauty and the Beast by Jeanne-Marie Leprince de Beaumont

Before watching Disney's live-action version with Emma Watson and Dan Stevens, why not read (or reread) the original fairy tale, in particular this 1757 version which served as the basis for most later adaptations.

US release: March 17, 2017

7) The Dark Tower by Stephen King

Before watching this big screen adaptation from Danish filmmaker Nikolaj Arcel, starring Idris Elba and Matthew McConaughey, sci-fi fans have plenty of reading matter with the eight novels in Stephen King's The Dark Tower series. The movie is a western that mixes fantasy and horror.

US release: mid-2017

8) The Snowman by Jo Nesbo

The seventh novel in the Norwegian crime writer's Harry Hole series sees the detective hunt a serial killer targeting young mothers in Oslo. The movie version stars Michael Fassbender in the lead role, along with Rebecca Ferguson, Chloe Sevigny, Val Kilmer, JK Simmons and Charlotte Gainsbourg.

US release: October 13, 2017