Listen to the Books that Inspired 10 of Prime Video’s Best Series with Audible Three-Month Free Trial
It’s officially summer, and if you’ve actually got some time off in the coming months, maybe you’re hoping to get through the stack of books that has been collecting dust on your nightstand. Amazon wants to help you knock out your growing to-read list, no matter where you plan on doing your relaxing.
From now until July 31, Amazon Prime members can opt-in to a free three-month Audible Premium trial. Users will get one credit per month to pick any title from Audible’s premium selection, including bestsellers, new releases, podcasts, audiobooks, concerts, solo shows, and more.
And amongst the thousands of titles on the Amazon subsidiary are a wide-ranging collection of books that have since been turned into Prime Video series of their own. From a tell-all memoir into the world of classical music to a long-standing crime thriller series, here are some of our favorite Amazon Original series that were inspired by or based on books.
Start your Audible trial, check out the list, and then start with the book or the series— whichever order you prefer!
“The Underground Railroad”
It took just over a month after publication for Barry Jenkins to announce he was working on a series adaptation of Colson Whitehead’s 2016 bestseller “The Underground Railroad,” and understandably so. The alternate history novel won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, the National Book Award for Fiction, and many other major accolades. The story follows Cora, a slave in the Antebellum South during the 19th century, who makes a bid for her freedom from her Georgia plantation by following the Underground Railroad, a literal rail transport system with safe houses and secret routes.
Listen to “The Underground Railroad” by Colson Whitehead from Audible
In May 2021, Amazon released the 10-episode TV miniseries adaptation directed by “Moonlight” and “If Beale Street Could Talk” filmmaker Jenkins. Thuso Mbedu plays Cora oppose Chase W. Dillon, Joel Edgerton, Peter Mullan, Mychal-Bella Bowman, and Sheila Atim, with other recurring cast members including Aaron Pierre, William Jackson Harper, Lily Rabe, Amber Gray, Chukwudi Iwuji, and many others. In addition to the Golden Globe Award for Best Miniseries or Television Film and the BAFTA for Best International Programme, the series also received a Peabody Award.
The Underground Railroad
Follow young Cora’s journey as she makes a desperate bid for freedom in the antebellum South. After escaping her Georgia plantation for the rumored Underground Railroad, Cora discovers no mere metaphor, but an actual railroad full of engineers and conductors, and a secret network of tracks and tunnels beneath the Southern soil.
“The Man in the High Castle”
More in alternate history: “The Man in the High Castle.” The series adaptation, like the 1962 book of the same name by Philip K. Dick, is set in a parallel universe where the Axis Powers won World War II and follows characters whose destinies intertwine when they come into contact with newsreels and home movies that show Germany and Japan losing the war.
Listen to “The Man in the High Castle” by Philip K. Dick from Audible
Alexa Davalos, Rupert Evans, Luke Kleintank, DJ Qualls, Joel de la Fuente, Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa, Rufus Sewell, Brennan Brown, and more lead the four-season series.
The Man in the High Castle
Explore what it would be like if the Allied Powers had lost WWII, and Japan and Germany ruled the United States. Based on Philip K. Dick’s award-winning novel.
“The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power”
J. R. R. Tolkien’s epic fantasy trilogy “The Lord of the Rings” is as influential as a book series gets. Two decades after the film trilogy concluded, Amazon premiered “The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power,” based on the trilogy and its appendices. The series takes place thousands of years before the events of “The Lord of the Rings” trilogy and its prequel, “The Hobbit,” and depicts the major events of Middle-earth’s Second Age. Morfydd Clark leads the cast as the Elven warrior Galadriel, starring opposite Lenny Henry, Sara Zwangobani, Dylan Smith, Markella Kavenagh, Megan Richards, Robert Aramayo, Benjamin Walker, and more.
Listen to “The Fellowship of the Ring” by J.R.R. Tolkien from Audible
After its eight-episode first season, which became Amazon's most-watched series of any Prime Video original series, it was renewed for a second season, which is expected to be released in 2024. Brush up on your Middle-Earth knowledge with all three “The Lord of the Rings” novels, as well as “The Hobbit,” “The Silmarillion,” and more lore.
The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power
Beginning in a time of relative peace, we follow an ensemble cast of characters as they confront the re-emergence of evil to Middle-earth. From the darkest depths of the Misty Mountains, to the majestic forests of Lindon, to the breathtaking island kingdom of Númenor, to the furthest reaches of the map, these kingdoms and characters will carve out legacies that live on long after they are gone.
“The Expanse”
After SyFy canceled “The Expanse” following its third season and fans launched a #SaveTheExpanse campaign directed at both Amazon and Netflix, Amazon acquired the sci-fi series, producing three more seasons until its conclusion in January 2022. Set in a future where humanity has colonized the Solar System, “The Expanse” follows “a disparate band of protagonists…as they unwittingly unravel and place themselves at the center of a conspiracy that threatens the system’s fragile state of the Cold War, while dealing with existential crises brought forth by newly discovered alien technology.”
Listen to “Leviathan Wakes” by James S. A. Corey from Audible
Shohreh Aghdashloo, Thomas Jane, Steven Strait, Cas Anvar, Dominique Tipper, Wes Chatham, Paulo Costanzo, Florence Faivre, Shawn Doyle, and Frankie Adams lead the cast. The well-loved sci-fi series is based on the Hugo Award-winning series of novels of the same name by James S. A. Corey, starting with 2011’s “Leviathan Wakes.”
The Expanse
A thriller set two hundred years in the future following the case of a missing young woman who brings a hardened detective and a rogue ship’s captain together in a race across the solar system to expose the greatest conspiracy in human history.
“Good Omens”
The battle of Good versus Evil is one of Amazon’s most popular series. Michael Sheen and David Tennant lead the series adaptation of Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett’s “Good Omens.” The comedy series follows the demon Crowley (Tennant) and the angel Aziraphale (Sheen), longtime acquaintances who have grown accustomed to each other’s company and who team up to prevent the coming of the Antichrist.
Listen to “Good Omens” by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett from Audible
Tennant and Sheen lead a large ensemble cast that also includes Adria Arjona, Miranda Richardson, Michael McKean, Jack Whitehall, Nick Offerman, Brian Cox, Mireille Enos, Jon Hamm, and Frances McDormand. You can get the full experience on Audible, where a brand-new full-cast audiobook production feature Rebecca Front as the narrator with Sheen and Tennant reprising their roles. Listen to it in advance of the “Good Omens” Season 2 premiere on July 28, 2023, on Prime Video.
Good Omens
Aziraphale, an angel, and Crowley, a demon, join forces to find the Antichrist and stop Armageddon.
“Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan”
Now the fifth actor to portray the titular protagonist, “The Office” and “A Quiet Place” star John Krasinski leads Amazon’s adaptation of “Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan.” The political action thriller is based on characters from the fictional “Ryanverse” and the bestselling series created by Clancy, which begins with 1984’s “The Hunt for Red October.”
Listen to “The Hunt for Red October” by Tom Clancy from Audible
“Jack Ryan” follows the titular CIA analyst-turned-field agent through a series of investigations and high-risk situations. Start with “The Hunt for Red October” before working your way through the rest of the series— and before the Season 4 premiere on June 30, 2023
Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan
When CIA analyst Jack Ryan stumbles upon a suspicious series of bank transfers his search for answers pulls him from the safety of his desk job and catapults him into a deadly game of cat and mouse throughout Europe and the Middle East, with a rising terrorist figurehead preparing for a massive attack against the US and her allies.
“Daisy Jones and the Six”
Amazon’s highly anticipated 10-episode miniseries “Daisy Jones & the Six” arrived on the platform earlier this year, starring Riley Keough, Sam Claflin, Camila Morrone, Suki Waterhouse, Will Harrison, Josh Whitehouse, Nabiya Be, Tom Wright, Timothy Olyphant, and Sebastian Chacon.
Listen to “Daisy Joines & The Six” by Taylor Jenkins Reid from Audible
The series, based on Taylor Jenkins Reid’s book of the same name follows a rock band in the 1970s from their rise in the Los Angeles music scene to becoming one of the world’s most famous bands to a height-of-success split. You can watch all 10 episodes of the limited series on Prime Video now and listen to the audiobook on Audible, narrated by Jennifer Beals, Benjamin Bratt, Judy Greer, and Pablo Schreiber.
Daisy Jones & the Six
In 1977, Daisy Jones & The Six were on top of the world. Fronted by two charismatic lead singers — Daisy Jones and Billy Dunne — the band had risen from obscurity to fame. And then, after a sold-out show at Chicago’s Soldier Field, they called it quits. Now, decades later, the band members finally agree to reveal the truth.
“Mozart in the Jungle”
Also taking an inside look at the music industry, “Mozart in the Jungle” tackles another (unexpected) corner of drama: classical musicians. The series, which ran from 2014–2018 on Amazon, was inspired by oboist Blair Tindall’s memoir “Mozart in the Jungle: Sex, Drugs, and Classical Music,” which offered a tell-all look inside the world of high-profile gigs with ensembles including the New York Philharmonic and the orchestras of numerous Broadway shows.
Listen to “Mozart in the Jungle: Sex, Drugs, and Classical Music” by Blair Tindall from Audible
The cast was led by Gael García Berna, Lola Kirke, Malcolm McDowell, Saffron Burrows, Hannah Dunne, Peter Vack, and Bernadette Peters. The four-season dramedy won multiple Golden Globes and Primetime Emmy awards, including Best Television Series – Comedy at the 2016 Golden Globes.
Mozart in the Jungle
In the tradition of Anthony Bourdain’s “Kitchen Confidential” and Gelsey Kirkland’s “Dancing on my Grave” comes an insider’s look into the secret world of classical musicians.
From her debut recital at Carnegie Recital Hall to the Broadway pits of “Les Miserables” and “Miss Saigon,” Blair Tindall has played with some of the biggest names in classical music for twenty-five years. Now in “Mozart in the Jungle,” Tindall exposes the scandalous rock and roll lifestyles of the musicians, conductors, and administrators who inhabit the insular world of classical music.
“The Summer I Turned Pretty”
From “To All the Boys I Loved Before” creator Jenny Han comes her first novel trilogy: “The Summer I Turned Pretty.” The coming-of-age novel series consists of three books—the titular “The Summer I Turned Pretty,” “It’s Not Summer Without You,” and “We’ll Always Have Summer”—making it ripe for the picking for a potential three-season series adaptation, as well.
Listen to “The Summer I Turned Pretty” by Jenny Han from Audible
Lola Tung, Jackie Chung, Rachel Blanchard, Christopher Briney, Gavin Casalegno, Sean Kaufman, Alfredo Narciso, and more lead the cast in the Amazon Original. Staying true to its title, the series adaptation premiered in June 2022 and will have its second season premiere on July 14, 2023, perfect for your summertime viewing.
The Summer I Turned Pretty
Every summer, Belly and her family head to the Fishers’ beach house in Cousins. Every summer is the same … until Belly turns sixteen. Relationships will be tested, painful truths will be revealed, and Belly will be forever changed. It’s a summer of first love, first heartbreak and growing up — it’s the summer she turns pretty.
“Reacher”
Amazon knows Jack, from Ryan to Reacher. Alan Ritchson stars as the titular former military policeman in “Reacher,” the action-crime series based on the book series by Lee Child. In it, Reacher teams up with a pair of Georgia officers to investigate a wide conspiracy with corrupt cops, politicians, and businessmen.
Listen to “Killing Floor” by Lee Child from Audible
The book series debuted in 1997 and includes 26 novels, as well as a short story collection. the first season is based on the series’ debut novel “Killing Floor,” while Season 2 will be based on “Bad Luck and Trouble.”
Reacher
Jack Reacher, a veteran military police investigator, has just recently entered civilian life. Reacher is a drifter, carrying no phone and the barest of essentials as he travels the country and explores the nation he once served.
If you don’t quite get through your to-listen list in three months, Prime customers can continue their Audible Premium Plus memberships at $14.95 per month. You can also switch to an Audible Plus plan for $7.95 per month, which allows you to access Audible’s full catalog without the extra monthly credit.