“The Testaments,” which is on the Man Booker Prize shortlist, is likely to be one of the biggest titles of the year when it comes out Sept. 10. If you can’t get your hands on a copy right away, here’s what to read and watch in the meantime.

Image Credit... Sonny Figueroa/The New York Times

[ Looking for more great new books? Here are our most anticipated titles of September. ]

Read (or revisit) the original

There’s nothing like reading Atwood’s 1985 novel, which introduces readers to Gilead, a religious autocracy that has developed after a coup in what was once the United States. One of the most chilling conceits is set up early in the book: “Ordinary,” one character says, is “what you are used to. This may not seem ordinary to you now, but after a time it will. It will become ordinary.”

Our reviewer had high praise, calling it “a taut thriller, a psychological study, a play on words.” Even though the world Atwood conjures up is bleak, he wrote, “the sensibility through which we view this world is infinitely rich and abundant .”

Catch up with the TV version

Hulu’s adaptation has been a critical and commercial success since its 2017 debut, garnering Emmys and Golden Globes in addition to a loyal fan base. The first season hewed closely to the plot of the novel, but later episodes strayed beyond, imagining Offred’s eventual escape from Gilead and sketching in back stories for other characters.

[Read Margaret Atwood’s annotation of the first season.]

Speaking with The Times ahead of the third season, the series showrunner, Bruce Miller, wrote of his goals for the show. “We don’t ever make up cruelties, because that just seems like pornography,” he said. “We unfortunately have plenty of material that exists in the world.”