There were dogs. There were stars. There were dog stars. We read them. We watched them. And it’s time for our receipts. So welcome back to Read Receipts: A Big Screen Book Club from The Rolling Tape where each month we read a book and watch its onscreen adaptation. This month we read The Dog Stars by Peter Heller and watched the new film The Dog Stars from Ridley Scott. We’ll get into the differences between the two, what worked, what didn’t, and how we feel about this as an adaptation. So, spoilers ahead for both the book and movie.

Today’s episode is starring your host Kasey Dunifer, and returning book club member, Patrick Regal. The book is from 2012, written by Peter Heller. Heller is a novelist from Vermont, who attended the Iowa Writers workshop and has written a good dozen or so books but this is the first big, on-screen adaptation of one of his works.

The 2026 movie, The Dog Stars, is the latest release from director Ridley Scott who is no stranger to adaptations, with Blade Runner and The Martian, among others. The film stars Jacob Elordi, Josh Brolin, Margaret Quallery and Guy Pierce.