Which do you prefer – books or movies?
Do I even need to say which I would pick a hundred times over?
[Books, in case you’re a new reader]
So many fantastic books have been destroyed by movie depictions. Some movies have been fantastic, but overall I’m not a huge movie fan.
However, one of my favourite books is also one of my favourite movies…
I think the characters are all excellent played by the actors in the movie, and it sticks to the original story pretty well. I love both.
My next comparison I can hardly talk about without getting all riled up…
Okay, I will be the first to admit that Jodi Picoult is not the best writer ever (nor is she the worst), but I think the plot of this novel is absolutely fantastic, and I read it long before the movie came out.
The characters were all portrayed well in the movie, but the ending…. WHAT!? They could not have changed it more if they tried. Anyone agree with me here? It totally ruined it all for me. I’m sure Jodi feels betrayed, I sure would. “Hi Jodi, Hollywood here, just wanted to let you know that we’re massacring your book, okay? Bye.”
(Yeah, yeah, I know she will have agreed to this. Silly woman.)
My last comparison is a book and movie that, although having the same title and same character names, are barely the same…
Honestly, the book and movie are so different, the scriptwriters have basically taken the location and the names of the characters, and run wild with them. However, I still love both, which is rare for me.
What do you think, books or movies? I generally prefer books because I can make up my own image of what a character looks like, and I love going by the author’s description of places without having a director ruin it for me. Plus, a wall full of books looks much more inviting than one of DVDs.
Books take you somewhere a movie never can.
Hope you’re having a good week :)
P.S. Issue 76 of The Demon (my university’s newspaper; I am the News Editor) is out now, check it out on www.demontfortstudents.com/demon and see my silly face on the front page!
A Little Bit of Nonsense. 
As someone who has a wall full of DVDs rather than books I think it would be easy to guess my preference. I agree that adapting movies from books is not always a good idea. The Time Traveller’s Wife is a perfect example. Amazing book but the film was a let down. However, as a DVD addict I do own it and still watch it.
I’ve not seen or read The Time Travellers Wife, is it worth looking into?
Hell yes, the book made me cry. Yes the evil negative one cries, be shocked.
I also read The Time Traveller’s Wife, it was a lot better than the movie.
Woohoo, books win!
Captain Corelli’s Mandolin is another example of a story destroyed by a film…. the book is a thousand times better. I have to say though, I am going to sit on the fence with this debate overall. If you have a book which is later made into a film then you can pretty much guarantee that the book would have been better. I think this is because authors write books with readers rather than viewers in mind. However, there are some movies that would make rubbish books and visa versa…. e.g. musicals and action movies. My one exception to the rule is that I think that both book and film of the Green Mile are brilliant. x
On a side note, the author of Captain Corelli’s Mandolin is giving a lecture to my class next month :)
the obligatory wall of DVDs…lol. it’s hideous to behold. i know so many people with this. you’re right, wall of books > wall of DVDs, preferably when the books are scattered about because you’ve run out of room on the shelves.
The changes in the book/movie ending of My Sisters Keeper maddened me too. Didn’t stop me from crying at both versions though!