Book Then Movie

I remember when Confessions of a Shopaholic came out in theaters.  I was so excited; I am a little bit of a shopaholic myself, so I was excited to have someone to share shopping experiences with.  When I found out there was a book series, I quickly found a copy of the first book and read it.  I instantly fell in love with Becky Bloomwood and her antics.  When I saw the movie, I was not impressed.  They changed some aspects of her character (in the book she is from England, and in the movie she was American).  They combined the first two books of the series to make the movie, which I did not like too much.  Ever since this experience, I have always read the book first before seeing the movie.  In fact, right now I am currently reading Far from the Madding Crowd in anticipation of the movie coming out on DVD.  I make the movie my treat for finishing the book.  There are so many movies out right now that have come from books, so I figured I would give my reasons for why I think you should read the book first.

1.  Author’s Intentions.  Oftentimes, the movie directors do not work with the author (the Twilight series is one of the only movie series I know that fully worked with the author (besides John Green or Nicholas Sparks); she even had a cameo in one of the movies).  Because of this, the movie often loses some of its charm and what the author intended for the book.  The story loses its voice and oftentimes finds a new voice that does not match the tone of the story.  Some of the characters will lose a piece of themselves.  The actor might not match the book description of the character, or they might lose certain catchphrases that they say in the book. 

2.  Imagination Loss.  If you just watch the movie and don’t read the book, then you can miss out on a great opportunity.  Whenever I read a book, I love to make a mental picture of it (as I have written about in another post).  By just watching the movie, you miss out on making your own mental movie.  Just think about it: you can come up with a cast of your favorite actors, and scenery of your choice.  Who wouldn’t want to do that?!      

There is one downside to reading the book before seeing the movie, however, it is not too detrimental.  If you read the book before seeing the movie, then you may not like the movie.  A lot of times, after you read the book, your expectations will be set pretty high (if you REALLY love the book).  The movie may disappoint you if it doesn’t live up to your expectations.  I know a lot of times I have hated a movie adaption simply because of the actors they get for the movie.  There are even times when the movie is better than the book (sorry Nicholas Sparks fans, I have to say the movie of The Notebook is better than the book).    

I hope this post has inspired you to read the book first before the movie.  Let me know what books have been better than the movie or vice versa.