Have you ever read a great book and thought it should be made into a movie? I certainly have.
Have you ever seen a movie and thought, “Wow, that would make a great book!” I didn’t think so.
You have probably read a book and then seen the movie and said, “The book was way better than the movie.”
However, you probably haven’t said, “Wow, the movie was so much better than the book.” Have you?
So would you rather read the book before seeing a movie? Or see the movie and then read the book? Or read the book and not want to even ruin it by seeing the movie? Or see the movie, and the heck with the book because you don’t read? (I didn’t think that last one applied to most of you.)
I don’t usually remember much about the books I read or the movies I see after I have read or seen them. One of my quirks. However, I can recall two movies that seemed as good—or almost as good—as the book: The Martian and A Man Called Ove. I thought The Martian movie helped explain some of the details I really couldn’t understand in the book. As far as A Man Called Ove—well, the book is great, the movie is great, and if you haven’t seen and read it, you should. I should add to this list The Help, which I thought was a great book and a great movie.
What other movies were as good as—or almost as good as—the book?
One real failure of a movie I remember is One for the Money, based on the fun Janet Evanovich mystery. You probably didn’t see it because I suspect hardly anyone did. This series of books is up to about 26 now. When the movie came out, the book series was already in the teens somewhere, so I (mistakenly) figured that the movie would be a compilation of the books. But it was actually just the first book. The problem (besides the awful casting, in my opinion) was that since the first book, some of the characters had taken on much better roles in the books. Major disappointment.
I am on the side of reading the book first. Why?
A book causes the reader to imagine what the words are describing. That is the whole purpose of a book, especially a novel.
If we think a book would make a good movie, we might wonder Who would be cast in the movie? How would certain aspects of the book be handled? What would special effects or stunts look like? What would the setting look like?
When you see the movie after reading the book, you might wonder why parts were left out; you may agree or disagree with the casting. You may think it was great and pretty much like the book. Sometimes we are disappointed when the movie veers too far away from the book because we loved the book and wished that the movie had remained true to the book. I cannot think of a movie that veered too much from the book where people thought the movie was better. Can you?
If you don’t like a book, the buck stops there. You probably won’t see the movie. So when you do see a movie adapted from a book, you probably enjoyed the book—if you read it—and therefore you probably will think the book was better than the movie. Logical?
When you read a book, you might think it would make a great movie, but of course, no one watches a movie and says how it would make a great book, do they? That is why I think it is best to read the book first. Who wants to know the ending of the book before you read it? I probably wouldn’t bother to read the book if I saw the movie first. However, even if you know the ending because you read the book, you still want to see the movie.
Many times we see a movie without realizing it is also a book. Often it takes years for the movie to be made after the book is published and then optioned as a movie.Then, if we enjoyed the movie, we might go back and read the book—I guess.
I just read a book and had no idea it was a movie. DUH ! Ready Player One. I saw that the book was on the bestseller list, so I read it. I should have suspected something was up because it was on the bestseller list in 2018 and was published in 2011. So, obviously, the movie caused a resurgence of the book. Many people, contrary to my situation, saw the movie and had no idea that is was ever a book. Maybe those people, when they found out there was a book, wanted to read it. If I find out about a movie I want to see and then discover there is a book, I may very well rush to read the book before I see the movie. But not always.
To each his own. (Now, how are they going to make that saying politically correct? To each, his or her own? That isn’t quite right either.)
Well, you get the point. I would love to hear your opinions and examples on this topic!
I know. I know. Some people much prefer when I talk about grammar, which I usually do. Here are a couple of old grammar posts you might like:
Sometimes Me Is Correct and I Is Wrong
If you haven’t already checked out my books, click!
Amen, sister!
Thanks for all your comments and the other responders.
You may know about this website, but I’ll plug it anyway because I’m related to the blog owner.
http://www.jprof.com
It is filled with book and author commentary and historical tidbits.
Thanks for the comment and the link. I will check it out!
I think Blade Runner was better than the ‘book’ (Do Robots Dream of Electric Sheep) but that was actually a short story so I don’t know if it counts.
I did have to smile when they took Lee Child’s book character Jack Reacher (6 feet 5 Inches, 250 pounds of solid muscle) and turned into a film when the lead role was taken by – er – Tom Cruise (enough said)
I never read nor saw Blade Runner. However, I agree it is pretty funny to have Cruise play Reacher! I have read a couple of Reacher books, but didn’t see that movie either.
Great blog, Arlene.
Okay. Here is the list I’ve compiled of great books I’ve read followed by the great movie:
The Zookeeper’s Wife
The Book Thief
One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest
Of Mice and Men
Harry Potter (the entire series. You can’t put it ALL in a movie!)
The Godfather
The Grapes of Wrath
The Kite Runner
Holes
Keep writing these fun blogs. They don’t always have to be about grammar.
Glad you liked the topic. I notice some people leave my blog unless I talk about grammar. However, it could be my imagination. People join and people drop all the time. I could probably have t hought of more books that had a great movie if I could remember any movies I have seen! I like your list. I do agree with Cuckoo’s Nest, which I saw and read. I didn’t read or see The Zookeeper’s Wife. I read the Book Thief, but don’t think I saw the movie. Same with Of Mice and Men. I am not sure if I read The Godfather, but I didn’t like the movie because I don’t like that type of movie – so I probably didn’t read the book! Read the Grapes of Wrath and Kite Runner, but I don’t think I saw the movies. Read Hole, but didn’t see it. I will keep writing these fun posts as long as something pops into my head — or anyone has any suggestions.
I think you’ll like The Zookeeper’s Wife. It’s based on a true story.
I don’t like violent movies, either.
Go rent Holes. You’ll like it.
I didn’t read the Zookeeper’s wife — or did I? I sounds familiar. The movie does too. I am familiar with Holes because some teachers taught it at the junior high, but I never did. I remember wanting to see the movie, but never did.
I love Pamela Fender’s list. I was thinking of The Book Thief as a book I loved, but didn’t see the movie. The movie didn’t get great reviews and I didn’t want it to detract from my love of the book.
I also laughed at how you don’t remember books or movies, Arlene. It frustrates me that I can’t either. The names of characters who moved me or stories that captivated me just don’t stick. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve watched a movie or read a book and thought how predictable it was – because I’d already seen it or read it! I’m envious of people with better memories.
Thanks for the comment. I am always amazed when people talk about what happened in movies and book that I read or saw years ago (or months ago!), and I cannot remember a thing! I can remember a few selected things from a few selected movies that I loved.
Hi, Arlene,
Well, I’m wracking my brain, trying to think of a book that would make a great movie. In the meantime, I am a copy editor, as you know. I am also a writer, but now I am speaking as a copy editor. In your blog post about apostrophes, I do not see the non-word ” its’ ” mentioned, although I believe you did mention it in a later blog post.
I can think of a book I read not too long ago that would make a great movie! And it is written by a writer a know. I will have it as my book of the day on Facebook soon. It is called The Mourning Parade by Dawn Reno Langley. I don’t actually see its’ very often, so that must be why it wasn’t mentioned in that particular post.
One book that I love is To kill a Mockingbird, and the movie lived up to the book. I think it’s Gregory Pecks finest role.
Good one. I didn’t think of that one, but I was talking to a friend of mine about this yesterday, and she also thought that was a great movie AND a great book.
I agree!