Many will argue that books are better than movies. Why is this? Mostly because you can use your own imagination to visualize the setting, what the characters look like, and the important details in a scene. The writing generally lends itself to vivid descriptions to help you make the story your own.
I can remember a book in college that I was assigned to read, Like Water for Chocolate. The book had great detail. I recall that I couldn’t put it down. I had visualized every part of the story, including very vivid images of the characters. The book became a quick favorite and I could barely wait to watch the movie.
The movie was all wrong. The characters looked different. Details were missing. The setting was completely different. It was not at all what I had visualized. The movie itself was entertaining and well received. But this was not MY movie.
I believe the personalization one can do by reading a book is what drives people to generally enjoy a book so much more. Don’t get me wrong, fabulous movies have been created based on books. This was an example of a great movie. But it was not MY movie. If you are like me, it is a must to read a book first so I have that experience of creating my own version of the movie.
Check out some of these examples of books to movies and do the comparison. Are there any examples of a time you thought the movie was better than the book?
American Gods by Neil Gaiman
Anne of Green Gables by L. M. Montgomery
The BFG by Roald Dahl
Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty
Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson
Brokeback Mountain by Annie Proulx
Cannery Row by John Steinbeck
Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell
Crazy Rich Asians by Kevin Kwan
Dracula by Bram Stoker
The Fault in Our Stars by John Green
A Game of Thrones by George R. R. Martin
The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins
The Girl with All the Gifts by M. R. Carey
The Godfather by Mario Puzo
Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell
The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood
Interview with the Vampire by Anne Rice
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë
The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan
The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
L.A. Confidential by James Ellroy
Like Water for Chocolate by Laura Esquivel
Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry
One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest by Ken Kesey
Practical Magic by Alice Hoffman
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
The Princess Bride by William Goldman
Roots: The Saga of an American Family by Alex Haley
The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd
A Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket
The Shining by Stephen King
The Silence of the Lambs by Thomas Harris
The Sun is Also a Star by Nicola Yoon
The Talented Mr. Ripley by Patricia Highsmith
The Time Traveler’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
White Oleander by Janet Fitch
