The great book/movie debate

Monday, June 22, 2009

There are people who would always rather read the book. There are people who would always rather watch the movie. Personally, I'm a book girl. I can barely name a time when I've read a book, then watched the movie, and been impressed.

Case in point: The Notebook. I read the book first and I thought it was overdramatic and sappy to the max. There's corny and then there's The Notebook. If you are diabetic, avoid The Notebook at all costs because you'll go into a sugar coma. If you are lactose intolerant, steer clear: this puppy's dripping in cheese. You get the picture. Yet I felt compelled to see the movie. HATED it. The book was comically corny; the movie made me want to punch the main characters in the face. They were not at all how I'd pictured them while reading the book and my level of disappointment after seeing the film actually surprised me. I hadn't realized I'd cared that much.

Some of my favourite books are being made into movies, and I know I'm going to want to watch the movies, but I'm buggin'. I'm convinced that the movie will portray them differently than I've been picturing them in my head and I'm scared this will ruin the stories for me altogether, which would obviously be quite the tragedy.

I saw a trailer for The Time Traveler's Wife, which I'm still reading. Amazing book, I'm really loving it, but there's Rachel McAdams, ruiner of The Notebook. And what's up with Henry? The book makes him sound more gaunt or rugged or something. This guy looks too clean-cut and...healthy? Colour me concerned.

The Lovely Bones is also being made into a motion picture. It's another of my favourite books and another that I'm hoping won't be ruined on the big screen.

One exception to the love-the-book-hate-the-movie rule was Confessions of a Shopaholic. I still preferred the book, and Isla Fisher was not at all what I was envisioning Rebecca would look like. Plus, the film took place in the US but the book was based in England, which bugged me a little. But overall the movie was fun and I didn't leave the theatre pissy and hating the Shopaholic series. Maybe because it was such a lighthearted and chick-litty read I didn't have a lot of strong feelings about it. For example, if Susie Salmon or her sister are blonde in The Lovely Bones, I'll probably flip out. I picture them as having dark hair, and I imagine the Salmons living in a yellow bungalow. If the movie deviates from that I don't know if I can handle it!

What about you...do you prefer the book or the movie, or both?

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11 comments

  1. redbullfanaticJune 22, 2009 at 8:25 PM

    I almost always hate the movie. I actually liked The Notebook (book form) and cried my eyes out like a little baby. The movie pissed me off though and I wish I had never seen it.

    I'm reading My Sister's Keeper right now so that I can go see the movie...hopefully they don't screw this one up, even though the mother in the book has dark hair and in the movie she has blonde (a la Camera Diaz)...whatever.

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  2. lindseyJune 22, 2009 at 9:35 PM

    I'm a book girl too. I'm rarely satisfied by the movie version. I just checked out the Time Traveler's Wife trailer ... it's hard to say, but I highly doubt the movie will do the book justice. It's also one of my faves.

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  3. AmyJune 22, 2009 at 9:43 PM

    @Michelle I want to read that too! I keep seeing it in Chapters and I'm like "No Amy, you have to finish your Christmas books before you buy any more" :)

    @Lindsey I'm skeptical too...I want to stay optimistic but I think the movie is going to be a letdown after the book.

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  4. BenJune 22, 2009 at 10:14 PM

    Ahem. The Sooky Stackhouse books could not possibly be as good as the True Blood tv series because they do not feature weekly doses of this:

    http://images.google.ca/images?q=Ryan+Kwanten&oe=utf-8&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a&um=1&ie=UTF-8&ei=XyxASuq_LY68lAeziszcAQ&sa=X&oi=image_result_group&resnum=1&ct=title

    You're welcome.

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  5. L-AJune 23, 2009 at 12:47 AM

    I'm generally a book girl, but there are always exceptions. While I liked the mini-series of Pride & Prejudice, I hated the Keira Knightly version with a passion.

    I'm not sure how I'll feel about The Lovely Bones as a movie. I'm just glad that it's been awhile since I've read the book.

    I can usually deal when the characters don't look like I imagine they should, but I hate when they mess with key parts of the plot.

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  6. The Dutchess of KickballJune 23, 2009 at 9:52 AM

    I will always like the book better. And really, anything Nicholas Sparks makes me want to vomit so I stay far far away from all of it.

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  7. UnknownJune 23, 2009 at 9:56 AM

    I always prefer the book to the movie. I love that books allow you to envision whatever you want; you arent stuck watching a director or actor's vision of a character or plot. And I'm always able to lose myself in books, whereas that never happens in movies. So, I'm with you: I alays read the book first, love it, and wind up disliking the movie. For Twilight, however, I saw the movie first and while watching it, I felt like there were so many holes in the story. So I read the book and was able to fill in those holes, but unable to get the image of the movie characters out of my brain. I hated that I lost my creative voice while reading the book!

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  8. AmyJune 23, 2009 at 10:20 AM

    @Ben I had no idea True Blood was based on a book series! I think I'm the only person who doesn't find vampires hot. Circus folk on the other hand...meeeeooowwwww.

    @L-A I more or less hate Keira Knightly movies regardless. I don't like her whiny voice and sulky underbite. Lovely Bones is really worrying me because I liked the book soo much.

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  9. FB @ FabulouslyBroke.comJune 23, 2009 at 4:46 PM

    I tend to not like the movies either.

    Hello? Confessions of a Shopaholic? SO DISAPPOINTING.

    With that being said.. I still give it a try. I mean, I watched and read The Devil Wears Prada and loved both.

    But I'm way more of a book girl. Time Traveler's wife eh? I will get on that, and The Other Boleyn Girl.

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  10. AnonymousJune 23, 2009 at 8:45 PM

    That's a tough choice! Usually I like both, for different reasons. I like the book because you know how the characters feel, and there is more detail. But yet I love the movie because you can actually put a face to the characters.

    I've just seen the trailer for The Time Traveler's Wife and now I really want to read the book and watch the movie. Usually if I really like the book, i end up watching the movie and vise-versa!

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  11. AmyJune 24, 2009 at 3:11 PM

    I'm almost done reading the Time Traveler's Wife and I'm so sad it's coming to an end :( Seriously, love love loving the book.

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