Friday, September 19, 2014

Read the Book or See the Movie First?

The idea for this post came from both seeing the big screen adaptation of Gayle Forman's If I Stay last month and my current obsession with the small screen adaptation of Diana Gabaldon's Outlander. In both cases, I'd read the book before watching the movie/TV show (Although I must confess to only having read the first Outlander book; I have a lot of catching up to do.). I'm the type of person who usually likes to read the book first. I don't really know why; it's just a preference. Maybe it's because I've always been a much more avid reader than TV viewer/movie goer. Also, I think perhaps I like checking out the source material first and then making the inevitable comparisons.

I have extremely fond memories of reading George R. R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire in 2011, the year that the series debuted on HBO. Ally and I read A Game of Thrones about a month before the first episode premiered, and we continued working our way through the books through that summer. It was one of the greatest reading experiences ever, to simultaneously read about the characters in a book and witness them come to life on the screen.

I also remember being determined to read Elizabeth Gaskell's North and South before watching the BBC miniseries with the very, very, very, very, very swoon-worthy Richard Armitage. Why did I absolutely need to read the novel first? Again, it was just a resolution that had ensconced itself in my brain. Anyway, North and South was the first book that I read after moving to Florida; the memory has stuck with me because it was the only book that I had with me for almost a month because the rest of my books were in storage back up in New York. It was quite a while until life settled down enough for me to have time (and a TV and DVD player) to watch North and South. As just about everyone else who's seen it can attest, the wait was most definitely worth it. I also think that the miniseries features the best-added-scene-not-in-the-book EVER.

There are two authors whom you just may have heard of whose works I was introduced to through a film adaptation. The first is Jane Austen. I hadn't read any of her novels prior to watching the 1995 version of Sense and Sensibility, but afterwards, I wanted to read all of them ASAP. i was utterly blown away by that film, and I loved Alan Rickman's performance as Colonel Brandon. I went on to read all of Austen's novels, and she's since become one of my all-time favorite authors.

And the other author whose books I started reading because of a single, life-altering film adaptation is . . . J. K. Rowling. Yes—I saw Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone before cracking open a single HP book. Back in 2001, when everyone and their sixth cousin twice removed had devoured the series, I had no clue what all the craze was about other than I wasn't a part of it. I was definitely curious, though, and when my best friend, who had read the books, suggested we go see Sorcerer's Stone, I was totally on board. I left the theater with a singular mission in mind: to buy and read all of the books as soon as was humanly possible. I was in luck because a box set of the four books that were available at the time had just arrived in stores, and by the end of that weekend, that prettiful was sitting on my bookshelf.

I can't think of an instance where seeing the movie first didn't interest me in reading the book. Maybe I should do that more often, since everything worked out so well with Sense and Sensibility and Harry Potter, LOL.

How about you—do you usually like to read a book before seeing the movie/TV show, or does it make no difference?

6 comments:

  1. I usually try and read the book first as I like to compare the two..but I think when I rent If I Stay I probably will read the book after if I like the movie as I am not much of a contemporary fan and not sure if I will like it!

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    1. I feel the same about contemporary reads. I was hesitant when I read If I Stay a few years ago, but so many readers had loved it, and I ended up loving it, too. It is very sad, in case you want to keep the tissues handy, lol.

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  2. IF I haven't read the book yet and I know the movie is coming out and it looks like something I will love, I watch the movie first and then read the book if I've enjoyed it. The Maze Runner is one right now that I haven't read, but the movie looks sooo good. I read the Twilight series after seeing the movie. I find that working backwards that way makes me enjoy the books so much more instead of looking for those flaws missing in the movies that tends to happen when you go the other way. I did the same thing with Jane Austen, but mine was with the Keira Knightley P&P movie. I read a lot of Austen then and watched Sense & Sensibility which I also loved. It was fun seeing so many HP stars in that movie :D Jaclyn @ JC's Book Haven.

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    1. Oh, that's right- quite a few of the actors from S & S were in HP at some point! I remember reading somewhere that Hugh Grant had been considered for Gilderoy Lockhart. I haven't read The Maze Runner, either, but the movie does look really, really good. And of course Mockingjay Part 1 will be out soon, but I'm already covered on the book for that one, lol!

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  3. I DEFINITELY usually read the book first. I even insist on reading the book before attempting to watch the show/film in most cases - which means holding out on good t.v. while I find the time to read ALL THE BOOKS O.O But often times, I read the books even before talks about turning it into a movie come into play. Admittedly,I saw the film versions of LotR, Harry Potter (films 1-3 *gasp*) and the first Twilight film BEFORE getting into the book and like you said: it definitely worked out for the best with those so why worry?! Usually if we enjoy the film, as readers we're likely to enjoy the book even more regardless of the order we experience them in :D

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    1. I miss out on all kinds of TV, bookish and non, because my attention in the evenings is usually on a book with the TV on in the background. :) Of the films I saw first before reading the book, I can't think of an instance where I didn't like the book when I got around to reading it. And seeing the 1st HP movie without having read the novel absolutely worked out for the best. :D

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