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Thursday, March 08, 2007

Which Comes First - the Movie or the Book?

Recently, I finished reading the book The Painted Veil by Somerset Maugham. I consciously chose to read the book before seeing the movie so that while reading, I would be able to create my own mind’s images, uninfluenced by Hollywood.

Usually I find that I prefer a book to its movie adaptation. At times after reading a book, I have prepared to watch, with great anticipation, its movie version, only to be disappointed because the focus had been changed, details left out, or literary characters had been “beautified” by Hollywood for the screen, as was Nobu Toshikazu in Arthur Golden’s Memoirs of a Geisha. That said, I have enjoyed well done movie adaptations of books and additionally I have been inspired to read books because I have seen a movie, as was the case with Schindler’s List.

What are your thoughts? What books were you inspired to read, or conversely, decided not to read, after seeing its movie counterpart? Are there any books you would like to see made into a movie?

Be sure to come into the library and visit our display of books (all of which can be checked out) that have been made into movies.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

I am not going to lie-- I have NEVER read any of the Harry Potter books. I am in love with the movies, much to the dismay of my friends, who are avid HP readers. So what if the movies are nothing like the books? They are interesting, and to someone who has never read an HP book, they make great stories.

However, the one movie/book combo that I absolutely loved was Holes. I read the book way back in 3rd grade, and when the movie came out I'll admit, I was a little bit weary... Much to my suprise, the movie was very close to the book, and it was an excellent portrayal of the plotline... besides the fact Stanley looked nothing like Shia Labeouf!!