Friday 14 April 2017

Read the book or watch the film?

I've done a spot of eBay listing this week, mostly DVDs, and it got me thinking about the number of books that get adapted to film or televised versions. I wondered whether people who love the movie ever go on to read its book and, vice-versa, if someone loves a particular book, are they more or less likely to see its film version. What do you think?

Personally I choose to avoid films of books I adored because I tend to be disappointed by their adaptations. If I do see and read, I prefer the film first because I know there will be lots more detail in the book and sometimes a completely different ending! This does mean I don't get to imagine characters and locations though because I envisage what I have seen - even when, with films such as Still Alice for example, the main character's appearance bears no relation to the written description. I also tend to use BBC television adaptations as an excuse not to get stuck into some classics, especially the ones with small print and hundreds of pages!

These are the literary adaptations I'm selling on eBay right now: (Click on each photo to visit its sale page!)





4 comments:

  1. I love to do both and, if I have really enjoyed a book, look forward to seeing how the filmmakers interpret it, though I agree, a film can never offer the detail and a great book can and may be disappointing.
    The Martian was a recent book that I enjoyed as a film too, even though the director chopped one whole section out of the story I could see why that would have made the film too long and complex - and it still worked!
    I loved the book The Girl with all the Gifts but not the film. That storyline, I think was better left to the imagination rather than the silver screen!
    Occasionally, for me, a film outstrips the book and one that sticks in my mind in Jaws by Peter Benchley.

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  2. I love BBC adaptations of the classics so I'm always on the lookout for those. :)

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    1. Bleak House is still available if you want it? Not sure if it will play in your region though?

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