Movie or book first?

[Fran27]

The $100 question... do you like reading a book or watching the movie first? I read some comments on Facebook about how people were glad they read a book before seeing the movie, and I just don't get it.

I mean, yeah, I've been very excited about seeing some movies when they adapt a book years after I've read it, but in the end it's often disappointing. I read the Hunger Game series after watching the first one and wish I hadn't, I can't say that Catching Fire and Mockingjay were all that exciting to me because of it. I mean, they are good movies, but there is no surprise at all... Same for Divergent, loved the books, the movie was alright but nothing new, you know? At least when you read the book after it's typically richer and you actually get something more out of it.

I haven't read the Hobbit yet either. Probably one of the first things I will do after Wednesday when I finally see the last one. I read the Lord of the Rings after seeing the movies too and I'm really glad I waited.

Thoughts? It just seems most people like reading the book first...

 

[amberdyan]

I prefer books over movies 100%- and since I'm an English teacher, honestly chances are I've already read a book when the movie comes out. I think the reason I like seeing the movie anyway is that it's someone else's interpretation of what the most important parts of a book are. I always find it interesting, but never as good as the book.

(P.S. Ohhh... The Hobbit... the movies are COMPLETELY different. Like... at times hardly discernible as the same story. The Hobbit was written as a whimsical children's story. I'm pretty sure there are some people that would hit me for this but... I liked the movies better.)

 

[Southpaw]

Book first. I don't really like watching movies sooo generally I'm only watching stuff if I've read the book and enjoyed it. Harry Potter, Hunger Games, Divergent... would never watch them if I hadn't read the books first. (and the books are 10000x better)

Also I feel like the movies would need more explanation if you don't know the book.

 

[xpaeanx]

Book first. I don't really like watching movies sooo generally I'm only watching stuff if I've read the book and enjoyed it. Harry Potter, Hunger Games, Divergent... would never watch them if I hadn't read the books first. (and the books are 10000x better)

Also I feel like the movies would need more explanation if you don't know the book.

All of this. Plus I find that once I watch the movie and now know the gist of the story, my mind wonders too much for me to actually read the book.

 

[Ozfozz]

I prefer book first.

Yes, movies often disappoint those whom have read the book first. But I find that movies also tend to leave some key elements out that the book provided.
Also, I feel like when I read a book I am excited to see the movie because the movie is how one person (or a group of people) interpreted the book. It's interesting to see how it differs from my own take.

 

[CrystalGSD]

Book first. I don't really like watching movies sooo generally I'm only watching stuff if I've read the book and enjoyed it. Harry Potter, Hunger Games, Divergent... would never watch them if I hadn't read the books first. (and the books are 10000x better)

Also I feel like the movies would need more explanation if you don't know the book.

I'm the same. I always somehow end up going with someone who hasn't read the book before watching the movie, and they end up bombarding me with zillions of questions while I'm trying to focus on the movie. It gets kinda annoying.

 

[Fran27]

Wow I'm really the odd one out!

I actually don't mind at all when the movies leave some things out, it makes reading the book after even more enjoyable.

 

[frostfell]

Book, always always always book first!

 

[teacuptiger]

I prefer to read the book first, but now it's gotten to the point where if I have not read the book and then find out a movie is coming out... I will not read the book.

It's just always disappointing and I can't enjoy the movie as a movie. I'm always comparing how it's not anything like the book. That doesn't work when books-to-movies these days aren't meant to be a live version of the book (like the first two HP movies were), they're just created because the book was popular and a movie seemed like a good idea.

 

[~Jessie~]

Book first always!

The bad part is that it generally ruins the movie, but the experience of reading is greater than what I get out of a ~2 hour long film.

I tried watching The Maze Runner and couldn't even finish it. LOVED the book, hated the adaptation.

I will say that I LOVE Game of Thrones even though I've read the books. The show still keeps me interested, but I think it's because each episode is an hour long vs. 2 hours tops for most movies.

 

[BostonBanker]

Books for me first for sure. I'm not a huge fan of movies in general, and I think if I tried to watch a lot of the recent book-to-movie movies first, I wouldn't even get in to the movie. It's the fact that I know the 90% of the book that is left out of the movie (all the different back stories and side stories that get left out) that make me involved enough in the movie to pay attention.

I'm usually pretty good at being able to enjoy the movie, even if it "disappoints" compared to the book. I just try to think of them as two separate entities.

 

[teacuptiger]

Just wanted to add, a nice perk of not reading first is that I don't have to realize that they've COMPLETELY changed characters. Not just Percy Jackson-ing the age, or changing looks, but personality.

Mortal Instruments, anybody?

Yeah, they do leave the pit of the book out and you're left with the skin in a movie, but I don't expect half of the movies these days to be deep anymore.

 

[Laurelin]

Book first though I did watch Game of Thrones before reading them.

 

[eddieq]

It doesn't matter too much to me. If there is a movie based on a book, I usually want to read the book if I haven't already. Often after seeing a movie with the kids based on a young adult novel I will ask on the way home, "Have you read it, and can I borrow it."

I read all of the Hunger Games books before the first movie came out and I never saw a Harry Potter movie before reading the book, but that was mostly because the release of the movies was so long after the release of the books.

I did see Eragon before reading the first book. I truly liked that book series much better.

I have zero interest in any of the Hobbit movies or the LOTR movies. Didn't like the books at all and couldn't get into the stories. But that was 30 years ago, so my tastes may have changed, but I found the first LOTR movie so God awful boring and the acting so wooden that I had no desire to go back for the next 12 hours.

Overall, I try to treat the movies and books as separate entities/stories. They may be based on each other but the stories tend to be vastly different.

 

[Equinox]

I watch more movies/TV than I read (significantly, significantly more), but I will also echo the "book first" sentiment if the book is well written and an overall excellent book.

But then you have books like Divergent and The Mortal Instruments where I wish I never read the book and just watched the movie instead, so I can wash the terribleness out of my brain. Bad books stay with me much longer than bad movies, because I multitask while watching movies but bad books leave me irritated and cheated lol I can enjoy a bad movie but not a poorly written book with awful mary sue characters and cliches all over.

As far as wonderful books that were made into terrible movies go...I really hope The Golden Compass/Northern Lights gets redone.

Sometimes I will watch a movie knowing that it's adapted from a well written book, but mostly because I'm interested in the movie and would likely have never read the book otherwise. Cloud Atlas and Never Let Me Go come to mind.

Book first though I did watch Game of Thrones before reading them.

Ohhh yeah, there's also that. I did watch Game of Thrones before reading the books (before even knowing the books existed, honestly), but I think after Season 2 or Season 3 I started skimming. I just wanted to see what happened to my favorite characters to be honest, but over the summer started rereading it more in depth.

It's a great series, but I never would have continued reading the ASOIAF books without the show because of all the characters and words. Even then I only understood about 60% of the plot lines going on.

 

[Maxy24]

Movie first (and yes I'm the only person I know who feels this way). I hadn't heard of Harry Potter until the movies came out so I just happened to start watching them first. I got SO tired of all the people complaining about how the book was so much better, they left so much out, etc. OKAY but did you like the movie on it's own? No one seems capable of looking past the changes and omissions. Yes the book is going to have more detail, it's a book.

I also tend to find movies far more surprising/thrilling than book in general, it's a big part of what makes movies enjoyable for me. NOTHING bothers me more than when someone tells me what's going to happen in a movie/TV show. If I know what's going to happen then I feel like I've lost a huge part of what makes me like movies so much. With books I'll still be completely drawn in and happy even if I know what's coming. Some of this may be that in general I enjoy movies more. I love to read but nothing tends to speak to me emotionally like a movie.

So for me I get to watch the movie and then read the book to continue the awesomeness and discover the little details that were going on "behind the scenes" of what was shown in the film. Then I can always go back and rewatch after I've been filled in on everything that was happening by the book.

 

[amberdyan]

Movie first (and yes I'm the only person I know who feels this way). I hadn't heard of Harry Potter until the movies came out so I just happened to start watching them first. I got SO tired of all the people complaining about how the book was so much better, they left so much out, etc. OKAY but did you like the movie on it's own? No one seems capable of looking past the changes and omissions. Yes the book is going to have more detail, it's a book.

This is a good point and I agree with you. I'm a Harry Potter fan (and was a HUGE one as a kid) and I LOVED going to see the movies. My best friend just complained through 50% of them because of the changes. I just think of them as separate entities. It's a serious challenge to turn thousands of pages into just a few hours and I'm always interested in seeing how screenwriters/directors choose to interpret things. Sometimes I disagree and think there are better ways to have done a scene/dialogue/etc. but sometimes I'm blown away by an adaptation or interpretation I never thought of.

 

[*blackrose]

I don't care either way.

At times, I'd rather watch the movie first, because I know the book is going to be 10000x better. That way, I can enjoy the movie for being a movie and not spend my entire time cursing it and going, "No, THAT IS NOT WHAT HAPPENS. THIS IS NOT CANON. STAHP." (Fourth Harry Potter movie, anyone?)

But, if I read the book first, that's okay, too. Because more times than not, my love of the book is what makes me so excited to go see the movie.

Good examples: the LOTR movies.

The books were a challenge for me to get through, and I think I've only read them all once. The movies, however, I LOVE.

On the other hand, The Hobit. I LOVED the book. Hate these freaking movies they're coming out with. I've seen all of the movies (and will see the one they'll be releasing in a few days) because I enjoy them as movies, but it just pains me inside that they just...changed so much from the book.

 

[PerformanceDog]

I am with most people and enjoy reading the book before seeing the movie. I find that my motivation to read the book after seeing the movie is gone.

I also love seeing movies in general, so if I already know basically everything that is going to happen that is fine with me, because it will be different than I had envisioned, so that is interesting to see too.

I also feel like I know all the secrets when I watch the movie and know what is left out and what everyone else is missing if they didn't read the book.

 

[AmberH]

I've only read a few books after seeing the movies. P.S. I Love You and The Notebook come to mind. I loved, LOVED, both of those movies. When I read the books, they were kind of meh. Both were pretty different from their film adaptations and I really didn't care for either book. I have watched both True Blood and Game of Thrones and I'm attempting to get through the book series they came from and I'm just not into either series. It's probably because I know what is going to happen. I'm not sure. Like someone else said, my motivation to read the book is gone.

I love reading the books first. I think if I hadn't read Hunger Games, I wouldn't have liked the movie quite as much. They left a lot out that I knew from the book. Twilight was another book I read before the movie.