So I’m sure I’m not the only one who reads books but also watched TV shows and movies. But I do find that when I discover they are based on a book I have to wonder if the book is better than the film version.
Since I’m sure I’m not the only one like this I thought I would start a discussion about this. Because this is intended as a DISCUSSION post I’d like you to share your thoughts in comments below. If you don’t, then it won’t really work will it?
To kick off the discussion I thought I’d start off with a bit of a list of some of the film versions of books I’ve seen that I either have read or want to read. In coming weeks (I haven’t decided on how often I will add a new discussion posts) I will be exploring individual ones in more detail to explain WHY I want to read the books.
I read these ones after seeing them (even if it was only the first episode/movie)
- Game of Thrones
- Harry Potter
- Trueblood
- Hunger Games
- The 100
- Divergent
- Water for Elephants
I want to read these ones
- Outlander (currently working on this series SLOWLY)
- Altered Carbon
- Vampire Diaries
- Pretty Little Liars
- Gone with the Wind
- The Time Traveller’s Wife
- Me before You
- Veronica Mars *added late May*
I saw these after reading them
- Vampire Academy
- Eragon
- The Hobbit
I am going to make a note that if I think of other books to add to any part of this post I will be doing so. You never know, you might even be the ones to remind me of others!
I just can’t handle reading Vampire Books! I tried Twilight and Vampire Academy but gave up just after one book each. On the other hand, I have no problem watching them since I can just forward the gory parts without missing anything, so I’m watching Vampire Dairies though I haven’t read it yet! The show is pretty good, so I hope the books are better and you love it!!!
There are lots of different types of vampire books. I did find those two quite childish in their interpretations of vampires. Whereas the Dark Hunter and Anita Blake series (both also heavily vampire focused) were more engaging I found.
They haven’t been made into TV shows or movies though so I won’t be discussing them. But I have reviewed all (ok MOST) of the Dark Hunter series already.
Oooh I remember Altered Carbon being a book (or multiple) but I’ve seen the series and it’s sooooo good. I wonder if the books are good too! And I read the Divergent series aswell, kinda sad they didn’t finish the movies 🙁
I heard the the 100 tv series is totally different?! I really like the tv series so I’m not sure if I’m going to read those..
Oh God. I read the Beautiful Creatures books before watching the movie and was so disappointed in the movie! It was a total trainwreck, I don’t recommend that one :’)
I’ll be discussing these each week one at a time about what I thought of the differences or what I’m hoping for etc. Keep an eye out for the 100 one 😉
I didn’t even realize The 100 was based off a book, so I think I may need to look into it now, I tried to read LotR books after seeing the movies but his style is just not for me, since that was, however, AGES ago, I’m giving them another try this year. Fun books on your list, and I really enjoyed this post! I also read Water for Elephants after seeing the movie, loved them both <3
There’s like the tiniest little line in the opening credits of the 100 that says it’s based on the books which made me grab a copy of the books and read them.
I’ve tried LOTR a few times and I’ve never made it past Buckleberry Bridge. I just don’t think that style of writing is for me.
I haven’t read ASOIAF yet, but a similar book I’d like to read is A Discovery of Witches. I watched the show and loved it!
I’m not sure what ASOIAF is, what is that one?
Sometimes I pick a book BECAUSE I know a TV show or movie are coming out, so that I can see how they will compare. I did give up on the True Blood books after the first one, but we watched the entire series.
I will discuss what I thought of the differences because I’ve read most of the True Blood series.
I read Harry Potter after watching the movie as well! I vaguely remember seeing the first in theaters, but around 11 years old, ABC had a run through of the movies and I never got to finish the first movie so I wanted satisfaction. 😂 I hated the Vampire Academy movie, though.
I remember seeing the first one in the movies when I was 11 as well! They are on Netflix now so you can always go back and binge all 8 movies 🙂
You just sent me down a rabbit hole and I made a huge spreadsheet of books to movies I’ve seen/not seen/read/not read, etc. Turns out there are LOTS of them. Here’s just the list of ones I read BEFORE I watched the movie:
Hunger Games Series
Divergent
The Hate U Give
Everything, Everything
The Fault in Our Stars
Warm Bodies
Game of Thrones (I didn’t finish all of the books or the whole series yet though)
Harry Potter Series
The Lightning Thief
Me Before You
Vampire Academy
Twilight Series
The Host
A Wrinkle in Time
If I Stay
The Fifth Wave
Simon vs. The Homo Sapiens Agenda (Love, Simon)
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy
Left Behind
Bridge to Terabithia
The Giver
Ready Player One
Yikes!
Sorry…but not sorry? One of your’s is one I need to add to my list of one’s I’ve seen but not read!
Great list! Did you enjoy the Game of Thrones books? I personally wasn’t a fan of the format..
I would Like to read the vampire diaries too! 🙂
I really loved GOT. I loved not really knowing who was doing what while you’re moving between each character. And I really loved the little details that George R.R. Martin put in that really brought it alive and sucked me in. So much so I will (eventually) do a comparison of the books compared to the TV show coz there are some differences that I believe will make a difference to the whole experience