Have you ever read a really awesome book and then watched the movie and it was not what you had expected it to be? Or have you seen a movie and then read the book and the book was super boring and not as awesome as the movie you had just watched? Well, same. I am a movie lover, and I also enjoy reading (when school isn't taking over all my extra time). I've done some research and talked with a few students and staff members at Eastern New Mexico University, and they gave me their honest opinion on the book vs. movie debate.
The "Harry Potter" series:
"The digital recreation is hard to capture in science fiction movies fully. I thought the storyline was better in the books, but I was pleased that they stayed true to the characters in both the movies and the books." -ENMU staff
"The Harry Potter series is my favorite. The books are incredible! The movies were good too, and they followed along the storyline, but there's always more details you get in books that make the characters more real to you." -ENMU student
"Twilight" series:
"I liked the books way better than the movies. Sometimes I felt like some parts of the movie were hard for the producers to really create because it is fantasy. The werewolves were hard to create when they were like transferring over, but in the book, it is being played in your head, so it all works." -ENMU student
"I would definitely say the books are better than the movies. I thought the acting was a little flat and awkward in the first movie. When I read the book, I didn't picture Edward and Bella to look the way they do in the movies." -Online reviews
"Hunger Games" series:
"Jennifer Lawrence was the perfect Katniss. Actually, she was even better than the Katniss in the books. I sometimes found the book Katniss to be a little whiney." - ENMU student
"Only the books can truly convey Katniss' complex inner monologue, and the movie doesn't fully capture her complicated feelings for Peeta and Gale." - Movie/book review online
"The Shining"
"The book was really disturbing because it explained the character so well that it made you feel kind of crazy yourself. The movie didn't give the same understanding of the character. Stephen King does a great job creating the characters development in his books." -ENMU staff
"The book is more of a psychological scare, and the movie is more of a haunted hotel scare. Also, in the book, the child of Jack Torrance, Danny, is a powerful psychic and is referred to as "the shining." In the movie, Danny does not play this huge role; the movie is all about Jack Torrance." -Online reviews
"The Notebook"
"The acting was great in the movie, and Ryan Gosling is always a fan favorite! Also, the book and the movie end differently; the movie ending was much better than the books'!" -ENMU student
"The movie was excellent. Full of heartache, love and a little bit of cheesiness, but not too much." -Online review
Now, what do you think? Is the book always better than the movie or are the movies better than the books? The world may never know.
