Besides reading, one of my favorite things to do at night is to cozy up on the couch with a big bowl of ice cream and watch something good on TV. Whether it’s a movie or a seemingly never ending TV series, I love to see books come to life through a screen.
I am lucky enough to be one of the people that can imagine what is happening in their books; when I am reading it is almost like watching a movie. However, I think seeing some of my favorite books on screen is like reading the book for the first time again. Seeing which parts directors deemed important to include, how certain important scenes are portrayed by the actors, what the characters “actually” look like, etc. has become incredibly entertaining for me. There are so many books where I wish someone would wipe my memory so I can experience it all again, and I think movie adaptations are that wish being granted in a small way.
One of my favorite adaptations is the movie version of Where The Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens. When I read the book for the first time about five years ago, I was an absolute wreck. Then, when I saw the movie for the first time, I left the theater in tears and missed over half of the movie. I decided not to see it in theaters again and wait for it to start streaming. When it came out on Disney+, I watched it with my mom and we were both in shambles by the end. I remember reading the book for the first time and crying, but nothing tore me apart like seeing it “in real life”. I am not one to say that the movie was better than the book, but I do believe that in this specific instance the acting was so good that the movie got to me a LOT more than the book did. I was truly heartbroken despite having fallen more in love with Where The Crawdads sing and the mind of Delia Owens.
Another favorite adaptation of mine is that of John Green’s The Fault In Our Stars. Green is my absolute favorite author. I have read each of his books at least twice (my favorite being Paper Towns, although I have yet to see the movie…) and I can confidently say that each of his works is a masterpiece. Although I was certainly more emotional during the movie of Where The Crawdads Sing compared to that of The Fault In Our Stars, Green’s movie truly warmed (and broke) my heart just like his book.
It is true that it takes a special kind of talent to write a book, but I would say that it takes even more talent to write a book that touches the hearts of so many people enough to become an incredible film. Although not all book-to-movie adaptations are as amazing as the two I mentioned above, even just becoming a movie says so much about a book and it’s author in my opinion. I don’t think I will ever truly understand the hate movie adaptations get simply for being adaptations.
That’s all for today! Thank you all so much for reading, your continued support means so much to me 🙂
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