From books to movies
By Kurlis Mati
Stephen King once said, “Books and movies are like apples and oranges. They are both fruit but taste completely different.”
With films such as 1910’s Frankenstein and 1925’s Greed, books have been adapted into films since the development of motion picture. Adapting films from books is still common today with modern films such as The Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter series. The question is what do people prefer, reading the book or watching the movie?
Cindy Kwa, a librarian at Essex County Library in Tecumseh said movies are more relaxing to watch.
Cindy Kwa, at the Essex County Library with both a Goosebumps book and its film adaptation. (Photo by Kurlis Mati)
“I feel like people do not have enough time to read an actual whole book,” said Kwa. “We find that people would rather read a graphic novel over an ordinary novel.”
Kwa said the characters are what make books and movies special.
A recent survey was done by YouGov asking people if they prefer books or movies, 32 per cent of people said the movie and book are equally good and 45 per cent said the book is usually better than the movie.
Lillian Trudelle has both watched the Harry Potter movies and read the books but said she prefers the attention to detail in the books over the film adaptations.
“Movie adaptations can be so different from the books,” said Trudelle. “It almost divides up the fan base, which is something I assume the authors and filmmakers didn’t want.”
It takes more time to read a book than to watch a movie. Adrian Gutierrez, a first year nursing student at Fanshawe College, said it is difficult to read, with the little time he has as a student.
“People prefer movies to books nowadays because the world is moving at a much faster pace than generations prior,” said Gutierrez. “Watching movies allows for social interactions which in a world dominated by extroverted behaviour becomes necessary for success.”
One of the best known authors to have his books adapted for the big screen is Stephen King. Fifty-eight of his best well known novels have been adapted into movies, along with other authors such as J.K. Rowling, Nicholas Sparks, James Patterson and more.
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