The Book or the Movie?

[Riverwolf]

Mr. Mercedes by Stephen King was a good book that drug along at times.
The TV mini-series, at least season one, is very good and well paced.

[Brucebubs]

I enjoy the Harry Bosch series of books by Michael Connolly however the 'Bosch' TV series is a clever re-write combining as many as 3 books in a series. So don't expect the same sequencing as the books ... but still enjoy the ride.

[Dru Edwards]

Originally Posted by Riverwolf

Mr. Mercedes by Stephen King was a good book that drug along at times.
The TV mini-series, at least season one, is very good and well paced.

I read all three books a couple of summers ago. I liked them but one did drag on (wasn't the first, can't recall if it was the 2nd or 3rd). What a great unexpected surprise when I read King's "The Outsider" (just finished it a few days ago). Great crossover.

I've never seen the mini-series. I'm going to have to try and find it.

[bfm612]

Originally Posted by Brucebubs

I saw the original Swedish movie before I read the book and I thought 'Let The Right One In' was an exceptional film however there were little details in the book that I missed in the movie.

The US made movie version 'Let Me In' was also very good but skipped over the 'gender related' scene.

I liked Let Me In all right, too. Well-made, but I just don’t remember it having improved upon or distinguished itself too much from the original.

As for the ‘gender related’ stuff, at least in the original (which I remember pretty well), I thought that’s really fascinating stuff. I definitely recommend not skipping it. I imagine I’d have read the ending differently without the limited background they gave Eli.

[Mbroady]

Book over movie any day of the week. Though most movies don’t live up to the book I still enjoy watching the movie version.

One of the few movies that I enjoyed as much as the books was the Lord Of The Rings trilogy

[Nymuso]

The book.

The book has more information, characters are not toyed with to give a bigger part to some Heart Throb of the Moment, and is always directed better in my imagination than anything Spielberg et al have come up with.

[Brucebubs]

Originally Posted by bfm612

I imagine I’d have read the ending differently without the limited background they gave Eli.

I didn't grasp the terrible background behind Ei's 'minder' Hakan from both the film versions - the book made it clearer and you understand more why he did what he did.

[dhodgeh]

Originally Posted by Bob Womack

Almost always the book. Exception: I ran out and grabbed the book behind Tom Hanks' Greyhound movie, The Good Shepherd by C.S. Forrester. I think I liked the Greyhound movie better. There were maudlin details in the book that didn't drive the plot as quickly along as the movie was driven.

Bob

Ditto. That was one slog of a read.

I also just finished reading 'The Martian', and I've got to say that I favored the movie just slightly over the book.

D

[Dru Edwards]

Anyone read The Da Vinci Code? Loved the movie but never read any of Dan Brown's books. The other two movies weren't as good. The movies weren't even produced in the correct order.

Might be a good series to start reading?

[KevWind]

Originally Posted by Dru Edwards

Anyone read The Da Vinci Code? Loved the movie but never read any of Dan Brown's books. The other two movies weren't as good. The movies weren't even produced in the correct order.

Might be a good series to start reading?

Yes a very long time ago, but if I remember correctly Brown is excellent.

[Neil K Walk]

How about option C: the mini series?

Example: Frank Herbert's "Dune" series. Even a single book from the series cannot be dumbed down to fit in even 3 hours.

That being said, even many of the miniseries have fallen short and fudged details to make them "work" within time constraints.

[Warren01]

I remember watching Da Vinci code in the theatre with my wife, worrying that she wouldn't be able to follow along. I read the book and thought the movie was movie was jumping stuff.

[AX17609]

Originally Posted by Dru Edwards

Thumbs up - I didn't think about the audio book. I've never listened to one but for long drives I'd be up for one. Gotta have a great voice to listen to though.

When I was working, I had a long commute and lived on audio books to the point that I began to prefer one reader over another. I'd select books based on who was reading them. Professional readers and better at it than famous actors, in my opinion. I must have 'read' hundreds of books this way and learned a couple of languages, as well. One of my favorite books was "A Tale of Two Cities", which I'm sure I couldn't have sat still long enough to actually read. The text when read aloud is like poetry.

[FLRon]

No question, I'll take a book every time over a movie.

[Willie_D]

A River Runs Through It was a pretty perfect adaptation to film.