Debate! Which should you do first, watch the movie or read the book?
By Anne on March 29th, 2012
Recently a certain movie came out. Maybe you’ve heard of it. It is called The Hunger Games and it is based on a book. It’s not the first movie and it is far from the last to start up the debate: which is better, the book or the movie? Last week after the OOM team finally got to see the movie we got in an additional debate: which is a better experience to do first, watching the movie or reading the book?
It all started because I used to claim “book first” and after the recent bolster in book-based movies (The Help, Hugo, etc.), I think I’ve gone to the other side and prefer the movie first. Now, let me be very clear. This is NOT a reason to wait for the movie before enjoying a great book. I would never suggest that. This is more of a question if the movie is coming out and it piques your interest in a book which do you do first? OK, now for the defense of my conversion, all while avoiding spoilers, will be based on two very Scholastic titles, Harry Potter and The Hunger Games, with a few others sprinkled in here and there.
Years ago, when the first Harry movie came out, I hadn’t read the books yet but I have younger cousins who were obsessed. So being the cool older cousin with a car, I took them. I loved the movie. I got completely lost in this magical world and left wishing there really was a Platform 9 3/4. I didn’t get caught up in the thoughts of oh, where’s Ron’s brother Percy and such. I didn’t know. It wasn’t until about the fourth movie that I started reading the books and a great thing happened – they added to my love of the film. I felt I got to know the characters better and see even further into the story. To add in one more example of this experience that isn’t a Scholastic title but I will say is still in the family because the book’s author, Ned Vizzini, won a Scholastic Art & Writing Award is It’s Kind of a Funny Story. I thought the movie’s portrayal of the main character finding his own way and dealing with depression was real and just funny enough to not take anything away from the serious topic. Then I was absolutely blown away by how the book nailed it even further.
For The Hunger Games, I had read all three books in advance of the movie and both experiences were great. Going into the theater however, I was concerned. What if the movie didn’t live up to the book? And then, questioning in my head what they would take out and what they wouldn’t. Or what was emphasized differently or not at all in the movie but not the book? It was borderline stressful! I was dissecting the movie while I watched. Again, it was a great movie but I missed not knowing. It’s similar to how (nerd alert) I’ve wondered what it would be like to have seen all the Star Wars movies in order. How would I take finding out that Darth Vader is Luke’s father? Sorry, if you don’t know that spoiler by now I can’t help you. During our real-time OOM debate, admittedly, I was in the minority with only Dante on my side whose hope for movies is that each should be faithful to its source but then utilize the tools and art of the movies to take it to another level. In other words, it should stand alone as a good movie, independent of the book.
As with any debate, it’s important to share the other side so my fellow OOMers have come to the defense of book first. A key point from the team is the overall preference to have a blank slate when reading the book. One of the best parts of reading books is the vast array of interpretations. No one will ever have the exact same picture of a character as you do. So in reality, a movie is just one interpretation and many think that having that preconceived notion in your head can mar the reading experience. And because books can be so detailed and movies have certain limitations, like time, they can’t get into every part of the story so invariably you lose something. Morgan had an interesting point that in many ways it can be a race because whichever you experience first is more likely to be your favorite. And finally, as Kristen put it, in true book-lover fashion, you can’t walk out of the movie and say the book was better without reading it first!
What do you think? Tell us, book or movie first?!
Photo via Horia Varlan
Posted: March 29th, 2012 under Books, More News. Tags: books, Harry Potter, Hunger Games, just for fun, movies, reading, Scholastic Art & Writing Awards.
17 comments
Comments
Obviously the book since you will know more of the plot, characters, and setting. If I watched the Hunger Games w/o reading the book, I would be utterly lost.
Comment on March 29, 2012 at 4:08 pm
I will always read the book first because I’m a book person. For me, it’s more important to get the author’s original idea before I get a screenwriter/director’s idea of what they got from the book. I’d rather be totally into a book and love it to death and be dissapointed in a movie than to have my view of the book skewed by seeing the movie adaptation first.
Comment on March 29, 2012 at 4:46 pm
Book first. If I didn’t like the book, I sure wouldn’t want to watch the movie. The only time I broke that rule was for “John Carter” but I had read most, if not all, the Edgar Rice Burrough’s Tarzan books when I was a kid.
Also, I had to explain missing plot points to my boyfriend for the Harry Potter films since he had not read them. So reading the books first added to my enjoyment of the films.
Comment on March 29, 2012 at 5:10 pm
Movie first in the circumstances you describe, because the movie is always worse than the book. Even in the examples you described, where the movies were fantastic (the Hunger Games being IMHO a far superior adaptation to the HP films), they were still not as rich in detail and world-building as the books, not nearly as immersive or maybe even as creative (I think HP suffered real problems with this — the world onscreen was never even close to as magical as the one Rowling created).
So, if you see the movie first, you can appreciate it on its own turns, and then when you read the books, be blown away by how much better the reading experience is.
Turn it around, and even the best film is going to disappoint you.
(Besides, in 99% of all cases, film-makers don’t faithfully adapt. Usually they butcher. Why risk the fury? See the movie first.)
Comment on March 29, 2012 at 8:33 pm
For the Hunger Games? Definitely watch the movie first and then read the book. The movie is awesome in itself but the book is way more details and after watching the movie, you can even imagine the character easily and the experience will be doubly awesome! 
I’m a big Hunger Games fan and to be honest after reading the book like 6 times and then watching the movie, I was quite disappointed with the movie because of the lack of details and I expect too much. Went back and watch it the second time, feels like I’m not even watching the movie in the first place. So yeah, definitely watch the movies before reading the book. That way you can enjoy the movie as well as the book.
Comment on March 29, 2012 at 10:40 pm
You should read the book first. Not only when you see the movie, you will understand it more, but you will get the references too. The book is also more detailed. You will be missing some crucial information if you see the movie first. That is my suggestion, but the choice is yours…
Comment on March 29, 2012 at 11:30 pm
The book in my opinion is always better and more detailed than the movie. I love books and I love watching movies and even though there are some very well made movies that do not spoil the book, most of them leave me very disappointed after reading the book first. If I really Love the book, I just have too many expectations for the movie and for me it completely spoils the experience. Yet if I see the movie first it does maybe inhibit my imagination on character and setting creation, since I already have someone else’s vision in my head, but I hardly ever get disappointed by the book. Instead reading it adds to my understanding of the story and characters and all those little things you might have missed while watching the movie. Therefore I say movie first.
Comment on March 30, 2012 at 1:40 pm
I think it is always better to read the book first… anyone like Harry Potter? 
Comment on March 31, 2012 at 12:59 am
In my opinion, it is always better to read the book first… anyone like Harry Potter?
Comment on March 31, 2012 at 1:00 am
I just started The Hunger Games and I’m in chapter two. Although, I’m wondering if I want to continue or wait and see the movie first. I mean, I read harry potter six and seven before the movies, and those two are my favorite of the series, and I still LOVE the movies. But, when I read the first four books, they just aren’t any where near as good compared to the others after watching the movies first. Although, what really puts them below the last two books is that they aren’t quiet as mature as the last two. The story is still childish, but as the serious matured so did the story and writing style. Though, while watching the movies I was listening to every sentence those that had be altered, shortened, or changed. I can catch nearly every one in the last two films. Plus, while I loved the films, I don’t remember getting that same level of pleasure, that unbelievable pleasure, that came with reading the books ignorant of the story.
In fact, reminiscing has helped me decide; I am going to finish the book first.
Comment on March 31, 2012 at 7:46 pm
I just started The Hunger Games and I’m in chapter two. Although, I’m wondering if I want to continue or wait and see the movie first. I mean, I read harry potter six and seven before the movies, and those two are my favorite of the series, and I still LOVE the movies. But, when I read the first four books, they just aren’t any where near as good compared to the others after watching the movies first. Although, what really puts them below the last two books is that they aren’t quiet as mature as the last two. The story is still childish, but as the serious matured so did the story and writing style. Though, while watching the movies I was listening to every sentence those that had be altered, shortened, or changed. I can catch nearly every one in the last two films. Plus, while I loved the films, I don’t remember getting that same level of pleasure, that unbelievable pleasure, that came with reading the books ignorant of the story.
In fact, reminiscing has helped me decide; I am going to finish the book first.
Comment on March 31, 2012 at 7:47 pm
I always say to watch the movie first. I read the HP books before watching the movies and it was horrible. the movies are good for what they are but if you’re an avid reader and remember the details from the book then the movie is hard to watch. you spend the whole movie going “that didn’t happen” or “where is this part or that part” The books are infinately better than the movies nine times out of ten. So watch the movie first, so you can enjoy the movie, then read the book so you can get the full impact the story was meant to have.
Comment on April 2, 2012 at 6:16 am
I think it should be the book first because you will know who the charecters and the setting and all that.
Comment on April 5, 2012 at 1:37 pm
I have been thinking about this a lot recently, with The Hunger Games being the catalyst for my thoughts on the subject as well. I have decided that if I haven’t already read the books, I prefer watching the movie first. I have just found that no matter how good a movie is, it never stands up the quality of the book – assuming the book was good of course. That’s perfectly understandable, how could you ever expect to get as much out of a two and a half hour film compared to a several hour book? In the end, I like both, but given the choice I will always watch the movie before I read the book… and then proceed to watch the movie again.
Comment on April 5, 2012 at 2:28 pm
I think reading the book first is better because you know what to expect into the movie, if it is a good watch or even if it is aproprate for your age level. If I enjoyed the book then I would watch the movie. Besides eather way your spoliing both but I think reading the story first get yourself more captivated into the film. Peace out
Lillysbookblog
Comment on April 5, 2012 at 9:46 pm
The book first, otherwise it will be difficult to catch up with the movie as it can’t show a ditto copy of the book and some portions are skipped .
Comment on April 12, 2012 at 12:47 pm
