Page to Screen discussion

A turn on the chicken and the egg! Which came first?



So which comes first for you - the film or the book? Any particular reason you prefer that way?

For me always the book first! If I watch a series or movie before reading the book I will not go back and read it. However I do like it when advertisements about the movie/series are already showing. That way when I read the book I can visualize the people playing the parts and it seems more rich and interesting to me. Altho I often have to delay watching so I have time to get the book read.

There have been a couple books that I read just before watching the series. I would read what I believed to be far enough ahead of the next episode, and then watch the episode. Then do the same for the next week. I have done that twice that I can remember and altho not ideal, it was a time crunch with too many books to read during that point in time.

I did a week by week buddy read for Sharp Objects as we watched that series. Then in 2020 I alone tried to read ahead of the series I Know This Much Is True, and I did pretty well altho it was a long book and a lot was cut out in the series.

If I intend to read the book, I prefer to read the book first. Sometimes, though, I don't even realize a show or film is based on a book so I end up watching without having read the book.

Anymore if I see a movie or series advertised I immediately search for a book. And most of the time I find one.

90% of the time the book is superior to the movie so always read it first if you can. There are a few exceptions but they are rare.