BOOKS AND ADAPTATIONS

Long before published wattpad stories had movie or TV adaptation deals, some books had already been adapted to film. The Count of Monte Cristo, Sense and Sensibility, The Lord of the Rings to name a few. Most of what these books have in common is that a lot of readers loved them that eventually, it got the attention of someone who decided it could be a good idea to adapt the book into film or TV.

There are some who goes and watch the adaptation because they have loved the book when they read it and expected to see some of their favorite scenes played out in real life, and not just in their head. Others have not read the book and watched it because someone might have recommended it to them or maybe because they found the trailer interesting. I on the other hand, am one of those who watched because I got curious as to why it was so famous.

In this post I am going to name a few books that I've read after I watched their adaptations, and discuss my personal findings and thoughts regarding them. This is not a blog post discussing or debating whether or not the book is better than the adaptation.

With that out of the way, here is the list:

1.) Twilight Saga

This fanchise was called a worldwide phenomenon, but the only reason I've become interested enough to actually watch from the beginning was because I've started to notice all the hype when the third movie came out. And the hype was even more so over Breaking Dawn Parts 1 and 2.

I went into it blind, knowing nothing at all about the characters, the author, the book -- nothing. Having watched the entire thing, I understand both sides of the fans and the critics. I've enjoyed the movies out of pure entertainment, was a bit annoyed with the main three characters at some point, but still enjoyed it. I thought it was a welcome change to most of the vampire movies I've watched. When I found out that it was based on a book, I got curious enough to want to know what the story is like on paper. And why it got so much attention that it got turned into a movie. Boy was I disappointed.

This was the one time where I told myself that I'd rather watch the movie than read the book. The pacing was just too slow, and at some point I got tired of reading about how handsome and attractive Edward was. I understand that it was in Bella's POV but I needed to know something else other than just how the male lead character is basically a Greek god in all his glory, except he's a vampire.

I actually read the first book via downloading a pdf version of it. When I decided that perhaps the sequels would be better I was just proven wrong. I bought the third book but I just got tired of the same slow pacing of the story so I didn't bother buying anymore. So I decided to just stick with the movies.

2.) Fifty Shades Trilogy

Well, with Twilight having been mentioned, this was eventually going up here. This was a bit different. Though I did watch the first movie before I bought the book, I decided to buy the other two books before I got around to watching the film sequels.

Before I found out that this erotic-romance film is based on a book, which actually started as a Twilight fan fiction, I wanted to know just how erotic Fifty Shades of Grey was and what all the fuss was about. It was by the end of the movie that I understood that I actually did just watch erotica and that it is rare for a film of this genre to have the kind of fame it has. Not everything I found about the main leads could be positive, but what I found refreshing is the ending of the first movie - Ana walked away from Christian. Of course, they got back together by the second movie so, that was ruined for me. But I did watch the next two movies anyway just to find out how the story would differ on film.

Controlling Christian Grey and almost stupidly clueless Anastasia Steele got on my nerves on occassion, but that's just on film (only that they were just the same in the books). In the books, since it's written in Ana's POV, this was where I was reminded that this franchise started as a Twilight fan fiction. Ana was doing the same thing Bella was - describing how ridiculously attractive her man is. Or basically just how attracted she is towards this man. As if it wasn't obvious enough already how much she's got the hots for the guy.

I wouldn't rewatch the movies... well maybe I'd rewatch the "sexy" scenes, but I wouldn't rewatch them in it's entirety. I did read the three books without skipping because I decided to just enjoy the story, and just ignored all the things that bothered me just to get to the ending.

3.) Beautiful Creatures

Just the fact that the boy was the ordinary human and not the girl is what got my attention. And also the fact that the "Casters" is a completely made up supernatural being that came from the minds of the authors.

Like the previous two in this list, I didn't know the movie is an adaptation of a book. I suppose that's to be expected since movies get distributed internationally more easily compared to books. But unlike the previous two, only the first book of this series was adapted into film. It didn't even got anywhere near the other YA books film adaptations in terms of fame. Though admittedly I did see as to why that is; the movie just didn't have that spark the same way Twilight had with its fans. Despite that, the in-universe magic and the love story between the two leads made me fall in love with the Caster Chronicles universe. The film had become my go-to movie when I wanted to watch a romance-supernatural film where the supernatural is not an already established mythology.

The book was another kind of amazing that I decided I would like to buy the entire series. Reading about high-school heirarchy, small town gossips, cursed love, it was rare I get transported to a new world in a book, and this was one of them. Unfortunately I was unable to complete it. The third book in the series is very hard to find and I've just about given up. Though I have bought the two books from the spin-off series.

To this day if I were to be asked a list of books I loved reading, Beautiful Creatures would be the first thing that would come to mind. Ethan's love for Lena is remarkable for me. Their love story is just extraordinary.

Honorable mention...

Before I get to the fourth and last book/adaptation in this list, I'd like to mention Warm Bodies by Isaac Marion. I have read the book but I haven't gotten around to watching the movie. I know, it's ridiculous, but I just haven't watched the movie yet. Which is strange for me because the only reason I bought the book was because I knew it had a film adaptation. And yet until now I have not watched the movie.

This book is of course different in a way that it is in the POV of the boy, who also happens to be the supernatural being. Not only that, the boy in question is a zombie. Not a vampire, not a werewolf, not even some half-angel. He is a zombie. The book may have it's macabre moments, but what would you expect from a book where the main lead is a zombie? Still it had been a good read, just from how the main character had very human characteristics despite being a brain-eating undead. And also because you read it in his POV. Man, I gotta watch the movie!

4.) Game of Thrones

Last, but certainly not the least, the highly acclaimed HBO series that defined most of the 2010's. The epic book series that is still on-going as of this post, by the amazing author George RR Martin. The series that proved, that just because it's fantasy, doesn't mean it has to focus so much on the fantastical. It may not be a movie adaptation but it's too good to pass up.

I admit I didn't care for the series that much because I just didn't understand what all the hype was about. It was a medieval TV series going on that a lot of people had been talking about that had dragons in it. That's basically all I knew about it then. I am just sad to say that it was until the final season had aired, and a friend encouraged me to watch the entire series with her, only then did I understand why it reached international fame.

I was sad that I got into it late, but happy enough that I got to watch the entire series without having to wait a year between each season. The actors, the dialogues, the world building, how every character was not so perfect even the so-called "good guys". It was astoundingly beautiful. So when I found out this was actually a book series, I just had to buy the books. Unfortunately, since I know the things that would happen to the characters, I couldn't even bring myself to get pass the middle of the first book. I couldn't bring myself to read Ned Stark's death, and then read pass it knowing everything just goes to even more shit from there. But I'm gonna have to eventually.

Vivid scenery, deep POV, court intrigue and medieval mindset, GRRM gained my admiration for having created A Song of Ice and Fire that brought us the TV series. I would have appreciated it though if he didn't put in much descriptions about the food in the books. But what the heck? The guy loves food.

So there's my list of books I have read that had a movie/TV adaptation. My final thoughts about all this is that, while some things might work in a book, doesn't mean it will work on screen. The only limitations an author has is their imagination. Film makers have to consider a lot of things before choosing which scenes could possibly be brought into real life for the actors to play.

Also, I know a lot of people argue that the book is far more better than the movie, but I say that's all a matter of opinion. Some people managed to enjoy both book and film, but would rather go back to it by watching the film. Some people might just want to stick to the books but have no qualms whatsoever with the film adaptation. It's all a matter of storytelling, just with different mediums.