Book Adaptations: Yay or Nay?

What is your opinion on books being made into TV shows or movies?

I actually hadn’t thought a ton about this until the other day when someone asked me my opinion. I’d just basically had the “the book was better” mindset.

Now, I still think that the book is better the majority of the time. But I also think that we book nerds need to be a little less harsh on the movies and TV shows.

Everyone sees a story play out slightly different in their head, even while reading the same book. The characters look different, the setting is slightly changed, and so on and so forth. A movie is the way the producer envisions the story.

Plus, while we don’t think of movies and books being all that different, they are two separate storytelling mediums. That means that what works in books won’t always work in a movie. That’s part of the reason that something that was in the book often gets cut when it’s turned into a movie. Books and movies tell stories in two different ways, and we can’t expect them to do it the same.

Also, it’s probably slightly unrealistic to expect the producers to use the book solely as the script. Though that would be nice.

So what are your thoughts on book-to-movie adaptations?