5 adaptations I watched before reading the book // Friday Five

Hey hey!

I haven’t done one of these in a while so why not? Today I’m going to be listing (wait for it), 5 book adaptations I watched BEFORE reading the books. I would really appreciate if you could stop giving me that deprecating look of “how dare you” because we’re all friends here, right??? I watched most of these adaptations quite a while ago before I really got into reading but now I restrain myself from watching adaptations until after I read the original books. That’s most of the time. Onwards…

1. Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery

Book | Adaptation

I watched the Anne of Green Gables movie quite young when it was playing on TV and I loved it. I didn’t actually know what the title was so for a while I was frantically searching for an indication was to what the movie was called. I finally found it on YouTube through one of my favourite scenes…

*ferociously ships*

I didn’t realise it was originally a book (what was my childhood) and when I got to reading it, I was actually disappointed. I think I had different expectations and the writing style was different to what I usually read so I didn’t enjoy it as a much as I thought I would from the adaptation. I could see that the adaptation stayed pretty true to the original and I loved reading the quippy dialogue and the personalities I saw on screen all came through on the page. I think if I were to try the book again, I would enjoy it more going in with different expectations. But the adaptation – so good. In fact the whole movie series is amazing. Unfortunately, I haven’t read the rest of the Anne Shirley series but I’ve watched all the movies (don’t shoot me).

2. Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead

Book | Adaptation

One of the most popular YA series and I watched the movie before the book whilst not knowing that the original story came from a book. That’s how uninvolved I was previously in the bookish world. Dark days. I had a tiny prejudice against vampires because of Twilight which was totally unreasonable since I’d never read the books or watched the movies. Anyway, this was the first vampire movie I watched and it was okay. Despite knowing the ending (which is mind-blowing) from the movie, I really enjoyed reading the book. I only started the series this year and so far it’s not entirely living up to the hype I’ve heard but it’s still pretty good and I’m up to book 3 now.

3. The DUFF: Designated Ugly Fat Friend by Kody Keplinger

Book | Adaptation

I found that the movie was an adaptation from the trailer but I watched the movie first anyway. I occasionally rebel. So reading the book afterwards was a totally different experience because I found the book and movie were really separate in terms of the plot and even the characters. The movie went in a very different direction and the humour was less dry. Unfortunately, I didn’t really enjoy reading the book. I appreciated Bianca’s (the MC) distinct and sarcastic humour but her hypocritical attitude kind of put me off. Even though I tried to seeing the book as purely entertaining, it didn’t really work out for me.

4. The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

Book | Adaptation

I’m not really a reader of the classics but I did know the book existed before watching the movie. Before reading the book, I found the movie really interesting and I liked it. Then I read the book. I literally hated all the characters. I though I was neutral about Nick (the narrator) and Daisy watching the movie but they aggravated me so much reading the book. Did anyone else feel that? Maybe not to that extent but someone back me up. Oddly, I liked the book itself despite disliking most of the characters and it was compulsory reading too. What is this alternative universe???

Now for the last one and perhaps a shocker. Don’t shout.

5. Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone by J.K. Rowling

(I know the alternative title is …and the Sorcerer’s Stone for my U.S. fiends)

Book | Adaptation

Yes I watched the first Harry Potter movie before reading the book. Scandalous. Of course I had to read the book right after watching the movie. And proceeding that, I read the rest of the books because how couldn’t you? Loved the books, loved the movies. If you haven’t read this series yet, you should because it’s magically wonderful.

Emily x

DISCUSSION TIME

 So tell me, are you a rebellious mortal who watched the book adaptation before reading the book? Which ones? Comment below!