Let us Begin…

I have enjoyed books for as long I can remember. Always having stacks of books pile beside my bed, dog-eared and bookmarked. I can’t remember a time in my life where I could not read. I was so thirsty for words, as a kid I would compulsively read highway signs while my parents drove by. I would read any book I could get my hands on.

As I grew older, I came to like certain types of books. I enjoy the romantic love story, the fantastical world, and any book that has a princess in it. I am a girl, after all. I fell in love with the novel Jane Eyre at the age of 16, and therefore became doomed as an English major. Although I do not regret my well-earned college degree, as of yet, it has done me very little good.

When it came to movies, I was a Disney kid. By the age of 4, I knew every song in “The Little Mermaid” and would perform them to anyone who asked me. My mom would try to rent movies of genres that she thought I needed to be exposed to and educated in, such as the Gidget movies, the Tammy movies, Rodgers & Hammerstein musicals, and anything with Sandra Bullock or Jimmy Stewart. (don’t even get me started on how many times I’ve seen “It’s a Wonderful Life”). However, I very rarely ever went to the movie theater. It wasn’t until high school that I began attending movies often, and decided that I rather enjoyed them. And wanted to see more than what I had previously viewed before (over and over and over again).

For the past few years, I’ve noticed that a lot of the popular fiction that I tend to read would often be turned into movies. And I discovered that I liked reading books and then viewing their movie counterparts. This is NOT the case for everyone. Case in point, my roommate positively loathes any movie or TV show that departs from the original book in any way. She seems to obsess over the smallest minuscule detail and has to accept the movie or TV show as something different from the book to appreciate it. Unfortunately, every book detail cannot be perfectly transcribed into every movie. It’s physically impossible. (Perfect example: Harry Potter). However, I still enjoy seeing how writers translate their work of fiction and the art of words into the art of the moving pictures.

The book and their movie counterparts are their own separate entities. I do not confuse the two, nor do I wish to compare them. 9 times out of 10, the book will win. My goal for this blog is to discuss them. Debate the pros and cons of the book and their movie translations. A place for me as a book nerd and movie enthusiast to share my humble opinion with those who care to hear it.

Let us begin…