Book Before Movie or Movie Before Book?

[Blackman]

So later this year 2 movies with really interesting premises caught my eye The Lovely Bones and Shutter Island. They are both based on books and I'm caught between reading the books before the movies come out

So the question is: Do you read the book/comic,etc. before you see the movie?

I'm in the middle. I want to read so I can compare what happens in the book in comparison to the film, but I don't want the endings spoiled

[Kane52630]

its a coin toss for me
for Watchmen i read the book months before the movie came out and i read some of the Lord of the Rings books a year after the last movie came out

[Blackman]

I tried to read the LOTR books a bunch of times....and all those times I just watched the movies instead

[Gilpesh]

Movie before book. No question. Especially in the area of comic book movies.

[Sentinel X]

Book before the movie. Whenever I see a film adaptation first I have little interest in reading a book...and it takes me forever just to finish it because of lack of interest.

When its the other way around I have no problem. Also most films are not better than or just as good as the book....so why not have the most fun and a better experience reading the book?

[Jack O Lantern]

I have no rule. If I discover the book first I read it first, if I discover the movie first I watch it first.

I will say that if I read the book first, a good movie is still a good movie, however, at times I find it hard to get into a book I've seen as a movie. I think it's because books can sometimes take too long to do something. For example, I tried to read The Bourne Identity after seeing the movie. I gave up after about 100 pages because at the point the movie was only at the twenty minute mark. It had gone of in tangents that I might have found entertaining if I didn't know the end result

[Project862006]

it is not necessary only for stuff like watchmen where you cant describe the film without spoiling it so you say go read it lol

[bullets]

The only time I read the book first is before I know the movie is coming out.

Sometimes I'll be inspired after a movie to go back and check out the book , as i did with Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas.

The book is better 99.9 percent of the time.

[Ghostvirus]

I usually read the book after the movie. I have found that in most cases the movie is not as good as the book. But if you read the book second, then it can seem like a behind the scenes look at the characters in the movie. What they are thinking, etc...

[Warhammer]

Movie before book because then you will enjoy the movie to your fullest extent without criticizing it because it didn't follow the book 100%. The world would be so much better if people realized that films based on books are adaptations. Some things in books do not translate well in the medium of film and need to be altered. Things are added or deleted to better suit the film. Some people are so passionate about a book that when they watch the film, they will crucify it or will enjoy the film, but not as much as they would have prior to reading the book.

But with doing that, you get the flipside as some already said. If you watch the film, you may lose the desire to read the book. With that said, decide whether you enjoy reading or watching a film more. If you enjoy reading more, then read the book first. If you enjoy watching films first, then watch the film then hopefully, you'll have the drive to read the book afterward.

[Sawyer]

Eeh.... I can honestly go either way.

[Gilpesh]

Originally Posted by Sawyer

Eeh.... I can honestly go either way.

That's what she said, after a few drinks.

[Sawyer]

Originally Posted by Gilpesh

That's what she said, after a few drinks.

"Like a bisexual."
"Yes, Ted, that was the joke."

[Specter313]

I'll usually end up going Book before Movie, especially if it's a book I know of. Then, when I see the film, I usually think "Ooh, glad they included this, left that out." Or picking out interesting things that they deviated from the book and thinking about why they went that road instead. Sometimes those make the movie more interesting.

Sometimes though, I won't read the book period, if it's a genre I'm not really interested in reading, or I just don't really know that there's a book of it.

[CaptainStacy]

Movie first, then book.

[[A]]

Originally Posted by Blackman

So the question is: Do you read the book/comic,etc. before you see the movie?

Half the time. I try, at least.

[Armored Avenger]

I always read the book first, then watch the film. If the film is an adaptation, then I want to watch it as an adaptation. I want to see what they kept, what they left out, what they changed, and most importantly, if they made a great film of something that I have read. I also like to have the author's original ideas for characters and locations in my head first, then see how a film portrayed them. When reading a book after a film it's hard not to imagine the movie's actors and sets, unless the book is radically different.

[Eggyman]

If it's within my tastes then I'll read the book first, although sometimes watching a film will make me want to read the book.

[Doctor Jones]

It depends. For example, I want to really read Shutter Island, but at the same time, since there are twists involved, on film it will be much more powerful being shown, and it will be interesting to see how Scorsese handles them.

But there's always a downside. If I see the film first, I read the book and as I'm reading I'll know everything, and for me, that's distracting. If I read the book first and see the film, the suspense in everything on film will be gone.

[Wiseman]

movies were invented so we didn't have to read anymore....movie only

[Doctor Jones]

Why is it that barely any men read?

[nocomics]

Originally Posted by Blackman

So later this year 2 movies with really interesting premises caught my eye The Lovely Bones and Shutter Island. They are both based on books and I'm caught between reading the books before the movies come out

So the question is: Do you read the book/comic,etc. before you see the movie?

I'm in the middle. I want to read so I can compare what happens in the book in comparison to the film, but I don't want the endings spoiled

Its a toss up as well imo. If u read the book first then u expect everything u read to be in the movie and if its not you get sorely disappointed.
I personally usually read the book after the movie is out,but again it depends on when the movie comes out and the book comes out.
Now with comics it maybe different,but then again I don't read any comics anymore. I saw Watchmen and had no idea what it was totally about,so I really enjoyed it. I assumed if I read it I'd expect the movie to be exactly like the comic and I didn't want those expectations.

[redhawk23]

i think it depends on what book/movie you're speaking of

[redhawk23]

Originally Posted by Doctor Jones

Why is it that barely any men read?

see that is a myth, it only seems that way due to the state of book stores, plagued by twilight and its 10,000 nock-offs. while it may be true that men do not read new books, i think that it is very false to say barely any of them read period.

[COAL TIGER]

I usually prefer to read the book before I see the movie.