I’ve often had this internal debate of whether I should read the book first or watch then movie/TV show. And I think I’ve discovered which I prefer. Recently, for the podcast, we read The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants by Ana Brashares. I LOVE this movie series. I’ve watched them a million times. So when I was reading, my expectations completely changed. I already had an image of each character and their personality and I had an idea of the timeline of occurrences. Needless to say, I was a little disappointed when it was different.

Now, when I watch a movie after reading, I still have a level of disappointment at times because then I have my own version of why I think things should be and they are different in a producer’s mind. This causes a lot of distress in myself as a reader. Does it cause you the same distress? It is very rare that I’m blown away by a movie’s interpretation of a book I’ve previously read; this is true of my favorite book, The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold. Great book. Great movie (and it has a Wahlberg in it, added bonus for me!)

So I think I have concluded that for me, I need to read the book first and then watch whatever production it is. I like to create an image in my head first and then compare to other people’s imagery. I will say, for some TV series, it’s fun to read the book series along with the show. Sweet Magnolias is an example of this for me. Then it gets confusing when they go off on two different directions, but isn’t that half the fun? Seeing how other people take a slightly different route and sometimes meet at the end or not at all. I guess the debate continues. What are your thoughts?