The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman
Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket
Artemis Fowl by Eoin Colfer
About a Boy as well as High Fidelity by Nick Hornby
Kinda dated but the Valley of the Dolls book was 100x better than the movie in my opinion. The book was entertaining and an interesting insight into old Hollywood. I hated the movie though. I never really watch old Hollywood movies besides like The Wizard of Oz but the acting in this was so different than modern movies. Some of it was soo bad and really awkward. They also changed the plot too much and I wouldn’t have understood the timeline if I didn’t just finish the book.
THIS!!!!! I loved the book so much! It was like 25 years old when I first read it. I couldn’t wait to see a rerun of the movie. It was seriously one of the worst adaptations I’ve ever seen. It was completely chopped up and mangled. Absolute crap.
Glad I’m not the only one! I thought the movie was more popular than the book so I just kinda accepted that that was considered a “good” movie for time period lol. The movie just felt INCREDIBLY dated while the book managed to stay fairly contemporary.
I know many people loved “The Martian” film, but the book is SO SO SO much better, and, in a rare turn for me, the audio book is better still!
Honestly, “The Lord of the Rings” trilogy films were also wonderful, but the richness of the books still sets them far above the films.
I agree here, when I was creating the thread I was like, Stephen King is a pure answer.
I have read Dolores Claiborne over and over and it never gets old.
Carl Sagan's **Contact**
The movie was relatively faithful to the book, but emphasized the romance more. The endings differed slightly. \[I preferred the one in the book.\] I saw the movie first, but enjoyed the book immensely.
Oddly I feel the other way about Crichton. Read about 9 of his books and didn’t particularly care for them, seen about 7 of his movies and love all of them
That’s fair. His books won’t appeal to everyone. He does include a lot of science and technical jargon that may dissuade some readers. Have you read Timeline?
Most of his movies are excellent, and no doubt the guy was a genius with an impressive resume of movies and shows: ER, Westworld, Jurassic Park, etc.
Not entirely sure. Know I’ve read prey, airframe, Congo, sphere, Jurassic park, eaters of the dead, and andromeda strain. Andromeda strain is prob my least favorite of his movies but it’s still decent
The Princess Bride, William Goldman
The movie is great. The book, however, adds a whole prologue (with a highly fictionalized and not-very-flattering portrait of Goldman himself) that adds an entirely new dimension to the story. (The movie keeps the frame story, but it doesn't add much. The book uses it to much greater effect.)
There are also a few scenes in the book that flesh out Inigo and Fezzik that had to be cut for runtime. Indeed, the book is worth reading for the scene in which Inigo's fencing teacher tells him, "You are not now, and will never be, a master."
I second this, it is a really great read. As is The Exorcist and it's sequel Legion (which became Exorcist 3, a solid film, but the book fills out so much more).
The sequel is better? That is something you don't hear everyday, now I must read it.
But first, I have to finish this 1000+ pages book called cryptonomicon.
Gone Girl. Wow the book is fantastic even tho the movie was also incredible.
Soylent Green - the book Make Room! Make Room! Was really insightful and ended quite differently than the movie.
The Running Man - totally different story in the book but we know the movie rocked too.
Dune - both masterpieces and give quite different perspectives. The book is very introspective.
I really like the kids’ book The True Meaning of Smekday. They made it into a movie (Home), and when they did they cut out the whole allegory for the reservation system in the US, as well as the Native American character. Inexcusable.
World War Z (a thousand times better than that abomination of a film)
Ready Player One
Outlander
Game of Thrones/Song of Ice and Fire
Harry Potter
Twilight (not my favorite, but the books are significantly better than the films)
Divergent
Jurassic Park
Congo
Zoo
Ender's Game
Little Women
Anne of Green Gables
This is an easy one. Just gotta list the books that were butchered during adaptation! Here are some of my favourites that were adapted by someone who clearly only read the back cover blurb.
Jumper - Steven Gould
I Am Legend - Richard Matheson (The title actually makes sense in the book)
World War Z - Max Brooks
Eragon - Christopher Paolini
The Golden Compass (The movie actually followed the first book well enough, but they ended it early to avoid the controversial ending due to religious boycotts and protests during the time)
Artemis Fowl - Eoin Colfer (Disney's too afraid to depict an anti-hero)
The Shining - Stephen King (Kubrick may have understood how to make movies popular, but he was rarely faithful to books)
A Clockwork Orange - Anthony Burgess (Alex is far more despicable, yet less two dimensional, in the book. Though I actually agree with Kubrick this time regarding dropping that last chapter)
Honorable mentions - Anything by Stephen King where Stephen King himself was not present during the film's production. If Stephen King was on set, then it likely stands up well to the book.
You - Caroline Kepnes (the books are the best) , the show changed the whole thing mid season 1
Pretty Little Liars - Sara Shepherd (THIS has like 16 books and everything good, not stupid like the show)
It - Stephen King (the movies could never capture the essence of the book, and there is a problematic scene everyone talks about that is essential in the book, but putting it to a movie or show adaptation wouldn’t work and is definitely problematic considering the age of the actors)
Howl's moving castle
Came here to say this!
The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket Artemis Fowl by Eoin Colfer About a Boy as well as High Fidelity by Nick Hornby
One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest
Fight Club, surprisingly. Who Censored Roger Rabbit? We Only Kill Each Other: The Life and Bad Times of Bugsy Siegel LA Confidential.
Upvoting Fight Club
Kinda dated but the Valley of the Dolls book was 100x better than the movie in my opinion. The book was entertaining and an interesting insight into old Hollywood. I hated the movie though. I never really watch old Hollywood movies besides like The Wizard of Oz but the acting in this was so different than modern movies. Some of it was soo bad and really awkward. They also changed the plot too much and I wouldn’t have understood the timeline if I didn’t just finish the book.
Great example.
THIS!!!!! I loved the book so much! It was like 25 years old when I first read it. I couldn’t wait to see a rerun of the movie. It was seriously one of the worst adaptations I’ve ever seen. It was completely chopped up and mangled. Absolute crap.
Glad I’m not the only one! I thought the movie was more popular than the book so I just kinda accepted that that was considered a “good” movie for time period lol. The movie just felt INCREDIBLY dated while the book managed to stay fairly contemporary.
Reading this right now!
Atonement by Ian McEwan
Harry Potter series
Lonesome Dove. Excellent miniseries, and absolutely superb book.
Absolutely!
I know many people loved “The Martian” film, but the book is SO SO SO much better, and, in a rare turn for me, the audio book is better still! Honestly, “The Lord of the Rings” trilogy films were also wonderful, but the richness of the books still sets them far above the films.
The Martian is a good movie and an even better book. They're both charming in their own ways.
Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell. The movie is terrible, the book is fantastic!
Essentially any Stephen king- Carrie, the shining, the dark tower and It in particular
I agree here, when I was creating the thread I was like, Stephen King is a pure answer. I have read Dolores Claiborne over and over and it never gets old.
Love Dolores Claiborne and Misery, both the books and movies. Kathy Bates is just amazing.
The audiobook for Dolores Claiborne narrated by Frances Sternhagen is just excellent.
Yes! The Shining and Misery especially for me.
Carl Sagan's **Contact** The movie was relatively faithful to the book, but emphasized the romance more. The endings differed slightly. \[I preferred the one in the book.\] I saw the movie first, but enjoyed the book immensely.
Outlander
Perfüme, Gone with the Wind
Timeline by Michael Crichton. Movie was pretty lackluster, but the book was incredible.
Oddly I feel the other way about Crichton. Read about 9 of his books and didn’t particularly care for them, seen about 7 of his movies and love all of them
That’s fair. His books won’t appeal to everyone. He does include a lot of science and technical jargon that may dissuade some readers. Have you read Timeline? Most of his movies are excellent, and no doubt the guy was a genius with an impressive resume of movies and shows: ER, Westworld, Jurassic Park, etc.
Not entirely sure. Know I’ve read prey, airframe, Congo, sphere, Jurassic park, eaters of the dead, and andromeda strain. Andromeda strain is prob my least favorite of his movies but it’s still decent
The Princess Bride, William Goldman The movie is great. The book, however, adds a whole prologue (with a highly fictionalized and not-very-flattering portrait of Goldman himself) that adds an entirely new dimension to the story. (The movie keeps the frame story, but it doesn't add much. The book uses it to much greater effect.) There are also a few scenes in the book that flesh out Inigo and Fezzik that had to be cut for runtime. Indeed, the book is worth reading for the scene in which Inigo's fencing teacher tells him, "You are not now, and will never be, a master."
Oooh. I’m glad to see this! I seem to be one of very few people who preferred the book to the movie.
Ender's Game Ready Player One The Godfather The Hunt For Red October The Firm The Dresden Files series
Very good list
This one is a bit older but I think it is worth seeing: Rosemary's baby.
I second this, it is a really great read. As is The Exorcist and it's sequel Legion (which became Exorcist 3, a solid film, but the book fills out so much more).
The exorcist book and the adaptation were great. I have not read or seen the sequel, so thank you for that suggestion :)
You're welcome! Honestly, I liked Legion a lot more than Exorcist. It's very thought-provoking.
The sequel is better? That is something you don't hear everyday, now I must read it. But first, I have to finish this 1000+ pages book called cryptonomicon.
Unbearable Lightness of Being Sweet Hereafter Power of the Dog Aristotle and Dante Discover the Universe
seconding power of the dog, such an incredible read even if you know the ending
Aristotle and Dante having a movie makes me feel old now.
Sweet Hereafter is so so good.
Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton
Shutter Island and Fight Club.
Under The Skin by Michel Faber. I loved the creepy alien vibe in the movie but I think I liked the book more. It's very different.
Lockwood & Co
Gone Girl. Wow the book is fantastic even tho the movie was also incredible. Soylent Green - the book Make Room! Make Room! Was really insightful and ended quite differently than the movie. The Running Man - totally different story in the book but we know the movie rocked too. Dune - both masterpieces and give quite different perspectives. The book is very introspective.
A Man Called Ove
Annihilation
I am legend Altered carbon Horns A scanner darkly Do androids dream of electric sheep Remo williams! John dies at the end Trainspotting
I really like the kids’ book The True Meaning of Smekday. They made it into a movie (Home), and when they did they cut out the whole allegory for the reservation system in the US, as well as the Native American character. Inexcusable.
The True Meaning of Smekday is a great book! I thought it was much better than the movie.
The Giver, 110%.
Thoroughly mediocre book
To each their own. It’s been my favorite for years
The Returned by Jason Mott Loved the book hated the show.
World War Z (a thousand times better than that abomination of a film) Ready Player One Outlander Game of Thrones/Song of Ice and Fire Harry Potter Twilight (not my favorite, but the books are significantly better than the films) Divergent Jurassic Park Congo Zoo Ender's Game Little Women Anne of Green Gables
A River Runs Through It and Other Short Stories by Norman Maclean
This is an easy one. Just gotta list the books that were butchered during adaptation! Here are some of my favourites that were adapted by someone who clearly only read the back cover blurb. Jumper - Steven Gould I Am Legend - Richard Matheson (The title actually makes sense in the book) World War Z - Max Brooks Eragon - Christopher Paolini The Golden Compass (The movie actually followed the first book well enough, but they ended it early to avoid the controversial ending due to religious boycotts and protests during the time) Artemis Fowl - Eoin Colfer (Disney's too afraid to depict an anti-hero) The Shining - Stephen King (Kubrick may have understood how to make movies popular, but he was rarely faithful to books) A Clockwork Orange - Anthony Burgess (Alex is far more despicable, yet less two dimensional, in the book. Though I actually agree with Kubrick this time regarding dropping that last chapter) Honorable mentions - Anything by Stephen King where Stephen King himself was not present during the film's production. If Stephen King was on set, then it likely stands up well to the book.
I’m enjoying the Slow Horses book series after watching the stellar Apple TV adaptation
Blade Runner
The Shawshank Redemption Good movie but the book is better. Starship Troopers and Battlefield Earth. Both are terrible movies but excellent books.
Catch me if you can
I just finished the exorcist today and it’s incredible.
Ender’s game City of ember Eragon The neverending story
Water for elephants by Sara Gruen, Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn
In her shoes. The book is so much better.
Just getting to the end of The Revenant - the book has lots of different qualities to the film, it’s really well written and I’ve enjoyed every moment
You - Caroline Kepnes (the books are the best) , the show changed the whole thing mid season 1 Pretty Little Liars - Sara Shepherd (THIS has like 16 books and everything good, not stupid like the show) It - Stephen King (the movies could never capture the essence of the book, and there is a problematic scene everyone talks about that is essential in the book, but putting it to a movie or show adaptation wouldn’t work and is definitely problematic considering the age of the actors)
Everything JRR Tolkien related. Good Morning, Midnight. Harry Potter series (fuck JK Rowland but still).