The first books were written in 7th century BC, long before our modern adaptations of movies, video games, and television shows. As we all know, it is increasingly more common that a story written in a novel from yesterday makes it to the big screen today. To clarify, there’s nothing wrong with an incredible story transforming into a new medium like TV or movie. Often, creating a film out of a story allows it to reach an audience who would have never seen or heard the tale otherwise. The challenge is we often experience the big screen differently than flipping through the pages of a paperback book and letting our mind take hold of the imagery the author has eloquently written.
I believe there are a few fantastic films and TV shows out there whose books tell a story which is a completely different experience than the big screen. Detailed descriptions, secondary characters, and longer backstories are dropped from the main screen to fit the medium. Though this makes for the best storytelling in a movie or TV show, it doesn’t quite tell the entire story found in the pages of the books which gave birth to the film. A couple of novels-turned-big screens come to mind when I think of this. Here are the top five books you should read before the movies.
Harry Potter Series
There are interesting character differences in everyone’s favorite wizarding series. Whether it’s the increased role of Fred and George Weasley or the outgoing nature of Ginny, the books create an enjoyable experience which is utterly different from the movies. The additional humor, extra detail, and background expansion in the books are very helpful when watching the movies since they fill in some gaps the movies leave out. If you haven’t read these books, it’s about time. While there are more novels from JK Rowling in the Harry Potter universe, like Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, the original seven books are truly where the magic lies.
The Hobbit
Long, drawn out, and frequently annoying are all used to describe the Hobbit movie series from Peter Jackson. The story many folks viewed in nearly 8 hours (9 hours for extended versions) was much different than the one Tolkien wrote in 1937. Of course, we should expect The Hobbit to be produced differently with the nearly 80 years between writing the book and making it into a movie. If you haven’t seen the movies, or have a bad taste in your mouth about The Hobbit after the movie, allow yourself to get lost in the prequel to Lord of the Rings by reading the novel. Amazon has it for sale for a measly $8.00.
Chronicles of Narnia
C.S. Lewis was a brilliant writer in his time, and his Chronicles of Narnia are no exception. The fantastic universe which blossomed from this series was clearly a hit on the big screen, but like many novels-turned-movies, there is one major twist which may make you want to read the books first. The books were written out of chronological order, though C.S. Lewis intended them to be read in chronological order. There are also only three movies out, of which all start out somewhere in the middle of the order they were intended to be experienced. Start with The Magician’s Nephew with this series and avoid the Star Wars dilemma of not knowing the backstory until much further into the future in the event more movies are released.
Any Stephen King Novel
There are over 50 Stephen King books turned movies. While his books aren’t going to take the 2 hours to experience, like many of the movies, they sure do provide a different perspective on all of his stories. Many of the movies were done well and are all dark flicks for the ages, but, there is no doubt his books are different. For instance, in The Shining, his attention to hotel fixtures and shrubbery help create an intensely ominous scene which isn’t as noticeable in the film. Simply the amount of detail packed into his books paint a visual picture which is extremely unique. Read some Stephen King books and then compare to the movies, you won’t be disappointed.
Levels of Ascension Series
Okay, okay. I know the Levels of Ascension series by Amy Proebstel hasn’t gone to the big screen…yet. Regardless, I would love to work with directors and movie writers alike to help this series come to life. It is a simple fact that more people are watching a visually stimulating movie or TV series instead of reading or listening to their full-detail counterparts. For those folks who may never open a book, turn on their Kindle, or pop in a set of headphones and listen to the stories, we want to make sure they can experience the Levels of Ascension series which begins with the book entitled Outside Ascension. People will be inspired by the struggles, mystery, imagination, and triumph found in the Levels of Ascension books which they will be able to appreciate as a movie or TV series.