I'm a lover

I'm a big lover of books.

I'm also a big lover of movies.

I'm a big lover of books that are turned into movies...some of the time.

I'm always curious to see if the movie either follows the book, or goes way off track.

So, for Truth Thursday, which I'm bringing back today, on Thursday, after many, many months, I'll give you my run-down on some of my favorite books that were turned into movies.

You know I love my lists.

1.  Possession by A.S. Byatt.

I actually watched the movie first.  It was a good movie. 

I loved it from the start.  A little bit of mystery, a little scandal, sucked me right in.  I'm reading the book now because I haven't been to the library for a week and my current stash of books from my own "library" have been read so many times, they are old to me right now...so I'm reading this.  It's ok.  A lot of things in the book as far as poetry, etc. were left out of the movie, and that's a good thing.  I'm skipping over lots of that in the book.  The storyline in the movie does follow the book pretty well, so I'd recommend this. 

2.  I'm embarrassed by my number 2 choice.  I am only sharing it, because the books were so much better than the movies, and because my book club read every one of the series, and we've went together to see every movie.

Please don't judge me.  The books were easy to read, and I liked how the author, a Mormon, advocated no premarital sex.  That was good.  Then we went to see the movies.

What a bad idea.  What terrible acting!  Now, the group of us just goes to get a good laugh at the "constipated" expressions on some of the actors who are trying to look so serious!  I would stick with just the books.

3.  The Notebook by Nicholas Sparks.

Great book.  One of the first of his I ever read.  Great story.  Sad, romantic.  All around good. 

Then there was the movie.

It was a GREAT movie.  Great actors.  Great following the storyline of the book.  I would totally recommend both.

4.  The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger.

I read the book first, and I liked it, but it was so hard to follow with all the jumping around/time traveling.  It made it a little hard to read, not because of the length, but because of the having to concentrate so hard to stay on track.  I did like it, though, but I was glad when the movie came out.

It was another Rachel McAdams movie.  I like her.  The movie was a little easier to understand than the book, which I liked.  It made it more real.  It was sad, and romantic, and perplexing.  I would probably watch it again.  I would recommend the movie over the book.

5.  Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follet.

This is a THICK book.  No joke, you won't be able to hold it with one hand while you drink your coffee and eat your breakfast.  (not that I've tried that or anything....)  It, however, was a wonderful book.  I really liked it.  There are parts to pass over a little, but overall, it's a great story.

Then, I saw that Netflix had the series, and I decided to watch it.

Wow.  It was GREAT too.  Good storyline, good actors, great drama.  I would recommend both.

Last on my list.  (I promise...I mean, are you really taking my opinions to heart?)

6.  The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis.

I read this series in 4th grade people.  That's 28 years ago.  And they have stuck with me since then.  I remember reading them.  I even remember where the librarian had them placed in the library.  I gravitated towards them.  At the time, they were a little "scandalous."  (Maybe that was just my 4th grade imagination.)  They were a little science-fictiony, and a little fantastic.  I LOVED reading them. 

When my kids came of age, I tried to get them to read them.  They didn't feel quite so strongly as I did about them.  Evan is starting to read them now.  He got interested because we started watching the movies as a family.

They are all (all 4 of them) excellent movies.  With a great moral to them.  The lion represents God/Jesus.  Our kids have asked so many questions after we've watched these together.  I think Disney did a great job with them all.  I would recommend both the books and the movie.

Well, now that I'm done with my little list...I hope you've found something to take away from it.  Maybe you can get one at the library this weekend and enjoy some time with it.

Have a relaxing weekend!