Books Are Better Than Films

Which are better, books or films? For some this might seem like a controversial topic, but for me the answer is quite simple. I’ve covered this briefly in a previous piece about what drew me to read, but I felt it deserved to be spoken about in more detail. There are many books and book series that have been made into films/TV programs, most of which with great success. Narnia, Harry Potter, Twilight, A Song of Ice & Fire (Game of Thrones), His Dark Materials, Girl on a Train, Mortal Instruments, The Witcher and The Hunger Games are just a few that I’ve come across on screen that began as words on a page; and I know there are many, many more. I’ll get straight to the point though, the books are superior, each and every time; they just are.

 Don’t get me wrong, I know there are a number of things on-screen adaptations can offer that books can’t, like the fact that they’re generally over much quicker than the book is. To begin with, an entire series (film or TV) can be consumed in the time that it takes to read one novel, and you don’t have to imagine what a character or setting looks like; it’s right there. I don’t think as much attention is required to watch a film as there is to read a book (although that may just be my attention span when it comes to TV), it’s just impossible to fit as much detail into on-screen stories as can be seen in a book. It is a little bit easier with kid’s stories most of the time, and particular favourites of mine are the Peter Rabbit TV show as well as the Julia Donaldson short films, but I stand firm on my opinion when it comes to novels.

One of my more eccentric traits is that I get annoyed, almost infuriated, when there are aspects missing on screen that I see to be important in the books, particularly when it’s one of my favourite scenes that are missing. I know in the back of my mind that it’s impossible to include everything that is down in print, but I can’t help being one of those annoying people that points out when something is absent (although I still think Game of Thrones missed a trick not including Lady Stoneheart, and that’s as far as I can go without it being a spoiler). I also realise that some details from books wouldn’t translate well on screen and that sometimes aspects need embellishing or exaggerating to get the point across (which adds time to the showing), but it’s just not something I can get over easily and is the primary reason why I would always choose print.

All of the above can be forgiven to some degree, but it’s certainly unacceptable when they change details or parts within a book for absolutely no reason. I found it bizarre, for instance, that they completely changed the location of The Girl on a Train, whose location was changed from London to New York, while there were many important scenes from Harry Potter or A Song of Ice & Fire that were omitted or glossed over; and other parts added that had no place and left me almost distraught (I exaggerate, but the death of a certain swordsman, who will remain nameless, was particularly galling to me). The favour I shower onto books means I cannot watch a film before I read a book, I just don’t want to go through the effort, at least the first time, if I know the ending; the utmost enjoyment needs to be derived from the words, including the element of surprise.

As a published children’s author and an aspiring novelist, I admit that I’m a bit biased. Nonetheless, this is a long-held opinions of mine, one that I held before I’d had any thoughts of becoming a writer; when, like many kids, I was kicking the ball around in my back garden, dreaming of being the next David Beckham. I just love a good book (have I mentioned that), from my earliest memory of reading the Narnia series to my latest new series, The Hunger Games (I say latest new series, as I’ve repeated Harry Potter and a Song of Ice & Fire since), I have found so much joy in escaping to new worlds. I just can’t find that same escape from staring at a screen. With films and TV shows I always feel like I’m looking on from the outside, whereas with books I become more immersed, almost like I’m inside them worlds. Books are great.

By Calum Dewsbury