Have you ever watched a show/movie after reading a book you enjoyed? Is the book better than its digital counterpart?  This age-old question continues to be posed as more popular books are adapted onto the big screen.

Reading has always been centered around my imagination and ability to envision the characters, conversations, settings, and chapters, in my head. The images offered to us in these books allow us to have the freedom to create visuals and interpretations. I find myself reading the book first before I watch the movie adaptation or else I read the book with the exact characters and setting shown to us in the movie. However, these movies have been known to emit crucial details written into the book. Here are some books and their movie/show adaptations to decide if the book is ultimately better.

THE VAMPIRE DIARIES:

The Vampire Diaries was a hit romance supernatural show that first aired in 2009 based on the book series of the same name written by L.J. Smith. The novel series, which was originally a trilogy, was first written and published in 1991. The trilogy became very successful with its audience of romance and fantasy readers leading to the fourth novel being released in 1992. While some changes to the big screen were very minute to suit the specific target audience, some changes significantly strayed off the original series.  However, while they made some drastic changes, they maintained the core premise of the love triangle between protagonist Elena Gilbert and both vampire Salvatore brothers. 

In the show, Mystic Falls is a small town that houses various supernatural creatures throughout the series as well as being a home to the main characters but in the book, the town is called Fells Church. Stefan and Damon Salvatore, the two main characters of both the show and movie have different backgrounds in the show and novels. In the hit TV series, Damon and Stefan were alive in the 1800s in Mystic Falls where they eventually became vampires in 1864. Contrastingly, in Smith’s books, the Salvatore brothers were born in Italy during the Italian Renaissance making them over 500 years old in these books. 

I enjoyed the show better than the books as it was more engaging for the teenage audience. There was more romance, and the plot lines were more detailed and discussed than in the books. 

ONE OF US IS LYING:

One of Us is Lying is a mystery/suspense novel by Karen M. McManus begins when five high school students with various social backgrounds end up in detention together. However, when one of the students mysteriously dies due to his peanut allergy, the remaining four high schoolers become murder suspects, each with their secrets that they would do anything to protect. In 2021, streaming service, ‘Peacock’ released the show adaptation of “One of Us is Lying” and even had a two-season run before being canceled. 

In the show, the detention diversion, which takes the teacher out of the room, was a bunch of students streaking and throwing eggs at the classroom window. However, in the book, there was a car accident between students from another school. The main relationship between protagonists Nate and Bronwyn develops differently in the show and the book.  In the book, “Bad Boy” Nate and “Nerdy Girl” Bronwyn hit it off from the start as they talk every night on burner phones to make sure they aren’t caught. In the show, Bronwyn starts by dating a guy from her debate team and she doesn’t want to get close to Nate, or any of the other suspects.

I liked the book better than the show as the book was more straightforward and less confusing. Within the show, they added new characters who didn’t contribute to the plot of the story, unlike the book which mainly focused on the main four characters.

BRIDGERTON:

Bridgerton is a historical romance series taking place in London during the 1800s, each novel following one of the eight Bridgerton siblings: Anthony, Benedict, Colin, Daphne, Eloise, Francesca, Gregory, and Hyacinth. They depict each sibling’s “love story” in London while also dealing with ‘Lady Whistledown’, the gossip paper in town. A Netflix adaptation of this series came out in 2020, becoming a global hit, especially with the pandemic. You would see fans of the show dress up in Bridgerton apparel and learn the intricate dances that they perform at the balls.

Some of the biggest differences between the show and the book include adding new characters. In the first season of the show, the character Marina Thompson gets a bigger storyline than the brief mentions and allusions in the novels. Additionally, in the show, Simon, the Duke of Hastings, and the main love interest takes on boxing with his friend Will Mondrich as a hobby, however in the book, his participation in this sport is nonexistent. In the Netflix series, Anthony, the oldest Bridgerton sibling, is very protective of his younger siblings especially Daphne, the other main love interest, but in the novel, he isn’t nearly as intrusive. 

I enjoyed reading and watching this show. They were both very interesting and entertaining to see how the love story unfolded. The TV show was fairly accurate to the book in both the dialogue and the costumes to feel like the words on the page just translated onto your screen.

These are just three examples of the numerous books that have been adapted into a movie/show. Knowing all of the changes made to fit these stories onto the main screen, I ask you “Is the Book Better?”