Books Vs. Movies

This is an argument I’ve had with too many people, and don’t get me wrong I enjoy the entertainment value on both sides, but I enjoy one side a bit more. I don’t understand how so many people today argue that this form of story-telling is just a bore, but to me, a movie can never beat a book.

First off, the selection in book stores is quite impeccable. When going to rent, or even buy a film, I find myself scavenging through every title the store offers, with boredom.  When in Chapters, Coles, a local book-store or even at a flea-market the hardest part is to decide on what to spend my money on because at least one fourth of the books seem interesting to me. In the end I will always walk out with a new book to read, and if not with the actual book in hand, my “To Read” list has grown. I could spend hours in a movie-store going through all the titles, not just once or twice, but even thrice and still come out with absolutely nothing. I want so badly at the time to find a movie to intrigue me, so I can show my circle of friends a new film worth watching, but it turns out to be such a hard task that I just need to walk away.

One thing that really bothers me is the people who complain that they don’t like books because they’re always so dull, and have barely read any books to form an opinion. Sure you need to invest more time into a book then a movie, but the detail is so much greater, and if written well you can see all the images that the movie would show you, including some more. For example look at any time a book is turned into a movie. If you have both read and watched the piece of work, you will know that the movie is always missing details. Some of these details are very important in the book, and have absolutely no place in the film. Look at Michael Chabon’s Wonder Boys. From the book to the movie, they missed so many great details. The scene where Tripp and Leer are at the dinner table of Tripp’s wife Emily’s childhood home, in between the dispute of Emily and her sister, or even the dead snake that goes along in the trunk with the dog, great details to make the story a bit more lively. There is only one time where I have been in the middle of a book and movie, and that was for Into the Wild. The reason for this was because the movie was fairly long, and Jon Krakauer’s book was just too short. Although both very good stories, I can’t say which I like better.

At the end of the day, for those who argue that film is better than the long lasting written words on paper without ever reading something of the interest, I inspire you to go out and try to read a book, even a short one, you just may enjoy it. Once reading becomes a hobby and passion, movies just won’t bring you to the same Zen point that a book will.