Are Books Turning Into Movies a Positive or Negative Thing?

A lot of books as movies are being optioned and produced lately. But with the increasing number of movies from books, is the quality lacking? Should we be happy or nervous about seeing books that are movies on the big screen?

Usually it’s a case-by-case basis, but for the most part there are a few different things that can make books as movies a good or a bad thing.

The first positive thing is definitely getting to see the story and the world come to life. Especially when you are talking about a book that is magical and has a lot of fantasy elements to it, sometimes seeing that world come to life can be an incredible experience. But such a wonderful concept also comes with big risks. Perhaps the budget left a lot to be desired and so the sets and effects are not all they could be. This can really ruin a story and unfortunately the visuals the movie provides become ingrained when you read the book again.

Another thing that is really exciting about seeing books as movies is getting to see the characters we envisioned while reading come to life before our eyes. It can be really cool to see new and established actors make our favorite characters a reality. But again, if an actor just doesn’t fit the role physically and as far as skill level is concerned, then movies from books can be more of a letdown than a positive experience.

The most wonderful thing about books hitting the big screen is that it tends to have this effect on the masses, drawing in people to read books that are movies because they enjoyed the film. A lot of times these people are not normally readers and it’s definitely a positive thing any time something gets people reading and exercising their minds. The only negative effect this has overall is that the supply and demand of books must be met. So we tend to see an increase in books that are cranked out too fast and end up being low quality and copycat storylines of other books.

No matter what though, the nice thing about getting to witness books as movies is that it entails more exposure for the book, author, and reading in general. If it’s a story we love, then it’s nice when a lot of people know about it and you can talk about it with them! But it also can be a little annoying when fans from the movie crossover to being fans of the book and claim to be the biggest fans, when in reality the biggest fans are those who increased the exposure of the book itself to the point of it being optioned as a movie.

Whether you’re a fan of books as movies or not is something we all must decide on our own. But either way, the incredible world of movies from books is becoming more popular every day and something that will hopefully only increase in quality to the satisfaction of both book lovers and movie buffs alike.