Almost half of the movies which are made each year . . . are adaptations. The reason probably is because movie-makers hate to take risks. If a book has sold millions of copies they know there's an audience that will watch the adaptation no matter how bad it is. So supposing you've heard that a book will be adapted for the screen would you want to watch the movie first before reading the book or read the book first before watching the movie so you know what to expect?
Personally it depends on whether I like the author or that I heard that the book is good. I'm not really worried to be honest; most of the adaptations are from teen fiction books. If it's from a classic then the more that I'm not worried about spoilers.
For me I'd rather read the book first. To be honest since I hate movies and stories with sad endings I just must make sure that there's no such ending. There's enough pain in the world as it is and last thing I want to see is more of it when I'm trying to escape reality for a little while.
I would like to read the book first before I watch the movie, so if ever the book didn't live up to my expectations or if I really just didn't like the book at all, then I won't have to bother watching the movie. Just like 50 Shades of Grey. I have read the first chapter of the first book, so I already had an idea what kind of story it is. It's a good heads-up because I already knew that I should not watch its film adaptation. No offense to the fans. Just trying to voice out my opinion here.
With so much money invested, adaptions are easier to work with. There is a fan base and also the premise of the plot and characters has been established. The issue arises when they butcher it or if the writer is still alive they can exert some control over their creation. If my book was to be adapted, I would have to be involved. Classics will always sell and having a name in it guarantees some publicity, even if it goes straight to DVD.
Depends on the book. If it's something widely known as well written or a classic like 1984, To Kill a Mockingbird, etc, then I would definitely want to read the book first. If it's just some throwaway dime a dozen novel for "young adults", then I don't really care if I read the book.
People always complain about adaptations, no matter how faithful they are to their source material or not. Also, the quality on adaptations runs a wild range. Some are Oscar contenders, and others are literally the worst things ever made. I just ignore what happened in the source material and try to enjoy the movie either way. :]
It usually just depends on how I hear about it first, honestly, and if I find that instance appealing or not. If I see the movie trailer first and find myself curious I wouldn't force myself to wait until I've read the book. The same goes for movies, I suppose. Even if I hear a movie of the book is coming out I wouldn't stop myself from reading the book just to prevent myself from spoiling the experience if I really liked the first few pages of the book already.
Obviously most books are better than movie based on them. It's simple - you just cannot fit 300 or 400 pages into 2 hours. It's impossible, no matter how you try. But I have to say that for example some movies based on Stepehen King's novels are better than the original counterparts. I might be I little biased, since I'm not the biggest fan of King's writing (though I don't dislike it either!), but I really do think that movies like The Shawshank Redemption and The Green Mile were much better on film than on paper. And it seems like even King agreed with this statment. But I think the most famous instance of mobie that lived up to book counterpart or even outdid it was the Fight Club. The movie is just simply better and I don't know one person that disagrees with it,
To be honest, I am really tired of adaptations. I have stopped watching movies as I am bored with knowing the most likely outcome of a film within 5 minutes of watching it. Everything is rehashed and diddled up with special effects, but there is no essence. So, no, I don't watch any adaptations. I simply read the book if I am interested. I don't need to see it on screen as well.
It depends on the book for me. Not only do I work in a library, but I am an avid reader so 9 times out of 10 I have already read the book before they announce the movie anyways. But it some cases, if I havent read the book, I will try to read it beforehand.
Personally I prefer to watch a movie first before reading books. I want to be surprise about what will happen to the main character as the story unfolds.However one exception is the Harry Potter series. I choose to read the book first before watching the movie.
