This week’s Top Ten Tuesday topic is:

(Page to Screen Freebie)

And so I decided to go with.. Adaptations that are better than the books!

I know, quelle horreur!

But yes, there are some that I’ve felt were just better. Maybe the condensed storyline helped, or maybe it was just a story that was better told on the screen, whether it’s a TV series or movie.

The Magicians – Lev Grossman

I didn’t want to watch this TV series at first. Mostly because the books were just so-so reads to me, especially the first book which I did not like but somehow I continued on with the rest of the series. But I just watched one episode to give it a chance and Oh My, it was amazing. It took a while to get into, and the first few episodes were still only so-so but it seemed to find its footing not long after. And I absolutely loved it, especially High Queen Margo and Elliott. And I love how in some episodes they incorporate music and singing – the very best episode is the David Bowie tribute!

The Martian – Andy Weir

Ok I did not like this book at all. I mean the story idea was great but it just was so unnecessarily long and needed more editing. But the movie was pretty good.

 

How To Train Your Dragon series – Cressida Cowell

I loved the first movie, and the second was ok, and the third in the end, was a nice ending to the series (and hopefully that was the end, as I really hate when the studios try to squeeze yet another sequel in a bid to make more money). So I was really kind of surprised (not in a good way) by how different the books are, especially how different Toothless is, not just in terms of size but character.

Lord of the Rings – JRR Tolkien

Please don’t yell at me! The books were really long and I’ve watched these movies so many times and yet still never went back to the books. Also, I like that the movies actually had Arwen as a prominent character whereas she is more like a footnote in the books.

 

Ready Player One – Ernest Cline

Again, for me, this was a great story idea but I wasn’t wowed by the writing. And I felt like the movie really just opened it up so much, especially the part where they are in The Shining!

Do you agree? What are some adaptations that you felt worked better than the books?

 

Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018.