Book to Film Adaptations

Let’s Talk Bookish is a weekly series created by Rukky at Eternity Books and hosted by Aria at Book Nook Bits. The full list of June topics can be found here.

What are your favorite book to film adaptations? What are your least favorite ones?

Some of my favorite book to film adaptations are Big Little Lies by Liane Moriary, BBC Strike based on the Cormoran Strike series by Robert Galbraith, The Sun is Also a Star by Nicola Yoon, and To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before by Jenny Han.

I was recently informed that the Amazon Prime adaptation of The Time Traveler’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger was extremely well done and stayed true to the book, so I plan to watch that soon.

I won’t share my least favorites!

Do you think that books translate better to movies or shows?

It really depends on the book, but I think for the most part they translate better to movies. It would be very difficult, in my opinion, to stretch a single book into an episodic style show. However, the BBC Strike series has convinced me that it is possible.

Would you rather see a standalone or a book series adapted?

I would love to see the Tracers series by Laura Griffin adapted into a TV show. I think a series that has more characters and storylines to build on would be better than a standalone book that has a firm beginning and ending.

What do you think is important for a successful book to film adaptation?

I think having the writer of the book or series involved in the adaptation is the most important factor for the adaptation to be successful. Even if I ultimately disagree with how things are portrayed on screen, if I know that the author was involved in creating the movie or show, I feel better about supporting it as a whole. I think it’s important for the creator to have a voice in how the story evolves over time.