Meme: Book vs Film

I spotted this fun little meme over at Lynn’s Book Blog and being a big fan of adaptations as well as books I thought it would be great for me to try out here. Lynn simply asks us to contemplate the following:

1. Films that I enjoyed better than the book (is that possible??? )
2. Books that I liked better than the film
3. Books that I can’t decide between because the film did a pretty damned good job of bringing the book to the screen.

To keep things simple you only have to think of 5 answers for each category (more difficult in some categories than others!).

1. Films I enjoyed more than the book:

1. Stardust (2007) vs Stardust by Neil Gaiman
2. Harry Potter (2001-2011) vs Harry Potter by J K Rowling
3. The Lovely Bones (2010) vs The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold
4. Bram Stoker’s Dracula (1993) vs Dracula by Bram Stoker
5. Blade Runner (1982) vs Do Android’s Dream of Electric Sheep by Philip K Dick

2. Books I enjoyed more than the film:

1. Northern Lights by Philip Pullman vs The Golden Compass (2007)
2. The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams vs The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (2005)
3. The Host by Stephenie Meyer vs The Host (2013)
4. Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden vs Memoirs of a Geisha (2006)
5. Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury vs Fahrenheit 451 (1966)

3. Books and films I can’t decide between:

1. The Lord of the Rings by J R R Tolkien and The Lord of the Rings (2001-2003)
2. Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier and Rebecca (1940)
3. Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen and Sense and Sensibility (1995)
4. The Chronicles of Narnia by C S Lewis and The Chronicles of Narnia (2005-2010)
5. Angels and Demons (2009) and Angels and Demons by Dan Brown

What about you? Books? Films? Or both?

Discovering A Song of Ice and Fire

A Song of Ice and Fire series by George R R Martin

A Game of Thrones
A Clash of Kings
A Storm of Swords 1: Steel and Snow
A Storm of Swords 2: Blood and Gold
A Feast for Crows
A Dance with Dragons 1: Dreams and Dust
A Dance with Dragons 2: After the Feast

I originally mentioned this collection back in my January new books post as I had received the collection for Christmas from my father but I hadn’t been able to bring it home on the train from my mother’s house. Last week I fought my way through torrential rain and even some more snow in my car down to the New Forest to spend a long weekend with my mother. I had a wonderful time catching up with my mother, stepfather, younger brother, and other family members, an extra bonus though was I was able to bring this collection home in my car. I know a few of you have been keen to see it! I am just as keen to start reading the set, it might help me get through the wait for the third season of the television adaptation of this series Game of Thrones

Have you read A Song of Ice and Fire series? Are you watching the Game of Thrones TV series?

The Classics Club: December Meme

With the new month comes a new meme question for The Classics Club. I really enjoyed doing this meme last month for the first time so decided to do this one early in the month again.

Sadly I haven’t read Charles Dickens’s A Christmas Carol. Until I joined The Classics Club in fact I had only read Nicholas Nickleby by Charles Dickens, hence why a big chunk of my list is made up by his work. I have recently read Oliver Twist, and have Great Expectations and A Tale of Two Cities on my to-be-read pile. The more I read of Dickens’s work the more I’m enjoying it so I am really looking forward to reading the classic A Christmas Carol.

Even though I haven’t read the novel I do have very fond childhood memories of A Christmas Carol because of the film The Muppet Christmas Carol (1992). This is a firm favourite in my family and we watch it pretty much every Christmas along with The Grinch (2000) and Cool Runnings (1994). Before reading Oliver Twist I’d only ever seen the film as well and found it really nice to discover all those well-known characters in their original context. I am really hoping for a similar experience when I get round to reading A Christmas Carol.

Have you read A Christmas Carol? Have you got a favourite adaptation?