I never really understood why people said things like, "The movie was good, but the book was better..."
...until I started reading Harry Potter.
I had seen all the movies based on the first six books before I ever read the books all the way through. We had gotten a paperback version of the first book many years ago, but I never got passed the first few chapters back then. (Why that was, I couldn't tell you. Maybe I just had this thing against reading back then...) After the sixth movie came out, and I saw it in theaters twice, I decided it was time to start reading the books. I had become so swept away by the story, and I wanted to read the last book before the last movie came out. I just wanted to know so badly how the series ended, and I wasn't patient enough to wait a year and a half to find out.
So, I set a goal for myself: read all seven books before the first installment of the last movie comes out in December 2010. When I set this goal last summer, I had every intention of taking my time, and needing the year and a half to finish all seven. After all, several of the books surpass 700 pages, and my history with reading is such that I wasn't confident that I could finish in less time. However, I must have underestimated myself!
What I had set out to do in a year and a half I finished in less than three months. I would work my 4-11 shifts, come home, and read chapter after chapter, sometimes as late as 2:00 in the morning! I was so enamored by the subject matter that I could literally not put the books down. If I had any spare moments during the day, I read. Before I went to bed, I read. After I got up in the morning, I read.
This was also when I discovered just how great the library is. I didn't want to go out and spend money I didn't have on books (if I was going to buy them, I wanted brand-new books in hardback covers), so I came to the realization that the library was the perfect place to get them without having to spend a penny out of pocket! I was re-discovering something I had known as a child: that the library is a great place. I could pick up a book, take my time to read it, bring it back, and pick up the next one! If my local library didn't have it, they could get it from another library in the system. What a great system!
Now that the release of the last movie is approaching, I have decided once again to read all the books before it comes out. This time around, however, I have less free time to read now that I am working more "full-time" hours. But, I am determined to finish to make sure all the details are fresh in my mind when I sit down to watch the last movies. So far, the movies have not disappointed me after reading the books, though of course now I can truthfully say, "The book was better." I cannot recommend these books more to anyone out there that hasn't read them, and I am so glad there are people out there that have such great imaginations to come up with great literature like Harry Potter.
All About Sean
- Sean M.
- Powell, Tennessee, United States
- Welcome to my Blog! I am Sean M. from Powell, TN. I am a recent college graduate (May 2009) from Xavier University with a B.S. in Biology. I am a Pharmacy Technician at Ingles Markets in Powell, where I have worked since I was 16. I am currently studying to take the Pharmacy Technician Certification Exam in order to become a Certified Pharmacy Tech, which I hope will prepare me for a career in medicine in the future. In my blog I intend to look at the interesting, and sometimes the not-so-interesting, aspects of my life, trying to find the silver lining or humor in it. I invite anyone to read my blog, ask questions, and make comments. Thanks for reading, and come back to visit!
5 comments:
They are truly amazing books.
Many of them were read in this house in one night, because we would buy it the day it came out and 3 of us would want to read it. So you had to hurry so the next person could read it. But that wasn't a hardship, the hard ship was putting it down at any point, because you always wanted to know what happened next.
I am not a big Harry Potter fan, but I am glad you are making use of the library. I love, love, love the library and I get 90% of the books I read (both hard copy and CD) from there. Of course, we get many, many books for Jackson there too. Although, I must admit Lyle takes him to the bookstore about twice a week and they come home every time with a new Star Wars book. Ugh! I have actually convinced him that mommy doesn't know how to read Star Wars books. Six year olds are so gullible!
Keep reading!!
It pleases me that you have found the pleasure in reading,keep climbing that ladder.
This is ironic, because I went through the exact same revelation. I had the first Harry Potter book (paperback) for years, and didn't actually read it until I saw the second movie, and was hooked ever since. I remember when the Half Blood Prince book came out, I was an insomniac and my father had to hide the book from me. Definitely good memories, and ever since then I am always always always going to the library and reading books. Its better than the movies if one has an a mazing imagination!
Sean, reading them again, what a great idea. However I must say that the last book was very difficult to read and very difficult to put down. The tension was so great all the time.
I can't say that the books are better than the movie (except for the last movie) because to me (I read the books before the movie) the movie added much more than my imagination had lent the printed words. Don't get me wrong--I also loved the books, but the movies made it so much richer for me that I hold each in valued esteem.
I was disappointed by the Half-Blood Prince movie and now that I know the end, I'm not sure if I will enjoy the final movie as much as I have enjoyed the earlier ones.
I heard a quote from someone who invented something that no one else had thought of and it was basically "It isn't easy--try it." I'm so glad Rowling tried it, because Harry Potter is truely magical.
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