It’s hard to compare movies and books. They’re both telling stories, but one has to harness the power of descriptive language, while the other also equips visuals, music, actors, and special effects. Somehow books often prevail, either with rich story, or because the movie just couldn’t hack it.
Here, in no particular order, are 10 books that outshone their movie counterparts and one that didn’t.
[SPOILER ALERT]
10. To Kill a Mockingbird
I don’t hold any grudges against this movie for being older than the school I watched it in. This movie isn’t bad because it’s in black and white. The book stretches over a long period of three years, letting the tension slowly rise as the town turns on Atticus Finch, and Scout matures. The movie zips through the plot quickly, erasing all the tension that makes the book exciting. When we finally see Boo Radley it’s with an uncomfortable horror movie like intro.
Book Rating: Culturally significant
Movie Rating: Time for a remake?
9. The Fault in Our Stars
I don’t want to dwell on this one for long; the longer I think about the movie adaptation, the more I hate it. They took a hilarious, quirky book about teenagers falling in love and dying, and made it about cancer and tearjerking. The book showed two kids just trying to live with cancer, which resulted in funny and sad moments that felt real and made the characters loveable. The movie was just stuffed with cheap clichés, and the actors were terrible.
Book Rating: Loveable
Movie Rating: Regrettable
8. The Hunger Games 
Admittedly, I like the Hunger Games movies a lot. I think they’re gorgeous, and the actors are perfect. This movie just had the problem of not being able to fit everything from the book into something shorter than six hours. I wanted every detail of the book said word for word, but there was no way that was going to happen. They cut out too much character development, and sometimes the Hunger Game movies as a whole feel too much like a love story instead of an adventure story.
Book Rating: Rebellious
Movie Rating: PG-13
7. Life of Pi
The book Life of Pi is one of those long, rambling books that talks and talks forever, without really seeming relevant to the story; I love those books. In the movie Pi tells his quirky stories, but it’s terribly annoying because of how long the movie is. In the movie Pi’s interaction with his family is minimal compared to the book, making it harder to sympathize when they get die. Of course it’s sad, but in the book it’s more of an emotional roller coaster.
Book Rating: Overflowing with stories
Movie rating: Pretty, but lacking life
6. My Sister’s Keeper
Another interesting, thought-provoking book turned into a overly dramatic movie about cancer. SPOILER ALERT: The movie has an expected ending; the daughter fighting cancer dies surrounded by her family, and it’s sad but happy. The book’s much darker ending sees the younger sister, who was born to help keep her sick sister alive, die in a car accident. The sister with cancer gets her younger sister’s organs, and goes on to a live a full life. It’s a dramatic ending that leaves you thinking, while the movie ending is forgettable.
Book Rating: Emotionally damaging in the good way
Movie rating: Unsurprising
5. Harry Potter 
Don’t shoot, don’t shoot; I’ve never read the Harry Potter books. Or seen the movies. I have still seen them everywhere, obviously, and I’ve many heard debates about whether the books or movies are better. I turned to my friend Savannah, who has faithfully watched and read them all, for an opinion. I was told that movies are stellar (apparently I should really watch them sometime) and they do a good job. Major themes were kept on screen, but smaller themes from the book got cut. Those, she argued are equally if not more important! They paralleled issues in our world, and made us think. Those big, majestic movies didn’t quite have the same human touch.
Book Rating: A world that teaches us about ours
Movie Rating: A world that’s separate from our own
4. Cat in the Hat
A cute Dr. Seuss book is butchered in this god-awful live action movie. Featuring Mike Meyers in terrifying makeup and fur, I hated this movie as a kid. The children’s book caused me slight anxiety; the idea of a friendly cat messing up my house when I was supposed to be acting responsible was a little much. I hated the movie because the well-meaning cat was turned into a pesky creature who would’ve ruined my life had he stopped by my house.
Book Rating: Fun, yet stressful
Movie Rating: How the Grinch Stole Christmas-wannabe
3. Push/Precious 
This makes the list, not for faults with the movie, but just because of how extraordinary the book is. It’s rare to find a book voiced by a main character who isn’t smart, philosophical, and observant. Instead Push is right from the mouth of Precious, spelling mistakes included. It amazed me to read this book, and the effect of could never be translated on screen.
Book Rating: Incredible.
Movie Rating: Close second place
2. Flowers for Algernon
I’m not a huge fan of the book or the movie Flowers for Algernon. The book feels tailor-made for high school English; here’s your themes, here’s your morality lessons, here’s the three topics you could write your essay about. The movie, is much worse than that. Badly acted, uncomfortable to watch, rushed through, and boring. Even my English teacher didn’t want to make us watch it.
Book Rating: Mediocre
Movie Rating: Worse than mediocre
1. Amityville Horror
One of the first scary books I read, and I was pretty pleased. I had seen the movie already, but the descriptions of the hauntings in the book stayed with me way longer than anything in the movie did. The book is creepy, uncomfortable, and then the whole ending bit where they assure you that it’s real is enough to freak me out. I’m pretty sure the plot of the Amityville Horror movie is a beardy Ryan Reynolds with his shirt off, chopping wood and looking mad. Which isn’t the worst plot in the history of movies, but it’s not terribly frightening. (Except his moustache. Arguably the scariest part of the movie)
Book Rating: Pretty spooky
Movie rating: At least there was Ryan Reynolds…
And finally, the movie that was better than the book….
1. The Princess Bride
I admit, I’ve never read the book. That’s exactly my point. My family is never going to gather around this book on a Friday night to enjoy it together, and my seven year old sister can’t read yet, but there’s weeks when she doesn’t let Princess Bride leave the DVD player. This movie is iconic. The love story, the humour, the amazing characters, beautiful locations, witty lines, all neatly tied together by a Grandpa reading to his Grandson on a day home sick from school. Everyone knows this movie, everyone loves this movie, and in families like mine, it’s practically a rite of passage. You watch it alongside movies like Stand By Me and The Goonies once the adults have decided you’re cool enough. I’m sure this book is good; I’ve heard it’s very good. In the end, the book won’t ever make the same impact on people that the movie did.
Book Rating: TBD
Movie Rating: Part of the family
What are your thoughts? Is the book always better by default, or can we make exceptions?
