Every bookworm knows the struggle of watching the movie based on their favorite book. On one hand you want to see the story you loved on the big screen, on the other you’re afraid of being disappointed with it because it’s a total fiasco.

Sadly, most of the time film or Tv show adaptations turn out quite poor. However, today I want to talk about those cases, when I personally liked the film or Tv show much better than the book. Let’s start.

1. Great Gatsby. I watched the 2013 version and it was so immersive, partly because of its absolutely amazing soundtracks which became my all time favorite songs. However, the book seemed a little slow paced and boring, compared to the movie.
2. Call Me By Your Name. There are certain stories that you like merely because of the atmosphere they submerge you in. This is one of those cases. The cottagecore lazy summer, picturesque nature, old Italian city and countryside – this is what I loved in this story, something that was portrayed perfectly in the movie, but sadly not in the book.
3. Coraline. It’s strange how one of the most creepy animated films has become my comfort watch. I rewatch it almost every year and enjoy every second of it. And I was so excited to read the book, but end up disappointed, because it didn’t give me the same feelings as the film did.
4. Bridget Jones’s Diary. When I watched the movie, I felt so related to Bridget and her various problems, that many young woman face. The story was motivational, sometimes funny and entertaining. However, in the book I hated Bridget, I truly wanted to hit her with the book, she was so whiney and annoying that I couldn’t enjoy the story as much as I did its adaptation.
5. Dracula. What I didn’t like about the book was that it’s supposed to be about Dracula, but we don’t see him in the majority of the book. We just keep reading that he’s getting close, he’s dangerous etc. Though, gotta give credit to the book, because it was even scarier when he wasn’t around, and just the mention of his name gave everyone creeps. I liked the movie because I got to see more of Dracula himself (played by the incredible Gary Oldman), and that was far more interesting than reading different people’s diaries about how they’re afraid of the vampire.
6. Dash and Lily. This has become one of my favorite mini-shows, the perfect thing to watch around Christmastime, full of festive, bookish and vintage atmosphere and an engaging plot. There were some similar parts in the book, but I didn’t enjoy it as much as I hoped overall.
7. Lady Macbeth. I love period drama so much, especially when they have a moody and gothic ambience. That’s what I loved about the movie (and the acting of Florence Pugh). I thought that its book would a proper novel, with beautiful descriptions, interesting dialogues, but I ended up with a short story, which felt more like a summary of an interesting book it could have been.
8. Emma. Jane Austen is one of my favorite authors, but a couple of her books felt a little boring for me. So was Emma. It was full of unnecessary background information about secondary characters, which I didn’t need to understand the story. The movie though (the 1996, not the 2020 crappy one, which, idk why, everyone loves), was more enjoyable to watch because at least it wasn’t so dull.
9. Looking for Alaska. I loved the tv series a lot, because they were fun to watch and had some light but interesting philosophical moments that lots of teenagers (including me) start asking themselves as they get a little older. I know it’s weird, but it feels like it was more complete as a story, than the original, as though the book had some plot-holes and lacked lots of cool moments. I was bored reading the book and wanted to finish it asap.
10. Musketeers. Now, I can’t say that I didn’t like the book, because it’d be a total lie. But I happened to watch the 2011 movie (which I know is considered quite trashy, but somehow I really enjoyed it) way before I read the book, so my younger self kept comparing those two in favor of the movie. I’d however want to reread the book again, because it’s a very fun and adventurous story which I truly like.

I know that my opinion is prejudiced, because in most of these cases (if not in all), I watched the adaptation before the original. So, when I picked up the book to read, I was already biased, having lots of expectations that weren’t met, not even because the books were bad, just because I already had a picture in my mind of how they should be, and when they differed from what I saw, I mostly didn’t like it. But it’s really fun to have books that you liked less than their adaptations, because most of the time it happens the other way around. Maybe one day I’ll make a post about the failed adaptations that I didn’t like, who knows.