This page is dedicated to books that are now movies. I compare and contrast the books and movies as well as let you know if they are worth the read.
- Bourne Series
- Factoids: The movies are based on the three original books by Robert Ludlum (Bourne Identity, Bourne Supremacy, and Bourne Ultimatum). These books were written between 1980 and 1990 and the books reflect the time lapse between books. The rest of the serise has been reprised by Eric Van Lusbader and are still being produced the most recent has been the Bourne Objective released in 2010.
- Readable: These books are most defiantly worth the read. I feel that Ludlum put in an amazing amount of effort into writing these books and researching his information as well as Lusbader.
- Similarities to the movies: There are few similarities to the movies the few that exists are primarily in the Bourne Identity such as he doesn't know who he is due to a gun shot wound to the head. Jason Bourne is his alias which he finds out in Zurich along with a bank account that was fished out of his hip after being shot multiple times. He discovers that not only is he Jason Bourne but also the assassin named Caine. There is a Treadstone 71 in the books who are the only people who know who he really is but don't know where or why he disapeared for an extended amount of time.
- Differences from the movies: The books are for the most part completely different. For starters the time period is completely different, these books start off in 1980 and Bourne was apart of an elusive killing company called Medusa that took place in Vietnam; that was Government sanctioned but so undercover that no one knows its existence. In those days Bourne went by the name Delta One or just Delta. He kidnaps a female economist from Canada her name is Marie St. Jacques, she later becomes his wife, she helps him piece together his memory while running from his unknown past in Paris. He discovers that he is not a real assassin but a product of the Government to force out another assassin, Carlos the Jackal. The end of the first book revels that his real name is David Webb and he took the name Jason Bourne for the operation (the real Bourne he killed while in Medusa) and uses the alias Caine because in Vietnam it stood for Charlie which is Carlos in Spanish. The first three books deal with Carlos the Jackal and the US Government using David Webb/Jason Bourne for their own gain; not until the later books series does he go after Alex Conklin and become his enemy.
- Twilight Series
- Factoid: Stephanie Meyer got the idea for these books due to a dream she had about a vampire and a human girl in a meadow. In the dream the vampire glittered like diamonds just like in the movies. The reason she decided to start writing these books was to see the progression of these two dream characters.
- Readable: Most defiantly readable!! There are some things I felt annoyed with in the book, she repeated a lot of descriptions of Edward, Bella, and Jacob throughout the series and used a lot of the same vernacular throughout the books as well. She must love the word "chagrin" .
- Similarities: The movies stayed very true to the books, there was not very much variation between any of the movies so far. Twilight and Eclipse so far have taken advantage of using a lot of the phrases and dialog used in the books on the big screen which is amazing.
- Differences: The vampires in the first one do not look very vampire-ish, but in the movies since Twilight they gradually look more like vampires. There is a lot of talk about Bella's computer being very old and a dial-up, in the movie she has the complete opposite and Apple Laptop along with a cellphone which she doesn't have in the book. The technology upgrades are great because it would be hard to relate to a teenage character who doen't have a cell or a more advance computer.
- Harry Potter Series
- Factoid: J.K Rowling uses lots of real items and myths in her books. The number 7 is a staple in the books, it is considered the most powerful magical number. There are 7 books in the series, 7 Weasley kids, 7 tasks to get to through to the Sorcerers Stone, Harry is born on the 7th month, at the age of 7 is when a witch or wizards powers will show, 7 battles in the series, Harry beat Voldemort 7 times, 7 floors in Hogwarts, and so on.
- Readable: These books are readable. My favorite book in the series would be the third installment, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. The best part about these books is that they grow up with the characters, the first books are more juvinile that the later ones as the characters themselves grow up.
- Similarities: There are a lot of similarities with the books and movies becuase JK Rowling made sure of it. Rowling was a big part of the script and what should be kept into the movies as well as what was not completely needed. There was a few book lines used in all the films as well as names of not so important characters. The best part about the movies in staying true to the books was the small details such as The Fat Lady, Quidditch, Hogwarts, the moveing pictures, and so much more than can be listed. It is really exciting that the detail that was put into the movie has recently been put into a a theme park down in FL.
- Differences: As much as the movies stayed true to the books there were a few changes that were necessary making some of the movies almost 60% different than the books.There were some parts in the fourth Harry Potter movie that that were completely changed but it worked for the movie becuase it segued into othe more important parts. Such as the house elf Winky being completely omitted from the story line.The latest movie Harry Potter and The Half Blood Prince had a lot of differences too. There was a lot of information left out that Dumbledore had told Harry in the book that was not addressed in the movie; most of the information was extremely important for the rest of the plot to continue on in a logical fasion.
- A Walk to Remember
- Factoid: This movie was Mandy Moore's leading lady debut in films and she won two awards for leading breakthrough female performance (TeenChoice Awards and MTV Movie Awards).
- Readable: This books was readable. I had to stop reading this book at one point because I was getting teary eyed.
- Similarities: The movie and the book are almost identical. Both are set in a small town and they open with the man telling a story about the young lady he fell in love with when he was 18. The way they met and how their time together was spent is the same in both the movie and the book, which is a great attribute to Nicolas Sparks who wrote the book. I feel like reading the book was way more sad than watching the movie just because it is a book and there is more detail. Jamie was a preachers daughter and very religious just like the book as well as Landon was a rebel popular boy who needed guidance. The movie and the book revile that she has terminal cancer and a miracle is needed to save her.
- Differences: The book is based back in time I would say the 1950's from the way it was described. The narrator in the book is an old man who is recapping his life, kind of like the Notebook (another Nicolas Sparks book), and it is talking about a miracle he witnessed as a young man. The movie was more modern so it appealed to teenagers, the main falling in love moment was while they were in the musical together and that was not the case in the book. SPOILER ALERT!!! the books ending was different than the movie, in the movie she died and the mirical she left was that Landon became the man he parents knew he could be; the book it was different. The miracle talked about in the book was that she would survive the cancer and at the end of the book the narrator reveals that he now believes in miricals.
- I AM number FOUR
- Factoid: The two lead actors in this film Diana Agron and Alex Pettyfer started dating during filming, unfortunatly the relationship did not last long and the two split within the year.
- Readable: This book is an easy read, but not so simplistic that it lacks story and suspence. The book is broken up in to sections that makes the reader to never put it down, this has only happend to me in one other series and that would be Harry Potter. The storyline for this book is so involved it goes into the author of the book series Pittaticus Lore. Pittaticus is a Loric elder who is writting these books as the stories unfold, making it plausable that what is going on right now is a direct connection with these Lorien refugees.
- Similarities: For the most part the movie stayed true to the book, there are 9 Lorien children who were brought to Earth with their Garde and the Mogadorians who are
- Differences:
