Monday, November 13, 2017

#MicroblogMondays: Do you read the book first?

Is anyone else watching this season of "Poldark" on PBS Masterpiece Theatre (or have you seen it elsewhere that it's already been broadcast)?  Last night was this season's penultimate episode, i.e., the next-to last one. This coming Sunday will be the end, although filming on another season (the 4th) is now under way. (We'll probably have to wait until next fall before we see it here, though...!) 

I have been reading the comments on various Poldark-related social media posts in amusement/bemusement, as people vent about the events in latest episodes and speculate what's going to happen next. It's clear that not many people have actually read the books the show is based on (or seen the original 1970s TV adaptation) -- heck, I'm sure some people don't even realize there ARE books the show is based on -- & I fear some of them are going to be sadly disappointed when things don't go the way they hope or predict. 

(As you might guess, I've read the books -- all but the 12th/very last one. I started re-reading them when the new TV series began airing, and have reviewed them on this blog. You can find them, if you're interested, by typing "Poldark" into the search window on the right-hand side of this page.)

Whenever possible, I prefer to read the book(s) before I watch a TV show or movie -- which is why I still haven't watched Outlander or Alias Grace, to name a few. (Usually, the book version is better.)  Thank goodness for PVRs & Netflix... ;)  I was relieved when the recent movie adaptation of Jo Nesbo's "The Snowman" got lousy reviews, because it meant I could move the movie down on my "to see" list and thus didn't have to rush to read the book first. ;)  (So many books, so little time...)

What about you? Do you prefer to read the book first, or do you like to be surprised?  And are you watching "Poldark"?? 

You can find more of this week's #MicroblogMondays posts here.  

6 comments:

  1. I'm so mixed on this! In most cases, I love the book more than the movie. But sometimes it's the movie that I love more (which is always a shock). So I guess I'm mixed, especially in cases where waiting to finish the book means I would completely miss the movie. And often, the movie motivates me to finish the book.

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  2. I'm not watching Poldark. I haven't read the book, but I do remember the 70s series, though I can't remember much about it. Maybe we'll binge watch it sometime.

    I agree though, I generally like to read the book first. There's usually so much more detail in a book. I did that very deliberately for The Handmaid's Tale, and was impressed with what they achieved. I saw The English Patient movie first, so was very surprised when I read the book to find it quite different. I won't deliberately hold back from watching something if I haven't read the book though, and if I don't really want to read the book. And if I didn't like the book, I probably won't watch the TV series/movie.

    But the biggest disappointment is when I have loved a book, but hated the movie, or the changes made to give a happy ending, or the way actors have played a particular character, or who was cast for the character. Those mistakes are unforgiveable, because it ruins the book for me forever!

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  3. I grew up in a home where if we wanted to see the movie we had to read the book first. So I've kinda stuck with that. Though most of the time I prefer the books over the movie there are times that I've liked the movie/tv show better. Very rarely have I seen the movie before reading the book. Usually because I didn't know there was a book.

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  4. yeah I prefer to read books before a movie comes out. That said I've been watching Outlander without reading the books and it's nice to be surprised about what happens

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  5. I love that you used the word "penultimate." I am definitely a book reader first most of the time -- I'm not done yet, but I've read more of Game of Thrones than I've actually seen, and it helps me not be as nervous for violent things (although maybe sometimes the anticipation makes things worse, hmmm). I like to vindictively re-read books when they're made into movies to be sure they've got it right so I can be justifiably irate. I did see the first Lord of the Rings before I read them because my mom was all about those books and I tried to read the Hobbit five different times and HATED IT, so I never tried the trilogy until I saw the first movie and was like, "OH! THAT'S what that's all about!" and then plowed through the books. Same with Anne of Green Gables, saw the Canadian miniseries first and then loved the books to death. Never saw or read Poldark, but it sounds fun!

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    1. Jess, they used the word "penultimate" in a post on the Masterpiece Facebook page, promoting the episode. SO many people had NO idea what it meant... they were asking what it meant, and some of them assumed that it meant it was the last episode!

      I tried to read Tolkien when I was in high school but just couldn't get into it. I did see the LOTR movies on TV a while back though, and enjoyed them. I read all of L.M. Montgomery when I was a kid... I much prefer the Megan Follows Anne from the 1980s over the more recent versions, though. ;)

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