Nothing beats a book: how movies compare

I’ve found that most movie versions of a book pale in comparison to the original story. Don’t believe me? Read any Harry Potter book, "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory," "Fried Green Tomatoes" or "Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason." Then watch the movies — the time limitations of film just make it impossible to do justice to the books.

So, when I saw that Nicholas Sparks’ "The Notebook" was being made into a film, I knew no matter how hard the actors and directors tried, they would never be able to replicate the love story that the book allowed me to see in my mind.

"The Notebook" chronicles the lives of Noah and Allie, two young, passionate teenagers who fall in love on the South Carolina shore in the 1940s. Allie’s wealthy, privileged family sees her relationship with Noah, a blue-collar, hard-working boy, as inappropriate, and consequently tear her away from him. Years pass, and Allie and Noah are separated by distance and silence; yet their love for each other never wavers.

With my visions firmly set about the characters, I set out to see the movie. What typically bothers me about movie remakes is how they squash the imagination of those watching. That’s the nature of film — there has to be a visual to show the audience, but that visual is so limiting and oftentimes the creative work of just a few people. Who decided that that’s what the story should look like?

That’s why I love books as much as I do. When I read, I form my own pictures, my own mental images of characters and places and feelings. I know no other person sees that story the same way I do and the pictures in my head are mine alone, perfect and safe from outside influences. This is exactly how I felt about Nicholas Sparks’ "The Notebook."

So, when I saw the book was being made into a film, I knew no matter how hard the actors and directors tried, they would never be able to replicate the love story as well as I saw it in my mind.

Nevertheless, I saw the movie and absolutely loved it — I even bought it on DVD a few weeks ago. The movie was breathtaking — the actors were so well suited for their roles, the Southern landscape was beautiful and the script was as accurate to the original story. I loved the movie so much I decided to read the book again.

That’s when I realized that, once again, the book was much better than the movie.

While I was reading the book again, the images that came into my head were not the ones from the movie. The characters I saw, the places they lived — all were creations of my own imagination from my first reading. I felt I was a part of this beautiful love story, that the connection between the two young people was something that I could understand for myself someday.

I read this book in less than a day — that’s how powerful the story was. I was drawn into my own personal world with the characters and couldn’t stop until I reached the end. And the love story I envisioned? It was 10 times better than any version some movie director could portray for me, because it was all my own.