There isn’t really much to compare here since I love each of these things for different reasons, and not everyone will think the same—some people just don’t like reading; some just don’t like movies. But, for the sake of this argument, I’ve made a list of pros and cons of each category according to my own personal opinion.
Books
Pros
- Creative liberties with imagining characters/settings
- Multiple ways to enjoy (hard copy, ebook, audio)
- Exercises the brain
Cons
- Takes brainpower and focus
- Requires imagination
- Often takes days to finish
- Typically engages only visual senses (though auditory is also available)
- Difficult to multitask (unless with audiobook)
TV
Pros
- Can veg out/requires very little brainpower
- Requires limited imagination
- Episodes are usually bite-sized pieces (average 30-45 minutes)
- Extended time to explore a story
- Engages both visual and auditory senses (smell and taste if you have favourite snacks for watching)
- Easy to multitask/use as background noise
Cons
- Character/scene appearance is pre-determined
- Episodes often released once per week
- Often takes days to watch all episodes
Movies
Pros
- Can veg out/requires very little brainpower
- Requires limited imagination
- Condensed storyline (1 to 4 hours in length)
- Engages both visual and auditory senses (smell and taste if you have favourite snacks for watching)
- Easy to multitask/use as background noise
Cons
- Character/scene appearance is pre-determined
- Sometimes too condensed
- Sometimes sound-ratio action to talking is too wide (unintelligible talking, ear-blasting action scenes)
Book to Movie
Sometimes, when a book is popular enough, it will get a movie deal, but this isn’t always the best thing. A movie can never be an exact replica of a book, as the written word translates differently than a screenplay. Plus, each director is different and could shoot the film in a different way. Changes, mostly drastic changes, can upset fans, and no actor or built scene can ever make everyone happy, as they all imagine the characters differently in their heads.
That being said, movies typically have a larger budget than TV shows, and the special effects are often better quality, especially when the studio has experience and gets a lot of leeway.
Time constraints are also a big problem, as many movies contain condensed versions of the books they’re based on—depending on the length of the book and length of the movie.
Book to TV show
Unlike with movies, a TV show consists of multiple episodes, so it has more freedom to explore smaller things that may not have made it into a movie because of time constraints. That being said, TV budgets are almost always smaller than movie budgets, so the special effects may be lower quality.
*Note about Special Effects:
This is not always true. I’ve seen some poorly made movies (called B-movies) with low budgets and poor special effects, and I’ve also seen high-end TV shows with astounding special effects. It’s just that overall, movies typically have higher budgets when being made for a popular book or book series.
Conclusion
Not everyone is a reader, so they may be adamant about movies or television shows being the best, whereas avid readers may swear up and down that books are superior. Everyone has their own opinion, and while each method of storytelling has their strengths and weaknesses, I think books are my favourite because most of the time I can listen along as I read.
Share your own favourite method of consuming stories and media in the comments!
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