Hey hey hey! So, in today's blog post, I'm going to be sharing with you a few different books that have been turned into TV shows. I'm going to write my thoughts on the book and show and which one I think is better.
Also, I'm doing a book to movie blog post as well sharing twelve different books turned into movies. But, I'm not going to post that until July because I'm waiting for the Where The Crawdads Sing movie to come out first. So, you're getting this blog before that!
I'm very excited about this! Let's just get into it!!
1. A Series of Unfortunate Events
We're starting off with A Series of Unfortunate Events. (And, yes, I know there is a movie that came out way before the show, but I'm just going to write about the show. The movie was good, but not as good as the show.)
I watched the show first. I believe there was only one season out when I first watched it. And, I loved it. It's one of my favorite shows that I have ever watched.
So, in middle school, I read the whole book series. And, I had all of the books. I eventually gave them away because I didn't have space for them sadly. But, the books were so good. The show is so good. I just love A Series of Unfortunate Events so much!
Fun fact, Lemony Snicket is actually a pen name. And, the actual author of the books, Daniel Handler, actually has another book series called All The Wrong Questions. I have all the books from that series. I have no idea why I decided to read it, but I also love that series. And, in All The Wrong Questions, Lemony Snicket is actually the main character.
Umm...yeah. The question is, which one is better? The books? Or the show?
I feel bad for saying this, but I think the show is better than the books. It's not because I watched it first or anything. It's mainly because I just love the show more than the books. I will always love A Series of Unfortunate Events books, but I will also always want to re-watch the series.
And, the cast. Malina Weissman is the perfect person to play Violet Baudelaire. The cast was just perfect. Also, you should watch Nine Lives. Malina was also in that movie and I love that movie too.
So, those are my thoughts on A Series of Unfortunate Events. Let's move on!
2. The Mysterious Benedict Society
The Mysterious Benedict Society is one of the most kid-friendly shows and book series you will find.
I only read the first book because I knew the series was coming out and just wanted to read the first book.
For The Mysterious Benedict Society, I think the show is better than the book. I love both. And, I think there's going to be another season of the show which is super fun!
3. The Vampire Diaries
If you know me, you know The Vampire Diaries is my favorite show. One of my favorite shows. I'm currently re-watching it. I want to go to Covington where they filmed the show really bad. And......yeah...
I read the book series entirely on my phone. I never read ebooks. I don't like ebooks. But I read some of the books on my phone.
I didn't read the whole series. But, I did read like the main one. I read the first four in one series. There's also another series called The Return which I did not read.
In my opinion, the show is better than the books. I didn't like how Katherine had blond hair in the book. And there were a few other things I didn't really like about the books. So, the show all the way for this one!!
4. One of Us Is Lying
One of Us Is Lying is definitely a five star read. I love this book! There's also a second one called One of Us Is Next, and I think One of Us Is Back comes out next year.
There were definitely things I didn't like about the book, but overall I liked it.
And, not too long ago, the show came out on Peacock.
Here we go....I hated the show. I was super excited to watch it, but super disappointed when I finally did watch it.
Don't get me wrong, it was good. Like, the filming, the plot, and the actors did an amazing job. But, they completely changed a part of the show that wasn't in the book, and for that it was not good. There was also something else I hated about it! I did like how brutal by Olivia Rodrigo played when Addy changed her hair.
And, the sad thing is they're making a second season. But, I'm not watching it. I just can't.
So, go read the book, but do not watch the show. Or should I say, watch the show at your own risk. Either way, the book is way better!
5. The Babysitters Club
Next we have The Babysitters Club! This is another book series that got me into reading. I think I've read pretty much the whole series and I love it.
I was super duper excited when I heard about the show coming out! I don't even remember when the first season came out. But, I watched the first season in like a day, and did the same for the second season.
They did cancel the show after two seasons, which is sad, but also I'm fine with it.
The Babysitters Club books are wayyyy better than the show. I was kinda disappointed in some parts of the show. It was super good, but also not amazing.
The book series will always be superior to the show. Also, there's a movie on Amazon Prime! And it's pretty good!!
6. The Summer I Turned Pretty
To end this whole blog post off, let's chat about The Summer I Turned Pretty series.
If you didn't already know, Jenny Han is not only the author of this series, but also the author of To All The Boys I've Loved Before. Now, I have not read the series for To All The Boys I've Loved Before, but I have watched the movies, and I enjoyed them.
But, anyway, The Summer I Turned Pretty: I read this series because of the show. The show came out on June 17 on Amazon Prime. And, I'm just a sucker for any kind of adaptation of a book, so ofc I had to read this series before watching the show. Plus, the cast for this show is pretty perfect.
Now, be prepared to read my honest thoughts:
Every time I hear about a book to movie/show adaptation, I read the book in anticipation of seeing all the characters come to life on the screen. I love it when they make movies or shows based on books because once you've read the book, it's truly so special to see the movie or show. It's incredibly fun to see what actors play who, and then afterward decide which is better, or if the movie/show lived up to the book.
Now, we're living in the 2000's, and I feel like when there is a book to movie/show adaptation, most of the time there's going to be something in the adaptation that disappoints me. I feel like sometimes I get so excited for a show or movie, and want it to be perfect, but then it's just not.
With The Summer I Turned Pretty series, I was extremely excited for the show to come out. I marked it on my calendar and everything. I enjoyed every second of the first episode. I didn't want this show to disappoint me. I wanted it to be just as good as the book. I wanted to be able to say that the show was even a little bit better than the books.
Here comes my but....
But, the show wasn't perfect like I wanted it to be (which is completely fine). There were a few things in the show that I just wasn't fond of. I loved how they added the whole debutante thing. That was amazing. I thought it was cool that it focused a lot on the parents as well, and not just the kids.
I didn't like how they made it seem like Jeremiah was kinda gay. If you watched the show, then you probably understand what I mean. It was just in like the third episode, and after watching that episode, it kind of ruined Jeremiah's character for me the whole time. Like, it made me glad I'm on Team Conrad because yeah...
There was a good bit of cussing, but it's usually in shows sometimes so I have learned to ignore it.
I love Steven and Shaylah. They were like, the best couple.
And, the ending. The ending was perfect. So perfect. This Love by Taylor Swift is the perfect song for this show.
I loved the music in this show! There were so many songs that I knew, or songs by artists that I've heard of. In the first episode there were two Olivia Rodrigo songs, which made me very happy. There was also a Billie Eilish song, Phoebe Bridgers, JVKE, Ariana Grande; so many artists I've heard of or listened too.
With all that being written, in my opinion, the first episode of this show was the very best. It lived up to the book. The first episode was perfect. The rest of the show had things here and there that just weren't my favorite (things that weren't in the books), but overall...This was a really good show. And, it's okay that it's not perfect. I loved it anyway.
So, would I recommend this show? Was the book series better than the show?
Yes, I would recommend this show. And, if the first episode was all we got, I would say the show is better than the books, but since we got more than the first episode...No. The books were definitely better than the show. But, I'm glad that I watched the show.
(Wow, I really got into that review lol)
So, go read the books. Then, go watch the show, and decide what you think about it. For me, it was definitely worth the watch!
And, that concludes this blog post! I really really hope you enjoyed reading it! I will most definitely be doing a part two of this in the future. For now, stay tuned...I have another blog post all about books coming on Thursday. And, sometime in July I'm going to post another blog post about book to movie adaptations. But, that won't be coming until almost the end of the month. (I have to watch the Where The Crawdads Sing movie first.)
Thanks so much for checking out this blog post! Have a great day! ~Ella
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