Don't Judge a Book by Its Movie

I teach a group of seniors for Calculus just before lunch and let them eat in my classroom rather than going to the overcrowded lunch room. Yesterday, we started discussing a few books that have recently come out as movies. Have you ever noticed the minute details of a book and just wonder how in the world they are going to fit everything into a two hour film? The answer is simple - they don't. Understandably, some aspects of a book have to be cut for time reasons. Why then, have movies begun to alter endings of books we have come to cherish?

We discussed a few books, including Dear John, The Timetraveler's wife, and My Sister's Keeper. I will try to explain without giving away too much of the endings. In My Sister's Keeper, the book is so much better in the movie. They change too much of the ending and it alters the message of the storyline itself. In Dear John, I actually prefer the movie ending to the book. Although I enjoyed the insight into John's character and thoughts, I threw the book across the room after the final chapter. My small group that I assist in at church went to see the movie opening day. I accompinied them with full intension that I would also hate the movie. In this case, I was very happy with the ending.

My conclusion is this, don't judge a book by its movie or vice versa. You may find yourself surprised at the difference.