Books to Screen that Made Me Smile
Book adaptations to TV or film are often hit or miss as the magic between the pages can be hard to replicate, but I think there’s still a lot to enjoy. It’s easier now to recreate the fantastic, fictional settings thanks to CGI (computer-generated imagery) but the actors and actresses may not always fit our versions of the characters we’ve come to love. Usually I can separate the adaptation from the book so if it’s fun, I’ll enjoy it even if it’s not quite what I envisioned.
There are so, so many adaptations but here are a few of my recent favorites.
Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency - Firstly, if you haven’t read The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams, I highly recommend it. It’s really funny and Adams has a way of describing things that is hilarious and utterly perfect, as in why didn’t I think of that?! Adams also wrote a few books about Dirk Gently, a holistic detective. I didn’t love them quite as much as the Hitchhiker’s Guide but they were still good fun, and I really enjoyed the first season of the TV show.
Good Omens - I love Neil Gaiman and have read many of his books but somehow never Good Omens. The show was excellent. Michael Sheen and David Tennant are perfect as Aziraphale and Crowley (an angel and demon).
The Watch - Terry Pratchett never fails to make me laugh. Discworld and its residents are hilarious and the books that focus on the members of the Ankh-Morpork City Watch are some of my favorites. BBC’s adaptation is NOT the same as the books and is a bit more punk rock than I envisioned, but I thought it was fun and enjoyed the actors and loved the music. I’ve heard people either love or hate it (which seems to be the way of things lately), so I have no idea if I’m alone in liking it as a Pratchett fan. :) Here’s the list of all the books about the City Watch if you’d rather read the series, which I highly recommend for a good laugh.
The Witcher - My other 3 picks are geared more for silly humor and the Witcher is more epic/dark fantasy. I really enjoyed both seasons and often find myself singing “Toss A Coin to Your Witcher,” a very catchy song from the show sung by Jaskier, the bard. I’ve played the games, but haven’t read the books yet (they are sitting on my TBR) so though I’ve heard there are deviations I can’t really speak to them.
Movies!
For movies, I thought they’d done an interesting job with Dune (very visually striking) and I’m very curious to see what they’ll do in the sequel. I loved The Lord of the Rings movies, so I hope the yet-to-be-released TV show will be good too. Wheel of Time has been fun to watch but they’re deviating from the books and messing with the timeline, so I’m not sure what to expect there and feel like I need to go back and re-read the series.
Are there any book adaptations you really enjoyed or have they mostly been disappointing? Or do you typically avoid any adaptations?