The book is always better than the movie

There’s two types of people in the world… book lovers and those who aren’t. I’m totally the person to always prefer the book over the movie, to read until the middle of the night only to realise that I have 2 hours left to sleep, and to get so obsessed with a certain story that I reread it right after I finished it, because I’m not ready to let go.

Explaining the beauty of a good book to someone who doesn’t like to read is almost impossible. “I just prefer movies” they will probably say (right, Matt?). Don’t get me wrong, I love movies, but there’s something about a good book that just can’t be replaced, not for me.

Every (good) book is like a little world that comes to life in your imagination. Stories play out within your head, and characters stay with you even after you’ve read the last page.

Reading a book is personal. The world of Harry Potter looked different in every one’s mind, at least until the movies came out. I know this because as kids, we used to play it out a lot and no one would ever agree on how places and people were to look like. Maybe it’s because we all focus on different words and don’t acknowledge every single detail, because we add or change details in our head that weren’t written that way, or because we read carefully through certain passages while we only skim through others. Stories I’ve read have become my own in some way and often stick with me throughout days, weeks or even years and add a little bit to my personality.

Seeing the world through someone else’s eyes – whether it’s the characters’ or the author’s – not only puts your own point of view into perspective, but also adds an incredible amount of experience to your repertoire. Because in some way, you also experienced the situations the character goes through – you know how they made you feel, you know how you wished the character had reacted. Personal development or just empathy – something definitely comes from it.

 George R.R. Martin once wrote that “A reader lives a thousand lives before he dies, […] the man who never reads lives only one”, and I couldn’t agree more.