Fade In: Why I blog about movies based on books

I noticed that I've been getting a tad bombastic on Facebook lately. READ THIS BOOK BEFORE YOU SEE THE MOVIE! Because I love books. And I love movies. But there's nothing I love more than seeing a movie based on a book, especially a book I love. 

I know, I know. Books are hard to beat. It is rare for a film to meet the expectations of a book buff. The book has taken you to places and swept you away in delicious ways a film simply can't do. Part of it has to do with time. A film simply doesn't have the time to develop all the characters and cover all the background and the plot points of a really rich novel. And of course there's time in the literal sense of the word. Even the quickest page turners last longer than the 1.5 - 2 hours it takes to view a movie. While with a book, it's different. You've lived and lounged with it for days at the very least. It's on your nightstand or by your favorite reading chair, tucked into your purse to make those doctor's waiting rooms much less infuriating. But of course, that's the beauty of books.

And film? I guess I love seeing how they've transformed everything that's passed between me, my imagination, and the author into virtual reality. Sometimes it works. Sometimes not. But even when it doesn't, I'm fascinated by the process. How could they possibly have selected Emma Stone to play Skeeter in the film version of Kathryn Stockett's The Help, for example? Outrageous! And then I see the movie and ya know what? It worked. So, dear reader, this is my intro for this blog. Cuz I gotta a feeling my fb friends are ignoring my commands and I just gotta tell somebody. So, it might as well be you!