Guest Post: Books vs. Movies

Emily Brown from The Bookwyrm Corner shares the strengths and weaknesses of two different forms of storytelling

Jun 04, 2025

two reels — Photo by Noom Peerapong on Unsplash

Today, we have a guest writer! Emily Brown from The Bookwyrm Corner shares her thoughts on the strengths and weaknesses of two different forms of storytelling: books and movies.

I really enjoy Emily’s blog posts - they’re so well-written and interesting! It helps that almost everything she blogs about is bookish. 😆 I highly recommend you check out Emily’s writings and subscribe! I promise, you won’t regret it. If you’re a lover of unusual words and/or a writer, you’ll especially enjoy The Word Hub and Writers’ Resources!

I’m so glad Emily agreed to write this post and I hope you enjoy reading her words!

Hi everyone! My name is Emily Brown, and before we start, I'd like to give a huge thank you to Nicole Goodrum for asking me to guest author this piece. Thank you, Nicole!

Alright! Let's get to it.

Today I'm going to be analyzing the different strengths (and weaknesses) of books as opposed to movies.

I love books. And I love movies. Both mediums are brilliant forms of storytelling and art.

And yet... it really gets under my skin when these methods of storytelling aren't used to their full potential. Maybe the writing style is not quite right, or the dialogue is tacky and unrealistic. Maybe the visuals don't fit the sound, or the characters are two-dimensional.
Whatever the reason, it can drag an otherwise good story into the zone of three-star reviews and mediocre ratings.

Possibly the biggest fuss you'll ever hear about a movie is when someone decides to adapt a book for the big screen. There'll be so much hype and excitement... and then the movie will come out. People will complain that details they loved were changed, or removed. They'll get mad at the actors, directors, producers... anyone involved with making the movie, really.

And almost inevitably, the movie bombs.

Why?

Because people struggle to understand that movies and books have different strengths.

Books are an artform of language. With no visual, no audio, no real sensory input whatsoever, a writer must fashion an entire world and plant it inside their reader's mind. Books are capable of sharing characters' thoughts. Of explaining their motives. A reader can be put directly into a character's shoes.

Movies, however, are visual and audio creations. They rely on showing the viewer enough to have them draw their own conclusions about why characters are the way they are. In a way, movies are almost more immersive. You can see that gorgeous dress, hear the music, experience the action—it makes everything more real.
But movies can only show so much.

In a book, you might read for seven hours straight. You have background, history, all kinds of worldbuilding. There are scenes that probably aren't needed, but that make you fall in love with the characters. Sometimes, a single story could span years.

Movies, however, have an hour, maybe two, to tell their story. They can't give you all the worldbuilding, lest it feel like info-dumping. And they can really only include information that is important to know. But they can show you the worldbuilding, all through a single scene. Things that would have taken three paragraphs to describe in a novel, can be shown in three seconds.

Movies and books have different strengths.

Here’s an example from The Hunger Games:

In the book, Katniss Everdeen is the narrator. We hear her thoughts, we know her motivations for everything she does. We can be sympathetic towards her, because we already know how she thinks, and understand her. We can even relate to her, despite all the unlikeable things she does throughout the series.

In the movies, it’s a bit harder to connect with Katniss. She’s a stone-faced teenager who doesn’t trust anyone. So without knowing what’s going on inside her head—because she certainly doesn’t show it on her face—how could the movie create her as a sympathetic character?

The tacky way to do this would be to sit her down and have her talk it out in conversation with someone. But this is unrealistic, and anyone who knows what kind of character Katniss is will know that she rarely talks about her emotions.
What did the movies do instead?

They gave their viewers moments to glimpse Katniss’s humanity.

There’s one scene in the movie that was never in the book. In it, we see Katniss in her new, temporary room. There’s a wall that is actually a screen, and she finds the controls to it, flicking through various landscapes. A city street. Sky. A view of the Capitol.
Finally, she lands on one, and pauses. It’s a view of the forest.
We already know from earlier in the movie that the forest is Katniss’s second home, where she goes to hunt to feed her family. Now, the movie is reminding us of that fact, and showing how Katniss longs for that feeling of safety, of freedom—
And then they show us the moment she decides that to let herself feel would be too dangerous, and hurriedly flicks the screen back to something innocuous, avoiding anything that might bring up emotion and damage her stone-cold mask.

Just like info-dumping her thoughts and narration wouldn’t work well in the movies, this scene would be too difficult to portray in the books.

To summarize:

Books are better at revealing the innermost thoughts of a character. They can share far more details than a movie can, and are unique to every reader.

Movies are better at showing their viewers the big picture. At immersing them in a new world.

Both of these mediums have their strengths, and their weaknesses. But ultimately, both are methods of storytelling that have inspired generations to dream, imagine, grow, and explore in a world that is full of stories of its own.

Do you agree with what I’ve shared here? Which medium do you prefer; book or movie? Which book-to-movie adaptations are your favourite or least favourite? Comment below and share your thoughts!

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