Gift Guide: Books and their Movie Counterparts, pt. 2
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part two: a few male authors
Part Two of this gift guide focuses on books written by JRR Tolkien, CS Lewis, Charles Dickens, and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, along with their movie counterparts. If you buy [from Amazon] today, you could still get these gifts in time for Christmas!
» Don’t miss Part One (highlighting female authors: Jane Austen, Charlotte Brontë, and Louisa May Alcott).
Some people are avid about “read it before you watch it” — but if watching it first inspires someone to read it after — I’m all for it. Classics (and books over 200 pages) can be daunting. So, maybe starting off with a two (or three) hour movie will encourage you to finally read the words that inspired the film.
A perfect example is Lord of the Rings. I remember washing my hands in the theatre bathroom after watching Fellowship of the Ring on opening day. I overheard a girl exclaiming to her mom that she couldn’t believe they let the movie end like that — how could they?? How could she possibly wait an entire year to find out what happened next? Her mom calmly replied that she could read the books. I smiled. I actually think those films encouraged a lot of people to finally read the books. Brilliant.
JRR Tolkien
- The Hobbit
- Lord of the Rings
CS Lewis
Charles Dickens
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
Sherlock Holmes stories
- Books: Paperback or Hardback
- DVDs:
- BBC Sherlock: Seasons One & Two (Cumberbatch & Freeman)
- Sherlock Holmes movies One & Two (Downey Jr & Law)
- Sherlock Holmes series (Jeremy Brett)
- Young Sherlock Holmes (Rowe)
- Pilot episode of Elementary (Miller & Liu)
All these links lead to Amazon. Remember, buy now and you could still get these gifts in time for Christmas!
more gift guides
» Books & their Movies [Part One] (highlighting female authors: Jane Austen, Charlotte Brontë, and Louisa May Alcott)
Enter the Gimme Some giveaways this week!
- Gimme Some Reads: Cozy Classics & Hobbit Gift Set
- Gimme Some Life: Hobbit Second Breakfast Poster
- Gimme Some Oven: “The Griller” Gift Set & “The Baker” Gift Set
- Gimme Some Style: Vintage Fan Lamp & Puloma
This is FANTASTIC!! Perfect roundup for perfect gifts.
aw, thanks! :)
I think the “read it before you watch it” or “watch it before you read it” conundrum is a topic you and Sarah should collaborate on after the holidays. I think about this a lot. 2 examples: First, I really wish I had read The Hunger Games before seeing the movie, because the movie was so awful. I then read the book, thinking it can’t be THAT bad — and it wasn’t. I liked the book just fine, and now I understand the movie much better (though I think they mishandled most of it). Second, I am SO glad I read Cloud Atlas before I saw the movie. I honestly think seeing the movie first will ruin the book experience.
On the other hand, I’m usually really good at separating the book from the movie altogether – understanding that they are totally different mediums, and a movie is one person’s vision of the story.
Since the majority of movies (studio pics anyway) are based on books, I’d be interested to hear some of your opinions and philosophies on that. :)
Good idea, David. I think this is a topic where the answer changes depending on the story and the person; but it would definitely offer up many a good discussion. :)
I used to be a “read first” purist, but I have come to see why (like I mention above) some people need to see first in order to take the reading plunge.
Following in that vein, I’ll probably watch Anna Karenina before I read it – and I think it might help me remember and differentiate between the characters better (Russian novels notoriously confuse me with their multi-named characters!).