Bridgerton Before The Duke and I
My cousin has gotten me into Romance books. Before the pandemic, I wasn’t really a Romance book person. I didn’t know the genre well, and I also didn’t give it a chance. I thought I liked my book relationships messy.
And then I spent Christmas with a Jasmine Guillory book, and I realized how relaxing it was to know—without a doubt—that everyone would get a happy ending. There was no stress. No tension. It was such a happy experience.
My cousin suggested that I watch Bridgerton, and we gave it a try because everyone was giving it a try. And we got hooked. I decided that reading The Duke and I would be a perfect second foray into classic Romance. AND IT IS. (Plus the rest of the series.)
I realized something that I’ll take with me into future books and shows. When I watch the television show first and I read the book second, I go into the pages imaging that the characters look and sound like the ones in the show or movie.
The problem is going the other way around: I think I want to read books first, but what happens is the characters on the screen don’t match the ones in my head. And I ended up feeling like the movie or show ruined something. This is especially true when I care deeply about the book. I don’t want the versions in my head to be replaced with the actors on the screen.
Though I don’t think it will bother me to read the rest of the Bridgerton books before seeing them on the screen. Many of the characters are already established, and the new ones will be mentally incorporated far after the reading experience if they haven’t even started filming Season 2 yet.
Does order matter to you? Do you prefer to read the book first or watch the show first?
7 comments
I am generally very reluctant to watch any movie or show based on a book I have enjoyed because more often than not, I find that the on-screen production falls short in some significant way for me, or leaves out parts of the book that I love. (I get it: they are different media, and omitting things is sometimes necessary, but I don’t have to like it.) I could list MANY books/movies where this is true.
So I guess I would have to say that, if I am going to both read a book and watch a movie/show, I would rather read the book second. Although TBH, once I’ve watched a movie/show, I don’t always have interest in also reading the book that provided the underlying material.
I can go either way – Sometimes I’m disappointed when the movie/show doesn’t emphasize the things I found most interesting. Sometimes they cast someone terrible. But for the most part, I enjoy a different take on the matter. For example, Little Fires Everywhere was a great book and a great show – but I got entirely different things from both of them. I read the book first, and most of the characters didn’t really match my mental picture. But the acting was so good, I was able to overlook that.
I think the important thing is…if it’s something that really hits a mark, you will get endless versions of it and one will probably eventually be the one you like. (See: Pride and Prejudice or Little Women or Anne of Green Gables)
Yes – I have the same problem with reading the books before watching screen adaptation. Reading the books first sets up certain expectations – how the characters look, certain storylines, etc, resulting in cognitive dissonance when the show portrays things differently.
It works best for me when the movies (or shows) lead me to books. I like The Expanse (TV show) and ended up reading many of the books in the series.
There are some exception: I didn’t particularly like the Hunger Games books, but ended up really enjoying the movies. I loved “Everything is Illuminated” movie, but then when I read the book – it just didn’t work for me.
Loved Bridgerton and have been toying with reading books for good escapism. How did you feel about the Harry Potter movies? Personably I mentally separate the two but I’m sure when I re-read the books at some point (for the 6th time) I’ll have the movie actors in my mind since I’ve seen the movies so many times. Also with HP series the difference was more about what the movie left out from the books. So watching the movies just meant I had a clearer understanding of the backstory and the whole world (good example is the entire story line about house elves).
I usually want to read the book first. But I read Good Omens before seeing the TV series, but I knew who the two main actors were (and love them both) so imagined them right through it. Now I desperately want to watch it but can’t. Argh.
So I’ve been wanting to talk to you about this because of our shared beloved The Magicians. This is the perfect entry! I read the books first, which I loved. Then resisted watching the show because all the reviews were that it was different. But I caved and LOVED every second of the show. So much so that I didn’t want the world to end so I went back to the books and Fillory again after having watched the whole series and there were so many wonderful tiny tie ins that it made the show even more special! And rereading the books enabled me to have the shows characters in my head which was an awesome bonus. Really the comparison between the books and the show was so worth it. I’m glad I read the books first but going back was really engaging. Have you seen the show?
I generally prefer to the read the book first, if possible. Like Peg above, I find it gives me a clearer, fuller understanding of the story. Movie/TV adaptations often leave out certain characters & subplots that enrich the story. I have to admit I get ticked off when they make big changes that weren’t in the book. I LOVED the Poldark books and the latest adaptation that was shown on PBS was generally excellent… except for the last season, which was almost entirely the creation of the scriptwriter, just using the characters from the novels. I still watched it but it was something of a letdown.
Once in a while, the movie/TV adaptation will match or even exceed the book for me. I thought Sally Rooney’s “Normal People” was a great read, but I absolutely adored the TV version. The characters were much more sympathetic on screen & the chemistry between them was amazing.