I have this Theory. And while it may not be as earth-shaking as String Theory, or evolution, or even the Fundamental Interconnectedness of All Things [thank you Douglas Adams], I think it's spot on the money.
I call it Imagination Theory, and here's how it goes:
People who love reading have more developed imaginations than people who don't.
Is it reading that contributes to development of the imagination or just superior imagination that leads to the joy of reading?
We're treading too close to the Nature/Nurture argument now, so I'm not even going there... all I know is, while I LOVE my over-developed, out-of-control imagination, sometimes it can be a pain in the butt.
Like when I just want to veg out and watch television...
As a child, I spent hours and hours alone with my Barbie dolls making up the most wonderful story lines... and since I was an only child, that ability to happily play alone was pretty nifty!
I grew up thinking my hyper-drive imagination was absolutely normal. Couldn't everyone transport themselves into a whole new world with nothing more than a couple of dolls or a book straight off the shelf at the library? Didn't everyone get lost in a story of their own making when they closed their eyes to wait for sleep each night?
No, everyone didn't. But I didn't notice that until I got older and, for the most part, I considered mine to be a gift.
Granted, that big-time imagination could occasionally be a bit inconvenient as a child. It's amazing what creatures you can imagine are lurking in the dust bunny filled recesses under your bed in the middle of a long, dark night! And behind that closet door? *shudder* We won't even discuss that awful place!
But nowhere has my imagination led to more disappointment than in the area of books turned into movies/television shows.
My realization hit home while watching the new HBO series, True Blood, based on the wonderful Sookie Stackhouse Southern Vampire books by Charlaine Harris.
Now, don't get me wrong... the series is good. [ Although, if they'd left out
some of the sex, it might have been more comfortable to watch -- we won't even go into how fast my teenage son left the room that first week! He said he was SO not into seeing "that stuff" in the company of his Mom!!! ]The problem is... I really love those books. And like with all books I read and enjoy, I've already SEEN the characters on the big screen in my mind. No matter how good the casting, how well executed the screenwriting and directing, how fantastic the actors' performance, it just doesn't match my internal version.
And that's always disappointing.
This isn't the first time the whole book-to-video thing has been a problem for me. I remember having the same issue many years ago with Romancing the Stone by Catherine Lanigan. I'd read the book first and when I heard they were making it into a movie, I was so excited. I could hardly wait for the movie to come out.
What a let-down! My apologies to Michael Douglas, but he was NOT Jack. Well, not the same Jack I'd already seen...in my imagination. I enjoy the movie now. I've watched it tons of times over the years. But that first time...
In spite of the occasional disappointment, I wouldn't trade my hyper-imagination for anything. It allows me to escape into my own world of Faeries and time travel and hunky Highlanders every time I sit down to write...to see them and hear them as if they were up there on the big screen for my viewing pleasure!
I'd love to share my world with all of you... so here's the deal: I'm giving
away a copy of each of my first two books - Thirty Nights with a Highland Husband and Highland Guardian. We'll pick two of the people who leave comments and you'll each get one!So, tell me... what about you? Has your imagination ever messed up your enjoyment of something you'd looked forward to seeing?
Melissa Mayhue is the award winning author of the Daughters of the Glen series from Pocket Books.
Stop by her website for a visit and a chat ~ http://www.MelissaMayhue.com
The fourth book in the series, A Highlander of Her Own, is due in stores on January 27, 2009.
A Highlander of Her Own
Book Four
Coming 2009
TEXAS, PRESENT DAY. Ellie Denton’s world has spiraled out of control. A strange new birthmark, animals talking to her, an
d her mother’s ex-husband laying claim to the family ranch have her thinking life can’t get more complicated. But Ellie doesn’t know the birthmark’s connection to her Faerie ancestors. Complicated takes on a whole new meaning with her innocent wish to find her true love.SCOTLAND, 1304. Caden MacAlister has more trouble than he can handle. With his brother held for ransom and the laird missing, the last thing he needs is another problem. But the Fae have other plans.
A mysterious woman shows up in his stables, sent by Faerie Magic to find her true love. Fighting his attraction, Caden insists she’s meant for one of his brothers. With his history, he has no desire for a woman in his life—especially a woman sent by the Fae.
Only the magic of the Fae can determine whether Ellie will find a Highlander of her own...
27 comments:
i love all austen books and though the bbc movies are nothing like the books and what i thought yet i liked almost all of them also, i suppose they are very well made and you can look at them apart from books.
but movies that i have really looked forward too and were so, so disappointing were the the thief lord and then in a lesser degree the hitchhiker's guide to the galaxy, which to be fair was an impossible task and i don't think anything to do with my imagination and everything to do with adams' writing, it's just impossible to make anything as enjoyable as his books and writing!
The movie Sahara, though good and worth watching if only for Matthew McConaughey, was practically nothing like the book, so many changes. Timeline by Michael Crichton even with Paul Walker in the movie version was just not that watchable. There are so many, but those are just off the top of my head. I also agree with katayoun that Hitchhiker's Guide was disappointing. It did not translate to film well at all.
Deidre
deidre_durance@hotmail.com
Good morning Melissa,
With movies that were 1st books, I usually have seen the movie 1st & am intrigued enough to read the book. So I'm usually pleasantly surprised by how good the book is. I have gone to movies that were much hyped & been disappointed.
Case in point. 'Dark Night' (Batman). I have seen some of the old ones & to me Batman was always portrayed correctly. However, Christian Bale (whom I like) is just not Batman to me. Neither is Maggie G. Batman's heroine. She is just not it for me.
Thank you & have a great day,
Susan B.
Great blog. My imagination runs wild at times, I really have to focus to keep from going in 20 different directions, but then some of my best ideas surface when my mind is in a whirlwind.
Have a good one.
Patsy
www.plparker.com
I have seen a lot of great books get turned into horrible movies (Stephen King, anyone?), but the one that springs to mind is Bridge to Terabithia. That was my favorite story growing up, as it provided a lot of fodder for my own over-active imagination. I was so excited when I saw that a movie was coming out. I had been waiting fourteen years for this. And then.. yuck. It wasn't a bad movie, but it just wasn't at all what I had pictured in my head all those years ago. I was so disappointed. It wasn't the same at all. So I bought a new copy of the book to "fix" it, lol.
I have to also add that the first Narnia movie actually did live up to my expectations. I haven't seen the second movie yet, but I have high hopes. Sometimes hollywood gets it right. :)
Ohh I am so like you. I "see" the books as though they are movies or on something and often the "real" movies just don't measure up. I'm to the point I don't watch movies or shows with the book in mind. Not only do they not get the images right, I always feel like something is missing. I'll think "wasn't she thinking about this or that then, shouldn't she look sad not happy" Or whatever.
I do watch BONES based on Kathy R's series. But I knew going in that Tempe would be going in a different direction with the series than she had with the book. I'd read an interview Kathy did where she said while it'd be the same characters she didn't want the show to try to follow the books too closely. And I think that's alot of why it works so well. Same characters, different situations.:)
My baby girl has a vivid imagination as does my son and I encourage them both to use them and keep it alive. I still have a vivid imagination. I never understood why when grandma and grandaddy told stories I "saw" them but my cousins would look at me like I was crazy.
Glad to know I'm not alone. I used to interview my dolls and all(and yes I was an only child) to see where they came from, what their pasts were. And I'd make my cat sit still and tell me his life's story. Just how many kitty's heart did he break? He never would confirm it but once he found moma cat I know he strayed no more. Hey I was 7 what do you expect!LOL
Great post,
hugs,
WendyK
highlandlovesong@yahoo.com
I've gotten to the point where I avoid the movies based on books I love. It's always a disappointment.
Love your "Imagination Theory" and you are so right about True Blood. I have been waiting with anxious anticipation to see how Eric is going to be played. Bill is not bad but in my imagination Sam is a big burly huggable guy...oh well.
Your books sound great and my wish list just gets bigger and bigger.
I know exactly what you mean about movies messing with your view of how people look. I think the only time imagination and movie met was with Harry Potter and that's probably because he looks like the character on the cover!
I agree with Carol, I love to imagine the characters and settings in books and avoid movies based on books.I'm a Nora Roberts-fan, but all the movies based on her books I've seen so far have been disappointments.
The only movies I've liked are LOTR-trilogy. And perhaps Narnia...
I've always had a vivid imagination (in high school I use to imagine alternate endings to my favorite movies).
I've tried, when given the chance, to read the book a movie's based on like Beagle's The Last Unicorn. The cartoon is nearly right on the ball with some key parts missing.
Sometimes they are a big disappointment. Sometimes they are not.
Morning Everyone and Welcome Melissa!
Great topic Melissa and I'm sure just about everyone can relate. The movie version of books is so disappointing that I don't really care to watch them.
Well, I'm off to the eye doctor and won't be back on til later tonight unless I'm lucky and he doesn't dilate my eyes. No such luck.
Have a great time everyone and I will catch up with you all later.
huggs,
Terra
I usually like to read the book before seeing it on the screen. The book usually goes into more details about certain things and you get a clearer picture of what is going on. I recently finished Nights of Rodanthe by Nicholas Sparks with the hopes of seeing the movie. The book was great hope the movie is just as good.
When I read a book, I enter into a dialog with the author and we discuss the setting, characters, plot, and I contribute details that the author neglected to include in their text n order to put me, the observer in the thick of things. It's that personalization that I love, but which is always lost when I see the book interpretted by another observer when they creat a movie or play. Sometimes they come close, but it's never exactly the same.
Great post. As for something I was disappointed in, well movies would probably be my main pick. I happen to read the books first usually and then when the movie finally hits the big screen a lot of things are done different, the characters sound or look different then they did to me in my imagination when reading the book, and some parts of the book that I am eager to see in the movie get cut out. I know not everything will be to the satisfaction of everyone when it comes to these kinds of things but its still bugs me sometimes.
I simply love "Imagination Theory"!
My younger siblings are quite a bit younger than I, so I spent a great deal of time alone when I was young. I had horses to ride, so every time I got on my horse, we took off for adventures in far away lands. I was such a lucky girl to become a fearless Knight Templar, Pony Express rider, Bedouin adventurer and too many other exciting roles to count. (And yes, an occasional Barbie accompanied me on those trips. lol)
It's the rare movie that doesn't disappoint after reading all these wonderful books, but I agree that that Potter series (even if I didn't necessarily agree with the actual storyline edits, which I know were necessary for the sake of practicality) and LOTR were two which did not disappoint.
I've not been terribly enthusiastic about Blood Ties because I love the Sookie books and few of the characters fit their images in my head.*sigh*. I also forgot that it would probably be "HBO'd up" with a bit more skin than anticipated, so I, too, lost the teenager on that one. *grin*
Cheers,
Kim
I had the wonderful pleasure of meeting you at the signing at RT this year!
I love your books!
Thanks for the great post. I always have to watch the movie before I read the book if it is possible. They just usually mess up and change to much. I don't think the did the Harry Potter books very well when they made them into movies. There both great but somethings as a reader you don't want to see left out of the movie.
I do have an over active imagination, but thank goodness that has never hurt me when reading a book. I think it is my imagination that lets me see it in my head like a movie.
I will have to say the Harry Potter books were some of the hardest movies to watch because of my imagination. I have such a vivid view of things that what I saw and what Hollywood saw were soo different. So for the first couple movies, I really had to grin and bear the fact that it was not what I had imagined it. I LOVE the movies, though.
angelleslament @ gmail.com
Great Question for I am truly enjoying everyone's answer, so here goes my take on things:
I love to read, and my imagination is way too active, which is why I am such an avid reader. Where else can you become a vampire, slay a dragon and rule a kingdom? In all the books that I have read, none have such a hold on me as the Twilight Series by Stephenie Meyer has. Edward, the main character was written in a manner that left one to their own devices on how "beautiful" he really was. I could close my eyes and "my" version of him was simply that mine.
When Breaking Dawn came out, the last book of this Twilight Series, everything changed. Why??? because of the upcoming Twilight movie. Now with the trailers and movie posters...Bella and Edward are no longer my own imaginary couple. I could not read the last novel without their images "popping" up in my head and I must admit that it took away from my reading experience.
So yeah...I adore books, but am usually not so happy with the movie version, for it takes away from my imaginary happiness.
Nancy
nsanchez69(at)yahoo(dot)com
Thank you, Terra, for inviting me to visit.
It's so reassuring to find I'm not the only one with this imagination 'problem' !!!
And I totally agree about The Hitchhikers Guide. I knew before I ever saw it there was no way a movie could ever capture that amazingly creative story...but I was hoping! :-)
For the longest time, I wanted them to make a movie of my favorite Douglas Adams book [The Long Dark Tea Time of the Soul] but I finally decided I would only be disappointed, so it's probably best that they don't!
Oh, Joanne -- you're absolutely right about Eric [True Blood]. The whole of whether or not I can continue to watch the series depends on how they handle that character!! [Not that I'm opinionated or anything... hehehe...]
~ Melissa
I never watch movies based on novels. They are seldom as good as the book.
I enjoyed Soul of a Highlander.
I agree with you totally. I've been reading avidly since I was 7 years old starting with Nancy Drew & The Hardy Boys and am an admitted bookaholic. I have a vivid imagination as well and read the book Bloodlines by Sidney Sheldon when I was younger. I saw the movie and it was awful if I hadn't read the book I don't think it would have made much sense it was so chopped up. I'm strongly encouraging my niece & nephew to become readers to get their minds active and away from too much TV & video games.
Melissa I could not agree with you more! I'm constantly disappointed when watching a movie based on a book. The worst one for me was "Interview with the Vampire" It's one of my favourite books and I was so mad through out the movie. I love the movie now but it's still not as good as the book. :0)
I have a really bad habit of wanting to read the books before I go to see the movie and 3 times out of 4 the movies been awful in comparison.
I too have a very over active imagination, and have had it since I was a kid. You had me laughing with the "what's under the bed" comment. I used to take 2 running steps to jump into bed. *giggle*
Thanks for bringing back funny memories.
I have watched movies based on noves, I've not always read them before I watch the movie. My imagination so far has not ruined anything I've done, it's has exceeed it. But someday, I expect to have it not as nice.
I agree with the movie/book theory. Whenever I read a book and it so good I can't wait to see it on screen. But it never is as good on screen as in the book.
I hate going to watch movies that I have been dying to see that leaves the ending just blah. Like in I Am Legend. I expected a whole different ending.
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