How to explore ideas with your child: Is the book better than the movie?

Hello, Alana. Hello, are you there? Sorry about that.

Yes, I am.

My computer does weird things. So we're talking about— your little brother is very cute. He loves you too. We're talking about the difference between reading a book and watching a movie, and you said you'd read the Harry Potter books You've seen the Harry Potter movie, and you said that it was— remind me what you said between watching the book and reading— reading the book and watching the movie.

There's also like differences from the book and the movie. Like sometimes I like the movie more, sometimes I like the book more. Because for me, like when I watched the two and read the two, there's differences. Like, yeah.

So, um, differences in what happens, is that what you're thinking?

Yeah.

You also said there's more detail in the book. What do you mean by more detail in the book?

Well, for me, I see detail because whenever I read it once and then I read it again, I see more detail and more and more until maybe I got all of it.

So I'm thinking through the kind of detail in a book. In a movie, if there's a description of a building or a person, you see it instantly, right? You see somebody's face, you see what the building looks like, you see what the game of Kidditch is like. So in a book, it would take lots of words to describe that stuff, right?

Yeah.

So I guess I'm trying to compare, you know, in a movie you like see it all at once. In a book you read it word by word by word by word. But it sounds like you said you get a sense that there's more detail, that somehow the words give you more detail than the movie. But not always.

Not always, but for me kind of, because like words, like it tells you what it is or how it is, like like maybe there's a red building and it had maybe 10 windows. It could describe that in a book with just words. I know it's kind of longer, but sometimes I kind of like that.

So here is an idea. Try this one on. What if it's not that there's necessarily more details, because 10 windows, 10 windows, you can see 10 windows in a movie. You could read about 10 windows in a book. What if when you read about 10 windows, you imagine those 10 windows and somehow that imagining step is different than seeing it in a movie? Do you think that's true?

Yeah. Yeah.

You think that you like imagining what— like using the words to imagine your own version?

I do.

So—

and then maybe—

go ahead.

And then maybe when you see the movie, it could be different. So maybe you can, you can compare yours to it, to the other one.

Did you, in the case of Harry Potter, did you read the book first and then see the movie, or did you see the movie first and then read the book?

Um, I think I saw— I think I read the book first and then I did the movie.

So would you say you already had in your mind what Harry Potter was supposed to look like and what, you know, all of the buildings and everything and all the characters were supposed to look like?

Yeah.

Did you find that the movie version was the right version or a different version or a surprising version? How did the movie version relate to the version you had developed in your head, in your mind?

It could be a little similar, like if There was a building in the book. It was red and it had blue on it. Maybe I— and it was light blue and maybe I could imagine dark red and dark blue, maybe.

So it was similar. And when— what parts of the movie do you— you said sometimes you like the movie better, sometimes the book better. When was the movie better than the book, or what, what made parts of the movie better than the book?

Um, I can't really remember one, but it's probably gonna pop up. I just haven't watched the movie in a long time.

No problem, no problem. So I want to go back to words versus pictures. So with words, you read the words and then you imagine something, and the movie you just see it all at once. How about things like the emotions the characters have, like when a character is happy or sad or angry or vengeful? Would you say that you get the emotions better when you imagine them or when you watch them in a movie, or is it different, or is it the same?

To me it's kind of the same because like they're kind of feeling the same in the book and the movie, like when one of the characters is sad and it's also sad in the book at the same period of time, that's similar.

And how about, would you say you get to know the characters better in the movie or the book, or you get to know them the same way?

To me, I get to know them in the same way.

Okay, and if you suppose somebody said this is a really good story, there's a book version and a movie version, would you want to do— which one would you want to do first?

I would do the book first because sometimes movies can be maybe relaxing to me, like sometimes. So I would kind of read the book first so I could enjoy the movie after.

Okay, and that's interesting. And I guess I'm wondering about relaxing. So why not relax by watching the movie first and then read the book? Why read the book first?

To me, I just— sometimes the book is my favorite, so I also like to do that first because then I kind of get the fun out of it. I don't know why I like it. I just Like it.

Okay. And I'm trying to, I'm trying to see if we can figure out why you, I personally like the book better than the movie, probably 90% of the time, maybe 1 out of 10, there's a movie that's just amazing. That's better than the book. But for me, I'd say about 9 times out of 10, I like the book better. And it's interesting to me you also liked the book better. So I'm trying to see if we can figure out why that is. And I think for a lot of people who are readers, You know, some people like to watch movies and don't read books so much, but I think you're already kind of— would you say you're a reader? Do you think of yourself as a reader?

Yeah.

I think for those of us who are readers, yeah, we usually like the book better. So do you think it's just a mystery why we like the book better?

Um, like, I don't, I'm, I don't think, to me, I don't really think so because like if you like the book better, you have to have like Maybe a difference that you like better, maybe.

So I'm going to try— I have another hypothesis. The movie, say a Harry Potter movie, is something like 2 hours. Would you say it takes longer than 2 hours to read the book?

For me, it takes a few days.

Okay. What if we like the books better because it's a longer experience? Do you think that might be it?

Yeah. Yeah.

Why would we like the longer experience?

To me, I just kind of like, because sometimes I really like the book, so I kind of want a longer experience because I really like that book and I want to stay on it.

Okay, so another way I describe it is sometimes when I'm in a book that I really love, I feel like I'm almost kind of lost in that world, or I kind of go into a different place. When I'm reading the book, and I like being in that place. Does that sound accurate?

Yeah.

And would you say that you go in a deeper place when you're reading than when you're watching, or sometimes, or not necessarily?

For me, it's kind of deeper when I read. For me, just because I can just sit there, open my book, read, flip the pages, and just focus my mind on imagining what's happening, and maybe I could put me in there too in some parts.

I got it, you know, and that's actually one of the reasons— remember when I was asking about the emotions, whether you felt the emotions more in the book versus the movie? I think for me personally, I think usually I feel the emotions more intensely when I read than when I watch. And maybe it's because it's slower or I get to know the characters. I guess I feel like I get to know the characters more when I read. Does that make sense?

Yeah.

And if I get to know the characters, you said you kind of imagine yourself in there. You know, I, it seems like you're right. If they're happy in the book, they're happy in the movie. If they're sad in the book, they're sad in the movie. But there's this kind of longer, slower, deeper experience of going into the character. In the book most of the time. Does that seem accurate?

Yeah. Yeah.

Okay. Do you think we're doing a pretty good job at figuring out why we like the books better than the movies usually?

Yeah.

Okay. Seems like you really love reading. Is that true? Yeah. What book are you reading these days?

I'm reading Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets right now.

Excellent, excellent. I would say reading, especially when I was a kid, but even now, reading is one of my greatest joys. It's a really— would you say it's one of your greatest joys?

Yeah, other than jiu-jitsu.

Yeah, absolutely. So no, you're very fortunate that you have the joyful experience of reading. All right, I'm gonna let you have a wonderful Sunday, and hopefully we talk next week. Okay?

Okay.