I have started reading. I never really liked reading. I don't altogether know that I enjoy it now, but I do it. I REALLY hated reading when I was younger, but probably because I was forced to read things during school. I am not talking about everyday type of reading, I am referring to reading novels.

I always liked the movie Fletch, so I decided to read the book it was based on. It, like most books I read, always seem to be way better than the movie. I wonder why this is? The movie "Fletch" was way different from the book, as was Forrest Gump. I guess that is why the disclaimer says "based on" a certain book. Anyway, after I read the first Fletch book, I bought and read the entire series. They are great because they are not too long, and are quite humorous.

A while back I saw a commercial for the Stephen King movie "IT". I had heard of the movie and the book, so I decided to give it a shot. This time I decided to read the book before watching the movie, to see if it was a different experience. It was. This brings me to the real topic of today's post. What do you hear in your head while you read?

When you have seen a movie ahead of time, then when you read the book, your brain already has some idea of the characters, and the actors who played them, and thusly what they "should" sound like. For example, when I read "Fletch", I sort of experienced the book almost as if Chevy Chase's voice was narrating, or reading it to me. When I read "IT", I had no idea who was in the movie, what they looked like, what they sounded like, etc.. So then when I saw the movie, I was kind of disappointed in it, because it did not synch up with what my brain had created for the characters. Also, in the case of "IT", it was a made for TV movie, rather than an R rated theatrical release, which would have been leaps and bounds better than the TV version.

I have determined that it is perhaps better to watch a movie first, then read the book afterwards. It just seems to make for a better overall experience. Plus, you are almost guaranteed to not read a shitty book this way. If you like the movie, you will almost certainly enjoy the book, and in many cases even more, and I believe that doing it the other way around only ends in disappointment.

Sometimes, there is a book written after the movie is made! The appears to be the case with the movie "The Goonies". I read this book that was written after the movie, and it was still better. It was more descriptive, and had variations of scenes from the movie. I am not sure why this is, because the movie was great, but again, I got to enjoy it on two different levels.

I may venture off into the land of "audio books". I have a friend who used to travel a lot and swore by them. It might throw an interesting loop into the mix to try, listening to the book, then seeing the movie, or vice versa. I may try one the next time I go on a long trip. I shall surely followup when and if that happens. There is a very funny Seinfeld episode where George gets a book on tape, and the voice on the tape is almost identical to his own voice, which of course, makes him freak out.

Anyway, power to the people!