If you've never come across an argument about whether the book or movie did a better job explaining the storyline of something, consider yourself lucky. I have gotten into multiple debates between friends and strangers about which is more rewarding, and I believe it's safe to say that my opinion has to be correct. Books are way better than movies, and here's why:
1. A story is a story.
If a movie is based on a book, it's impossible to claim that it did a better job at explaining its story. An original is an original. If a book is written in a specific way with specific events and specific characters, all you can say is that the movie provided a visual for those people and places. You cannot claim that it did so in a more appealing or beneficial, because it was only created in the first place to represent the original piece.
2. The book allows you to use your imagination.
When the movie creates a visual for you, you don't get the chance to do so yourself. This prevents your imagination from taking flight and allowing you to create your own world of endless possibilities. It limits creativity and puts boundaries on thoughts. Also, if you do read the book and imagine something happening or looking a certain way, and then you go and see the movie, it can be disappointing when the image you pictured isn't portrayed the same way.
3. Movies leave out key details.
Have you ever been sitting in your movie theater chair waiting to see your favorite little moment from the book take place, when suddenly the whole moment is completely passed over and you're confused as to why they left out such a significant detail? This is because movies don't have the "timeless" characteristic that books, novels, and stories have. A book can go on and on from page to page explaining one event or character in great detail, while movies have specific time constraints that do not allow them to explain things in such a way. In this case, your missing out on a significant amount of details. Personally, I find it pretty disappointing.
4. Speaking of time... you can read a story at your own pace.
You can pick up a book whenever you want, wherever you want and read as much or as little as you'd like to. Since books don't require you to go out of your way, or to commit to them fully for a certain amount of time, you can prolong a story as long as you'd like to. If you want to read through the whole thing in a day, you can. If you only want to read for five minutes a day all year, that's OK too. Reading is done at your own pace. Watching movies doesn't really allow you to do that with such flexibility.
5. There is something about words that impacts you more than a visual. 
In my opinion, words are ways of expressing emotions in a way no other art form can. While movies may make you cry because it's an easy way of understanding what's happening in certain scenes, books make you cry because it means you've looked past the letters on the page. This concept takes things to a whole new level. It means you've created an image in your head that was powerful enough to impact your emotions without the need of seeing a concrete picture. That is something a movie definitely doesn't allow you to do.
So, books or movies? What do you think?
