Reading a good book can create a whole other world inside your head. Watching a movie can immerse you in a visual world where you can see and hear the events unfolding on the screen in front of you. Obviously, books have been around a whole lot longer than cinema; but ever since the advent of the latter, movies have been created using the plot and characters of literature. From classics like "Gone With the Wind" and "The Wizard of Oz" to numerous renditions like the Robin Hood and King Arthur legends to more modern adaptions like the "Harry Potter" series and numerous Marvel and DC comics makes and remakes.

Some book-to-movie adaptations leave something to be desired. Maybe your favorite character is nothing like you imagined in your head. Maybe the actor isn't right for or isn't into a playing the character that you've been reading and re-reading about for years. And even if the characters are presented exactly how you imagined it, the odds are the plot of the story has been changed in some way. Most of us just accept that this is the case – as long as the changes aren't TOO major. Changes are a necessity after all: how can we expect a 300+ page novel to be adapted into a visually appealing, engaging, well-paced movie of approximately 2.5 hours? Some things will inevitably have to be cute to make the story flow. Some things are a lot more interesting reading from the point of view of the main character rather than viewing the same event from an outside experience. As long as the characters remain (relatively) unaltered and all the major emotional and plot-related events are included, I personally would consider it a successful adaption.

Not everyone has the time to read all seven (relatively long) "Harry Potter" novels, but most people can spread out the time to watch the eight 2.5 hour movies. Or maybe you can't cover all of Marvel comics canon, but most of the world has watched the 19 MCU films over the last ten years. That being said, sometimes it is 100% necessary to read the book if you've seen and liked the movie. As I said, sometimes things are left out or characters are much more dynamic in writing. Similarly, sometimes if you read the book and love it you should most definitely see the movie! Sometimes they can be disappointing, but it is usually really amazing to see your favorite characters come to life on screen. Here is a list of 5 books to film adaptions that are must-reads if you've seen the movie: