There are a lot of books being adapted into films these days. Whether it’s a novel or comic book, fan bases are exploding. However, the majority of the time my friends go see a movie that was adapted from one of their favorite books they’re disappointed. This happened for me a lot when I was a kid. I loved the "Harry Potter" books, but I thought the movies just weren’t cutting it, at first… I know, shocking and sad right?

Because of this perception that the movie should be the exact replica of the book, I did not enjoy many movies like the rest of my friends. Maybe it was because I wanted certain scenes in the book to be in the movie, or I did not like how a relationship was adapted on screen, but it was eating away at me causing me to step away from going to the movies.

I was around fourteen when I realized that this perception needed to stop. It was destroying my love of movies and books. That’s what comparisons do when they don’t live up to your expectation. That’s when I knew I had to stop this kind of thinking because otherwise I would not be able to enjoy going to the movies anymore.

There are so many aspects of a movie that are easy to compare to the book. Let’s look at "The Hunger Games." I loved the character Madge, the mayor’s daughter and friend of Katniss who was left out of the movies completely. Even though I loved Madge in the book, her character was minor, and with movies, it is important to keep the story moving. Thus, the amount of characters may be toned down. Also, if I was watching the movie as a comparison, I would have completely been pissed off about the ending of the first film. It was nothing like the book and would have infuriated me. This did not stop me from going to see the next movie because they were all so well done.

Also, getting hung up on character appearances is a minor detail. Instead of comparing the different appearances just embrace them.

Here’s the thing, a book is picked up for a movie because they know the fans will go see it and it will make money. However, viewers must remember that these films are not usually written by the same writer of the book. They are completely different… Except for "The Perks of Being a Wallflower." That movie was authored, written and directed by Stephen Chbosky and is amazing. This film has to be one of my favorites of all time. Originally I thought about how it would be cool since the book's narrator was anonymous that all new talent should be cast in the movie, making it different… However, Emma Watson is an amazing actress and I liked Sam in the movie way more than I did in the book.

I remember when "Guardian’s of the Galaxy" was going to be made into a film. My husband was very weary of the idea. He said that Rocket Raccoon couldn’t be done. He was sure of it. Then the trailer came out and he fell in love. All his favorite characters differed slightly from the comics he was used to; yet, he stopped comparing and started enjoying.

So, when you see a book you love turned into a movie, don’t turn away in horror. Know right away that it’s not going to be the exact same as the book, but it may still be interesting to see your favorite characters come to life, even if it’s not perfect. If I kept thinking "Oh, I hated how off 'Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire' left out blah blah blah" I would never have seen the fifth one, where the acting had improved amazingly. I would have hated the sixth one (because everything was off but I loved the movie anyway) and I would have been very pissed off at the book for not letting Neville end up with Luna. Don’t take movies and their book equivalents for granted. You never know, maybe you’ll fall in love with the story all over again.