Writing Prompt

Struggled with writer's block today so I googled "writing prompts" and found an old one I liked for today: "Is it better to watch the movie first or read the book first?"

The prompt was originally written when the first Lord of the Rings movie was being released.  That struck me because I just heard about the new Matt Damon movie The Martian which was based on a book with which I was not familiar.  There was no question for me that I would read the book before watching the movie; I'm number 95 on the Loudoun County public library waiting list.

I tend to prefer the book to the movie; but, mostly because the content of a book is abridged in order to fit into a two hour movie.  After characters are dropped and plot lines are streamlined for the movie; I tend to prefer the book.  The exception that comes to mind is the fifth book in the Harry Potter series which suffered from chapter after chapter of little plot advancement which the movie was able to freely eliminate.

But, while I prefer the book to the movie that doesn't really answer the question of which to read/watch first.  My daughter might argue that you should save the best for last just like the food on a dinner plate.  Ultimately, the book needs to come first for me because I can still enjoy a movie after having read the book.  The movie adds a visualization to the story I now know.  If you already know many of the plot twists and the ending a book has a lot less to keep you turning the pages.