My husband and I are both "watch the movie only" type of people. The only books you'll see my head buried in, are non-fiction books. Our son on the other hand, is quite different to us. He's definitely a book worm.
He's recently become interested in the Harry Potter novels, through having the first book read by his teacher in class. The teacher stopped after the first book, so he requested we continue buying the books for him to read at home.
We let him watch the first movie, "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone". And he knew he could watch the second movie, "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets" once he finished reading the second book. A nice incentive to keep reading a thick book with little writing for an 8 year old!
During the first movie, he knew pretty much what was going to happen all the way through to the end - and it didn't seem to bother him that he knew. Probably because it was condensed and action packed throughout - there was no time to mull over what was different to the book. He enjoyed it for what it was.
He was almost through the second book (all except the last two chapters), when he begged to watch the second movie. So when he got to the part in the movie that he hadn't read yet - it was much more suspenseful for him.
However, when we got back to reading the last two chapters, I found that we were both analysing the text a bit too much. For example - How the character was different to the book, Why they chose a different character, and Which sections weren't included in the movie. We had to block what we had recently watched, and appreciate the book for what it was now.
In conclusion, I'd say it's better to read the book first, before watching the movie. Or if you're like me - just watch the movie. The end. :)
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