We all have opinions

We are doing a little, fun thing at the library this month. It is called You Choose, and it is a weekly squaring off between two books, two movies or a book and a movie. Anyone coming to the library gets to vote on which of the two is the better. We started this week with a challenge between Sherlock Holmes: do you prefer Robert Downey Jr.'s version or Benedict Cumberbatch's?

We all have strong opinions about the books and movies we read/view. And even stronger ones when we have loved a book and were horribly disappointed in the film version. I was thinking about why this is, and it really is all about the fundamental reason we continue to read, or watch movies. We love hearing stories. And if that story speaks to us, touches a nerve, brings back an experience, then we have strong feelings for or against that story. If you read a book at just the right moment in your life, when the book connects in a way that it may not at any other time, then it really becomes a part of your life and continues to have an impact throughout your life. I know one odd book that had that impact for me is The Neverending Story, by Michael Ende. I read it many years ago and the central themes of the book were reflected in my life at that time. As a result it has stayed in my mind as a favorite, although I have never revisited the book. I made the mistake of watching the movie - awful! Why? Well it didn't capture the underlying meaning well, so the movie didn't connect. Other movies based on books that I have read don't anger me when they are a poor translation of the story generally because the story didn't speak to me. The various Charlie and the Chocolate Factory versions (film and book) are examples for me. The book was just okay, so whatever was done to it in the movies didn't matter to me. I could watch the movie versions just for themselves. I know that other people have very strong feelings about all the versions. And of course, there are those book to movie translations that really stand alone. The Shining comes to me as an example. Loved the book, loved the movie in spite of it not keeping to the book.

So I hope you will stop by and cast your vote. And if you have some suggestions for inclusion in the You Choose challenge - send them along to me: abaker@kelleylibrary.org.