You may have heard it before. “The book is always better.” It’s a mantra that has rung around the internet and in conversation for a long time now. Every time a movie or tv show adaptation of a book or book series comes out, many potential viewers have already made up their minds that the book is or will be better than anything on screen.

And can that be true? Definitely. You only have to look at movies like Artemis Fowl or the Percy Jackson films to see proof of that. But is it ALWAYS the case that the book is better?

I don’t think so.

*GASP* That may be a shocking take coming from a librarian, but I stand by it. No, not every movie or tv show adaptation of a book comes out wrong. In fact, sometimes it can come out even better. You see, I love a good remix, be that in music or stories. The originals will always be there, so if you’re just going to copy and paste the original in an adaptation then why even bother? Besides, what works on a page may not work on a screen, it’s a very different medium. Why not find out what else can be mined from a story and/or it’s characters? I love fanfiction and AUs (alternate universes) and retellings and whatnot. Do they always work? Nope. But when it does work? Wow! And I think those wows are worth the risk of experimenting and finding new angles to the stories we love.

Besides, an adaptation can be an easier way for new fans to come into the fandom without having to read several long books (that was me with LOTR).

Before anyone starts shouting about sacrilege and blasphemy, let me give you an example.

Interview with the Vampire by Anne Rice. This book has had many sequels, many offshoots, and has had adaptations both in film, comics and television, so it’s ripe for a good look on this subject. Now, I had a pretty big IWTV phase back when the Tom Cruise/Brad Pitt film adaptation came out, so I tried to read the novel. And all due credit to Anne Rice, she was a prolific and beloved author who created an amazing, layered world and characters who have stood the test of time… but I don’t like her writing. I’ve heard it said before that she never used an editor, and in my humble opinion she really could’ve used one. Scenes go on forever and get much too wordy (frankly I have the same problem with Tolkien).

While the film adaptation isn’t perfect, it streamlines the story to a much more manageable degree. Brad Pitt was a little wooden trying to play Louis, but Tom Cruise as Lestat, Kirsten Dunst as Claudia and Antonio Banderas as Armand really sink their teeth into their roles (pun intended). It’s good, gothic storytelling. (I won’t speak to the film version of Queen of the Damned, only because I haven’t seen it, but looks like it didn’t do as well with critics or fans.)

But the TV show? That’s a wow! Is it the most faithful adaptation? No. Does it need to be? I would argue not, because it is just a good watch. While it changes the time setting of the plot, and the backgrounds of some of the characters, it keeps the main beats of the original and remains compelling. The cast does an amazing job bringing the characters to vivid life, everyone involved diving heard first and enthusiastically into these roles. It’s allowed to explore several different themes, like how memory, guilt, love, and our relationships with others shape us, how our circumstances shape us, and it makes the queer subtext from the originals text. Two seasons in and a third on the way, plus offshoots like Mayfair Witches and the just released Talamasca: The Secret Order all part of the same television universe (called the Immortal Universe), I think this show is proof that an adaptation doesn’t have to be an exact copy of the original to be worthwhile. And if we had just stuck to the old adage that there’s no point adapting a book, we wouldn’t have it at all.

A couple more I wanted to mention… Bridget Jones’ Diary. I’ve read the book and watched the movie, and I liked the movie way better as the book got a tad nonsensical. It stayed off my list though because it seems like most would put the book and the film on equal footing. Another is Nimona. It didn’t make my list because I don’t think the movie is better than the book, but both are excellent in their own ways.

There are more examples to be had. Above is my list for you to check out. Many items on the list are classics that many are surprised to find out were books first (myself included on some of them). That alone might say something about the staying power of films like Jaws, Psycho or Die Hard, that when people hear the title the first thing they think of is the movie.

Keep reading and watching my friends and see which you prefer.