Books, Movies, and Books Turned into Movies

I just finished reading The Devil Wears Prada by Lauren Weisberger. I've also seen the movie version of The Devil Wears Prada half a dozen times (on the conservative side). And this is a prime example of why I do not like to watch movies based on books. I enjoyed the movie. It became one of the ones my mom and I would throw in the DVD player if we couldn't agree on anything else. Since I liked the movie, and I kept getting recommendations for it on both amazon.com and whatshouldIreadnext.com, I figured I'd go ahead and read it. And I enjoyed the book.

But...

The book clashed with the movie. The main character's best friend is very different in the book compared to the movie. Same with the boyfriend. It's very obvious that the movie is based on the book, but there were significant differences.

This is a very good example of why I do not like to watch movies based on books I've read, whether it's Harry Potter, Narnia, or any of the other myriad movies currently playing in the theaters that are based on books (and they all seem to be based on books these days). When I read a book, I have a vision in my head of what the characters look like, what the action is like, and when I see a movie, it often conflicts with what goes on in my head. And I've discovered that I much prefer my version of a book than a movie director's version.