The crack of a spine. The smell of the ink. The inevitable papercut you get when you turn the pages too fast. There’s no doubt about it, reading a novel is an experience, not just looking at words on paper. Paper novels continue to draw the American population into their enchanting environment, with 67% of Americans preferring to read the novel over watching a movie, according to CBS News.
One of the top genres in book sales, romance is an absolute moneymaker, with the movies, books and love-themed paraphernalia generating around 1.44 billion dollars in 2023 alone, according to Sweet Savage Flame. Having had no romance myself, I love everything about this industry. I love love, but I tend to notice some odd things about rom-coms.
Rom-coms, or romantic comedies, are a beloved staple of the Hollywood scene. With iconic films such as Pretty Woman, How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days and my personal favorite movie of all time, The Proposal, audiences are mesmerized by the on-screen romance of two really attractive people. Ryan Reynolds, Sandra Bullock? What’s not to love?
I’ve noticed that movies based on existing romance novels typically earn more revenue, compared to ones that are artistic originals. Forbes states that movies based on books generate 53% more at the box office compared to ones not derived from any original source material. Books paved the way for these movies to exist, and audiences prefer well thought-out ideas that were novels first, rather than a plot written to make money at the box office. With the latest Marvel movies being called “cash grabs” and “soulless” by popular site Haaretz, it’s safe to say that I’m not the only person feeling this way.
“A novel is a labor of love,” American author Caroline Gordon once said. Novels typically take around a year to write, according to author Jennifer Ellis, while the actual writing of a movie takes around 10-12 weeks for a screenplay, Filmmaker Tools reports. A book allows you to get transported into the world of the characters, while a movie is just you watching events play out on screen, rather than creating a world in your imagination. Movies have a set length of time, while novels have an unlimited amount of room to really describe their characters, plot and setting. Movies have work put into them, don’t get me wrong, but you can feel the palpable love the author put into writing a novel. This is their world, and they’re pouring it out onto the page for us to see and appreciate.
When it comes to romance, novels have the ability to allow the reader to spend a day in the protagonist’s shoes. You are taken on a journey through the character’s love and life, meanwhile in a film, you’re watching two characters experience the same thing. Both are amazing mediums to tell a love story, but in my humble opinion? Novels beat out telenovelas every time.
“Lessons in Chemistry,” a number one New York Times bestseller by Bonnie Garmus, follows the chronicles of an aspiring scientist as she struggles with the loss of her husband and the birth of her daughter. This amazingly received novel was adapted into a TV show in 2023, starring Brie Larson as the title character, Elizabeth Zott. The TV show received disappointing reviews, with critics disappointed in the plot alterations and new characterization that differed from the original source material. (Photo/Uma Hedge)
