Sunday, March 13, 2005

Maybe I'm a snob

Or just picky or something, but you know what really irritates me? Books that have been made into a movie which are then re-released with a giant movie picture on the cover. I was doing some of my birthday shopping today (mom gave me a very nice Amazon certificate) and wanted to buy Wonderboys by Michael Chabon, but now I'm not going to. The only paperback edition available is a movie edition. I do not want a book with the enormous face of Michael Douglas on the cover. It's not even a particularly attractive picture. When I read a book, I want to read it as the author intended, not as a director intended. I want to be able to envision the characters myself, not have some actor's image being crammed down my throat. Everytime I open the book it would say to me, "Here! You don't even have to think about it! This is what the main character looks like! He's Michael Douglas! See! Right here on the cover! See! See! Why bother with the book, don't you want to just see Michael Douglas, instead? Watch the movie!" I don't have a problem with books being made into movies, I just have a problem with the book experience being altered in the process. Stupid Michael Douglas.