Someone asked this question on HP and I was loving the response and thought I'd share:

"Should I read the Harry Potter series considering the fact that I have already seen the movies numerous times?"

The response:

"Do you know what color Harry's eyes really are and why they are important?
Do you know all the Weasley kids?
Do you know who Peeves is?
Do you really know and understand why Snape mistreated Neville so much? Did you even notice that Snape mistreated Neville more than others?
Do you know what an animagus is?
Do you know and understand Voldemort's history?
Do you know what happens to Peter Pettigrew in the end and why?
Do you know who are all the Marauder's?
Do you know who was the Half-Blood Prince and why he was called so?
Do you know who Squibs are?
Do you know why Rita Skeeter's character is important and where it was important?
Do you know and understand Snape's history?
Do you understand Dumbledore's character, his behavior towards Harry right from the 1st book, and what was his overall importance to the series?
Do you know the history behind Lupin and Tonks? How they ended up getting married? Do you know who Teddy is?
Do you know who Phineus Nigellus is and why he was important?
Do you know who Barty Crouch Jr. is and what his backstory is? Do you know who Winky is?
Do you know what happens to Harry's wand in the end?



The above represents how much you will lose out on by not reading the books.

So it's quite simple. Read them."

Source

Do you agree? Books > Movies overall? Or are some movies enough in some cases?

yes

It saddens me that my nieces and nephews watched all the movies before reading the books. If they've even read the books, which I'm not sure they have.

Comparing how you envisioned the story to how the director of that film envisioned it was half the fun of watching the movies. Every time my friends and I left the theatre after seeing one of the movies for the first time, we would have a conversation for hours saying stuff like "I pictured it like *this* instead" or "I imagined that scene exactly like that!"

With movies, what you see is what you get. But with books, it's all about your own imagination and creative visualisations.

I'm actually an advocate of reading the book first, and watching the movie later. Sure, many aspects of movies end up disappointing me when I do that because they fail to align with the book or my own mental image, but I find that it's more enjoyable regardless.

If you like books more: Book > Movie
If you like movies more: Movie > Book

Profound.

i read dem harry books till the 6th one cuz i got bored and my interests in book subjects shifted

however, i did see all 8 movies and i liked dem

still not bothered reading the last 2 books... but yeah definitely books > muvies

I recently read the HP series and its freaking amazing. I have yet to watch all the movies (5 - 8) because I never really clicked with the first few films.

But some things just work better as movies. Let's take LOTR for an example. I haven't met a person who didn't quit reading the book - the pacing is just too slow. The story just works better in a visual format.
Maze Runner's movie was also better than the poorly written books (I read the whole trilogy, so don't come for me.)

I read Gone Girl after the movie, and even though the film adaptation is great, the book gives you insight on WHY the 'characters are who they are'.

Not every detail can be put into a movie, so it's a compromise. People usually have a problem if the movie doesn't match their imagination, why is a pretty crazy expectation to begin with.

I feel that this particular perception is a product of the way we consume media in modern society; while I did in fact quit once, in seventh grade and in the middle of the second part, upon rereading I actually loved the books. The same can be said for other significantly lengthy works like A Song of Ice and Fire (A Game of Thrones) - it depends on the reader, but as you delve deeper into literature, things that were previously a challenge can become quite enjoyable.

You are spot on with our modern day Vine-lenght attention span
I have yet to read them. I'm sure it's worth the effort.

I did this with TGWTDT. Loved both the book and movie.

You should read the book only sometimes, I remember the Twilight book being amazing and the movie horrible.

I will not watch a movie until I read the book.

I prefer reading the book first before watching the movie. But sometimes it's annoying to do because it makes me not appreciate the movie anymore

Absolutely. If a book has been adapted into a movie or TV show I'll try to read the book before I see the adaptation. You get a deeper appreciation for all the little details in the writing that is easily lost on screen.

I agree. People should read the books of franchises that they love. Film/TV adaptations compress stories into a small time frame. So details and nuance get lost. You'll also be a better critic of film adaptations, if you read the books beforehand. No one should rely on popular cinema and TV exclusively, to tell you what to read. If you want recommendations for a genre that you're interested in, hit up Good Reads or Google. The older you get, the less cool it becomes not to have read the books or be around people who don't read, in general. I can't help but snicker at people who get upset at the "smugness" of Game of Thrones fans or comic book movie fans who are in the know because they've already read the books.