Books vs. Movies
In this podcast we set out to answer the age old question: is the book really always better than the movie?
Episodes
74 episodes
Ep. 62 Hamnet by Maggie O'Farrell vs. Hamnet (2025)
Shakespeare’s most famous tragedy might have started with a quieter one, and that’s what makes Hamnet so hard to shake. I’m Lluvia, and I’m putting Maggie O’Farrell’s bestselling historical fiction novel
Music Tames The Wolfe; Interview with Author Rick London
A werewolf story set in the San Francisco Bay Area sounds like it should end in blood, but Rick London flips the myth in a way we couldn’t stop talking about. His novel The Dancing Wolfeman<...
Ep. 61 The Idea of You by Robinne Lee vs. The Idea of You (2024)
A secret romance with a global pop star sounds like pure escapism until you look at the one detail that changes everything: age. I’m Lluvia, and I’m putting Robinnne Lee’s The Idea of You
Ep. 60 Lisey's Story by Stephen King vs. Lisey's Story (2021)
Grief can make a world feel unreal and sometimes, in Stephen King’s universe, it literally is. I dive into Lisey’s Story and its Apple TV+ adaptation to unpack how a marriage haunted by ...
Little Women 1949: Book Or Bust
What happens when a beloved classic gets the lush Technicolor treatment but trims away the thornier parts that make it feel real? I dig into the 1949
Ep. 59 Frankenstein: The 1818 Text by Mary Shelley vs. Frankenstein & Bride of Frankenstein (1930s)
What if the real monster isn’t the creature, but the way his story was retold? We dive into Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein and the Universal classics
Ep. 58 I Heard You Paint Houses: Frank "The Irishman" Sheeran and Closing the Case on Jimmy Hoffa by Charles Brandt vs. The Irishman (2019)
A phone call opens with a code: “I heard you paint houses.” From that line, I followed Frank Sheeran’s long road from soldier to union fixer to alleged hitman, weighing the granular confessions of
Top 10 Least Favorite Films Of 2025
A year of loud releases and louder opinions deserves a clear-eyed reckoning. I pull back the curtain on my most disappointing theatrical watches and ask why big IP, glossy remakes, and awards-season polish still left me so cold. From the openin...
Top 10 Favorite Movies Of 2025
What if one of your favorite films of the year is the one everyone else swears is terrible? My feelings drive this countdown of the 10 movies I watched in theaters that defined my 2025. I kept the scope tight: only films I watched on the big sc...
Top Ten Least Favorite Books Of 2025
Ever notice how least-favorite lists light up the room? I lean into that energy and break down ten books from 2025 that didn’t land for me and why. Not to dunk for sport, but to get curious about craft, genre, and expectations. Some titles offe...
Top 10 Favorite Books of 2025
A top ten list only works if it tells a story, and this one starts with quiet middle grade courage and ends with a blockbuster prequel that cracked my no-tears streak wide open. I’m counting down the books that stayed with me in 2025—titles tha...
Ep. 57 The Long Walk by Richard Bachman (Stephen King) vs. The Long Walk (2025)
Imagine a country so desperate for unity that it turns survival into a national spectacle. That’s the engine powering Stephen King’s The Long Walk—published as Richard Bachman—and the 20...
Ep. 56 Monster by Naoki Urasawa vs. Monster (2004)
A neurosurgeon saves a dying boy and sparks a decade-long reckoning—across hospitals, border towns, and the fragile space between duty and regret. That’s the engine of Monster, Naoki Ura...
Ep. 55 The Lost City of Z: A Tale of Deadly Obsession in the Amazon by David Grann vs. The Lost City of Z (2016)
A vanished explorer, a city swallowed by jungle, and a film that chooses myth over method—this week I dive deep into The Lost City of Z to separate the legends from the ledger. I trace P...
Ep. 54 You Were Never Really Here by Jonathan Ames vs. You Were Never Really Here (2017)
A fixer who vanishes like a rumor. A girl who counts to survive. A city that hides its crimes in plain sight. We put Jonathan Ames’ You Were Never Really Here head‑to‑head with Lynne Ram...
Ep. 53 Sandcastle by Pierre Oscar Lévy, Frederik Peeters vs. Old (2021)
Imagine stepping onto a perfect, hidden beach and feeling your life accelerate—years slipping by in hours, bodies racing ahead of minds, and secrets surfacing as quickly as the tide. That’s the uneasy heart of
Ep. 52 The Last Letter From Your Lover by Jojo Moyes vs. The Last Letter From Your Lover (2021)
Ever wonder if passionate love can withstand decades of separation? "The Last Letter from Your Lover" takes us on a journey through time where handwritten correspondence becomes the brid...
Ep. 51 The Book Thief by Markus Zusak vs. The Book Thief (2013)
Death has never been so captivated by a human as he is by Liesel Meminger, a young girl navigating the treacherous landscape of Nazi Germany with stolen books as her compass. When Death first encounters Liesel at her brother's gravesite, he wat...
Ep. 50 Two Kisses for Maddy: A Memoir of Love and Loss by Matthew Logelin vs. Fatherhood (2021)
What happens when a deeply personal memoir about loss transforms into a Hollywood comedy-drama with Kevin Hart? "Two Kisses for Maddy: A Memoir of Love and Loss" and "
Ep. 49 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams vs. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (2005)
Forty-two may be the answer to life, the universe, and everything, but is the book really better than the movie when it comes to "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy"? Join me as I navi...
Ep. 48 Mickey7 by Edward Ashton vs. Mickey 17 (2025)
Delving into Edward Ashton's sci-fi novel "Mickey7" and Bong Joon-ho's film adaptation "...
Ep. 47 The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson vs. The Haunting (1999)
That age-old question haunts every book lover who's watched their favorite novel get adapted to film: "Is the book really better?" For Shirley Jackson's masterpiece "The Haunting of Hill Hou...
Ep. 46 Going Clear: Scientology, Hollywood, and the Prison of Belief by Lawrence Wright vs. Going Clear: Scientology & the Prison of Belief (2015)
Lawrence Wright's "Going Clear: Scientology, Hollywood and the Prison of Belief" pulls back the curtain on Scientology's most guarded secrets, revealing a world where science fiction bec...
Ep. 45 The Handmaid's Tale: The Graphic Novel by Renée Nault vs. The Handmaid's Tale (2017-2025)
Margaret Atwood's chilling vision of a dystopian America transformed into the theocratic Republic of Gilead has captivated readers since 1985, but how does this haunting story translate from page to screen? Diving deep into both the original no...
Ep. 44 Let the Right One In by John Ajvide Lindqvist vs. Let the Right One In (2008)
In a snow-covered suburb of 1981 Sweden, a bullied boy finds an unlikely ally in the mysterious girl next door who only appears after dark. This seemingly simple premise launches us into the haunting world of "