Poll: Books or Movies?

[AvsJoe]

For me, the battle between books and movies is no contest. I am a movie-watcher. I watch about 500 films a year on average (including short films) and on good weeks I can watch 20 or 25. I own 1,358 movies on DVD, give or take about 30. I have seen 25 films since the start of the new year, which is fewer than I normally have by this point. Like I said, no contest.

But!

I do read. I just began my 5th book (actually, in this case a collection of short stories) since the beginning of December. I purchase between 30 and 40 books a year and usually read between 15 and 25 of them in that same time frame. I know a few of you will scoff at how low the number is but I also know that many of you don't read a third of that per year, either.

Comparing the two, I can't honestly say that I'm anything but a movie watcher. I would like to say that I'm an 'avid' reader, but that's hardly true when compared to the movies I watch. If anything, I'm an 'avid' movie-goer, and nothing else.

How about you? Are you a book reader or a movie watcher? How many movies have you seen, or books you have read? Read Mogworld yet?

 

[Marter]

Yeah...I like my movies. I think you know that. =p

 

[Link_to_Future]

I generally prefer movies because I don't need to focus my full attention on them.

Books are better experiences overall imo, but movies are just convenient.

 

[furry-ryuu-ken]

I love to read, usually have more in them.

 

[DarkenedWolfEye]

Books, because books can tell a better story, with complex language and metaphor as opposed to just showing you a picture and cutting out all the beautiful language you could have been enjoying. Also, books can tell a better story because they don't have any screen time limits. You don't have to crop out characters or modify storylines to fit within any constraints of time, money, or whatever.
Books are far and away the more artistically valuable experience.

 

[Nouw]

Both to great extents.

Reading has gotten less love over the years but I think I just need to find the right book, nevertheless Reading is a strong subject at School and helped me learn the English language well.

Movies make up a good part of my life, I watch more movies than books and find them much more interesting (well for now at least) so I chose both.

 

[Anarchemitis]

To say that they are enjoyable mediums is an axiom.

The battle between books and movies is no contest. I am a movie-watcher. I watch about 500 films a year on average

That's a little under 1.5 a day. You dedicate more of your year to watching movies than I do to playing video games.

 

[Sinclair Solutions]

I generally prefer movies because I don't need to focus my full attention on them.

Books are better experiences overall imo, but movies are just convenient.

I think this is a good summary. When you want to read, it's a big hubbub (at least for me.) You need quiet, a good light, and you might fall asleep if you have been working hard. Movies keep you sucked in the whole time, and you can watch them anywhere. Much less of a setup.

 

[Kortney]

I love to read - but I prefer a good movie over a good book. They engage more of my senses (only really good authors can do this) and manipulate my emotions easier. I'm more naturally inclined to be hooked by a movie than a book.

 

[AvsJoe]

To say that they are enjoyable mediums is an axiom.

The battle between books and movies is no contest. I am a movie-watcher. I watch about 500 films a year on average

That's a little under 1.5 a day. You dedicate more of your year to watching movies than I do to playing video games.

I really shouldn't be as proud as I am of that number. If you give me a couple of minutes, I'll give you the correct number as best I can.

...

477, give or take 5. I watched 477 movies between January 1st, 2010 and January 1st, 2011. Not bad.

 

[Zakarath]

I'll see maybe 5 movies in a year. I often read that many books in a week. Admittedly, that's generally re-reading a favorite series, as I have neither the time to purchase them nor the money to fund that many new books, even if I could find that many I think I would enjoy. (I'll get a pile of new books anytime someone gives me a gift card to a bookstore, but they only get me so far, and trips to the library can get tiresome when you can read a good-length book in a few hours.)

 

[Shraggler]

By far, books for me. I love using my imagination. It's way too fun using your brain to materialize words.

 

[spartan231490]

books, books, books, a thousand times books. A book provides days of entertainment, over just a few hours from a movie. Also, for me, books are much more immersion and entertaining, no contest. I own probably 20 times more books than i do movies.

 

[olendvcook]

I'd rather have a video game with a good story over a movie or a book

 

[haruvister]

I always say that books and movies are like fruit and vegetables: both nutritious yet inherently different. The idea that books are an active pursuit, while films are passive, is a myth - as fans of David Lynch, Roman Polanski, Andrei Tarkovsky, Werner Herzog etc will attest.

 

[darth.pixie]

Books, normally...I've been known to read about a book a day if it's good. I've read a little bit of everything from heavy classics to modern light reading.

Video games would be a close second since it's mostly an interactive story and as for movies, I prefer the older ones. They seem either better directed or better acted than most new ones and aren't as reliant on special effects.

 

[spectrenihlus]

Both but if I had to choose, movies. Although yea you get more out of a book a movie is just plane quicker and easier to experience with others.

 

[PureChaos]

if i had to choose between watching a film or reading a book, i'd watch a film every time. but if it's a film based off a book, i'd like to do both

 

[SirDeadly]

I like watching movies but for me books win. They are much more descriptive and if I get into the book enough I can visualize what is going on so it becomes like a movie anyway.

 

[New Troll]

Nothing against books, but movies are so much more convenient, time-wise.