Don't judge a book by its movie

One of the saddest things i've ever seen in my entire life was a movie version of one of my favorite books. the book was great. it was written beautifully, had an exciting plot, and i liked the characters.
But the movie? no word in the english language can sufficiently describe it, but the word that comes closest is HORRIBLE. Completely, absolutely, 100% horrible.
why do they keep doing this?
the point of a book is to use your imagination. the point of a movie is to squash your imagination. these two things should never meet. if they do, the results will always be disastrous. always.
books are such amazing things because all of the action is going on inside of your head. if you and i read the same book, we will imagine the characters and events slightly differently. and that's a good thing. the way a good author writes will make you feel like you're a part of the story, not merely an outsider looking on as the events unfold. you can really get inside the characters' heads, really get to know them.
this doesn't work too well in a movie. actually, it doesn't work at all in a movie. no matter how amazing the actors are, you can never get inside their heads the way you can in a book. and you don't use your imaginations at all in movies. you just watch it and that's it. and turning something as beautiful as a book into something as mind-numbing as a movie is one of the saddest things i can think of.
and if that weren't bad enough, movie writers have an unexplainable urge to take all of the good stuff out of the story, twist around the plot until it barely resembles the plot in the book, and get the most terrible actors, who probably never even read the story. and then they have the nerve to call that horrible movie by the same title as the original book!
Oftentimes, when i recommend a book to somebody, the answer i receive is, "Oh, yeah, I've watched the movie." Please, people! don't do this to yourselves! forget the movies, and read a book!
a few years ago, i was in the middle of a book series that i thoroughly enjoyed, when the movie came out. i absolutely refused to see it, no matter what anyone said. becasue by then, i'd learned my lesson: watching the movie will ruin the book. almost always. so do yourself a favor! stop watching and start reading!