Top Ten Tuesday (TTT) brought to you by The Broke and the Bookish.

The lovely ladies over at The Broke and the Bookish are on hiatus for a few more weeks, so time for another weekly freebie.

A couple of years ago, I started watching the TV series Pretty Little Liars, which was based on Sara Shepard’s book series. The show had it’s series finale a few weeks ago. I’ve been missing the PLLs, so I thought I’d give the book series a try. Last week I finished listening to the first four books, which ultimately paralleled the first two seasons of the show. I’d hoped to have a mini-review up by now to point to, but I don’t, so to sum it up – the TV show is better than the books. Much better. Which lead me to this week’s TTT (on Hiatus) topic:

When the Movie (or TV Show) is EVEN BETTER than the book.

Wait. What?

You read that right.

EVEN BETTER than the book. Crazy, right?

I know – for us bookworms, the majority of the time the movie doesn’t even come close to the experience of reading the book. Don’t even get me started (or my son!) on Percy Jackson. But I digress…

Every once in a while, there’s that film (or show) that’s EVEN BETTER. I know, I know.  It doesn’t seem possible. But it’s true. Sometimes it’s just seeing the story brought to life by amazing actors. Sometimes the film makes *gasp* changes to the story to bring it to the big screen, and those changes make all the difference.

And there’s also those (rare) times when you couldn’t stand the book, but loved the movie.

So this week it’s all about celebrating these uncommon occurrences where we like the movie EVEN BETTER than the book.

Like I said, crazy.

Films

• The Princess Bride – One of my favorite all-time films, it just keeps getting better with age. I’ve read the book once, but I bet I’ve seen this movie 100 times. (No joke, just ask my husband.)

• Lord of the Rings – I tried to read LotR when I was about 12. I thought it was just my age. I found out at 25 that no, I actually am just not a Tolkien fan. But I really enjoy Peter Jackson’s vision of the trilogy.
• Stand By Me – Based on Stephen King’s novella The Body, one of the best coming of age stories ever told on screen.

• Salmon Fishing in the Yemen – A great film from start to finish, I preferred the ending the movie had over the book.
• Bedknobs and Broomsticks – The changes for the silver screen adaptation make the film even more magical than the book.
• The Shawshank Redemption – Another from Stephen King, based on his novella Rita Hayward and the Shawshank Redemption. Interestingly enough, this story and The Body are two of the four stories that make up Mr. King’s book Different Seasons.

TV Shows

• BBC Sherlock – Anyone who’s followed my page for a while knows that this version of a modern day Sherlock is one of my favorite shows. But who was that lead actor again?

• House of Cards – Based on the UK trilogy by Michael Hobbs, House of Cards has been adapted from the Parliament to the US Congress. Congressman Francis Underwood is even more ruthless than the book’s Francis Urquhart. And don’t even get me started on his wife Claire. I can’t wait for season six.

• Murder She Baked – I liked the Hannah Swenson books for a while, but then I got tired of waiting for her to choose between Mike and Norman. However, my boys and I have enjoyed watching Allison Sweeney bring Hannah to life.
• Pretty Little Liars – While the first two seasons follow the general outline of the first four books, Aria, Spenser, Hannah, and Emily are just so much more likable in the TV show.

Now I know I’ve probably missed some great adaptations in this list. I should note I haven’t read nor watched Game of Thrones or Dexter. I’ve read Big Little Lies, but haven’t yet seen the mini-series. Thoughts? What else did I miss? Sound off below, and link up to your own TTT (on Hiatus) if you’ve got one!