Books or movies?

I love Nora Roberts and have been reading her books for close to 20 years. The first book I read was a Silhouette novel, part of her Irish Hearts series, Irish Rose (1988). I followed with glee and anticipation when she moved into lengthier novels such as Sacred Sins (1987) and Brazen Virtues (1988). And when she began writing futuristic novels as J.D. Robb with Naked in Death (1995), I had another favorite. Quite simply, in my humble opinion, Nora is a gifted storyteller.

Well written books, especially ones with strong characters, may make great movies. I am a big fan of various popular culture flicks such as Harry Potter and the Pelican Brief. Who can argue with the classics Gone with the Wind, The Color Purple, or even to some extent Ordinary People? Some books are made into TV mini-series with success; case in point, Roots, North and South, and The Thornbirds. I do, however, have reservations concerning books being made into TV movies. Condensing a well crafted 300+ page novel into a two hour TV movie, not counting time for commercials, is a daunting task not often done well.

It was with some trepidation I began following Lifetime television's promotions of four Nora Roberts books being made into TV movies. After CBS's disappointing treatment of Sanctuary several years ago, I turned on the television last evening to watch Angels Fall with skepticism. The cast was talented, the cinematography and location beautiful, and the story was cohesive. It was not a bad movie, but I could not stop myself from comparisons with the book. In my estimation, the movie fell short. Three more of Nora's novels, Blue Smoke, Montana Sky, and Carolina Moon, will be shown on Lifetime in the upcoming weeks. Time will tell.

Book alert! Nora has an excerpt from her upcoming J.D. Robb release, Innocent in Death, on her website. It's publication date is February 20th. I've printed it out and will be reading the first chapter at lunch today.

Tags: Nora Roberts, Lifetime movies, Angel Falls, Books & TV movies