'Outrageous fun. Louise Willder's hilarious, unashamedly partial and gloriously smart book is a perfect companion to the good, bad and Cats of book-to-film adaptations. Expect to come away with a watchlist a dozen films deep, a must-read pile the height of a toddler, and a renewed love and appreciation for the magic of cinema.' —Kaliane Bradley, author of The Ministry of Time

'A hugely entertaining romp through triumphs and tragedies that have emerged over many years from the art of film adaptation. That it’s great fun shouldn’t blind you from the fact that it’s very smart and deeply insightful about one of the most difficult writing tasks of all.' —John Yorke, screenwriter and author of Into the Woods

'She's done it again! It’s so cleverly judged in tone – funny and insightful and packed with "I didn’t know that" nuggets! Bravo! When’s the movie coming?' —Rob Williams, screenwriter, Killing Eve and The Man From the High Castle

'The Book Was Better is one of those books you don’t want to put down. I raced through it. It’s written in a breezy, chatty tone which is immediately engaging, and its author seems to have read and seen everything about film, and pretty well about literature too... Some people have read a lot of books; others are well read. Louise Willder belongs decidedly to that second group.' —Richard Cohen, author of How to Write Like Tolstoy

'A merry hopscotching through movie history – cheeky, observant and very smart... so entertaining.' —David Thomson, film critic and author of The New Biographical Dictionary of Film