The Book Thief: Book or Movie?

So a couple of days ago, I watched the movie of The Book Thief and it was enjoyable. The filming was great, the cast was great... etc. And I thought I must do a comparison because why not? It is very well known that books are always a million times better and I do agree but still I thought someone could benefit from this? 
Comparing it to the book though of course the book wins, by far. If you haven't read the book but are considering the movie, you'd still enjoy it.
The choice of actors and actresses is brilliant, I should say. The acting and the directing was brilliant. It was definitely a good watch. What I didn't like of the movie was the way they portrayed Rosa Huberman (Mama). She's way more mean and strict in the movie, I think maybe because they didn't introduce the characters of Hans Junior or Trudy (her children who are quite hateful and strictly with the Nazi party) they made it up in her character. I don't think this is fair. In the book, she had no problem with Max, she never complained there was a Jew in her basement, she never complained that he was another mouth to feed when they couldn't feed themselves. Another point about her too in the movie was that when she got Liesel, she complained about her mother not taking care of her brother who died!  
Furthermore, in the movie there were scenes and events that were eliminated, and some characters too, which is a typical thing to do anyway but there were some symbolic scenes that were quite important to the plot and climax. 
All in all, still a beautiful, touching story and a great film nonetheless. Let me know your thoughts if you have seen the movie in the comments!

The Book Thief Reviewed

I finished reading The Book Thief last week and I must say, what a read! One of the most beautifully written and structured novels I have read, and that is definitely saying something. 
The Book Thief, written by Markus Zusak, centres around a young girl, Liesel Meminger, living during Nazi Germany who was fostered. What is really remarkable about this book is that it is narrated by Death. Zusak, in his immaculate writing, made Death more humane and affectionate than the Nazis and the fuhrer himself, that is, if he ever was affectionate.
The book begins with Death associating his picking up of souls with colours; mostly that of the sky. Throughout the book, you'll notice Death connecting colours with a lot of things.
When you're reading, Death will tell you who eventually dies or who's a bout to die in a certain chapter, so you can't really say there are spoilers. But this kind of makes the narrative that much more intense and gripping, in my opinion.
Death learns about Liesel when he picks up her brother's soul and is immediately interested in her. Moreover, her brother died on the way to their new home in his mother's arms on the train from a cold. They were to be fostered together. The boy, Werner, was burried by the tracks and that is when Liesel steals her first book, a guide book on how to bury the dead, which was dropped by a boy who was there to help bury her brother. They catch the next train to Molching where Liesel is to live with her new parents on Himmel street. At first, she was stubborn, she refused to go in their home, the Hubermans. We come to learn that Hans Huberman, Papa, is a loving, humble, kind and light delightful soul whom Liesel loved the most. Rosa Huberman, Mama, treated her with more of a tough love way but had a kind, big heart. Additionally and most importantly, the Hubermans proved all this when they took in and hid a Jew, Max. Well actually, it was with Liesel first because her father was killed for being a communist and her mother's whereabouts remain unknown. Perhaps she was put in a concentration camp. 
Moving along, Liesel struggles with coping with the trauma of her past and always wakes up at night, and Hans comes to comfort her, this is when he finds the book she stole and learns she can't read or write. And so commence the midnight lessons which later on transfer to the basement. Liesel makes friends with the next door neighbours' son, Rudy Steiner, who is such a sweet, typical young boy. He helps her later on with her book thieving. An exceptional trait of Rudy's was his refusing of Hitler's ideals and he was definitely not afraid to show it.

Furthermore, Max and Liesel find in each other so many things in common and grow very close. Max writes her two books; the second one was handed to her by Rosa after Max had to leave and I must say it is just gorgeous. Zusak's aim with the second book Max wrote, The Word Shaker, was to show how easily manipulative and brainwashing words can be, how gullible and willing people are and yet how some words can be sweet and kind. 
Not to drag this too far, The Book Thief is such a brilliant read and a beautiful addition to my shelf. It definitely is a book I'd read a thousand times and never get bored with.