Some of our all-time favorite classic novels will be coming to a theatre near you this fall. Hollywood has been  inspired by books like Great Expectations and Les Miserables, just a few of this fall’s highly anticipated film releases that have everything it takes to be Hollywood blockbusters. You’ve got your beautiful people, mixed in with a little unrequited love, lots of lies, passion and tragedy…oh so much tragedy. But we say—proceed to the theatre with caution.

When books (especially classics) are brought to life by movie magic, it’s not always pleasant. It’s been our experience—and we’re guessing most bibliophiles would agree—that books are (almost) always better than the movie and there’s a very real possibility that the movie won’t live up to the book you’ve read and fallen in love with.

Some book adaptations impress, while others crash and burn. So when movies are able to capture the essence of the original work and convey it well on the big screen, it’s a beautiful thing. The Kite Runner and Mystic River as well as the Lord of the Rings trilogy are all examples of books-turned-movies have managed to stay true to their roots and impress fans.

The bottom line is that it’s a bit of a lottery but even with a great screen version, we’ve never heard “The movie was sooo much better than the book”. So before you rush off to catch the premiere of Anna Karenina, take our advice and listen to the book first. And hey, if you’ve read or listened to it before, listen again—it’s a classic after all.