The way I see it, books let you live inside the story and imagine everything yourself, so a movie can never really match that. Maybe some adaptations are fun, but deep down the book is almost always better.

Tony, your makeup point seems fair, but I am not sure how it fits books versus movies. Still, imagine a commuter reading on a train, dreaming up every face and voice. A film just hands those to you, so the book usually feels deeper.