All Ears English Podcast · Education
AEE: Can Movies Make You More Excited to Read?
Christopher Nolan's film adaptation of The Odyssey sent sales of Homer's original text soaring by thousands of percent across the United States. In this episode, Lindsay and Aubrey trace the long history of films that drove readers back to bookstores—Harry Potter, The Martian, The Hunger Games, and more—while teaching three ready-to-use conversation starters for talking about books and movies in natural English.
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What this episode answers
How did Nolan's The Odyssey affect sales of the original book?
According to a Guardian article, sales of Homer's The Odyssey jumped by thousands of percent after the Nolan film opened; many viewers who had read it in high school or college appear to be picking it up again.
What are some historical examples of films dramatically boosting book sales?
After the Harry Potter film in 2001, book sales more than tripled; The Martian (2015), based on Andy Weir's self-published novel, saw a large sales surge; Fifty Shades of Grey (2015) recorded a 738% spike in the single week before its release; and both The Hunger Games (2012) and Forrest Gump (1994) are cited as classic examples of films lifting book sales.
What criticism did the hosts have of Nolan's The Odyssey?
The hosts' biggest criticism was the cast's accents—Tom Holland and Robert Pattinson, both British actors, spoke in American English accents in a story set in ancient Greece, a setting where British-inflected accents are the conventional choice, making the decision feel jarring.
Is it better to watch the film first or read the book first?
Reading the book first is generally considered better, because watching the film first fixes those images in your mind and limits the creative freedom you have when imagining the story yourself—though Lindsay admits she saw the film before reading both The Martian and Project Hail Mary.
What questions can you use to start a conversation about books and movies in English?
Three questions are introduced: 'Has a film ever made you want to read the book?', 'Have you ever seen a film based on a book where they changed the story in a way you didn't like?', and 'What is a book you've read that you'd like to see made into a movie?'—and the hosts stress that you should always prepare your own answer in advance.
Nolan's The Odyssey and the Spike in Book Sales
Lindsay caught The Odyssey on a Friday afternoon—on a regular screen rather than IMAX—and came away convinced it demands to be seen on a big screen. Aubrey had been following coverage of the film and flagged a Guardian article whose headline read something like "Nolan's film could make The Odyssey the most sought-after book in America." The article included hard data: after the film opened, sales of Homer's original text increased by thousands of percent.
Both hosts admitted they had read The Odyssey in high school and that the details had grown hazy over the years. Their theory for the sales surge: viewers left the theater thinking, "Wait—was that scene in the original? I need to read it again."
Films That Have Boosted Book Sales
Drawing on the Guardian piece, Aubrey walked through several landmark cases of a film sending readers back to the source material.
**Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (2001):** Book sales more than tripled after the film opened—a remarkable figure given that most readers had almost certainly already finished the series by the time of the adaptation.
**The Martian (2015):** Andy Weir originally self-published the novel on Amazon, and the Matt Damon-led film drove a major sales lift. Weir's follow-up, Project Hail Mary—also being adapted, with Ryan Gosling starring—came up in conversation too, though Lindsay struggled for a moment to recall the title. Both hosts gave strong recommendations for both the books and the films.
**Fifty Shades of Grey (2015):** Book sales jumped 738% in the single week before the film's release. Aubrey also mentioned Gone Girl alongside it, noting that the two titles together reshaped how a certain genre of fiction was written in the early 2010s—though she stopped short of spoilers.
**The Hunger Games (2012) and Forrest Gump (1994):** Both were cited as textbook examples of film-driven book sales. The hosts laughed admitting that neither of them had actually read the Forrest Gump novel.
A Criticism of the Nolan Film: Why American Accents?
While acknowledging that opinions on the film are divided, Aubrey's sharpest personal criticism was the accent choices. The story is set in ancient Greece, yet characters speak in American English accents—something she found genuinely jarring. The moment that caught her most off-guard was Tom Holland calling out "Dad."
As Lindsay noted, productions like Game of Thrones typically use British-inflected accents precisely to strip away any sense of modern regional identity. Nolan's film flips that convention: Holland and Robert Pattinson—both British—perform in American accents, while American actors Matt Damon and Anne Hathaway are in the same cast. Aubrey said, half-jokingly, that she'd love for Nolan himself to come on the podcast and explain the reasoning.
Three Questions for Talking About Books and Movies in English
The practical section of the episode introduced three conversation-opener questions that work naturally with native English speakers.
1. **"Has a film ever made you want to read the book?"** Almost everyone has a story, which makes this an easy question to open with and keep going. 2. **"Have you ever seen a film based on a book where they changed the story in a way you didn't like?"** People tend to have strong feelings about book-to-film changes, so this reliably generates an animated discussion. 3. **"What is a book you've read that you'd like to see made into a movie?"** Everyone has their own unfilmed favorite, which makes this question personal and revealing.
The hosts emphasized one key rule: always have your own answer ready before you ask. If the other person draws a blank and turns it back on you with "I can't think of one—what about you?", you need to be able to carry the conversation forward.
Takeaways
- Nolan's The Odyssey sent sales of Homer's original text up by thousands of percent, demonstrating how powerfully a major film can send audiences back to the source book.
- Historical precedents—Harry Potter tripling in sales, Fifty Shades surging 738% in a single pre-release week, The Martian and The Hunger Games—show that the book-and-film relationship is consistently mutually reinforcing.
- Three conversation starters—about films inspiring you to read, unwanted story changes, and books you'd like to see adapted—can get you into natural English discussions about books and movies at any social event.
This article is edited from a machine transcript of the first 30 minutes of the episode. It is not an official summary — please listen to the episode itself.