First, I saw the movie. It became an obsession. I watched it 10 to 20 times a day (that may be an exaggeration.) Then I saw this. I LOVED IT! It wasn't as good as the movie, then I saw the first book and thought it was based on the movie, but it was the original book. I LOVED IT even more! So far, I've read 8. But this series is great. Too bad they stopped it from coming on.