I've watched the movie a few times before, but never read the book until this month. 

Hannibal Lecter isn't the main focus, but I was curious to know how the author's portrayal of the character compares to that of the versions of him played by Anthony Hopkins, Mads Mikkelsen, and Brian Cox. He's very unique in appearance, which works all right for the book, but I find that I'm glad there were never attempts to replicate it on film as I'm not sure it ever would've looked quite right. The edition I've read includes an author's note that mentions the real life inspiration for him, which I knew only vaguely.

It was interesting to learn more about Jame Gumb, as info about his background didn't factor much into the movie at all if I remember correctly.

The reveal of his murder of his grandparents at age 12 - along with the consequent psychiatric institutionalization -immediately reminded me of Ed Kemper, who killed both his grandparents at 15. He "just wanted to see what it felt like."

I wonder if that was part of the inspiration for Jame Gumb's character.

As far as the book itself goes, it definitely lives up to the hype. I had a fun time finding snippets that were used in NBC's Hannibal, it felt like happening upon a little trail of metaphorical candy, and I was rooting for Clarice Starling from the moment I first met her on the page - even though I already knew her character from the movie.