I'm just kidding with that title, but it's pretty clear that the majority of people who have encountered the Godfather in the past forty years have encountered it as a film first. I finally sat down to read the novel and compare it to the two fine films.

Coppola, Francis Ford. The Godfather. Paramount Pictures: USA, 1972.

Coppola, Francis Ford, The Godfather Part II. Paramount Pictures: USA, 1974.

Puzo, Mario. The Godfather. Signet: New York, 1999. 

"The Godfather Waltz" composed by Nino Rota