Books you didn't appreciate as a child, but do now.

[Inspired]

Are there some books you read as a kid and just didn't get? But, now, having reread them, you see their wisdom?


I know I didn't like the Chronicles of Narnia at first (third grade, maybe) but when I reread them in middle school I enjoyed them more. I read them again as a young adult and really saw the full picture.

[Betty W01]

The Bible. Every time I read it, I find new depths in it.


And Calvin & Hobbes. More and more, he reminds me of DS#2. :ROFL:

(And by the way, I'm now well-respected. Whoo hoo!! Thanks to all of you who took pity on me... <grin>)

:PartySmil

[sthrnwriter]

I always had problems with the Bible too. I never could understand what it was talking about until I got older.

[maestrowork]

On the contrary, I loved the Bible when I was a kid.


I've always loved Calvin and Hobbes. Reminds me of myself when I was his age.


The only book I could think of is "Tom Sawyer" -- I just thought it was dumb. But now I can appreciate the simple beauty of good storytelling.

[Stephanie]

Beatrix Potter took me quite some time to appreciate--I think I needed a simplified version...

And I must say that Alice in Wonderland never really did much for me when I was young.

--Steph

[paprikapink]

My 10-yr-old daughter is reading Harriet the Spy aloud to me for our bed-time story. It's fun for both of us. She's loving it. I loved it as a kid too. But reading it again now, I'm realizing how much I missed of the subplots, or the deeper layers, of the story the first time around. Woosh -- right over my head. Now, instead of seeing Harriet as this fabulous kid I wish I could be, I worry about her and want to give her a hug.

And I really wish I could write a book like that.
-pkpk

[stormie]

I remember starting Anne of Green Gables several times as a kid, getting to the second page, then putting the book away. And I wanted to read it because the girl's name was Anne with an "e," just like my name. Finally, this past year, I picked up a copy and started reading. I was hooked.

[Count_LeCo]

I was precocious and driven as a child so I tried to read Moby Dick and didn't get it. I got it much later in high school when I read Billy Budd instead.

I also tried to read Oliver Twist as a kid but didn't like Dickens until in 9th grade I read Great Expectations and was hooked on Dickens. I never went back and read Twist though.

Oh, and I had trouble with the Bible too when I was young. I spent too much time trying to "crack" Revelation and not enough time praying about it.

I did read through 1 and 2 Samuel and 1 and 2 Kings when I tried to read Poe and found most of the Bible references lost on me.

[JennaGlatzer]

I remember thinking Forever by Judy Blume was really, really gross.

Now I think it was really, really brave.

[Galoot]

About the only thing that springs to mind is 1984. Something about being forced to read a book takes away the pleasure of it for me. I picked it up again a year out of school and reread it. It took on a whole new meaning.

But it always seems to go the other way for me. What I thought was genius when I was young often looks like tripe years later.

[Dawno]

Due to an advanced case of sibling rivalry, if my sister liked a book I refused to read it. Thus I was a parent before I read the Chronicles of Narnia series (aloud to my children). Other than that I don't think there was a book I didn't like!

[Phantom8706]

Animal Farm. I read it when I was eleven and found it absolutely ridiculous. I read it for AP Gov't. last month and it took on monumental new levels for me.

[Reece10]

Grapes of Wrath it was the pits! No pun intended.

Reece

[Lucky Penny]

It's funny that this caught my attention. I'm currently reading the Chronicles of Narnia to dd (6 yrs old.) I'd never read them before now. She's loving them, but I can't imagine that I would have at her age.

The only book I remember hating to read was Lord of the Flies. I've never reread it though, so I don't know if I'd have a different opinion of it now. Hmmmmm....maybe that should be the next book I read. ;)

[PattiTheWicked]

The only book I remember hating to read was Lord of the Flies. I've never reread it though, so I don't know if I'd have a different opinion of it now. Hmmmmm....maybe that should be the next book I read. ;)

I remember absolutely LOVING Lord of the Flies the first time i read it, which was when I was about eleven. I was kind of a weird kid, though. Everyone else in my class was reading Are You There God, It's Me, Margaret at the time. To this day I still have dreams about being trapped on an island and becoming dictator of my own society.

[sassandgroove]

I tried several books my parents had laying when i was in jr high, that I inevitable put down in favor of Rock Magazines and Teen Romance. (shh, don't tell anyone.) I got half way throught the Hobbit, but I struggled with it when I was 12. I finally read it at 25 then read the Lord Of the Rings which I loved. Around the same time I picked up Mists of Avalon, but couldn't really absorb it, I couldn't wrap my head around the grandeur of it. I finally read it when I was 17. At that time, i was more open to it, and wanted to live on Avalon with the priestesses. It is still one of my favorites. I think I'll read it again!

[rowriter]

I bought Mists of Avalon as a kid simply for the size of it (silly, I know). But I never did finish reading it, I should find it...

I don't remember reading The Great Gatsby when I was a freshman in high school, but I did. I enjoyed it a lot more the second time around when I was a few years older.