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

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.

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

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

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.

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

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

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.

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.

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

Now I think it was really, really brave.

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.

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!

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.

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

Reece

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.

Lucky Penny said:

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.

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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.

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!

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.