Remember the first time you read Catcher in the Rye and it hit you like a ton of bricks and you cried and cried, and then later went back and found it waaaay less interesting/mind-blowing than it was when you were 16? Or when you recommended On The Road to your friend when you were backpacking in Italy in late college and she was entirely puzzled that the book was such an icon? Or trying to reread Rand while studying English (=appreciation for subtlety. =den of liberals. I devoured her books in h.s.)?
I wonder about the timeliness of books. What I'd like to do is compile a list of time-sensitive classics (not Classics, but, you know, titles with some cultural heft) with the age at which they expire. Do you what I mean? Any ideas? (Nod to the impossibility of absolutes: I know that it's different for different people, or whatever, I'm just looking for input.) (Nod to arguers: I'm sorry if you like/hate these books. I'm not really that interested in discussing their merits. These examples, of course, aren't actually referring to you but are really referring to me.)
You may now proceed. :)
Saturday, April 10, 2010
My question is this:
Posted by Kjerstin Evans Ballard at 7:02 PM
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8 comments:
Yes. I know what you mean. For me, it's C.S. Lewis. When I was young, I loved reading his children's stories and when I was a teenager, I found The screwtape letters most fascinating but I can't seem to even get past the first chapters now-a-days.
I still find them monumental in my life...just, in a timely manner. Like you said. :)
Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance?
Whistler beat me to my answer.
Lord of the Flies doesn't stack up when you're older. If you're already out of middle school, read Garland's The Beach instead.
Darn, The Catcher in the Rye is always my example. I read it at 12 and didn't understand it ("this kid is crazy!") and again at 18 and just kept thinking, gosh, get over yourself and your hormones. I think I might have liked it at 15.
I'll come up with some others, I'm sure.
i've never read catcher in the rye, but this is why i suspect that reading it now might not be the best plan.
Oops. I did something wrong on the last post. Here's my thought: Probably a plebeian addition, but can I just put the whole fantasy genre in the under-16 category? Under-12? Thoughts? Exceptions? (Confession: Don't know where I stand on Lord of the Rings since I've never been able to finish any of the books.)
What about books that require a certain age? This is a thing, too, right? Like Great Gatsby: in high school=meh. At 21=OMG, THIS, THIS, THIS IS IT!!!
Also, To Kill a Mockingbird probably expires, doesn't it?
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