As I talk to other people who love books and get more involved in the book community, I notice that there are a lot of books that I’ve read and failed to appreciate. You know the feeling, when you read a book six years ago and you’re pretty sure there’s a reason everyone loved it, but you failed to catch the hype. Maybe you were too young (I often was) or maybe you were just distracted. Regardless, I want to give these books another chance to influence me.
It is entirely possible that some, if not all, of these are simply not for me. That’s fine, but they have stuck out in my head as books that I, personally, didn’t put enough effort into enjoying and deserve another go.
- Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
Jane Eyre is one of those novels that is internet-popular for how important and meaningful its quotes are. And yet, somehow, when I read it in eighth grade, it failed to make an impression on me. I know for a fact that I read it cover to cover, but I also know that I took long pauses in between, saw reading the book as a chore, and generally was in a terrible mood for all of that year. This might have influenced my opinion on the book, and I want to give it another try in different circumstances.
- A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens
This is a book I know I enjoyed at the time, but have zero memory of the plot (besides that famous ending). I read it back in high school for class, so it was a segmented reading process. We’d read fifty pages for class, have a discussion, and then read fifty more. It can be hard to maintain enthusiasm like that, especially for a book written by the man who invented the cliff hanger.
- The Princess Bride by William Goldman
I absolutely love this movie, but read the book in sixth grade and have no memory of what happened. Judging from the movie, there was a lot of subtle humor that I missed or wasn’t able to appreciate at the time. It is an immensely beloved book by so many, and as someone who strongly believes in reading the book first, I’m pretty angry that the movie has stuck with me far more than the book.
Oh, the Struggle 