Can you re-read a book you enjoyed 20 years ago?

[Kiwiscott]

A few months ago I re-read John Christophers Tripods Trilogy, I remembered them fondly from my early teens, when I was target market, and I enjoyed them again. Obviously I've read a lot more sophisticated books in the 25 years since, and could poke a few holes in the plot, and wish for a different pacing, but I did enjoy it for what it was, a reasonably well written tale for young adults, and a nice bit of nostalgia.

[Luke King]

I think it depends on the book. Some books I had to read at School - Lord of the Flies, The Catcher in the Rye, Pride and Prejudice - I enjoyed more when I read them many years later.

Other books that I read, mainly for entertainment, don't seem to stack up.

[Exer]

I've been reading the same ongoing SERIES for 20 years, does that count? Lol. I'm talking about The Wheel of Time of course. I believe I was 10 years old when I found a promotional copy of the 1st book of that series (it wasn't even the whole book, only the first 6 or so chapters) in a military thrift shop in Arizona. I've been reading it ever since.

I have a soft spot in my heart for the series, even though the quality has been up and down over the years. It happened to be one of the very first books I ever read just for enjoyment, and helped spark my love of books in general.

I was shocked and saddened when I first heard "Robert Jordan" had died. After 17 years of reading his stuff, he was almost family.

[alyxie]

Originally Posted by GreenMonkey

Feist & Wurst's Empire trilogy is still one of my top 10. There's something about the tangle of honor and politics and the kind of Japanese/Chinese -ish culture that makes it some good reading.

Another Empire Trilogy fan!



I was kind of disappointed the companion Krondor series fell slightly flat in the later books. Not that it ever matched my expectations after reading the Empire series but, oh well. Raymond E. Feist is still one of the few male authors I really like.

[Latinandgreek]

Originally Posted by GreenMonkey

Feist & Wurst's Empire trilogy is still one of my top 10. There's something about the tangle of honor and politics and the kind of Japanese/Chinese -ish culture that makes it some good reading.

I think I'll try to check that one out.

[Just4kix]

It seems that everyone can enjoy re-reading the classics.

What is the 'newest' classic? I wonder if any of today's books will become classics.

[issybird]

Originally Posted by Kiwiscott

A few months ago I re-read John Christophers Tripods Trilogy, I remembered them fondly from my early teens, when I was target market, and I enjoyed them again. Obviously I've read a lot more sophisticated books in the 25 years since, and could poke a few holes in the plot, and wish for a different pacing, but I did enjoy it for what it was, a reasonably well written tale for young adults, and a nice bit of nostalgia.

The blatant sexism of this series bothers me.

[Polyglot27]

Originally Posted by Just4kix

It seems that everyone can enjoy re-reading the classics.

What is the 'newest' classic? I wonder if any of today's books will become classics.

Italo Calvino, in his delightful essay titled "Why Read the Classics", gives 14 definitions of what a classic is. Among them:
(1) The classics are the books of which we hear people say, "I am rereading..." and never "I am reading..."

In (2), he goes on to say "In fact, reading in youth can be rather unfruitful, due to impatience, distraction, inexperience with the product's "instructions for use," and inexperience in life itself.

This essay is included in the anthology "The Literature Machine" in the British translation, and I think "The Uses of Literature" in the American edition.

[Latinandgreek]

Originally Posted by Polyglot27

Italo Calvino, in his delightful essay titled "Why Read the Classics", gives 14 definitions of what a classic is. Among them:
(1) The classics are the books of which we hear people say, "I am rereading..." and never "I am reading..."

In (2), he goes on to say "In fact, reading in youth can be rather unfruitful, due to impatience, distraction, inexperience with the product's "instructions for use," and inexperience in life itself.

This essay is included in the anthology "The Literature Machine" in the British translation, and I think "The Uses of Literature" in the American edition.

I'll give it a read. I'll try to find an Italian version.

[Rakgi]

Depends on the book/s I've read and reread the Belgariad by David Eddings over 5 times since I was thirteen, same with most of Tamora Pierces books.

Other books I've tried to reread and just can't get beyond the first chapter even if I loved the books when I was a teen, The Darkover books by Marion Zimmer Bradley in particular, I loved some of them but just can't get into them now

[Marcy]

Originally Posted by GreenMonkey

Someone else mentioned Mercedes Lackey - I still like her books a lot, especially the Last Herald Mage trilogy which remains a favorite. Sometimes I get a little eye-rolling from the numbers of lifebonds and lovey dovey fantastic relationships, but I just blame that on the sappy nature of this particular female author I'm reading them again right now.

Who I have trouble reading now is Piers Anthony. I remember my dad calling him a "marshmallow head". I re-read his Phaze trilogy a while ago - they were still entertaining. But the 2nd Phaze trilogy just went downhill fast and I couldn't finish it. I read the first 2 Incarnations books again...still entertaining...I find a lot of his stuff feels a bit like "dirty old man" now, esp. the later Phaze books. I can do the first 1-2 Xanth books, and I still like Crewel Lye - but other than that...can't do it.

I agree on both counts. I still love the Arrows series which I first read as a teenager. It's still great comfort reading. I enjoyed it more than her recent Collegium Chronicles books.

Piers Anthony has *not* aged well for me. Even as a teen I quickly got sick of the Xanth series—there is only so far you can go with a pun before it gets old. Very old.

Several of his series started with a bang but also went downhill. I think his best book ever was On a Pale Horse. I enjoyed the next few books in that series, but the quality slowly went downhill and the last 2 were total let-downs. Same story for the Phaze series, with a great opening book and not so great sequels.

-Marcy

[modwitch]

The stuff I read as a teen is hard to go back too, except the sci fi, that seems to age well for me.

What I'm really enjoying right now is reading books with my daughter that I loved as a kid - we're working through Madeleine L'Engle right now, and I still love those stories. C.S. Lewis - huh, there's a lot in there I don't remember . So some work, some not so much. However, that might be true of books I read last year too!

[GA Russell]

Originally Posted by Luke King

I think it depends on the book. Some books I had to read at School - Lord of the Flies, The Catcher in the Rye, Pride and Prejudice - I enjoyed more when I read them many years later.

Other books that I read, mainly for entertainment, don't seem to stack up.

That makes a lot of sense, in theory.

If you are like me, the books you were assigned in school were widely held in high regard. You probably didn't enjoy them much as a student because you were forced to read them and pass a test about them (not pleasant experiences!).

The lighter books may have hit the spot for you at the time, but you have changed over the years, and the ship has sailed.

[fantasyISbetter]

I agree tastes change a great deal (especially for those of us who are around 60 yrs). When I was a teen, and an avid reader, all I had was the library, so I re-read books a lot. I used to love the 900 page books of John Barth (Giles Goat Boy), the Sherlock Holmes stories, classics. Today it is so easy to find a variety of books in different forms and forums, that I never get a chance to re-read anything. But I keep some books handy in case I get the urge. Most of the popular books I read in my favorite genres (mystery, urban fantasy, SF) are light entertainment, here today, forgotten tomorrow. But I still get a kick out of Elizabeth Peters' Crocodile on the Sandbank, Evelyn Smith's Miss Melville Regrets, Martha Grimes, MC Beaton, Connie Willis, Liz Williams, Kage Baker, Elizabeth Bear (New Amsterdam, carnival), Christopher Moore, Terry Pratchett, Steven Brust, william Dietz, Jasper Fforde, Laurie King; and I still remember characters and passages from more serious books like The Doomsday Book, The Sparrow (Mary Doria Russell), Only Begotten Daughter (James Morrow);
Sorry about all the babbling.

[Kiwiscott]

Originally Posted by issybird

The blatant sexism of this series bothers me.

I dont recall any 'blatent sexism'. Did I miss something? Got an example?

Is it the girls being chosen to serve the Tripods based on physical looks, while the boys being chosen on athletic prowess? thats about the only thing I can think of that could be called sexism.......and its not all through the series, just a small part of the first book.

Again, have I missed something else?