Returning to important books of your youth

[PaulB]

To me, 1984 and Catch 22 are still as enjoyable and mind-blowing as when I was 16 and 19 (respectively) and I always feel a bit jealous of those yet to read either as I can't have a first experience with either novel. 'The ragged trousered philanthropist' though does seem a bit less spectacular.

 

[Night Train]

My Encyclopidia of Science is still fascinating to browse through despite having had it since I was 6 or 7 years old.

I still have a collection of all the original and proper Thomas the tank engine books and occasionally read them with the same childlike enjoyment of the stories.

 

[Dayvo]

Siddhartha and Jonathon Livingstone Seagull move and inspire me every time I read them. I've both of them about 30 times and will never tire of them.

I still like the Rupert and Tintin books, but don't get to read them much nowadays.

 

[Yellow Fang]

To me, 1984 and Catch 22 are still as enjoyable and mind-blowing as when I was 16 and 19 (respectively) and I always feel a bit jealous of those yet to read either as I can't have a first experience with either novel. 'The ragged trousered philanthropist' though does seem a bit less spectacular.

I tried reading 1984 and Catch 22 when I was a teenager. I got about 3/4 way through 1984 before realising nothing was going to happen. I preferred the film because Suzanna Hamilton was naked for much of it. I don't think I got past the first few chapters on Catch 22. I didn't really get it or want to be arsed with it. I was more interested in real air force war stories. I read about half of The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists when I was somewhat older. The first part of the book is really good. You can tell some of the scenes were lifted directly from life. It does go on though. The original editor was right to cut it short IMO.

My favourite books as a boy were The Hobbit and Watership Down. Watership Down now seems very dated, as if the rabbits were played by John Mills and Richard Todd. I still think The Hobbit is Tolkein's best book, but I do find it slightly childish now.

 

[PaulB]

I tried reading 1984 and Catch 22 when I was a teenager. I got about 3/4 way through 1984 before realising nothing was going to happen. I preferred the film because Suzanna Hamilton was naked for much of it. I don't think I got past the first few chapters on Catch 22. I didn't really get it or want to be arsed with it. I was more interested in real air force war stories. I read about half of The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists when I was somewhat older. The first part of the book is really good. You can tell some of the scenes were lifted directly from life. It does go on though. The original editor was right to cut it short IMO.

My favourite books as a boy were The Hobbit and Watership Down. Watership Down now seems very dated, as if the rabbits were played by John Mills and Richard Todd. I still think The Hobbit is Tolkein's best book, but I do find it slightly childish now.

Well we are opposites. I absolutely despised the Hobbit or any other twaddly nonsense like that but saved my deepest loathing for 'the lord of the rings' and found giving anyone's 'other-world' cod-science-fiction-made-up garbage to be beneath contempt and not worth giving a single minute to.

And I'd strongly recommend you have another go at Catch 22. You can read it from any chapter in any order as it's not really linear.

 

[XmisterIS]

Playboy, Razzle and One Boob Bigger Than The Other.

 

[ColinJ]

1984 was the novel I studied for my English Literature O-level and I enjoyed it. After, that I read The Road to Wigan Pier, Burmese Days, A Clergyman's Daughter, Keep the Aspidistra Flying, Coming Up for Air, Animal Farm, Down and Out in Paris and London, and Homage to Catalonia in quick succession.

I had a Huxley thing, a D.H.Lawrence thing, a John Wyndham thing ... I'd read a book by an author and if I really liked it, I'd read everything else (s)he had written.

I'm just getting back into reading novels again. I read a lot of technical material, and spend many hours checking out websites but I have neglected novels over the past 30 years or so. Serious reading is something I'd like to get back into.

 

[coffeejo]

I spent my teen years reading a strange mish-mash of Stephen King, Tolkein, Malcolm Saville, POW escape stories from the Second World War and whatever looked vaguely readable from my parents' bookshelves and the library, in addition to the books I loved as a child (and still do), such as Watership Down, Rosemary Sutcliff, James Herriot, etc.

I've never got on with "profound" / must-read / "will change your life" books. A story is a story and is entirely subjective. To me, it's a literary masterpiece if I am absorbed into the tale, if I do more than lose all sense of time but also who I am and where I am. If the author can weave a spell that traps me in the pages, then it gets my vote.

 

[Yellow Fang]

1984 was the novel I studied for my English Literature O-level and I enjoyed it. After, that I read The Road to Wigan Pier, Burmese Days, A Clergyman's Daughter, Keep the Aspidistra Flying, Coming Up for Air, Animal Farm, Down and Out in Paris and London, and Homage to Catalonia in quick succession.

I had a Huxley thing, a D.H.Lawrence thing, a John Wyndham thing ... I'd read a book by an author and if I really liked it, I'd read everything else (s)he had written.

I'm just getting back into reading novels again. I read a lot of technical material, and spend many hours checking out websites but I have neglected novels over the past 30 years or so. Serious reading is something I'd like to get back into.

We read Animal Farm for our O level. It was ok, although dissecting a book in English class is not the best way to enjoy a book. I later read The Road to Wigan Pier, Burmese Days, Coming up for Air, Down and Out in Paris and London, and A Homage to Catalonia. I preferred his non-fiction to his fiction, although Burmese Days was pretty good. I saw The Clergyman's Daughter as a play in Portsmouth once, which I thought was excellent.

I picked up two 2nd hand John Wyndham books for 50p each last week, which I am looking forward to reading once I've finished my current book.

 

[Vapin' Joe]

Playboy, Razzle and One Boob Bigger Than The Other.

Phew, I felt left out before I read that as I though I was the only one who couldn't understand all that intellectual shoot the others are on about.

Mayfair was my favourite though.

 

[asterix]

Have always liked Graham Greene, meself. I was introduced to GG at school when we read The Comedians.

I think my current favourite is the Power and the Glory although it might be a bit deep for Smokin Joe , to whom I would recommend Travels With My Aunt or Our Man in Havana.

We also read Conrad which I liked, especially 'Youth' an excellent description of the optimism some are lucky enough never to lose!

 

[MacB]

Well we are opposites. I absolutely despised the Hobbit or any other twaddly nonsense like that but saved my deepest loathing for 'the lord of the rings' and found giving anyone's 'other-world' cod-science-fiction-made-up garbage to be beneath contempt and not worth giving a single minute to.

And I'd strongly recommend you have another go at Catch 22. You can read it from any chapter in any order as it's not really linear.

say what you think Paul....I'm sure there are books out there I'd despise, but I seem to manage to avoid them in general....the only one that springs to mind was Man and Boy by Tony Parsons...how that book got published, and then decent reviews, is beyond me and makes me think there are some 'stinky' dealings in publishing.

 

[rich p]

Well we are opposites. I absolutely despised the Hobbit or any other twaddly nonsense like that but saved my deepest loathing for 'the lord of the rings' and found giving anyone's 'other-world' cod-science-fiction-made-up garbage to be beneath contempt and not worth giving a single minute to.

And I'd strongly recommend you have another go at Catch 22. You can read it from any chapter in any order as it's not really linear.

Paul, it's true to say that you talk a lot of garbage a lot of the time but you've said it all for me there. Respect

 

[Flying_Monkey]

Paul, it's true to say that you talk a lot of garbage a lot of the time but you've said it all for me there. Respect

Whereas I thought it was just as silly as the comment about Nineteen Eighty-Four not being worth reading because 'nothing happens'... there's a big difference between personal preferences, making blanket judgments and just not getting it.

From when I was quite young, Ursula Le Guin's Earthsea Trilogy is still as lovely, emotionally rich and mysterious (for 'made up garbage' of course... )

 

[Yellow Fang]

We also read Conrad which I liked, especially 'Youth' an excellent description of the optimism some are lucky enough never to lose!

I've read several books by Conrad: The Secret Agent, Heart of Darkness, Lord Jim. The Secret Agent was quite interesting. Terrorism has been around for a while. The Heart of Darkness was one of three short stories, IIRC, and I preferred the one about the blind captain. I did think while reading HoD that it was a bit like Apocalypse Now. I gave up reading Conrad when I realised all his books were miserable, with all the heroes dying pitiful, futile deaths. There seems to be a bit of a corellation between miserableness and great literature. Conrad was miserable, Hardy was miserable, Orwell was miserable, Steinbeck was miserable. I got the impression these books were written to be studied in literature classes rather than to be read for enjoyment.

say what you think Paul....I'm sure there are books out there I'd despise, but I seem to manage to avoid them in general....the only one that springs to mind was Man and Boy by Tony Parsons...how that book got published, and then decent reviews, is beyond me and makes me think there are some 'stinky' dealings in publishing.

Tony Parsons was also very rude about cyclists, so I'm glad if his book is rubbish.

Whereas I thought it was just as silly as the comment about Nineteen Eighty-Four not being worth reading because 'nothing happens'... there's a big difference between personal preferences, making blanket judgments and just not getting it.

In my defence, I was about 15 or 16 when I read 1984. I was more used to adventure books.