Reminiscing - Think subsidise to your childhood...?
As I am currently in the middle of a senior thesis which concentrates on a Victorian (children's) tale... doing my research get me wondering....
We all have read a variety of novel throughout our youth... and those tales have impacted our lives in varied ways. In our youth, we interpret tales in particular ways.... but it isn't until our developed years (once we've been jaded) that we begin to unearth the various level of depth in the text....
So. Just out of curiosity:
What novels did you read as a child... single to re-read as an adult... and find that the tales seemed to alter entirely?
Are in that any books you'd like to look back on to re-evaluate?
Answers:
No. There aren't. One of the nice things about reading when I be a kid, was that I could read the book for the pure enjoyment of it. I could let it whip me to another country or another time, or another world. I could laugh at the funny parts, be scared at the scary parts and cry over the hopeless things.
Then I got to high school and I could never newly read a book for the pure enjoyment of it ever again. I had to analyze everything. What was the subject? What was the writer thinking when he wrote the book. Give an example of irony. Who the hell cared? Not me.
So while I'd love to be able to read some of those books again short all the clutter of the things I know interferring with the story, I would in no track
want to go back and read them to re-evaluate them. I know, without rereading it, that The Attack of the Mushroom People be probably a piece or very bad writing. Rereading would only confirm that. I'd to some extent have the memory of a really great story that scared me so much I had to sleep next to the lights on for a good week..
I read Catcher in the Rye once a year from when I was 12 to 15. At that time I thought Holden was cool. I read it again at 18 and realize what a whiner he was! I also read The Westing Game when I was roughly speaking 12 and then again just a couple years ago. It was only as enjoyable 25 years later, but I related more to the full-grown characters the second time. Gee, my understanding of art depends on my perspective? Who'd have thought? :)
In some cases, books that seemed expressive and wonderful when I was an adolescent, turn out to be drivel when I was an full-grown. Take Jane Eyre. At 12, she seemed like a wonderful, brave, independent young woman. At 20, I realize she was a twit who never thought thru her actions, and an idiot for going back to a man who, unsophisticatedly, betrayed her.
Dickens' David Copperfield read in my teens was a good exploit. As an adult, I realized it was a story of wealth and poverty, and took Mr. Micwaber's advice - "Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure nineteen pounds nineteen and six, result happiness. Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure twenty pounds ought and six, result misery" to heart.
Likewise, the Alice books seem like pure fantasy when read as a child. As an adult, I realize they contained a lot of commentary on modern life - you must run very express to stay in the same place, and there are other people who make words mean what they want them to propose, among other things.
I plan, once I retire to reread many of the books I read earlier within my life. I'm sure I will continue to find new insights surrounded by them.
Related Questions:
How frequent issues are contained by the Transmetropolitan comic series?
Someone told me there were 60 issues.. ? There are 60 issues, published by Helix and later Vertigo (both owned by DC comics) from 1997 to 2002. The series also have 4 specials (Edgy Winter, Filth of the City, I Hate It Here, Next Winters).It looks like all of Transmetropolitan is released in...
What is “Built to Last” almost written by Jim Collins and Jerry Porras? A summary please?
Built to LastBy Jim Collins and Jerry PorrasJerry Porras¡¯ and Jim Collins¡¯ Built to Last is a philosophical blueprint based on research into the development of some of the United States¡¯ most successful corporations. Recognizing struggling competitors whose businesses disappear after a period of time, Collins...
We all have read a variety of novel throughout our youth... and those tales have impacted our lives in varied ways. In our youth, we interpret tales in particular ways.... but it isn't until our developed years (once we've been jaded) that we begin to unearth the various level of depth in the text....
So. Just out of curiosity:
What novels did you read as a child... single to re-read as an adult... and find that the tales seemed to alter entirely?
Are in that any books you'd like to look back on to re-evaluate?
Answers:
No. There aren't. One of the nice things about reading when I be a kid, was that I could read the book for the pure enjoyment of it. I could let it whip me to another country or another time, or another world. I could laugh at the funny parts, be scared at the scary parts and cry over the hopeless things.
Then I got to high school and I could never newly read a book for the pure enjoyment of it ever again. I had to analyze everything. What was the subject? What was the writer thinking when he wrote the book. Give an example of irony. Who the hell cared? Not me.
So while I'd love to be able to read some of those books again short all the clutter of the things I know interferring with the story, I would in no track
want to go back and read them to re-evaluate them. I know, without rereading it, that The Attack of the Mushroom People be probably a piece or very bad writing. Rereading would only confirm that. I'd to some extent have the memory of a really great story that scared me so much I had to sleep next to the lights on for a good week..
I read Catcher in the Rye once a year from when I was 12 to 15. At that time I thought Holden was cool. I read it again at 18 and realize what a whiner he was! I also read The Westing Game when I was roughly speaking 12 and then again just a couple years ago. It was only as enjoyable 25 years later, but I related more to the full-grown characters the second time. Gee, my understanding of art depends on my perspective? Who'd have thought? :)
In some cases, books that seemed expressive and wonderful when I was an adolescent, turn out to be drivel when I was an full-grown. Take Jane Eyre. At 12, she seemed like a wonderful, brave, independent young woman. At 20, I realize she was a twit who never thought thru her actions, and an idiot for going back to a man who, unsophisticatedly, betrayed her.
Dickens' David Copperfield read in my teens was a good exploit. As an adult, I realized it was a story of wealth and poverty, and took Mr. Micwaber's advice - "Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure nineteen pounds nineteen and six, result happiness. Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure twenty pounds ought and six, result misery" to heart.
Likewise, the Alice books seem like pure fantasy when read as a child. As an adult, I realize they contained a lot of commentary on modern life - you must run very express to stay in the same place, and there are other people who make words mean what they want them to propose, among other things.
I plan, once I retire to reread many of the books I read earlier within my life. I'm sure I will continue to find new insights surrounded by them.
Related Questions:
How frequent issues are contained by the Transmetropolitan comic series?
Someone told me there were 60 issues.. ? There are 60 issues, published by Helix and later Vertigo (both owned by DC comics) from 1997 to 2002. The series also have 4 specials (Edgy Winter, Filth of the City, I Hate It Here, Next Winters).It looks like all of Transmetropolitan is released in...
What is “Built to Last” almost written by Jim Collins and Jerry Porras? A summary please?
Built to LastBy Jim Collins and Jerry PorrasJerry Porras¡¯ and Jim Collins¡¯ Built to Last is a philosophical blueprint based on research into the development of some of the United States¡¯ most successful corporations. Recognizing struggling competitors whose businesses disappear after a period of time, Collins...