Books Read Decades Ago Then Again Now

fmdog44

fmdog44

Well-known Member
Location
Houston, Texas
Watching a bio of Ernest Hemingway last night the host said he read The Old Man And The Sea as a young boy as I did. He went on to say he read it again recently and viewed it very differently as an older man. I thought to myself that is probably a real good idea not only on that book book but others as well.
 

Yes, I can read something at different stages in my life and see completely different things. I first read "Jane Eyre" when I was thirteen and loved it so much, I thought Mr. Rochester was such a wonderful dark, brooding romantic character. Now, I see him as a self-centered man who lied to Jane about his inconvenient wife in the attic. I still love the book.
 
Someone asked me once, "Why would you read a book again?" Well, you listen to a symphony over and over again, don't you? Why would you not read a book again that grips your imagination?

There are books that I've re-read every year, every couple of years, every several years. Knowing the ending doesn't ruin the story for me.

One of these days, I'll probably have Alzheimers and then I can just read the same book over and over again. It'll really cut down on trips to the library.
 

Good idea but some books are just too long and complex for that. Such as Alexander Dumas Sr. Musketeers trilogy. And some books the type is too small for me. I buy books that I read from library but usually don't read it again if I can read a fresh one. Never cared for hemingways style. I don't read my own novel
 
I frequently reread books. I recently finished reading Patrick O'Brien's 20 volume Aubrey-Maturin series for the second time. The first time was 25 years ago when I was doing a lot of air travel. I've read Tolkein's Ring Trilogy maybe half a dozen times over the past 50-60 years. Currently I'm rereading James Fenimore Cooper's Leatherstocking Tales.

We have hundreds of books. Some are "one and done" reads and then get tossed. Others are worth saving to revisit later.
 
Tommy said:
I frequently reread books. I recently finished reading Patrick O'Brien's 20 volume Aubrey-Maturin series for the second time.
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My husband read all 20 a few months ago! The set was given to him by my book club friend, a retired English teacher. He got us through the Covid year with his vast book collection.

I had a pretty good collection of books I expected to re-read, but a few years ago I gave almost all of them to the local thrift store because they were all small print and I must have large print these days.
Victor said:
I don't read my own novel
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I wrote one online on a blog, forgot about it, and can't find the blog anymore. I had always thought Jane Austen was a little bit cruel to Mary in "Pride and Prejudice" so it was a sequel giving Mary a happy ending. Since then a real writer had the same idea and I liked her novel better than mine anyway.
 
I re-read Stephen King, Dean Koontz, Robert McCammon, and other masters of horror that I first read thirty plus years ago. King’s The Stand was fitting for the past four years and the pandemic. Sometimes I re-visit such works now as audiobooks to enjoy the narrator’s performance and save my eyes. It’s like visiting an old friend...
 
I have read To Kill A Mockingbird both as a teen and an adult. Have also read Harper Lee's Go Set A Watchman which was interesting to see Scout as an adult and her view of Atticus, and the town years later. Both great reads.
 
I have books, books, and books.
I have my shelf of classics, classics to me-to others there just books.

I read them again and again, much slower each time, much happy🤗
(Moby Dick would be on this shelf, but i just can't wade through it, it remains 'the American Novel.')

Read other books, am very critical of authors.
Just finished what is known as a 'popular author'-boy oh boy, did he pad the book. He had a hundred pages of
plot and characters that made their entrance and were gone; they served no purpose-he is not getting paid
by the words, why would an established author do that?
 
I rarely re-read books. I tried to get into Wuthering Heights because I loved it in junior high school. I just don't like it any more.

I do have one book each from authors I would like to re-read in my Calbre ebook management program. But for now, I have plenty of current books to read.
 
I've probably not read many of the considered classics. I have read Steinbeck but that was years ago. I remember the one remake movie was partially filmed in Santa Cruz when I lived there.

I noted a copy of Lake Wobegon Days at the Goodwill. I didn't get it (I'd heard of the book) and looked it up on Amazon later. If another copy shows up, I'll get it. Anyone read it? It's from the 80's I think.
 
fmdog44 said:
Watching a bio of Ernest Hemingway last night the host said he read The Old Man And The Sea as a young boy as I did. He went on to say he read it again recently and viewed it very differently as an older man. I thought to myself that is probably a real good idea not only on that book book but others as well.
Click to expand...

Terrific topic.

I have always been an inveterate reader. As a young kid the first non juvenile book I ever read was Mark Twain's Tom Sawyer, Detective. This way back in 1963 or '64. Just recently, I read it again. Wow! What a difference in my understanding of the story. This year I also re-read Melville's Moby Dick.

Started to re-read The Education of Henry Adams but stopped as it is just too boring.

I have re-read Old Man and the Sea, Hamlet, Dick Whittington, Don and the Book Bus (the first full length juvenile novel I ever read. It's still in circulation.), Orwell's 1984, my favorite short story A Cask of Amontillado (Poe), and my all time favorite novel, Santayana's The Last Puritan. I hope to re-read Joyce's Ulysses.





Note to Remy ~ re Lake Wobegon Days ~ I read it. Very funny :)
 

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