Chrissy Posted March 24, 2009 Share Posted March 24, 2009 Ther's a word in ancient greek which is khair Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jack Dawkins Posted March 24, 2009 Share Posted March 24, 2009 I have copies of Life of Pi and Birdsong which I really dont fancy but have resisted the temptaion to give them away,because I'm waiting for the right time Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chesilbeach Posted March 24, 2009 Share Posted March 24, 2009 Michelle, oddly enough, I had a similar problem with A Thousand Splendid Suns. I'd read The Kite Runner and thought it was excellent, and bought A Thousand Splendid Suns once it came out in paperback. I picked it up and read the first chapter, but put it down, and didn't pick it up again for about six months. When I finally got around to picking it up again, I read the first chapter again and this time couldn't put it down, and finished the entire book in a few hours. There are definitely some books which need the right frame of mind to read, and I'm always prepared to try a book a second go if it doesn't feel right the first time around! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bethany725 Posted March 25, 2009 Share Posted March 25, 2009 I'm having the same issue with "Memoirs of a Geisha".. I see it everytime I go book shopping, and it was even on my TBR list. But I kept passing over it, just not feeling like I was really "in the mood" for that kind of story. Maybe I'll do like the rest of you, and suddenly one day realize it's the right time. I hope you're enjoying The Kite Runner, Kell! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kylie Posted March 25, 2009 Share Posted March 25, 2009 I think timing is definitely something to consider. Sometimes I'll enjoy a book but think that I would have enjoyed it much more if I'd read it a different time. It's as though I wasn't in the right frame of mind to fully understand and appreciate what I was reading at the time. I think I've even written as much in book reviews before. Vladimir Nabokov's Lolita and John Kennedy Toole's A Confederacy of Dunces immediately spring to mind. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ceinwenn Posted March 25, 2009 Share Posted March 25, 2009 I definately agree with the idea that timing is an issue. I suspect that my not enjoying The Book Thief is a timing issue, maybe I should just put it away until it really feels important to read it. Beth - Memoires of a Geisha was brilliant! Have you seen the movie? The reason I ask is that compared to the book the movie was horrible, so if you have seen it, please don't judge the book by it! I do hope you get to the point where you get the urge to read it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Freewheeling Andy Posted March 25, 2009 Share Posted March 25, 2009 I'm not sure I've ever felt quite the same. Except where things are culturally specific and related to somewhere I've recently been or been interested in; or if current affairs relate to the subject matter. But there are books which definitely seem better suited to reading at different ages. I keep going back to On The Road which is a fantastic book for an excitable late-teen with slightly hippy dreams of getting out and seeing the world. Once you're even a little older and more cynical it seemed to me, on returning to it, self-indulgent drivel. Interestingly, I think some Richard Bach actually feels the same. I loved Jonathon Livingston Seagull in my late-teen hippy stage, but now it just seems juvenile and naive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chrissy Posted March 25, 2009 Share Posted March 25, 2009 Once upon a time I bought a second hand copy of Richard Bach's "Illusions: the Adventures of a Reluctant Messiah" because I though the title was pure genius, but for some reason it never seemed the right thing to read so it sat there gathering dust for about five or six years - until I picked it up last year, finished it ultraquick and thought, "wow that was beautiful and inspiring and just what I needed, why didn't I read this before?" Interestingly, I think some Richard Bach actually feels the same. I loved Jonathon Livingston Seagull in my late-teen hippy stage, but now it just seems juvenile and naive. I was really into Richard Bach, his JLS and Illusions, and another that I forget the name of. when I read them at 15 I was completely captivated, and I wouldn't dare go near them now for fear of my being too old for them. Another book that I think sits better with the young is John Fowles' The Magus. I tried to re read this, but it seemed trite and over stated where once it had been profound and compelling. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bethany725 Posted March 25, 2009 Share Posted March 25, 2009 I definately agree with the idea that timing is an issue. I suspect that my not enjoying The Book Thief is a timing issue, maybe I should just put it away until it really feels important to read it. Beth - Memoires of a Geisha was brilliant! Have you seen the movie? The reason I ask is that compared to the book the movie was horrible, so if you have seen it, please don't judge the book by it! I do hope you get to the point where you get the urge to read it! Bless your heart w/TBT Ceinwenn.. You're trying so hard! I feel so bad for you -- was hoping you'd love it to bitsies! I haven't seen the movie MoaG either.. I have no idea what's keeping me from the book. I hope I get the urge to read it soon, also, though! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BookJumper Posted March 25, 2009 Share Posted March 25, 2009 I was really into Richard Bach, his JLS and Illusions, and another that I forget the name of. when I read them at 15 I was completely captivated, and I wouldn't dare go near them now for fear of my being too old for them. I bought "Illusions" at about the age you read it, only read it late last year (at 23) and thought it was incredible...! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ernie Posted March 26, 2009 Share Posted March 26, 2009 I think I am reading the book I'm currently reading because the timing is right,(it's over 10 years since I first decided I HAD to read it), and because I've read certain other books by different authors that kind of prepared me for this one. Yes timing is a big factor. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anika Posted November 10, 2009 Share Posted November 10, 2009 Yes, there's definitely something to this. I tried to read "Crime & Punishment" about 6 times, but it never appealed to me and after a few pages I'd put it back on the shelf. I would have given it away but it was a really nice hardback edition, so it sat there for a couple years. One day I picked it up again, half-heartedly and expecting not to like it remembering my former disdain, but it just hooked me in right away! I think I read it in about 2 days and thoroughly enjoyed it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scarlette Posted November 10, 2009 Share Posted November 10, 2009 I've experienced this with many books. Unfortunately for me, I'm so impatient that I sometimes read books at the wrong time, don't enjoy them and then never give them a second chance. And this usually happens with books I have been looking forward to reading for ages. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nollaig Posted November 10, 2009 Share Posted November 10, 2009 This happened to me the other day with Girl With A Pearl Earring. I've had it on my shelf for months, without any interest in reading it, and then suddenly I just wanted to read it, and I did, overnight. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anika Posted November 10, 2009 Share Posted November 10, 2009 I bought "Toilers of the Sea" by Victor Hugo last year because I thought I'd enjoy it, being about the Channel Islands, but then I just couldn't get interested. I know someday I'll pick it up and LOVE it and wonder what the problem was.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
funrun Posted November 10, 2009 Share Posted November 10, 2009 I think you need to be in mood to read certain books and when the right time cames you are drawn to read it .I get that way there are books that i have looked at and do not think i will read to years down the track I have gone and read Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ossiy Posted November 12, 2009 Share Posted November 12, 2009 "Devil and senorita Prim" - P Koel'o this book helped me to choose the side of Good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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