Reading a Book at the Perfect Time?
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- Опубликовано: 25 авг 2024
- Is there such thing as reading a book at the ideal time? Do our current lives affect how we feel about the things we're reading? Can we miss that window?
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Gatsby is to me what Animal Farm is to you.
It will always be my favorite book. I've read it so many times. But each time it hits me a different way BECAUSE of whatever is going on in my life. It's interesting to think about the fact this probably applies to every single book we like and don't like. Crazy.
Completely agree, my favourite book of all time!!
Same! That could definitely just be a Gatsby thing though. It has so MUCH in it to relate to that it's easy to pick out different things every time. But definitely a reason it's one of my faves!
Molly Moriarty It just really sucked me back into reading and for that I will always be grateful.
I absolutely hated Gatsby when I first read it words cannot describe how much. But after reading it for school and having to analyze each of the characters and plot I really loved it! Not sure I would read it again, but you never know.
Premium Corpse I read it once a year at least. Lol.
I am terrified of re-reading favourite books! I don't want them to lose their magic for me. There are books on my shelves that significantly changed my world view and my reading experience. I am much more comfortable remembering them as great. That said, I find that I can't recommend old books anymore because I'm not sure if I liked them at the time or if they hold their own no matter the person or transcend the original situation in which I read them. The dilemma! The only "safe" choice for me seems to be Harry Potter which I started re-reading FOR THE FIRST TIME EVER.
I completely agree with you. I first started reading in 2013 and that I year, almost everything I read that year I rate it 5 stars. But then when I look back at it, I find the I was really fascinated by the reading world that I loved everything without really thinking it through.
I dont even read books why have I been subscribed for a year
Cause you're tired of being dumb and are hoping that complex thought and empathy will just rub off on you?
Read a damn book.
probably because ariel is amazing he her thought proccesses are v v thorough
+amyamyamy17 stop being so patronising lmao like
+amyamyamy17 just because someone doesn't read doesn't mean they're dumb lmao shut up
Same I'm not even a book person but I love her videos
Yet again, a very thought-provoking video.
I completely agree with you, that's why I don't like it when people shame teenagers for loving books that aren't categorized as "literature" (for example). We are never the same person we were at 16, or will be at 30 and that's ok. And even an extremely silly book can play a very important role in our lives and leave its mark. I find all this very fascinating, so thank you for bringing this up!
We are indeed fickle creatures.
I don't script my videos so when the word fickle came out of my mouth I was so pleased.. It's such a great word!
+Ariel Bissett yes it is!
This has happen to me several times. I have a book that I have fallen in love with in my teen years and I get this craving to pick it up again. I have these built up ideas of the characters and plots. I know I'm going to love it because it was such an epic read. Then I read it. The depth that I thought was there suddenly isn't. It feels different. The shine is gone. Part of me wishes I hadn't picked it up again and I still had this perfect remembrance of what it was. But another part of me is glad I am seeing it with different eyes. I've changed not the book and that is okay. Who knows maybe when I pick it up again at a different point in time something will have changed again and I'll have a new connection to it. :)
I don't re-read very often so I can't say I've had as drastic of a change in my opinion of a favorite, but everything you've said about what we each bring into a book is my thoughts exactly! We are all unique individuals and my background and experiences will make me react to a book differently than anyone else. This is why I don't think any book is worthless, because SOMEONE will probably get a lot out of it.
This is such an interesting idea. The Hunger Games is objectively a great book but it will always be my favourite book for the context in which I read it. During the worst few months I've ever experieced when my self confidence was non existant, I read the trilogy. Katniss was a source of inspiration to me - awful things kept happening to her and yet she was strong and ultimately happy. Knowing that when I got home from school I could re read the books for the 13th time got me through the day and for that I will always love The Hunger Games and its world
So true! This is fascinating in a discussion topic and when one experiences it themselves. Happens more and more as you age and have more experience in life. This is exactly why I don't reread very often.
PLEASE do a podcast. Every single video I see from you inspires me, and I am always left thinking about your discussion topics for days after I hear you talk about each one. I think a podcast would be an amazing way for your subscribers to listen to you, and an amazing way for you to expand your thoughts about various topics! Thanks for being so amazing! :D
I read Anna and the French kiss a few years ago and loved it. I feel like now I wouldn't like it as much as I did then. I read Lola and Isla and was in credibly annoyed by them. I was younger when I read Anna and I think my ideas about love and relationships were a little more "fantastical" than they are now.
This is absolutely a thing I've noticed. It makes me a little bit scared that my favorite books are my favorites less because I appreciate what the author has done, and more because I simply related to the story. That realization made my reading feel selfish. But it also makes me more self-aware, and I think the knowledge that a book is your favorite simply because of when you read it can be a happy kind of love in itself. I like to appreciate books as art, and I can still do that while also considering them memories in my own life.
It's so true!!It's like music but even more: when you're listening too the song where the story is like about you, you feel like this song is just on time and the smae thing with th ebooks - you come across at the certain book that applies to you just perfectly. YES, that happens and it's great I think!!
Absolutely:
Book: A Colorful Life: Drawn in Broken Crayon by Melissa Storm.
I read it at the perfect time. Life, difficulties, love, hope, and etc.
It's my current positioning of navigating life and it's roller coaster moments, while recognizing there is a time, and place for everything. Accept and flow
I often find that children's fantasy books that I loved when I was younger seem less magical to me when I read them now that I'm older. The Spiderwick Chronicles used to be an amazing book series to me. The magical creatures seemed so real and the idea that they might exist in our world astounded me. I re-read the books last year and although I still enjoyed it, I wasn't so convinced or astonished by the world. Although it's just a nice read now, it's turned into a memory of a time when I felt joyful fascination from reading a book. That memory alone is perfect enough for me.
I love that you talk about things that others (at least others I've seen) don't really talk about. I absolutely agree that you can read a book at a perfect time in your life, or the wrong time. Personal life experiences can dramatically change your perception of a story, and I'm sure if I read books I loved growing up, I would get something different from it- for better or worse.
This is so true! There was a point in my life I always read really sad books, a lot of books with death and cancer. I could really relate because I watched my dad go through all that! I can still relate, but they aren't the same because it isn't as fresh. We definitely can read books at a certain time that makes them more enjoyable, and I think that's really cool. Even if we don't enjoy it the second or third time around, we still have that memory of reading it for the first time and how much it meant to us.
Yes, I agree with this completely. I read Anne of Green Gables at the perfect time, and although it's a wonderful book and the characters are lovely, I was able to relate SO WELL to Anne at that time in my life, so it will always represent that time for me. Harry Potter was another one, I read it growing up (as so many of us do) and I don't think I would be SO IN LOVE with it if I'd read it when I was older. At least, not to the extent I am now ;)
This is why when I'm not feeling a book, I don't blame the book, I just put it aside until later, when it might be a better time for me to read it.
I feel the same! I don't think that I will enjoy Divergent if I actually re-read the book. At the time I loved it because it was about to become a film and I had a serious Hunger Games hangover but I don't think I will enjoy it now.
Tuesday's with Morrie. My absolute favourite book that I read 3ish years ago and refuse to read again for that reason.
I was in a very dark head space.
I had no idea how my life was going or where I'd end up. It was the first time out of high school I had an existential crisis. I did very horrible things to myself and my body to cope.
I had only just really fallen in love with reading and my best friend was telling me about this book, he even went and brought it for me then and there because he was convinced it would help, it would change my life.
I've never had the feeling I felt when I finished that book recreated by another book. And while it wasn't a direct relation to my life, the messages and life lessons that book taught me were ever lasting.
I haven't picked it up since, even though I've had a pretty crap few years, I don't think that book could help almost 23 year old me like it helped 19 year old me. I'm terrified I'll read it and feel nothing, that would kill me.
The Catcher in the Rye is very much my Animal Farm. I read it when I was sixteen and filled with angst and anger and Holden Caulfield just really spoke to that part of me. I've reread it since and I still love it, but I always get the sense that I still love it because I'm connecting it with the memories of my younger self. With that being said, it will probably forever be my favorite book.
Totally agree. I've often said that our reading experience is informed by our life experience. I find that more often it's non-fiction books that I have to read at the right time in my life, but there have certainly been fiction books that I read at the perfect time and took on a whole life of their own and new meaning for me just because of when I read the book.
I was literally just thinking about this a couple of weeks ago. This and the previous video you've made me think that I'm not the only one whose taste in books is changing. I do believe that's sometimes rereading books would change the way you used to look at that book. Because we're people we change every minute we go through experiences that change us and change the way we think and interpret things. I highly encourage you to keep on doing this Ariel. You're my favorite.
This is too true! I completely agree. I read Heir of Fire during a time in my life when I was really lonely and really lost. The content of the book isn't that sad, but I cried and cried and cried and stayed up until 2 am to finish it the day I got it. That book changed me. If I were to reread it, I probably wouldn't be able to connect the same.
I adore your discussion videos #notbeingcreepy
I went on a reading hiatus for a couple of years between high school and university. Tried to pick up exactly where I left off and I find myself being unable to connect with characters and stories that younger me would have loved. I completely agree with you about reading things at the right time and honestly, it makes me kinda sad because I have lost that moment in life where I could've loved these books. For example, I just can't bring myself to love TDI trilogy (and I know its taboo to say this in the booktube community) . Nevertheless, that means we'll also be more open to exploring new things and genres that will hit that special 'in the feels' spot.
This happened to me so many times...
I read Fangirl when I was starting university and trying to figure out who I was as a writer and it meant so much more to me than just its story.
Then there's Little Women, my favourite book of all time, which I've reread at different stages in my life and related to different parts of it more deeply. When I was a kid and read it, I loved the little family squabbles and love that came with being one of four sisters. When I read it when I was older, I related more to the sisters' experiences in developing their independence and relationships.
Then there's also The Bell Jar, which I think I missed the time in which I would have appreciated it most. I read it as a young adult, but I think it would have impacted me far more deeply when I was a teen.
Great video!
I read this brilliant book by a german author that had its main setting in the forest. And I was listening to the snow white and the huntsman soundtrack during the whole book. The music and my mindset at the time allowed me to really dive into this book. With every word I could feel the wind of the forest around my body, I felt like I was walking through the bushes, and I could smell all these things like the pine needles or I suddenly had the taste of berries in my mouth. I heard the sound of rivers and small waterfalls. It was such a spiritual experience, that I never had with any other book. I know, that this was a one time thing, and that I should never reread this book, because it will not be the same.
Mythago Wood was the first book I read that wasn't children's book with illustrations, I read it when I was 13 yo and it was the perfect time, and the perfect book for me. I re-read it during college after spend months without reading a book, and it was once more the perfect timing. This year I started my reading year with it, and once more it was the perfect timing, and here is why, the first time because opened to me a world of possibilities of magic and made me felt in love with books, the second because rescued me from a not so happy time in my life bringing back the magic. This time, I was in a mood in which everything looked the same, I was bored, specially with my job and my life in general, and once more the magic it's here. So there you go, a book that I read three times at the perfect time, and that I loved it even more with every re-read
For me it was, hands down, The Perks of Being a Wallflower. I read it three times my sophomore year in high school and it just spoke to me. I fear rereading it only because I know I'm so different than I had been, I've experienced so much more since then and I don't want to take away that spark of passion that I have for the book. I definitely believe there's a 'perfect time' for a book.
I was recently thinking about the books I was obsessed with when I first began getting into the booktube community and I can relate to what you were talking about. I reread a bit of this one book that I used to say related to me so well, but now I feel like I can't connect with any part of it anymore; I still consider it a favorite because of what it got me through at the time I read it.
There's always going to be at least one book placed in your life at the right time and moment, and I think those are the most cherishable ones.
You make such a great point. I read The Fault In Our Stars a few years ago and wasn't that moved, but then my mum got cancer and I reread it, and god, it really hit hard, I even cried!
I think one book like this for me is definitely Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell. A lot of things Cath goes through with wanting to protect a parent really resonated with me because, at the time, my father had just moved out and my mother already had a new boyfriend. I was worried more about protecting him from seeing that my mom had moved on than on what I needed to talk about and it wasn't healthy. Looking back, I see that he didn't need protecting like Cath's dad, but I'm glad I read this at the time and found it relatable.
This totally applies to classics as well!! I've never wanted to venture into really classic literature, especially anything pre-20th century, but I just read Pride and Prejudice and LOVED it. I feel like you have to be ready to venture into an unfamiliar time period and writing that isn't as easy to comprehend, and if you try reading a classic before you're ready for the challenge, you'll find it dull and uninteresting. However, when you feel ready to uncover the contents of a book that have lasted for over a hundred years and ready to take it in, it's an amazing experience.
I feel like I'm at a point where I'm finally ready to read classics. :)
I agree. Timing and your personal history, too, are important.
I read Shatter Me a while ago and loved it, but then I re-read it and meh, not so much. And it wasn't that I'd grown up, it was just the timing, it was perfect for that first read but later, not so much.
My favorite book is Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman, I knew I loved it as soon as I finished it that first time. When I re-read it, I loved it again, and it's a book I try to re-read every year because it makes me happy, and every single time I get surprised by how much I enjoy reading it! I mean, I know the story by heart by now (I read it in 1999 or 2000?), but when I read that story again and get inside that world, it's such a blast! That's why it's my favorite, of all time forever and ever.
YES. So much YES. I've gotten to a point where I can see when I read a book I'm not liking that it's just not the right time for me to pick it up yet. But I really like your point about re-reads not feeling the same, since I don't have time to re-read books that often I don't think that's happened to me yet!
This is such an interesting idea! I re-read one of my favorite childhood books recently and loved it even more because now I realize how much it influenced me and how important it was to shaping a lot of my opinions
I first read Just One Day in 2013 and it instantly became a favorite, but I also couldn't stop thinking about how perfect of a time it was for me to have read it. I was a sophomore in college and just found Gayle Forman's characters so relatable. I went abroad last semester and haven't re-read it since, but somehow I feel (or hope) I'd still love it. Now I'm almost afraid to re-read it for fear of having the same experience as you did. That book meant so much to me at the time, and whenever I think of it, I still have really positive memories of it. I don't want to ruin that. But maybe I will have to re-read it this year, for curiosity's sake.
This happens to me all the time! I fell in love with the Evernight series by Claudia Gray when the books first came out and I still consider them some of my favourite books but back then I was really young and I was just reading for enjoyment. I think If i revisited the series now, I wouldn't enjoy them as much because I would be reading them more critically and it may ruin my perception of them. Perhaps I may pick this series up again in a few years for the nostalgia :)
This is it!! That's why I have a few books I REALLY LOVED reading and now I'm afraid to read them again, I'm maybe wrong to avoid a rereading but I don't want to dislike them or to feel disconnected to them!
for me, "the giver" is the first book I started to see from a literary perspective when we read it in my eighth grade English class, but "Fahrenheit 451" was probably the first book I got really involved in reading as literature.
Totally agree with you. Maybe a favourite book is the one that hits you no matter when you read it. I think that appliea to writers as well, Some stories would have been different (or not written at all) in different moments of the writer's life.
I totally agree with the right-book-right-time idea. When I was much younger the books that really made me a reader were the Vampire Diaries by LJ Smith which I read with my dad and brother. I loved those books. I wept when they were over because it felt like loosing a friend.That said, I will never reread them because I know from how my taste have changed that I would hate them now, or at best think them mediocre. It's a very bittersweet feeling.
THIS VIDEO IS FANTASTIC. I HAVE MANY FEELINGS ABOUT IT. I've always felt similarly because of how personal reading is to me, but watching this tweaked something in brain a little to make me realize that there's a kind of beauty in the effect of reading a book at the right time. Like I used to think that the books that I used to love but don't love anymore are just bad books that I didn't read properly when I was younger. But now I'm thinking that's not true - my opinions and experiences have always been valid, so if I a book meant a lot to me when I was fifteen and I judged books based on their teenage angst factor that's still a beautiful thing. There's really no such thing as good books or bad books - books are just books, and if one makes us feel anything at any point in time then that's amazing in and of itself. Basically you have passed on your existential crisis to me. There is a 110% chance that I will make a video response to this.
I have the opposite case. I started reading 20000 leagues under the sea when I was 14 years old and back then I had to put it down not because it was bad, but because I think I wasn't ready to read it at that age. I think I knew that I wan't fully appreciating what that book meant and all the knowledge that it contains and how wonderful it could be if I were more patient. And now I'm 24 and I've picked it up again after so long and I'm really enjoying it so far because I can visualize it and understand it a lot better. And I think is because I've grown a lot more, I've lived many things I didn't think I would have to face and now this new me is searching and learning more along with this book.
One of my favorite books is Artemis fowl, after watching this video i realized the reason i loved it, was it because my first ya-ish sfy-ish fantasy book, it was also on audio-book so i didn't have to actually read the words but still enjoy the book. I have re-read it many times and still love it but i think that book came at the perfect time.
I too have felt the disappointment of re-reading a cherished book and not liking it. I was incredibly nervous to re-read The Night Circus as I read it on multiple train trips around Europe, and it seemed to connect perfectly with the elusive travelling circus, a perfect setting to read such a book. Turns out I loved it all the more because I not only loved the story but it reminded me of different sites and towns I visited on my travels.
Your videos always make me think about things, whether it be my reading habits or larger things in life and it's great because i never would have thought about things like this before
I definitely agree because I also believe that how much you enjoy a book is based on the timing. This is why i'm afraid to reread some of my fave books.
I definitely think reading something, or experiencing anything, for that matter, makes that experience so much more meaningful if done at the prrfect time.
I've had similar experiences where I look back at a book and think "this wasn't really as great as I used to think it was," but really, I should just be happy that I enjoyed it as much as I did when I read it at that time.
This happened to me a couple months ago. When I was like 15 or 16, I LOVED loved LOVED The Luxe series. I tried rereading it a couple months ago (nostalgia! revisiting teenage me!) but I rolled my eyes so much I could not finish it and actually gave away all of my copies. I totally agree, our opinions on everything we read depends on the time and place we are at in our lives
I completely agree with your thoughts on this. I often think about this's ethnic. It goes both ways. From books we possibly read at the perfect time and love to books we don't enjoy. I often relate this this to readers who say a relationship is so unhealthy and that it would just never happen. It does happen I a living proof. I've been in unhealthy relationships and I stayed in those relationships. Then there's the fairy tale relationships that readers say are too good to be true. Lucky for me ive been in that relationship too.
Reading is a very personal thing. That's why I think it is important to know a bit of background on a reviewer in order to understand why they may love a book or dislike a book. Because every single thing we have learned, experienced, etc effects how we view the world, books, people, etc.
I'd like to do a response video but I almost don't even know where to start. Great conversation/discussion.
Loved this video. I think this happens to everyone. I know for sure if I started to reread half the books I read as a teen which was for the most part young adult, I wouldn't enjoy them now as I did back them.
This was such a great video, and definitely something I wholeheartedly agree with and have thought about! I think my favorite book I adore SO much because of when and how I read it. I've reread it now, and every time I've read it I've loved it even more - because I always read it during a really wonderful time, or on a really great vacation or something along those lines. Since my favorite novel is not one I would typically read, I definitely think timing has something to do with it!
I totally agree! There are books that mark our childhood, our teen time and our adult life. Your videos make me feel more aware of what a book represents to me. Congrats :D
My favorite book is The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon and it's about a boy with Asperger's Syndrome which I have as well. And I read this in my second year of high school after a teacher recommended it to me. This was around the time that I started realizing that I was too different to be normal, but too normal to be different and I was able to fake being normal by following all the "rules" (like making eyecontact) but it wasn't natural to me. And I just felt like an outsider because nobody understood the way that my brains worked and at some point I didn't understand what was going on in my head either. I just couldn't find the words to describe the exact things that happened in my head (it was just too much to keep track of). And then I read this book, and it put everything that I couldn't describe into sentences and first of all I didn't feel as alienated and second of all I understood the chaos in my head a bit better. And I think I love this book even more, because it was exactly what I needed at that time.
I know how you feel. There are books that I particularly put off reading because I know I'm not gonna like them when I read them now. Liking a book, more often than not, depends on my mood, the environment surrounding me, and a phase I'm going through in my life. When I was in high school, I picked up The Catcher in the Rye, got halfway through it, then stopped because I wasnt digging it. Later on, when I went to college, I picked it up again and ended up really liking it. Looking back, if I had finished it in high school, I would have not liked it, because I would not have empathized with Holden. Then sometimes I impulsively buy a book, and even if I still have many others to read, I read them immediately the moment I get home because I know I'm in the right time to do so. Sometimes I just feel that some things need to happen in my life first before I do a particular thing. It's good that you stopped rereading Just One Day; it's better that you think of it as a book that you enjoyed.
i love that this applies to many many topics - especially entertainment (movies and music) but books are a life in themselves. personally, i feel as if i've grown out of the divergent series and i'm moving onto better things. maybe its because i read it when i was going through my phase when all i wanted was dystopia. i feel the way you do about the book you decided to read as your new years book. its very interesting.
This has happened to me in the opposite way. I read sense and sensibility when I was 13 and I hardly took away anything. But I picked it up again last year and I was able to enjoy and grasp the details much better. The same happened to me with Lord of The Rings as well. I have yet to have my reread disappointment.
This is such a great point! Your experiences and emotions at a given time definitely shapes your reading!
That is exactly why I hate calling things my favorite, but I do it anyway. It is your favorite at that point in your life. If a few months down the line you find a book/movie/whatever that speaks to you more than the one you used to love then that becomes your new favorite. I always try not to reread books because of that reason. My favorite books all stems from being the perfect book for me in that time of my life. Your favorites are always the things you relate to. And if you no longer relate to something then you start to question your opinions on everything. That's also why you can do passionately love a book and you show it to your friend and they just think it is alright and that's that.
This is so relevant to our relationship with books! :D Great video Ariel :) I had the same experience you did with Just One Day when I reread the first Twilight book. I would say though that I don't think not liking a book anymore (or liking it less) disqualifies it or would constitute a "crisis". I love that I'm able to think critically on literature I read and loved in the past, it just adds a new layer to the experience :)
Yeeeees! I know that feeling.
I have a book called "Bel, amor más allá de la muerte" and I read it when I was 15/16 I think. It was a book which I read again and again in the following years but I think that if I try to read it now that I'm turning 20 I would find it simple... It was the perfect book for a shy teenager, but not for a young adult I think.
I definitely have books that I wouldn't have liked as much if I'd read them now. My best example is Divergent. This series was the series that kickstarted my love of reading and I'm an avid reader because of the series and that means a lot to me. I don't think I would love it as much if I were reading it now for the first time.
+Sophie Luvs Books I know what you mean! If you haven't read that many books, there isn't much to compare it with. When I read the Grisha Trilogy I thought: "I should have read these books when I was still 16!" Now I could only think of the parts in the books that weren't that great, because I compared them with other books I really love.
Twilight were those books for me. They came out when I was 14 and I loved them! They were the first books I read in english, and I (of course) fell in love with Edward. And now, at 22, I remember Edward as the first love of the 14-year old me. I'm not sure I'll be able to read the books again now though. Maybe I'll give it a go sometime. No matter if I like the books now or not, they meant a lot for me at the time!
this makes a lot of sense -- there have been books I've read before and didn't get or didn't like, but then I read them years later, and I adored them. like "The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime." I read this at a time when I knew nothing about autism. the book is written from the perspective of a teenager with autism, so the first time I read it, the brilliance & significance of it was completely lost on me. but then, I read it again last year, now having worked with special needs and autistic children, and I completely, completely fell in love with this book. it's now one of my favorites. and I follow the stage adaptation on Broadway, dying to see it; they did such an incredible job bringing Christopher's view of the world to life, using the entire stage as his brain. if you haven't read it, I highly suggest it.
I often think about this in regards to Great Expectations which is one of my all time favourite books. I read two chapters from it at GCSE in high school because we were studying gothic and it led to me reading the entire book. Now it means so much to me and I feel that that came to me in an important time of my life.
Yay you have summed up my reading experience with every book perfectly. For years I had never reread a book as when I look back or think about a certain book I remember not just the book's plot but where I was when I was reading it, what was going on in my life etc. So with certain books, like the Book Thief, I really didn't want to reread it despite it being my favourite book because my memories of where I was and how I felt at the time of reading were such a big part of my experience of reading the book for the first time. However, I have reread it now and am pleased to say I now have two lots of memories surrounding my reading if it but I can see that rereading certain books will change the way you feel about them depending on when you reread it. This was such a great video, thank you Ariel! :D
"What you're going through in life directly links to how you're going to react to a piece of literature" 👌🏾
the book impacted your life enough to make a decision to live abroad and in turn changed your perception about the reality of international adventures. without the book maybe you wouldnt have ever traveled. thank the book for what it was, it sparked something, a motivation, a wormhole, it was a bridge to the truth
As a teenager I didn't read as much as I do now, and I've thought about that a lot. I think that I loved many books because I didn't know that much about the world and about literature, and I know that if I read them again, I would simply feel they aren't good at all. But that's the process of growing up, we discover new things and stop liking others, that's not bad.
One book that comes to mind for me is The Storied Life of A. J. Fikry, and there's actually a line in the book about reading something at the perfect time, and of people coming into your life just when you need them to. I definitely agree with you about that, because things are constantly happening in life that change you and your interests. You could experience something amazing or something devastating, or generally just grow as a person, and as time goes by, you may not appreciate the same things in the same way. It's nice to look back on books I've read in the past and see how they've stayed with me, even though I might not enjoy them as much/ at all if I read them now, it's interesting to see how they've shaped who I am today, and what kind of books I like to read at this point in my life! (Sorry this got a bit long...)
Yes! This is why I'll most likely never reread the perks of being a wallflower. Because I read it when I was a freshman in high school with all the naivety that comes with being a freshman, and if I were to read it again now it just wouldn't be the same. and I wouldn't want to taint the relationship I have with that book and how much it taught me when I was that age .
I loved this video! My biggest fear when rereading is that books aren't going to hold up. I LOVE the idea of starting the year with a reread - I'm definitely doing that from now on!
I've come to this conclusion myself recently... it's the reason why I'm scared to reread, but I'm planning to do it anyway this year. Great video Ariel!
i know you were talking specifically about reading a book "at the right time", and although i agree 100% with you, i do feel like there's books we also read "at the wrong time". I read To All The Boys I've Loved Before when i was in a really bad mood, and not at all ready to appreciate a fluffy and cute contemporary read. I rated that book 2 stars but i feel like if i re-read it now, i would enjoy it way more
This happened with The Fault in Our Stars. At any other time, perhaps I would have hated the entire book. But I read it as an introduction to YA, and it seemed to fresh and new to me that I fell in love with the story. I had also just lost someone to cancer and so it was far more of a comfort to me than it would have been if I'd read it now 4 years on.
As always a really thought provoking video, and I agree with you on so many points!
This year Maddie and I definitely want to try and re-read old favourites, to see if they can stand the test of time! I think it will really refine what I define (ehehe) a favourite book. If I don't love it as much now, that doesn't mean it wasn't important to me once, but I think a true favourite can stay a favourite re-read after re-read after re-read.
I love your vidoes Ariel because it is so refreshing with a booktuber that is not limited to what is popular (especially YA) and you also have a way of viewing books and literary topics in a more open-minded way, which makes your content really unique. I guess what I'm trying to say is I like how your brain works :)
I agree. Some books I read at a time when I was just eager to absorb EVERYTHING, I wanted to read ALL THE BOOKS and then looking back I realized that they weren't that great, but I was just so excited about reading. That's how I feel about some YA books that I thought were cute at the time, but now I feel they're too 'fluffy'. Idk. Maybe we outgrow some books, while others stay with us forever?
Also, sometimes I read books at the wrong time and I dislike them, and then I'll reread it and think that it is the greatest thing ever written. Like there was this one book that I've had since I was seven called Summerland, and I read it as a child and I thought it was okaaaay... Then I reread it last year and I noticed elements of mythology that I didn't notice the first time. So I guess you can also grow into a book too :)
Ohhh man. This got me really thinking!
I am definitely going to do a video response, but until then, I just want to say that I think you have stumbled onto something that I have objectively acknowledged for years, but never really taken the time to examine in myself. All this talk about context has me thinking about my recent reading life -- I have read so few books in the last six months that I cannot stomach sharing the number. But in the last six months, I have also started a new job, had a serious, near-fatal family illness situation, a bad period with my depression, money concerns, etc. etc. ADULTHOOD -- and maybe that is why I am struggling so much with reading. Meaning -- I know, subconsciously, that my context will shape my reading, and that my headspace isn't so great right now, and I don't want to ruin books that I feel like I will love reading when I'm in a better place.
I am seriously rambling at this point! Hopefully I will do better in my video response. ♥ Thank you, as always, for your thoughtfulness, Ariel!
A Constellation of Vital Phenomena. I've never had a book impact me so greatly. But I'm hesitant to reread it for the reasons you stated. I don't want the magic I experienced to be marred by my inevitable aging. I suppose I will eventually reread it, I just hope it's at a different perfect time.
I totally agree with you! I've read Paper Towns twice and loved it so so much. Last year everyone was talking about it so I thought I'd read it again and... I didn't like it. I was bored and simply couldn't force myself to finish it... However I still want to count it as one of my favourite books because at some point it really was a favourite!
Every book I read I think it was the perfect time to do it, I even thought you would talk about this sensation in this video. Although I'm not used to reread any book to know exaclty what I feel about reading something again at a different time.
Ariel, this is why you're my favorite booktuber ^.^ you incorporate and inspire so much critical thinking in your videos, and it's a really refreshing step away from the fangirling tendencies of booktube. Not that fangirling is bad, it's just nice to see a different approach and perspective too ^.^
Awesome video and so well put. I read Michael Ondaatje's The Cat's Table at the perfect time. I was flying home from Paris after studying abroad for a year and this book--all about this kid travelling on a big passenger boat from Sri Lanka to London and to never return again--just blew my mind. It was a book about this guy in this transient state just as I was and it really spoke to me and comforted me. The moment was so perfect I don't think I would go back and re-read it again (which is always a big fear for me cause I don't want to ruin it haha) :) :)
This discussion is spot on Ariel! This is why I want to reread all of my favorites, just to see if I still consider them as faves.
I read The Catcher in the Rye when I was in the tenth grade for english, and I despised it! I wasn't interested, I hated the main character and it was boring for me.. However, now I absolutely LOVE that book. I agree with you 100% that sometimes you read a book at a certain point in your life and it makes the experience amazing, but I have also experienced reading a book at a point in my life where I really couldn't appreciate it! It goes both ways I think!
Divergent~ FOR SURE!! it was the first young adult book i picked up and could not put down. it made me fall back in love with books and they weren't just a childish thing that you grow out of. But now that i am older, I have to say that it isn't something I would reread.
I always go back and forth about what I choose to read because I tend to think, "what if I don't like it." I do that with my rereads more so than my first time reads. It may just be the existential crisis of a reader.
I have yet to dislike my favorite book, and I will be very disappointed with myself if it were to happen. It has been a year or two since I've read it, but so much has changed since then. Now I know what I'll be pondering for the next little bit.
I feel that way about a lot of young adult or early teen books now at 20 they are just to young or me I love how you're changing it's really interesting to see it on camera especially since I feel like I am at the same stage as you.
I totally get what you wanna say :)
for me, the perfect example is Harry Potter. I myself read Harry Potter in my childhood, and therefore it will always be the perfect book series to me and my favorite of all time. Even when I re-read it now, it still feels perfect because it reminds me of the first time I read it and fell in love :)
but recently, I heard many people saying that they read HP only now, as an adult or young adult, and though most of them say that the books are very good, many people don't really get the huge HP fandom. They liked to read it, but they do not have this very special connection that I and I guess many of you out there have ;)
I completely agree I have read books and loved them so much but when I've reread them I couldn't stand them. In a way it's heartbreaking because its overshadowing the good memories I had of the book.
This was a really interesting discussion. I had a similar experience with Fallen by Lauren Kate. When I read it when I was about 14 I thought it was amazing, full of romance, adventure and mystery. It was also about a girl at a boarding school and related a lot to me at the time. However, when I read it again at 18. I just didn't really like it. It just goes to show how subjective our opinions on books can be. Loved this video :)
I agree with you completely. I have done some rereads and found I didn't love them as much the next time around. And I can think of some books that I loved simply because of the way I was able to relate to them in someway based on my own life experiences that others maybe didn't like as much.
This made me think of Chuck Palahniuk's Fight Club. I read it at 16 and I think I was amazed with the whole "shock factor" and the minimalist violent language because I was in that phase where I want to experience all the things but I couldn't because I was too young to do anything. So that appealed to me and I always told people Fight Club is one of my all-time favourite books. NOW, I have a total different viewpoint. I can't ignore the sexism and the overbearing masculinity, that whole male entitlement angle which is basically the core of the entire novel. Honestly, I absolutely hate it now.
I TOTALLY agree with this concept. A few years ago I read "Noughts and Crosses" by Malorie Blackman. Loved it! Cried my eyes out and it was one of new new favs. Then last year I re-read it and totally hated it, thought it was really stupid. Such an interesting concept.
I experienced this kind of situation with my favorite book, all the bright places. It has to do with depression and at the time I read it, I was just understanding my own depression and who I was for that matter. I did really know what was happening, I was confused and sad, but this book made me feel understood. Today, while I still consider it my favorite, it is hard to love because I associate it with so much negativity in my life. Yes, it helped me in that moment but it also set me on a path that was quite painful. So it would be interesting to see how I would feel about it if I were to read it right now. I think I might try that actually. Thank you ❤️
I think this relates to me in that since I'm in my mid 20's most of the books that are coming out in the YA genre that I would've enjoyed I'm not that into anymore. Even with some that came out in the last two years that are on my shelves, I'm just disconnected and shouldn't have let the hype behind a book attract me to them in the first place. I'm trying to be better about that this year.