Book you liked on the SECOND read (but not the first or couldn't finish)

[Aylin]

Was there ever a book you tried to read but just could not get into it so you decided you didn't like it..... only to try again at some later date and it's like a different book- you like it!

That happened to me with:
*Saving Fish From Drowning (Amy Tan). Liked it after putting it down for 1 year. Can't figure out why I couldn't get into it the first time.

*The Hobbit. Liked it after trying again over 20 years later.

[Shelby *trains flying monkeys*]

I did that recently with The Thirteenth Tale. Then it was selected a group read and I ate it up.

[Holli]

I did that with Time Traveler's Wife!

[Cindy]

I read just a few pages of Time Traveler's Wife and just couldn't follow it. Maybe I should try it again and hopefully I would have the same result as you Holli.
Actually the most recent book I did that with was The Girl She Used to Be by David Cristofano. I started it and read just a couple pages and thought Uck...then later in the week picked it back up and I'm so glad I did. It was great!

[Nikki]

So many from high school that I hated but love now - The Scarlet Letter, The Great Gatsby, Gulliver's Travels, etc. They were absolute drudgery then. I think I needed an adult's perspective. Some of the books they force on you in high school should NOT be read until you are older.

[Elena]

The Name of the Wind. I had put it in my donation box already when I started seeing the discussions about it. I picked it up again almost a year after and finished it the second time around.

[Lori]

That kind of happened with me and Love in the Time of Cholera; I started it about 84,000 times before I finally finished. It wasn't that I ever just hated the book, I just couldn't get into it enough to finish. But after 84,001 starts, I finished it and liked it.

I also want to go back through several of the ones from high school that I, in my infinite wisdom as a 15, 16, 17 and 18 year old, deemed worthless. Those books are 1984, The Scarlet Letter and Brave New World plus a few others, as well as a few titles from college that I just didn't finish because of time constraints (like I had to read 80 pages in one night or something, so I read the sparknotes so I'd know what was going on).

[Holli]

I agree with you Nikki...some of those really needed an adults perspective for sure! The great gatsby was one of those for me. Cindy, try the time travelers wife again but don't try to keep track of where he is in time. It all pulls together so if you just read it for the story and not concentrate too fully on that you may like it. That's what I had to do and I loved it the second time!

[Leslie]

hmmm maybe I should try Little Women again. The first time I could not get past 100 pages....a few years after that I read almost all of it before something happened to have me set it down (cannot remember what it was now), but that has been years. Maybe I would like it better now and actually finish it...plus remember how the story ends.

[AngieA]

I had a problem with The Great Gatsby when I tried to read it the first time. I made it through the second time but can't say it goes on any kind of faves list. I thought of it as one of those "should reads". I liked the movie well enough, but hey, it was Redford!

[AngieA]

Lori, do try Brave New World and 1984 again. I appreciate the perspective in each of them.

[AngieA]

Shelby wrote: "I did that recently with The Thirteenth Tale. Then it was selected a group read and I ate it up. "

My daughter gave me her copy of The 13th Tale and I started it a couple times and then abandoned it for something else. I finally got to the end the third time and enjoyed it well enough to recommend it to people.

[Cindy]

I'm hoping that will happen to me the next time I try Olive Kitteridge!

[Nadia]

This happened to me with On Beauty by Zadie Smith. When I first picked it up I just could not get into it and so I put it aside. But about a year later I was in the mood to read and thought I would try this book again and boy am I happy I did. On Beauty turned out to be a brilliant book and reminded what a wonderful writer Zadie Smith really is.

[Vikki]

Cindy wrote: "I'm hoping that will happen to me the next time I try Olive Kitteridge!"

That book is on my "to-read" list but for some reason I keep pushing it to the bottom.

[Vikki]

This happened to me with The Hobbit Or There and Back Again we had to read it in High School and as much as I loved to read I just couldn't get in to the book. I read it a few years ago for the second time and just fell in love with it.

[Monica]

I'm like Holli! The Time Traveler's Wife was difficult to get into the first try, then a year later I picked it up and discovered that I enjoyed it! :)

[Peanut]

Nope. If I usually don't finish a book/give up on a book there is no way I'll pick it up again.

Of course there are situations where I've put a book away because it just wasn't what I wanted to read at the time (chick lit vs. horror story and so on). Then I'll go back to that book at a different time.

NOw there have been times where I want to give up on a book and don't for whatever reason. Last book like that was Book Thief. It came so highly recommended and when I finally got it, I was annoyed by the writing style/narration. I almost dropped it but did stick with it. SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOo glad I did. Best book this year.

[Angela]

Mine is All Creatures Great and Small - I tried to read it years ago and could not finish it, now I am reading it with a friend and am going to finish.

[Brittany]

none for me, but i loved the lovey bones until i reread it, then i hated it. i am looking forward to the movie, though.