30 Day Challenge: Day 12

Day 12: A Book You Used to Love but Don't Anymore

This is a weird one. A book that I once loved, but now dislike? Seems like a strange premise. Does that mean I would have had to reread it recently and now just don’t care as much? Does it mean I retroactively think it’s worse than my initial impression? I’m so baffled, #30DayChallenge!

I guess I’ll pick a book that I thought was great, and then learned to dislike.

I LOVED Holes by Louis Sachar the first time I read it. I was enthralled. I already love Louis Sachar and his kooky, zany work, but Holes was such a nice departure. It had its quirks, sure, but it was just a great story about the wrong place, the wrong kid, the wrong time. But then everyone started reading it. And then the movie was made. And then the book resurged and all you hear all over again was how fantastic Holes was.

Okay, yeah, it’s good. But the charm of it quickly wears thin when it’s all you hear about. Perhaps I am a little jaded because 4th grade Josh thought he was so cool for jumping on that bandwagon first. Whatever the case, it’s not that appealing to me anymore. Did I grow out of it? Did it just fall by the wayside? Is it that good in the first place? Whatever the reason, it’s no longer as prioritized on my list.

-Josh

I’m just as confused as Josh is by today's #30DayChallenge. It’s hard to find a book that I loved at one point and don’t anymore. There’s a reason I loved the book and even through my own personal development over the years, I’m certain I still hold some sort of affection for it.

I haven't read Little House on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder since I was a child. My mother had a collection of all these kind of books and I would read them when I was without a book. I can hardly remember the story, except that it's about a family from Wisconsin who moves to the prairie. I wouldn't mind reading it again, if I was ever without another book to read that is. There is nothing particularly wrong with the story as I recall, except I have a feeling that I wouldn't enjoy the pace of it. It wasn't a book that kept me up reading late into the night like most of the books I read growing up, and so I don't see it making me feel that way now.

I still hold an affection for the book that now sits on my bookcase, and it's something I hope my children will read when the time comes. But for me, I'll stick with the books and genres I've found to my liking.

-Desiree

A book that I used to love was Lord of the Flies by William Golding. In middle school we had to read it for class, and I thought it was one of the best books I had ever read. It's not that I don’t like it anymore, I just haven’t read it in a while. The story of kids being stranded on an island trying to work together to survive, but of course, inevitably there are those that want to be in charge. Things escalate to the point of killing each other! When I read it I just remember thinking it was insane, but so well-written that it captured me. I need to read it again because it is a classic, and I really enjoyed reading it when I was in school. Who knows, it might just become my favorite.

-John