Friday, November 13, 2015

Rereading From Your Childhood

For the past couple of months, my mom's been doing some major cleaning and going through some really old stuff - like some of it's from before we moved seventeen years ago. Because of this, I've been coming across some old books of mine - books I either had or bought since the move, but because my bedroom was about a third of the size it used to be, I didn't have room for them so they went into storage.

Most of these books fall into a couple of categories, I either forgot all about them and I really don't want them now, I want to keep them and read them for nostalgias sake - or I've actually been wondering where they are. Books like my Wishbone books, Scooby-Doo mysteries, Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys books. (As of writing this, I've not found them yet but I also have some Baby Sitters Club and Trixie Belden books somewhere.) And I've been rereading some of them.

Now, these books really don't have the crossover appeal that a lot of YA books nowadays have - and even some of the MG books. In fact, if I hadn't read them when I was a better age for them, I'm not sure I'd like them now. But I'm having a lot of fun rereading some of them. ('Cept I can't stand Ned Nickerson. He's like wallpaper paste.)

I know that a lot of people in the book blogging community - especially the part that I'm most active in - read young adult books. But these are mostly new books, which leaves me wondering; do any of you go back and read books from your childhood or youth? I'm not talking about the books that were actually for adults (that would be like me rereading Agatha Christie books) but the books that were for younger readers.

Honestly, what I find very fascinating is how most people read these books when they're young, but then they hit a certain age and think they're 'too childish'. Then, quite a few of these people find their way back to younger books over the course of their lives.

Do you ever come across some of those old books you read before you became a teen? Do you still like them? (Would you like them if you read them for the first time now?) Do the books just not hold up well? I'd love to know what you think.

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I admit, I did a massive book purge when I got back from uni 3 years ago and a lot of my childhood books were gotten rid of. But not all of them, there are some I kept for sentimental reasons and others I just couldn't get rid of because I absolutely adore them and knew I'd read again. I still have my Sarra Manning books, which were like my first YA books and I love them, and I still have all my Sarah Dessen books, my other YA reads. Then I still have a couple of Roald Dahl books (because I will never not want to read his books) and Harry Potter, but you'd be crazy to get rid of those.

I don't reread my old books I kept as much as I may want to, but I do occasionally dip my toes in and reminisce. I do think a lot of the book purging which occurs isn't only because you think you're 'too old' for those books, but also because you know you loved them but that you wouldn't enjoy them in the same way now. You grow as a reader as you age and some things you enjoyed before you don't any more. I will always have a special place in my heart for a lot of my books, but sometimes you've just changed too much to relate to them in the same way you once did. Also, not everyone's book shelves are big enough to accommodate all their books and a cull is necessary.
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1 reply · active 487 weeks ago
Yeah, some of the books I've come across definitely aren't the sort I can relate to at all anymore - though I'm not sure how much I ever really could. There are some books that, whenever I come across them, I won't even be thinking about rereading. I just know I wouldn't like them - probably at all, much less like I once did. They served a purpose growing up, but now it's kind of like I don't need these lessons in books anymore. Some books, even if they are terribly cheesy to me now, are ones that I will keep and probably reread because I can enjoy them - though maybe in a different way than I did when I was younger.

Seriously, I probably have three times as many books off my shelves as I do on them - but that's because I really have no way to either sell them or give them away. (And if they're perfectly good books, I refuse to throw them out.) I've thought about selling on amazon, or something, but haven't gotten there yet.
Unfortunately, when I was 13 my whole room was redone in every way possible and I gave away all my beloved MG books when I was packing up my stuff, but I did kept all my YA novels.
I love rereading and reread quite a few books I'd adored when I was around 12 - especially, I'm talking about Meg Cabot books. They were tons of fun to get back to and I think I enjoyed them just as much as for the first time. I think rereading older books can be a great way to remember your childhood, and even relive it a bit. :)
Amazing post!
PS: Great minds think alike, I'll be posting about rereading, too. :D
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1 reply · active 487 weeks ago
That sounds kind of similar to my family moving when I was ten - and moving into a much smaller house, so I had to store a lot of my books. Very few made the move. I'm not sure what I'll think when I come across more of those books that I've not seen in so long.

Yeah, I don't reread a lot, but some of those old books can be so much fun to reread. And after so long, my memory's always forgotten most everything about the book. It's fun rereading those old books and seeing how your outlook has changed - and maybe even your favorite character in those books too.

Great minds indeed! :)
NED NICKERSON! I'd almost forgotten that's what he was called- he really was like wallpaper paste LOL. I'm not at all ashamed to admit that I still reread books from my childhood *shrugs* Haha. Admittedly, not very recently, but up until last year I thought nothing about picking up one of my favorite Nancy Drew, Hardy Boys- and even Enid Blyton books. I adored them when I was small and I still do. Especially Enid Blyton. You can never grow too old for her books *sheepish shrugs*

I've still not parted with the books from my childhood, so I still take them out and just flip through them when I feel like it. No, that's not weird at all. Oooh and I still have my first ever Ladybird book- for sentiment's sake. I do so wish I could get my hands on a few Baby Sitters Club books- we had them in our school library so I never actually bought the books. Nostalgia, nostalgia. I know why I liked them when I was younger, so I have no problem relating to that little nerd still in me :D
1 reply · active 486 weeks ago
LOL! Someone to agree with me on that, yay!
Yeah, it's still fun to read some of those old books - and sometimes you pick up on things that you didn't/couldn't when you were younger. I don't reread a lot of them - I'm usually too focused on what I am reading for my blog - but sometimes it's just so much fun to read books that are easier to read, and books where you don't have to worry about going 'I hate this character.'

Unfortunately, I borrowed most of my Baby Sitters Club books from the library, too. I think I own a few, but I still haven't come across them. I'd love it if my library got them on e-book - I'd totally reread some of them. I also borrowed a lot of Nancy Drew books too - though I'm slowly making my way through the ones I do own, then I'm going to read my brother's old Hardy Boys books that he doesn't want any more. (I think I've still got that little nerd in me, too.)

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