Classics Without All the Class discussion

Are there any books once you started to read, but couldn't finish or you finished but disliked them, then you attempted to give them another chance years later, and you liked them?

There has been only one book for which my opinion has been altered positively. I had read Three Men in a Boat a decade ago, I didn't enjoy it a bit. It was because my English was not that good--can't claim it is good now, either--and it was hard for me to understand British humour. I decided to give it a chance a couple of months ago, and unexpectedly, I enjoyed it immensely. I was laughing heartily--thank God my roommates didn't make any complaints for that. Now it is one of my favourite novels. That is why I will give Madame Bovary another chance. Hopefully, I will enjoy it, too, and my rather negative opinion on the novel will change.

What a great topic! Thank Anil!

I usually find it very hard to leave any book unfinished however boring or trying it might be. But past couple of years have have seen a few books that i just could not stand and abandoned.

A friend wanted me to read Three Men in a Boat and gifted it to me. I could not follow that book in my first go. I haven't given up though. Still have it with me...may be will give it a try again with a fresh mind...

Les Mis was another that I gave up on...

I am hoping this will be the case with
The Great Gatsby. I really want to like it this time, or at least appreciate it.

Harry Potter. Maybe because I was too young when I first started it (I was nine or something?). I didn't enjoy it at all. And than, later I tried again and I loved it!

Same was with Pride and Prejudice.

I guess, sometimes timing is everything!

For me, a case like this was moby Dick. It took me almost two years for read and I do not like it at all. I didn't wanted definitvely give up and I did some break meanwhile. Come to the last page, I welcomed the end with joy. I know that it is a classical novel, famous and appreciated, but I didn't like.

The Hobbit. I tried to read this sooooo many times as a child and always found it really patronising and abandoned it. Then I read and adored Lord of the Rings when I was 12 so I thought I should give it another try and I still found it patronising and twee.

Finally managed to read the whole thing last year and aside from the constant stream of songs and poetry I enjoyed it.

Anil wrote: "...That is why I will give Madame Bovary another chance. Hopefully, I will enjoy it, too, and my rather negative opinion on the novel will change."

I'm vowed to try Madame Bovary again too. I disliked it--while I loved others of his, mostly Sentimental Education. But I've since read a biography of him, Flaubert, that taught me about the artistry of Madame Bovary. I'm still not sure I'm going to like it... respect it, at least, I hope.

I'm rereading all books forced upon me in school since I half assed them at the time anf hated them all. I wqnted to party not read and was smart enough that I could pass tests and quizzes by reading a page or two here and there and pay attention to class discussion. I probably averaged reading 10% of each book. Yes I always got the if you would only apply yourself and make an effort speech. I figured it I could keep a 90 or higher average without studying or do homework why bother.

Bryn wrote: "I'm vowed to try Madame Bovary again too. I disliked it--while I loved others of his, mostly Sentimental Education. But I've since read a biography of him, Flaubert, that taught me about the artistry of Madame Bovary. I'm still not sure I'm going to like it... respect it, at least, I hope."

Actually, quality of translation is important, too. Bad translators turn anyone off reading books. That was why I decided to learn French to read Madame Bovary in its original language. All I remember now is Je ne parle pas français, which means I cannot speak French.:))

His happens to me a lot. It took some years for me to relax with the idea of starting a book and then laying it down. My age and situations make a book more or less enjoyable. I tried the Three Musketeers and Great Expectations when I was in the eighth grade and neither worked for me. As an adult I read The three Musketeers just fine, didn't love it and I read Great Expectations and now it's one I my top ten favorites.

The Lord of the Rings. It was all a problem of timing - I've been a keen reader since I was little, and I read The Hobbit when I was about seven or eight. I really liked it and attempted to read LotR straight after, but it was above my reading level at the time (obviously). I re-read the trilogy when I got a second-hand set for my fourteenth birthday, and was pleasantly surprised at their quality.

The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath. Tried to read it for school at 14 and couldn't make it through; went back and read it through last year, and now I love it.

I think "Madame Bovary" by Gustave Flaubert could be one of this kind of books!I read it during highschool and I didn't like at all. I suppose I could appreciate it more now that I'm adult and for this reason I've included it on my "to-read" list!

The Great Gatsby I just reread it 11 years later. I loved it this time around. Glad I did it and I am so excited about the movie!

Wuthering Heights was one I read when I was in my teens and had a hard time getting through it. I reread it a few years ago and absolutely loved it (one of favorite books now).

The Hobbit. I couldn't get into it as a child but loved it a year or so ago.

I'm hoping that Flaubert's Sntimntal education will work better for me in future. I loved Bovary but Sentimental was so slow going and I kept losing interest.

Not quite picked up years later but I had to read Middlemarch and A Portrait of a lady twice before I could enjoy them- I now think they are both amazing.

I tried to read "Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close" a few years ago and fell asleep on it every time I opened it. Last year I tried again and I couldn't put it down. I even downloaded the movie to my computer as soon as I put the book down. I know it's not a classic sorry.

Jessica wrote: "The Great Gatsby I just reread it 11 years later. I loved it this time around. Glad I did it and I am so excited about the movie!"

I just reread it too. I remember hating it in high school (probably because I had to read it) but found that I liked it much more this time around. I think it's taken a different tone for me now.

I just reread Shirley Jackson's We Have Always Lived in the Castle. I didn't hate it the first time, but thought it was pretty meh. But this time I really enjoyed the weird characters and the creepy atmosphere of the book.

It's funny how our mood, and what's going on in our life, changes how we view a book!

Reread: A Thousand Splendid Suns.
Harry Potter 6 & 7

The Beautiful and Damned by F. Scott Fitzgerald definitely. I cannot leave a book unfinished, no matter how much it bores me or anything. I finished the book a while ago and didn't like it all that much. But then I recently added to my shelf and went through some of the reviews and they really intrigued me ! Now I'm thinking I might as well give it another try ! I found it okay, it didn't suck but I wasn't all that into it either ! I've heard such great things about the book that I sort wanna give it another try !
I'm not sure when am I gonna do it but this is definitely the book I'd like to re-read keeping in mind some other perceptives !

Anil wrote: "Are there any books once you started to read, but couldn't finish or you finished but disliked them, then you attempted to give them another chance years later, and you liked them?

There has been ..."

I cam across Three Men and a Dog after I read "To Say Nothing of the Dog: or, How We Found the Bishop's Bird Stump at Last" (Connie Willis) which is a comic space/history travel book, but touch-downs on scenes from "Three Men and a Dog". I like them both a lot! :)

Dana wrote: "Jessica wrote: "The Great Gatsby I just reread it 11 years later. I loved it this time around. Glad I did it and I am so excited about the movie!"

I just reread it too. I remember hating it in hi..."
Me too! I remember trying to read it as a young teen, i just couldn't do it... But after the movie came out, it was one of those books that i read in one "gulp" :)

For me it was the Gormenghast Trilogy very recently. I started it when I was about 13 and got bored extremely quickly. Re-reading them this year was a total revelation.

My answer to this question is "Tess of the D'Urbervilles" by Thomas Hardy. I had to read it for a university class and had a tough time getting through it. It was a requirement for another class the following year, so I gave it another try. I thoroughly enjoyed it this time around, and put it on my "To Keep" shelf! I guess the veiled innuendos and the tragedy of the plot had escaped me that first time.

When I first read "Pride and Prejudice" as a pre-teen, I remember feeling bored with the characters and gave up half-way in. For some reason I decided to pick it up again after I graduated from high school, and I then became obsessed with it. Now, it's my favorite book of all time. Therefore I am a firm believer in giving books a second chance, especially after a few years have gone by and one has gone quite a bit of developing and changing.