Books I Feel Differently About

Today's Top Five Wednesday topic is books I feel differently about after time has passed, either because I changed or I reread it. Whatever it was.

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen - GASP!! I know. But I had to read this in 10th or 11th grade for school and I hated it. Mr. Darcy was jerk and Elizabeth was dumb for falling for him. I read it again in college and got it a little better. A lot better.

Middlemarch by George Eliot - When I read it the first time, I was engaged to be married. The book doesn't take kindly to marriage in general and it pissed me off. I was sure we were different. I read it again after 15 years or so. I found that it wasn't exactly anti-marriage, so much as anti-choosing the wrong partner for the wrong reasons. That I can understand and support.

Neither Here Nor There by Bill Bryson - The first time I read this, I laughed out loud all the way through it. I read it while I worked the night shift in a juvenile justice home. My coworker was dying to find out what I was reading. He still has my copy. I tried to read it again in the last few years, but I just couldn't get into it. It wasn't funny a second time.

Persuasion by Jane Austen - When I first read through all of Austen's novels, Persuasion was my least favorite. It was slower and the main players were older. I reread all of the novels numerous times since then and Persuasion has moved up to my second favorite. P&P is still my fave, but this one is right up there.

It All Began With Jane Eyre by Sheila Greenwald - I first read this as a tween. Sometime between 4th and 6th grades. It's about a girl that reads Jane Eyre and gets wrapped up in all the romance and drama and begins to look for such things in her daily life. She gets in a hot mess. It was my favorite book for awhile. I read it again a few years ago. It was pretty liberal for a book from the 80's. A girl gets an abortion and major stuff happens.

There are five books that I felt differently about over time. Do you have any?