#COLLABOREADS: A Banned Book
If you're new to #COLLABOREADS, welcome!
Amber and I started this fun little online book club back in May 2015, and after a summer without it, we're bringing it back to life again this month! We pick a theme every month, you pick a book that fits (we all read different books! it's fun that way!) and then all link up and share our thoughts (with a handy-dandy R.E.A.D.S. acronym usually--see below!) and link up and become BFFs. You can read more about this whole thing here.
This month's theme was: A Banned Book
I chose: The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
“Holden narrates the story of a couple of days in his sixteen-year-old life, just after he’s been expelled from prep school, in a slang that sounds edgy even today and keeps this novel on banned book lists.
His constant wry observations about what he encounters, from teachers to phonies (the two of course are not mutually exclusive) capture the essence of the eternal teenage experience of alienation.”
Riveting.
What part of the book could you NOT get enough of? I found zero parts of this book riveting. Zero. I looked on Goodreads to see what other friends of mine thought, and was shocked to see so many 5 and 4 star reviews from so many of them. Did I miss something?! But then, the most popular question in the discussion section said this: "Am i the only person who fails to understand why this book is considered a classic, to me it was boring and tedious and the plot failed to engross me as many other books have?" and THAT IS EXACTLY HOW I FEEL. Nothing about this book engrossed me. I was annoyed by Holden constantly. I thought his actions were ridiculous and meaningless. I didn't understand it. I think I totally missed the point of this book?
Elements.
How did you relate to/care for the characters? What's your thought on the plot line and twists and turns? I didn't like the characters at all. Not one of them. I didn't like the plot. I didn't really want to keep reading, but I did because I wanted to give it a fair review. I was glad to be done with this one. The whole "not wanting to grow up and be an adult" thing frustrates me (in all of life, not just in this book) but I think I'm just too realistic to find that train of thought believable or enticing.
Associate.
What other books are like this one? If none, did it remind you of a particular TV or movie with it's themes and characters? Does it serendipitous-ly line-up with things going on in your life or the news right now? Uhhh... I got nothing for this. I feel like the themes of not wanting to grow up, of rebelling against life and society even when it's cushy and easy, of being interested in the "off-limits" things like sex and drugs and alcohol, are all common themes in so many stories/plots these days, but I can't specifically thing of any that feel similar. I do understand that this book in the context of its publication was more shocking than it seems in 2016, but I still just didn't find it to be a great read.
Design.
You know you judged this book by the cover. What did you think of it? How did it relate to the contents of the novel? And the font and layout of the pages? My copy is super old, and the front and back cover are literally the exact same. I've never seen that on a book before! So cool and weird to me.
Stars.
How many out of five do you give this book? Would you recommend this book to a friend? I gave this 2/5 stars. Didn't really like it. Honestly, wouldn't really have any desire to recommend it to a friend, because I just didn't really like it. Oh well.
LET'S LINK UP NOW.
FOR NEXT MONTH:
October's theme is "A Book with 'Fall' in the Title" so take that however you want (either about autumn or anything else!) and cozy up with your book! Here are a bunch of ideas!