Then VS Now

As I continue my nostalgia kick, I have noticed an interesting change in how I read these cherished nuggets from my past.  As I read them I have started picking up on things that went completely over my head when I was younger (the hazards of having a reading comprehension level apx 8 years more then my actual age) or I notice subtleties that probably never occurred to me at age 7.  It makes for a very interesting reread experience.  I am not talking about my beloved classics that I read once a year, as much as I love and adore them my Chronicles of Narnia, Little House on the Prairie, and Lord of the Rings, they get read so often that I have grown up with them and my opinion and what I get from them is pretty much set in stone.  No I am talking about the books and series that I devoured and loved as a kid, forgot or put aside as I grew older
and am just now picking them back up.  Some stand the test of time like Peppermints in the Parlor which while a bit simpler then I remember is still a solid story that I would recommend to any young reader.  Others like the SVH series are just so atrocious on what it teaches impressionable young girls that I could not in good conscious recommend it to anybody under the age of 21.  I find it interesting to see what bugs me now that never bugged me before, certain attitudes and especially relationships drive me bananas.  I was never an overly romantic teen, I was fairly pragmatic about boys (and girls) and knew full well that fairy tale loves were just that, fairy tales.  That being said, I still did not see a problem with most of the relationships I read about, especially in YA books, now when I go back and read them I see the same problem I still see today, a controlling boy who is just doing "what is best" for his girl, and the girl, who even if she is supposed to be strong, falls for this overprotective oaf, thank God my Daddy taught me better then that.  I also see a lot of social, racial, and just moral issues that seemed to have been glossed over or accepted in some of these older books, that while I may not have agreed with them as a youngster, I accepted them in the course of the story.  Now of course I take to my blog in outrage over these things.  Of course it is really hard to get over the nostalgia factor, as much as I kind of hated rereading Double Love SVH or rolled my eyes over my recent skimming of one of the BSC books, I can't help but be transported back to when and where I was when I was reading these books.  They also had the added bonus of being written at the pace of about a dozen a year, and at the rate I was reading, this helped keep my voracious appetite for books under control.  I also have to consider that the source of most of my books was my local library which did not get in books at the rate of your friendly neighborhood bookstore.  Growing up with very little money, the library was my source for most things literary (with a healthy injection from my parents whenever they could).  I blazed through their supply of books in a heartbeat and started rereading at an early age, just to have something in my hands.  The librarians were great at setting aside any new book that came through the door for me.  This is why as awful, or simple, or "not my current taste" some of these old books are, I will always have a soft spot for them, and hey as I am rediscovering some of these oldies are actually long forgotten gems just waiting to be rediscovered.  So I am off to read, reread, and discover new and old loves. Happy Reading Everybody!

What books have you rediscovered recently?  What books are you appalled to have loved so much?  Are books just way too much a part of my thoughts?