Because of neighborhood book hutches I now have eight copies of *Jane Eyre.* A friend saw the stack and asked if it was really THAT good that I needed eight copies. It was only then that I realized I’d never actually read it. I still know the whole plot and can easily picture it in my head. I have the same relationship with *Brave New World* and everything in the Divine Comedy after the Inferno section. Who else has this relationship with a book?
by SweetMickeyFun
5 Comments
Neighborhood book hutches? Do you mean the Little Free Libraries? Why would you take multiple copies of a book you already have and not leave them for others?
Me on Dune: “ah yes the book about space drugs and giant sandworms, I’m familiar”
I’ve learned something new about how people use “neighborhood book hutches” today! I guess “use” is better than disuse…
To your actual question: I’ve found that any time I think I “know” a book, when I actually read it I find out just how little I really knew. But I suppose any book that’s been faithfully adapted into a film will have that sort of effect. I’ve never read *Pride and Prejudice* or *Moby Dick*, and yet I feel like I know those books. More alarming is when a book hasn’t been faithfully adapted to film, and yet people think they know it because they’ve seen the film.
Take a drive today to every little free library you can find and dump the Jane Eyre copes.
It’s my favorite book in the world. Don’t hoard.
Keep your favorite and read it. Don’t bother with the prologues until later. Come to it on your own.
Make some hot tea before you start to read it, because you will feel very cold for a while. A lap blanket might be good as well.
I know that I read Of Human Bondage, but I can’t remember anything past the very beginning. I must have started it and dnf for whatever reason. But if you ask I’d say yeah, I read that one. Nope.