[purpleblue]

Catcher in the Rye was the right book for me at the right age. It really set a North Star for me as to what I wanted to be when I looked at myself in the mirror.

Funny how as I grew older, I found myself understanding more and more about what the older characters were saying, without me sacrificing what made what Holden Caulfield ring so true to me.

Fun fact: in university at the bookstore they had a written poll as to what your favorite book was (before the Internet). I was one of the first ones and wrote down Catcher in the Rye. A month later I read in the school paper that Catcher in the Rye was the winner that year, and it was the first time that the Bible didn't come in first place.

[mynameisash]

Out of curiosity, when did you read it?

It's one of those books that everyone's heard about, but I find not many people have read. I myself hadn't read it until about six years ago (in my late 30s). I was underwhelmed by it. Maybe the book hit a lot harder when it came out than it does in modern times?

[purpleblue]

I also read it when I was 16, and throughout my 20s. I haven't read it in 10-15 years now. It's something that speaks to you as a teenager more than it does as an adult, because at least for me it put into words what I hated about the world, ex. phonies, and how I wanted to hold myself to that. I'm in my 50s and I'm not a phony so it won't hit me as hard, but I still remember how much it meant to me.

[confidantlake]

I read it at 12, got nothing out of it. Read at 16, thought it was the best book in the world. Read it at 22, got nothing out of it.