I recall listening to the end of "A Tale of Two Cities" (I was 30-ish, with two small children) and sobbing unreservedly. A few weeks later, I encountered a teen-age girl bent over a paperback copy of the same. "Isn't that a wonderful book?" I gushed. "It makes me want to put a fork in my eye" was her reply. I realized, upon further reflection, that "a far, far better thing I do" would probably have been wasted on ME as a teenager, as well.
Ha! I feel like conversations with strangers reading a book that's meaningful to you almost never go well, do they? Most of my attempts have been mortifying and/or disheartening in just the way you describe.
I agree -- that would've been my reaction to it if I'd attempted it on my own as a teen. However, I think enthusiasm can be contagious in read-alouds. I read parts of Great Expectations to my kids (tweens and early teens at the time) and they were enthralled by it. Years later, they still laugh about the image of the convict "handing mincemeat down his throat in a most curious manner..."
a real NYC interpretation " A taxi circling the block with the meter running . "
Ha! NYC circa 2002
I recall listening to the end of "A Tale of Two Cities" (I was 30-ish, with two small children) and sobbing unreservedly. A few weeks later, I encountered a teen-age girl bent over a paperback copy of the same. "Isn't that a wonderful book?" I gushed. "It makes me want to put a fork in my eye" was her reply. I realized, upon further reflection, that "a far, far better thing I do" would probably have been wasted on ME as a teenager, as well.
Ha! I feel like conversations with strangers reading a book that's meaningful to you almost never go well, do they? Most of my attempts have been mortifying and/or disheartening in just the way you describe.
I agree -- that would've been my reaction to it if I'd attempted it on my own as a teen. However, I think enthusiasm can be contagious in read-alouds. I read parts of Great Expectations to my kids (tweens and early teens at the time) and they were enthralled by it. Years later, they still laugh about the image of the convict "handing mincemeat down his throat in a most curious manner..."