Catcher in the Rye
One summer when i was about 13 my dad, half solemly/half awkwardly, gave me a copy of this book. He reckoned that ''every young man at your age should read this book''. Now, up until this point i had never read anything at all and probably thought books were 'gay' but the manner in which he gave it to me compelled me to read it. I read it in almost one sitting and then re-read it all summer. That was the book that introduced me to the world of books and probably still is my favourite.

And i spent a whole year thinking that i was Holden Caufield.I said 'phoney' far too much and probably sounded like a prick.
(BarryChuckle, Fri 16 May 2008, 14:16, 4 replies)

I think
you must have to read that book at the right time in life for it to have an impact (which is possibly true of all books, I suppose). I read it in my early twenties and found the main character to be an irritating, whining git.

I understand why the book became important, being the first (I think) to address teenage emotional response to the world as different and worthwhile, but it grated on my nerves.

Perhaps it's suffering from Tolkien syndrome in my brain; the same thing has been emulated and refined so much since that the original now seems infuriating. Or perhaps I'm just a freak.
(ThomsonsPier consumes, Fri 16 May 2008, 14:40, closed)

You are Mark David Chapman
AICMFP (from a distance)
( Zak McFlimby Twibbling @McFlimby, Fri 16 May 2008, 14:43, closed)

I have to admit
I only read that book because of Mark Chapman
(The Goat www.cuttingthroughthematrix.com, Fri 16 May 2008, 15:16, closed)

Em....
My dad IS mark Chapman.He gave me a gun the following Summer and has been telling me all sorts of nasty things about Mick Jagger.

I agree though, if i read this now i probably would think Holden was a loser.
(BarryChuckle, Fri 16 May 2008, 17:08, closed)