Play Book Tag discussion

If you could erase one book from your memory and read it again for the first time, which one would it be?

If you were told history could be changed and you could write an existing book, which would you choose?

If you could step into the world of any book for a day, which one would you choose and why?

If you could change the ending of any book, which one would it be and how would you rewrite it?

What book do you wish you had read at a different time in your life?
If you could give your younger self one book to read, what would it be and why?

Which book do you think deserves a sequel (or prequel) that doesn’t exist?

What’s a book that left you emotionally wrecked but you’d still recommend to others?

As always, expound and adapt and further the discussion.

Wow!! Terrific questions. Jason, I will be "borrowing" some of your ideas for use in other groups.

As far as reading again for the first time, if you live long enough, you forget so much from books that they are like new again! Or you identify with different characters in the book.

About reading at a different time - In high school and college we read books by Thomas Hardy and other classics. I had no experience of passion, suffering, or struggle of any kind. So a lot of it went over my head. When I read some of them later, I got more out of them.

Heavens, that's a LOT! Of course, at the moment my mind pulls a blank on most of the questions as to specific books, so will have to take them a couple at a time and come back I think.

But a few general answers/thoughts/stories to share here.

As Robin said, so many books read in my tweens and teens - even early 20s - much went over my head as just not sufficient life experience - and my life wasn't that sheltered! I do believe too many books are mandatory reading and should not be forced down the throats in lit classes - The Great Gatsby and in Advanced French Madame Bovary.

On the other hand, I happen to think DIckens works for just about any age - my first was Great Expectations, an abridged edition published by Scholastic. I've loved Dickens ever since.

I have re-read many of the books from those years and have mostly found them to be so much more than I remembered. One exception is Wuthering Heights - hate it as much now as when I was 16.

Other books were loved then and rereading them now has me pulling much more from them. Example: I read LOTR when I was in high school - an adventure story involving a small group of friends and I loved it. I read it again a decade or more later and really got pulled into Frodo's storyline, how it may have saved the world he loved but did not save him. The third time I read it - after the Peter Jackson brilliant movie adaptation came out - it was Sam's journey and role that stuck with me, became more prominent.

When settling to sleep, I have long used mentally creating the after stories of books I read - usually onces with romances in them - what happens next. That's dropped off in recent years. It's not really rewriting, but continuing stories I've enjoyed.

I don't think I actually rewrite endings mentally, but I do recast theater productions and even play endings with a friend when we go to the theater - which has been often in my life. Do it with opera too. I'm still waiting for the perfect casting for Tosca - all 3 main characters have yet to meet my imagined casting.

Come to think of it, I've yet to see any production or film of Hamlet where I think Hamlet himself has been portrayed properly or adequately. I've basically stopped going to see productions because the actors are portraying Hamlet in more and more ridiculous ways - last and possibly worst was Benjamin Cumber batch. Ditto the opera or play Elektra - too often they just have her rolling around in the dirt onstage.

There are also books that should not be read past a certain age. I read The Catcher in the Rye for the first time in the last 10 years - hated it, thought it was indulgent, boring, and could not see the appeal at all. Now, when I was a teen - though probably not as the world depicted was not one I could relate to or sympathise with.

Other books do not age well - are too much of their times - and that includes classics.

Jason, I'll try to answer just one of your questions.

If you could step into the world of any book for a day, which one would you choose and why?

My brother, sister and I grew up watching children's plays. My sister loved to act and would often get a part in one of the shows at our local theater. Our absolute favorite show was Peter Pan. One year, my sister got the role of Tiger Lily and one year, she got a role (Wendy?) which enabled her to fly! (I seem to remember her getting smacked onto some scenery - Ouch.) However, Peter Pan and all of the characters as well as Never Land were very real to us. We'd watch the show, mesmerized, year after year.

I would gladly spend a day in Never Land if I could fly. (What a silly old lady I am!)

The other books that loom large in my imagination are the Harry Potter series. I'd love to spend a day at Hogwarts and Diagon Alley.

Note: My 6 year old grand nephew will be going to Disneyland next week. My sister (his grandma) has been trying to get him to watch the Peter Pan movie, since this is one of the characters he may meet. So far, he has not been interested.

Great questions but, as always, how can I choose only one for any of these?

Holly R W wrote: "Jason, I'll try to answer just one of your questions.

If you could step into the world of any book for a day, which one would you choose and why?

My brother, sister and I grew up watching childre..."


Holly - the Peter Pan ride at Disneyland is my favorite. I bet taking him on that early in the visit will do the trick.

What’s a book that left you emotionally wrecked but you’d still recommend to others?

The Winds of War and War and Remembrance two books by Herman Wouk
that I read in my twenties and just re-read the first one last year and plan to read the second again this year. He was such a fabulous writer and this was a story that will draw you in and make you feel that you are a part of the Henry family. I loved them both, but was emotional drained for sure.

@Theresa, the Peter Pan ride is already planned. My sister (who will be going to Disneyland too) was just talking with me about it yesterday.

Theresa wrote: "Heavens, that's a LOT! Of course, at the moment my mind pulls a blank on most of the questions as to specific books, so will have to take them a couple at a time and come back I think.

But a few ..."

I don't remember if we have discussed this but I also hated Wuthering Heights both as a younger and an older reader. And I fell in love with Dickens from the Scholastic edition of Great Expectations, in 7th or 8th grade and went on to read a lot more of him.

I’d love to experience the Harry Potter books afresh. It’s such a wonderful world to immerse yourself in. They are brilliant as re-reads, but nothing ever quite beat reading them for the first time.

There are recent books that I think I would have liked more if I were younger, such as The Midnight Library. I had already learned from life that all our choices involve trade-offs, there is no perfect life, so live the one you have.

I hated Silas Marner, which we read in 9th or 10th grade. I haven't tried it again since. I also read The Mill on the Floss sometime in high school and found it way too melodramatic. As an adult, I think Middlemarch is brilliant but I haven't tried the others again.

A book that left me emotionally wrecked back when I was around 18 was Five Smooth Stones. It was very much of the time, focusing on the Civil Rights movement but also one man's coming of age story. I have been afraid to read it again because I might not find it so impactful now.

Some other emotionally draining but wonderful sagas I read in my 20's were The Far Pavilions, The Thorn Birds, and Roots: The Saga of an American Family.

Holly R W wrote: "Jason, I'll try to answer just one of your questions.

If you could step into the world of any book for a day, which one would you choose and why?

My brother, sister and I grew up watching childre..."

We had a lot of fun at the Harry Potter world at Universal in Florida when it first opened. It was pretty cool. My son is going back with his girlfriend this month to see all the new things they added.

Robin P wrote: "Theresa wrote: "Heavens, that's a LOT! Of course, at the moment my mind pulls a blank on most of the questions as to specific books, so will have to take them a couple at a time and come back I thi..."

We no doubt read the exact same edition of Great Expectations!

A book that left me wrecked emotionally, and still echos was The Prince of Tides by Pat Conroy which I read in the late 1980s. It was the first time I read a book of such exquistitely beautiful writing telling of such horrors and devastation on a fami,y and children.

Another book that shook me and still does was The Handmaid's Tale.

Neither of these books will I ever reread. I don't need to.

@Nancy - I've seen videos of Harry Potter world and would love to go there.

@Theresa - The Prince of Tides was devastating to read for me too. And still, I felt it enlarged my understanding.

@Robin - I also Hated Silas Marner with a capital H. Not a fan of Moby Dick either! I wonder if kids today have to read so many of the so called classics.

What’s a book that left you emotionally wrecked but you’d still recommend to others?

"Emotionally wrecked" might be a little dramatic, but I found these two books to be painful to read:

James by Percival Everett
The Tsar of Love and Techno by Anthony Marra

If you could erase one book from your memory and read it again for the first time, which one would it be?

This is kinda lame, but honestly if I could I would want to read Gone Girl again for the first time 🤣
It was a total mindf%#k at the time and a feeling I have never been able to recreate with any other thriller.

I am sure I could come up with something more thought-provoking or deep, but in terms of entertainment, I feel like Gone Girl can't be beat!

Theresa wrote: "There are also books that should not be read past a certain age. I read The Catcher in the Rye for the first time in the last 10 years - hated it, thought it was indulgent, boring, and could not see the appeal at all. Now, when I was a teen - though probably not as the world depicted was not one I could relate to or sympathise with. ..."

I read it as a teen and hated it for the same reasons you site. I thought he was a whiny brat.

Left me emotionally wrecked A Lesson Before Dying by Ernest J. Gaines

The first time I read it, I was crying so hard I literally could not see the page to read. Had to put it aside for about an hour before I could finish it. I've read it three or four times and each time I start crying earlier because I know what is coming.

Wish I could erase and experience again for the first time - To Kill a Mockingbird

I have read and re-read this so many times that I practically can recite the entire thing from memory. And I almost always find something "new" that captures my attention.

But I would love to have that first experience again, and just enjoy the visceral reaction.

Book Concierge wrote: "Wish I could erase and experience again for the first time - To Kill a Mockingbird

I have read and re-read this so many times that I practically can recite the entire thing from me..."

Wouldn't that be fabulous?

Robin P wrote: "I don't remember if we have discussed this but I also hated Wuthering Heights..."

I only read it after(?) I'd finished university, I believe. I also hated it.

Robin P wrote: "I also read The Mill on the Floss sometime in high school and found it way too melodramatic. A,..."

Read around the same time as "Wuthering Heights" (ish), this is the one book in my life I know for sure I didn't finish. "The Mill on the Floss". I may or may not have finished Frankenstein - I don't remember and if I didn't, I believe that and Mill on the Floss are the only books I've ever started and didn't finish.

If you could erase one book from your memory and read it again for the first time, which one would it be?
- I have a few for this. I would want it to be a book a book that was life altering for me. The Giver, The Poisonwood Bible, The Kite Runner. And, because of how beautifully he writes about baseball, The Baseball 100 or Why We Love Baseball: A History in 50 Moments

If you were told history could be changed and you could write an existing book, which would you choose?
- I wish I could write something like Fredrik Backman. I would happily take credit for any of his works. haha. Or the Red Rising Series.

What book do you wish you had read at a different time in your life?
- I think about this all the time. How would I feel about 1984, Brave New World. Even though I enjoy most of John Grisham books now, I read the majority of them when I was in high school. If I started reading him now, would I want to read everything he publishes. And then books that have helped me become a better person. Man, I wish I had read them younger and earlier in my marriage. Us: Getting Past You and Me to Build a More Loving Relationship, Black AF History: The Un-Whitewashed Story of America (something similar to these as these weren't published yet.)

If you could give your younger self one book to read, what would it be and why?
- Something on race and social justice. Also epic tales such as The Pillars of the Earth or The Counte of Monte Cristo

Which book do you think deserves a sequel (or prequel) that doesn’t exist?
- Suprisingly, this was hard. The Outsiders, The Road. I want more of The Pillars of the Earth series. I can never get enough of that series, and I want to know what happens to the Sawtelle dogs of Familiaris and The Story of Edgar Sawtelle

What’s a book that left you emotionally wrecked but you’d still recommend to others?
- I have many. Beartown series, The Kite Runner, A Little Life, The Outsiders, The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane, The Boy in the Striped Pajamas, All the Light We Cannot See, the end of the third book in the Red Rising series Morning Star

Such good questions, Jason !

Personally, I've always wanted to go to Middle Earth. I'd like to be a hobbit in my next life. At difficult times in my life, I do go to middle earth, rereading the most comforting passages in the trilogy. I've worn out several paperback copies, and I have treasured hardback editions. Like Theresa, different aspects of the books have resonated with me at different points on my life. And I always seem to think about Middle Earth when I'm walking in a wooded area.

My introduction to Dickens came with a Christmas eve tradition of listening to the very scratched recordings of a Ronald Coleman adaptation. I've loved Dickens ever since.
(although I've taken a break from reading Little Dorrit at the moment.) My other early introduction to 19th century lit were the Hodgson Burnett books. I would love to be able to read The Secret Garden for the first time again just for the pleasure of going through the garden door for the first time.

Meli wrote: "If you could erase one book from your memory and read it again for the first time, which one would it be?

This is kinda lame, but honestly if I could I would want to read Gone Girl again for the f..."

That's funny, I detested Gone Girl and only finished it because I wanted to see how the author got out of it. I think I have led a sheltered life because I don't believe in people who are so systematically warped and can keep it up for so long. There are awful people in society, but they are just not that smart and consistent.

Kind of similar on my naivete - years ago a book group I was in read some book, which I don't remember know, and I said "No family is this dysfunctional" and several people said, "Oh, yes they are!" based on their own experience.

On the other hand, I read lots of "unbelievable" things and enjoy them, such as fantasy and even Regency romance, which is highly unrealistic.

If you could step into the world of any book for a day, which one would you choose and why?

I have a similar story to Holly's. My good friend, her sister, and my sister grew up acting out The Wizard of Oz every year. We each had to play multiple roles. I was with Wicked Witch and the Scarecrow, my friend played Dorothy and Glinda, her sister played the Tin Man and the Oz gatekeeper, and my sister was the Cowardly Lion and the Wizard. We all chimed in when we sang the Munchkin songs. We would sing the songs and follow the "yellow brick road" down our hallway from the bedrooms to the living area. So, I'd spend a day in Oz, knowing to avoid poppy fields and flying monkeys!

If you could erase one book from your memory and read it again for the first time, which one would it be?
I'd love to read again for the first time The Lord of the Rings Trilogy. I remember vividly when I first read those books and absolutely loved them. I felt completely immersed in the world of Middle Earth. I have never really loved a fantasy series as much as that one, and I've not become much of a fantasy reader in general, but those books hold a special place in my heart.

ETA - I will join others in disliking Wuthering Heights and The Catcher in the Rye, and loving Dickens from the very start, especially David Copperfield, Great Expectations, and A Tale of Two Cities (which I read in one day when I was in high school - I stayed up all night reading it!)

LibraryCin wrote: "Robin P wrote: "I don't remember if we have discussed this but I also hated Wuthering Heights..."

I only read it after(?) I'd finished university, I believe. I also hated it."

I loathed Wuthering Heights, but I read it when I was growing up so of course I finished it; I'd hate it now even more.

Robin P wrote: "That's funny, I detested Gone Girl and only finished it because I wanted to see how the author got out of it. I think I have led a sheltered life because I don't believe in people who are so systematically warped and can keep it up for so long. There are awful people in society, but they are just not that smart and consistent."

I didn't necessarily think it was very believable, but there is a bit of fantasy involved in some fiction where it's like "what if someone was that calculating and smart" or "what if that could happen." Especially with genre books like thrillers or horror.

But also the book has an interesting way of shifting who you root for as it progresses and the facts slowly reveal themselves. I found that manipulation by the author quite skillful. I don't necessarily need to believe these things are possible as long as they are presented in some plausible way.

I also tend to be the "if you can think it up, it's out there" kinda mindset 🤣 (within reason of course)

Book Concierge wrote: "Left me emotionally wrecked A Lesson Before Dying by Ernest J. Gaines

The first time I read it, I was crying so hard I literally could not see the page to read. Had to pu..."

That was an awesome book. Thanks for the reminder.

I found A Lesson Before Dying devastating. I read it with my son when he was in 10th grade and would live to read it with my students but I don’t think I could bear it. I absolutely adored To Kill A Mockingbird and I’m teaching it for the 9th time. I’m beyond frustrated because my students are not
Receptive to it. I’m going to have to change my approach