What book(s) do you regret reading in your youth?

[Peek a Boo]

there are plenty of books that i regret reading *as a kid* and think should have been kept for an adult:

 

Separate Peace

The Scarlet Letter

Catcher in the Rye [absolutely hate that book]

and Red Badge of Courage [still don't like that one either].

 

Scary/wierd stuff like that previously mentioned didn't bother me :)

[gardenschooler]

I read all of the Stephen King books, happily until I got to IT...I couldn't finish that one, either. That ended my Stephen King marathon (and I think I was an adult when I tried to read that).

 

And why, oh why did we read those stupid V.C. Andrews books? Complete waste of time.

 

Ditto for all of Judy Blume ( I found them all disturbing, but especially Then Again, Maybe I Won't), Erica Jong, (why on earth was I reading that?!?) and the Jean Auel (Clan of the Cave Bear) series. Obviously, my reading wasn't supervised at all.

 

Mrs. Mungo, I also was pretty disturbed by Running with Scissors. She's Come Undone (by Wally Lamb) was pretty depressing, too.

 

The #1 book I wish I'd never read (as an adult) is Night by Elie Weisel. I'll never get that out of my head, the detailed descripton of the murder of babies for sport.

[Jugglin'5]

I read "It" when I was 12. I had to get rid of the book. I still remember the cover. That was right after my parents let me watch "The Car", a horror movie about the devil killing people in a car. Silly, I know, but my imagination kept me from sleeping at night. I never watched horror movies or read Stephen King books after that, even when all my friends in high school were.

[Oak Knoll Mom]

And within the last few years I read "The Kite Runners" and so wish that I had not. There is one scene in there that I wish I could exorcise. Where is that brain bleach when you need it.

 

If it's the scene I'm thinking about, then I'm right there with you. I stopped reading the book after it. It was more than this mom of three boys could handle.

[umarider]

Lord of the Flies... required reading in HS. Also, "A Separate Peace", but it was Lord of the Flies that still icks me out. My mom continues to insist that it is an important study in how quickly society can break down and that dd should read it in another year or so... I'm willing to pass on that and just use other resources to get that lesson across.

[rockermom]

I read Night Shift by Stephen King when I was 8 or 9. I was disturbed by many of the short stories, but I kept reading (my Dad had it in the bathroom). I still can't sleep with a closet door even cracked (because of The Boogeyman.)

 

I, too, wish to remove images from V.C. Andrews books from my mind.

 

I checked out a book from the library called Rock Star (I think) because I wanted to be a professional bassist, and it had some horrible forced & consensual s** scenes that disturbed me and I wasn't ready for.

 

I never read any Blume books when the other kids were... glad I didn't.

[Karen sn]

WOW. I read a few of the posts here. Yikes.

No scarry stuff here in book form. I loved Nancy Drew though - there was an occasional kidnapping I think. We didn't have cable.......

I probably could have done without Sweet Valley High....but I was able to sleep at night with the windows wide open and my face pressed against the screen watching the stars move across the sky.....so I guess I did OK.

 

What I really could have done without was Cosmopolitan Magazine....think 80's. Now THAT has taken some getting over!

[Karen sn]

I was so scared while reading IT. It got so bad that I ended up throwing the unfinished book into our woodstove and burning it, because even having it in the room was terrifying.

 

And, perhaps we were separated at birth, because I also read all the Flowers in the Attic books (though I never would have thought to do a book report on one--I think I would've been too embarrased).

 

If that's the one with the clown - I did see the movie or part of it. I am creeped out by clowns to this day....but he must have been a smiling clown because sad clowns don't freak me out.

 

I DO like rodeo clowns however.

 

I would have burned the book as well.

[Marie in Oh]

I was in Jr. High. Everyone was reading them. They were bad.

[Night Elf]

I did hate Lord of the Flies, a required read in high school. To be honest, I didn't even remember reading it until I saw other posts mentioning it. I have some vague memories of it but I don't think I'll focus on it because I'm sure there is a reason I don't remember it.

 

Otherwise, nothing. I read tons of books when I was a kid and I can't think of a single book I regret reading.

[Melinda in VT]

Other books that I thought were not worth reading:

 

• A Separate Peace

• Lord of the Flies

 

 

Really? I thought both of these were great books, although I don't remember much about A Separate Peace. I was going to suggest that to my 6th grader. Maybe I should reread it first. :tongue_smilie:

[Laura Corin]

Every room had large open fireplaces and enormous chimneys. Think about Murders in the Rue Morgue.

 

Laura

[MySerenity]

I was so scared while reading IT. It got so bad that I ended up throwing the unfinished book into our woodstove and burning it, because even having it in the room was terrifying.

 

And, perhaps we were separated at birth, because I also read all the Flowers in the Attic books (though I never would have thought to do a book report on one--I think I would've been too embarrased).

 

Heh, I never would've done it for a book report either. Luckily I was over the Flowers In the Attic stage in 8th grade so it wasn't a problem. And my copy of IT landed in the garbage, I would've burned it if we had a woodstove or fireplace. It's funny because I actually like a lot of Stephen King books... mostly the ones I wouldn't consider horror... like The Green Mile, The Stand (some might consider that horror) or Eyes of the Dragon.

 

I just remembered some of the other junk I read when I was younger... Danielle Steel (Why I read her I don't know), RL Stien's (can't remember how to spell that name) Fear Street series. Those were really popular when I was in middle school.

[*anj*]

I don't know how I escaped that Flowers in the Attic series. I clearly remember other girls reading them and talking about them. I remember thinking I'd have to get to those, but I never did. Now I'm glad.

 

I loved A Separate Peace. I don't even remember why, but I loved that book. And The Catcher in the Rye. Of course I was very much in my Preppy Phase when I read those two, so.....

[Annie Laurie]

VC Andrews books, Stephen King, some Judy Blume books I could have done without too.

[SusanG]

The Exorcist was the only book that really troubled me for a long time. Years of nightmares, and I still get creeped out when I see something on tv or the internet with the little girl in the movie. The Shining and many other Stephen King books scared the poop out of me, but in a "good" way I guess, compared to the Exorcist. I probably should have read them as an older teen, but I don't regret reading them.

 

When I was around 12 - 14, I also read the VC Andrews books, the Anne Rice Beauty books, and lots of other things people here seem to have been bothered by, but they didn't phase me. The VC Andrews books creeped me out a bit, but not in a lasting, disturbing sort of way.

[Laura K (NC)]

That book did a lot to mess with my Christian worldview. It's not that the book was dangerous in itself, but it was dangerous to read without Christian preparation and context. I read it when I was 19. It messed with my spirituality for years before I could understand that there was a Christian counterpoint.

 

That said, I do want my kids to read that book before leaving high school. I want to prepare them for all kinds of worldviews, and Ayn Rand's worldview is compelling enough, and seems to make so much sense, that it would make for some great conversation... conversation that I wish had accompanied my own reading. :(

[PineFarmMom]

Stephen King

Anne Rice

 

Those are two specific ones I wish I hadn't wasted brain cells on. I never read anything back then that exalted Christ. I regret that. It definitely affected me negatively. :( Junkin; junk out, as they say.

 

Teresa

[H0MEFree]

Romance novels

[PineFarmMom]

I

And why, oh why did we read those stupid V.C. Andrews books? Complete waste of time.

 

.

 

Yes. I had forgotten those...ridiculous is what they are. No redeeming qualities at all!!

 

Teresa

[LibraryLover]

I don't regreat anything I've ever read. The good, the bad, the twaddle have all given me a bit of something and served whatever need I had at the time, especially as a teen.

[PrairieAir]

I skimmed through one of the V.C. Andrews books once because they were all the rage among the group of girls who sat near me in a few of my 8th grade classes. What I read turned my stomach and disturbed me so much I didn't bother checking out my own copy from the library. (I was looking at someone else's when I should have been reading my history.)

 

As far as books I really regret reading, I don't know that there are any. I've read a few that were absolute crap, but I don't know that I have any deep feelings of regret. Any regret would only be over lost time and then I'd be wasting more time in regretting:D

 

Are You There God, It's Me Margaret really freaked me out when I was a kid. I was beyond it for reading level, but not ready for maturity and understanding of some of the things discussed. That is the strongest negative response I remember having to a book that I read all the way through. Mostly I was confused. I wouldn't say I regret reading it; I only wish I'd had someone I felt comfortable discussing it with, though, given my personality, that person would be hard to find.

 

I loathed The Catcher in the Rye when I read it as (I think) a freshman. I did not like or understand Holden Caufield and I had no sympathy for him. I re-read the book a few years ago, and I still don't like him or the book. I think it is one of the most horribly depressing things I've ever read. I don't care for Salinger's style either. I don't regret reading it the first or second time. I did have a better understanding of and greater sympathy towards Holden the second time around.

[PrairieAir]

there are plenty of books that i regret reading *as a kid* and think should have been kept for an adult:

 

Separate Peace

The Scarlet Letter

Catcher in the Rye [absolutely hate that book]

and Red Badge of Courage [still don't like that one either].

 

Scary/wierd stuff like that previously mentioned didn't bother me :)

 

I remember loving A Separate Peace, though, as someone else said, I'm not sure I could tell you why now. The details are fuzzy on that one. I read the sequel as well and remember liking it, but not as much.

 

I loathed The Scarlet Letter and all Hawthorne in high school, but I think I could read it now and get more out of it. His style takes a lot of getting used to and patience. He's a tad wordy;) I don't think I could ever learn to appreciate the movie version with Demi Moore, though. Ugh.

 

I hated The Red Badge of Courage when we read portions of it in junior high and then watched the movie. I read it with my youngest two the year before last because it was one of our book club selections (not mine!) and I really enjoyed it. I'm glad I chose to read that one aloud to the kids because I think they understood it better and youngest ds especially got a lot out of our discussions. In fact, I think reading it to the kids and discussing it with them forced me to look at it more closely and understand it better.

[Retired]

I can't remember what the series was called.

[TravelingChris]

I think their only a few ones I regret but mostly for bad writing- Flowers in the Attic is one. That was poorly written and nasty too. There were other ones I read that I have no idea about the author's names or the titles but just were totally unenlighting, not enjoyable, and badly written too. Total wastes of time. The school assigned book I totally hated was "The Old Man and the Sea" . What a boring book! I still haven'read anymore Hemmingway to this day because of that book.

 

Books like Helter Skelter and others got me interested in crimes. I later went into criminal justice field.

[Tammyla]

My mom was drew some pretty strict lines when it came to books and movies. I thought it was too strict then, but now I see a little wisdom in her parenting. My best friend and I enjoyed listening to War Of The Worlds secretly; thanks to her brother. Neither of us could sleep for weeks;).

[Dani n Monies Mom]

O.K. So it sounds like I need to avoid the following books as an adult:

 

Sophie's Choice (avoid movie as well)

Helter Skelter

The Kite Runner

 

Too late on VC Andrews, Sweet Valley High, Forever, Adult Historical Romance, It and Sybil. But they didn't bother me much, and I'm surprisingly sensitive.

 

There is one author I can't read anymore because my dh says it affects my attitude, James Clavell starting with Shogun. For some reason I get really...aggressive(?) when I read them and have nightmares. I know, I'm weird.:confused:

 

Now Edger Allen Poe is another story, oh and Pet Semetary, I read the first chapter and had to get that book out of my house FAST!!!

 

On the other hand, I loved Nancy Drew, Archie Comics and Beverly Cleary:001_smile:

 

Ava

[elizam]

It's haunted my my whole life and I had a lot of intrusive thoughts about it when my children were younger. Okay, right now I am thinking about it and wish I weren't. I'm going for a walk now.

 

 

ME TOO!

 

What I don't get is why I even wound up watching the movie when I knew what was going to happen from reading the book!

[elizam]

another book/movie taht I wish I had avoided is Fast Times at Ridgemont High. I remember hiding it and my mom found it and was angry. I wondered how in the world she knew anything about it! Movie reviews or just the title, perhaps? Did she leaf thru and come to the part with the banana?

[lighthouseacademy]

I am another who read the Flowers in the Attic books... they bothered me greatly. I think that I read a 2 or 3 and then stopped reading them because they were so disgusting. I had totally forgotten about them and then flipped through the channels on TV and came upon a made for TV or something on those books BLECH!

 

Assigned reading that poisoned my mind- I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings my freshmen year in high school. YUCK that whole rape scene... Alice a book about a drug addict. The Handmaid's Tale. What a waste. It was disturbing and a waste of time.

 

I wish I had read less frivolous Baby's Sitters Club. I always liked Judy Blume but you are all right, it was way too mature for me at the time I read it but I read them anyway.

 

I loved the book The Dreaming by Barbara Wood. She wrote several other books that I read as a teen that were way too racy though. One dealt with female genital mutilation. I had NO idea that even happened let alone what it was!

 

There were also a few books by Isabel Allende that were over my maturity when I read them as a teen...

 

Like many of you I was very much unchecked in my reading!

[dirty ethel rackham]

Harlequin romances and their ilk as well as the V. C. Andrews. books.

 

The romance novels at an impressionable age warped my view of healthy adult relationships (knight in shining armor, happily ever after syndromes), gave me an appetite for fluff and ruined me for good literature. I am still working on developing an appreciation for literature meant for the above 14 crowd.

 

The V.C. Andrews books were just YUK.

[elizam]

I am another who read the Flowers in the Attic books... they bothered me greatly. I think that I read a 2 or 3 and then stopped reading them because they were so disgusting. I had totally forgotten about them and then flipped through the channels on TV and came upon a made for TV or something on those books BLECH!

 

Assigned reading that poisoned my mind- I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings my freshmen year in high school. YUCK that whole rape scene... Alice a book about a drug addict. The Handmaid's Tale. What a waste. It was disturbing and a waste of time.

 

I wish I had read less frivolous Baby's Sitters Club. I always liked Judy Blume but you are all right, it was way too mature for me at the time I read it but I read them anyway.

 

I loved the book The Dreaming by Barbara Wood. She wrote several other books that I read as a teen that were way too racy though. One dealt with female genital mutilation. I had NO idea that even happened let alone what it was!

 

There were also a few books by Isabel Allende that were over my maturity when I read them as a teen...

 

Like many of you I was very much unchecked in my reading!

 

 

I sort of liked I know Why the Caged Bird Sings, but it was TMI for my age, I think...the other one is called Go Ask Alice, and I hated that one! It was not required reading in my classes. Actually, I don't think either of them were.

[Parrothead]

The only book that comes to mind for the freak-out-factor is Christine by Stephen King. I've read a lot of his work, and that is the only one that really, really bothers me even 20+ years later.

[angela in ohio]

Lace

 

And (not in my childhood) the Oprah book about the pregnant lady left at the Wal-Mart.

[dangermom]

Another vote for the V. C. Andrews novels. My best friend became obsessed with them in junior high and gave them to me to read. I don't think my mom knew about it, though--she was always very vocal about her disapproval of horror and trashy romance novels. She barely tolerated Sweet Valley High!

 

I didn't get around to reading a few Stephen King and Dean Koontz novels till I was probably 18, and while I didn't like them, they didn't disturb me as badly as the Andrews stuff, I suppose because I was older and there wasn't any incest.

 

Oh, and I should never have read all those Piers Anthony books. He's a filthy old man. Ew. I remember one in particular--I had no idea of the content and I wish I'd never seen it.

[Another Lynn]

but you might think I'm strange for this... I actually think the Judy Blume books were a worse influence than the VC Andrews books. Not that the VC Andrews books were okay - they were horrible, but then I *knew* that they were. Blume was being read and accepted by everyone as good books for us to read (even though my Mom had no idea what was in them). They seemed to portray life as it's supposed to be (ugh!). I regret them the most!

[lighthouseacademy]

I sort of liked I know Why the Caged Bird Sings, but it was TMI for my age, I think...the other one is called Go Ask Alice, and I hated that one! It was not required reading in my classes. Actually, I don't think either of them were.

 

Yes you are right- it was Go Ask Alice. I remembered the Alice part :tongue_smilie:. As for I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, it would have been a decent book if those 2 or 3 chapters were not included. I enjoyed it until that part... and after that I was so repulsed that I only remember the bad parts and my opinion is forever colored that it was a bad book.

 

The romance novels at an impressionable age warped my view of healthy adult relationships (knight in shining armor, happily ever after syndromes), gave me an appetite for fluff and ruined me for good literature. I am still working on developing an appreciation for literature meant for the above 14 crowd.

 

I hear you there! I read WAY too much Babysitter's Club and romance novels that turned my appetite for books to mush... I too am working on this.

 

Oh, and I should never have read all those Piers Anthony books. He's a filthy old man. Ew. I remember one in particular--I had no idea of the content and I wish I'd never seen it.

There were a few that were pretty clean- most of the ones about Xanth. I actually loved them. But I hear you on some of the others- I picked up one of his other books and it was definitely inappropriate.

[Pamela H in Texas]

Well, I don't know the name of the book and I won't give too many details because it's just literally SICK. Basically, it was a crime/detective book about a serial killer. Now think 100 times worse than your worse thoughts about that. Anyway, it still bothers me to this day that I could sit in my parents' livingroom (because I wasn't allowed to read in my room) and read a book like that. It should be criminal to not know what your preteens are reading better than that.

[lwilliams1922]

Judy blume and all those flowers in the attic books.

 

my 12 year old read constantly, too many for me to pre read. :(

I try to use book lists or reviews for her to select from but even that is hard since she will completes a book in less that a day.

 

I have been keeping my eye out to make sure I dont see any judy blume or vc andrews though.

[LizzyBee]

I read some things I probably shouldn't have, but I can't think of any books I actually regret reading.

 

ETA: There is one book I regret because of the graphic s*xual images. Kiss the Girls by James Patterson.

 

ETA: Oops, original question specified books we read in our youth. I was in my late 30's when I read Kiss the Girls. That's youth, right?

[abbeyej]

Hm. The Cement Garden in college. Could have done without reading that. Ever.

 

I never had any interest in "horror" as a genre, so I seem to have avoided any regret tied to that. And while there were certainly some books with sexual content that may, in many ways, have been "inappropriate" for my age, I don't necessarily regret reading them...

[jejily]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Carol in Cal.

And within the last few years I read "The Kite Runners" and so wish that I had not. There is one scene in there that I wish I could exorcise. Where is that brain bleach when you need it.

If it's the scene I'm thinking about, then I'm right there with you. I stopped reading the book after it. It was more than this mom of three boys could handle.

 

 

I didn't read this book, just saw the movie. If the movie and book are at all similar... then I know what you are talking about. The movie was not graphic with it, thankfully... although no one was left with any doubt as to what had happened.

 

I felt the same way when I saw the movie The Prince of Tides. I hadn't read that book, but I had read and enjoyed others by Pat Conroy. That scene -- similar to the Kite Runner scene -- left me sick to my stomach for a very long time.

[Chris in VA]

Oh, I remember Threads! I thought it was so well done, and very creepy. It came out about the same time as The Day After, and was really so much more upsetting, and probably more true to life. Remember the scene where they are watching part of an old tv show over and over?

 

I read Alive, too--I've never forgotten how forgiving the families of those who did not survive were--and how the priest said it was almost a sacrament, the way they consumed (not to give it away). It made quite an impact. But I don't think it formed me in any strange way!

(Now I could say something like, "So, who's up for hamburgers?!" But that would be wrong.)

[jejily]

I agree with the Stephen King and VC Andrews books. I'm not sure my mom knew I was reading them. I know she disapproved of King's books, so my guess is I hid the fact that I was reading them from her. I'm not sure she knew what the VC Andrews books were... I know she would've blown a gasket if she knew the content and knew I'd read them.

 

The other thing I regret was reading as a teen was an erotica novel the girls were passing around school, with much giggling and whispering and blushing. It was way too much for my brain. I still remember passages (i.e., the mental picture left in my brain by them) and it warped my thinking for a time.

[Audrey]

Oh, and Audrey Rose. :eek:

 

I think I was around 9 or 10 when that movie came out. People kept asking me what was my middle name -- all the time! I didn't get it until one of my friends gave me the book.

 

It was kind of creepy, yeah... no biggie. But after that, anytime someone asked me the stupid question about my middle name, I would adopt a creepily innocent look and voice and say, "It's Rose. Why do you ask?"

[PinkInTheBlue]

The VC Andrews stuff bothered me also, but I can't remember why. I remember the brother/sister issue being ultra-weird but for some reason when I see them in the store I feel...creepy. I don't remember why. I remember purposefully stopping reading them in early high school or jr high. Hmmm...

 

Also, I went through two phases I would rather not have. I proclaimed an interest in psychology and sociology so I began reading true stories about mass murderers and just general psychos. It wasn't until later that I began to realize it was really bothering me.

 

The other was related because it was books like Go Ask Alice and the such. Too much reading of the disturbed, drug riddled mind really bothered me.

 

My mother read the Harlequins and Kathleen Woodriss (sp?) type books and I read them too. I can't say they caused any problems for me but I'd never let my kids read that stuff now!

 

I'm a huge scaredy cat on horror, so I never touched the stuff. One guy took me to a horror movie (Pet Cemetery) for a first date and he didn't stand a chance after that. Dummy!

 

Also, I had some rotten English teachers in high school who could really ruin some classics. The odds aren't good I'll ever give Red Badge of Courage, Scarlett Letter and a few others a try because of them. My senior year teacher, however, was completely different. It was the first time I realized Shakespeare deserved a chance. :)

[bkpan]

I was always reading - so I loved gripping novels. I regret some of the Stephen King as well, VC Andrews, Forever... and Lipstick. Wish I had never picked that one up.

 

Sometimes I have thought that our generation was exposed to so much more because of the turbulent times. Our parents generally grew up in a more innocent era, so they felt the freedom to let their kids have so much less supervision. So now, I think that the tide is reversed, and I am constantly checking everything - books, movies, games, etc. that my dc are exposed too. I wish my innocence would have been protected longer.

 

Kim in TN (used to be in NV)

[Pensguys]

I read all the books listed by everyone above. I don't have any regrets about reading them. None of them damaged me in any way.

 

Me too. Quite a few of the scarier ones I read in college or while living on my own. I did read a few Stephen King in high school. I read Sophie's Choice too but I couldn't tell you anything now about what it is about. I've only been creeped out at night if I'm outside alone, but I've felt that way since I was 7 or 8 and my grandmother/father would say "don't let the boogie man get you" as I ran to my house in the dark right next door. sigh. That was long before I read any scary books.

[Kim in Appalachia]

to this day I have vivid images in my head from his stories.

 

I did read Judy Blume, and I liked her books, but I haven't read all of them.

 

I also regret Wuthering Heights, because it was a waste of time.:001_smile:

[CactusPair]

Seventeen Magazine,

 

with its emphasis on looks, clothes, makeup, superficial relationships and schooly things.

 

Materialism, commercialism, conformism wrapped up in pretty glossy pages.

 

No girls' or ladies' magazines for my dd -- or me!