Rereading a favorite book after ten years and liking different parts

I reread a book I adored ten years ago and found myself caring far less about the adventurous main character and much more about the exhausted supporting cast. The plot hadn't changed, but I apparently had. A few lines I once found profound now read as melodrama; other quiet passages stopped me completely. Have you had a reread that felt like meeting a different book rather than revisiting an old friend?

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  1. ST
    sergius
    4 points

    4 replies

    Yes, and rereading is rude that way. A book can spend ten years acting like one thing and then reveal it was always about someone else entir...

    44 replies

    Yes, and rereading is rude that way. A book can spend ten years acting like one thing and then reveal it was always about someone else entirely.

    4
    1. AN
      backlog_anemo
      3 points

      I had that with a book I loved in high school. What felt exciting then now felt thin, but the side characters suddenly seemed like the only people in the room with any sense.

      3

        That happened to me with a romance novel, weirdly enough. I used to care about the main pairing and now I mostly wanted the exhausted friend...

      1. ST
        backlog38
        3 points

        I get that a lot with books that have big speeches in them. What sounded profound at fifteen now feels like somebody trying a little too hard, while the quiet chapter before it is the one that stays with me.

        3