Have you ever taken against a book, given up on it, but then, at another time in your life, given it another shot and loved it?

Yes I started Wolf Hall some years ago and couldn’t get past Cromwell’s childhood. Later in Lockdown when I felt justified in reading in the daytime I read it avidly, loved it and went on to read the next 2 volumes over subsequent 2/3yrs. So glad I did!

Wolf Hall. Stopped reading at the first go, found it dense. Read the whole trilogy on Kindle this year, where the length feels less intimidating. Amazing trilogy, but the first is definitely the peak.

Wolf Hall. I just couldn't get into her style of writing. Came back two years and loved it.

Wuthering Heights. Read a lot of the classics when I was relatively young and I think couldn't understand the complexity of the relationship. Went back to it as a young adult and thoroughly enjoyed it.

Wuthering Heights. Read it at 17, thought it was absurdly melodramatic tosh. A few years and heartbreaks later, I'd got the point.

I was forced to read Wuthering Heights at school and I HATED it with a passion! Everyone in it was cruel, selfish, petty...and yet people called it a love story. Ugh. Then I grew up and had to teach it, and came to understand what it has to say about class, gender, otherness.

The God of Small Things. Went back to it after visiting Kerala for the first time, and it all clicked.

The God of Small Things- threw it across the room when I got to the end for the first time (14), read it again at 17 and sobbed/was in awe at how beautiful the writing is. Possibly too young the first time?

The God of Small Things. Loved it so much I couldn’t understand why I didn’t get into it first time 🤷‍♀️

I must have started Umberto Eco's "The Name of the Rose" about 30 times, before I decided to miss out the first few chapters and discover how good the book was.

Umberto Eco - The name of the rose. I kept giving up a few chapters in. I think I finally got stuck in when I couldn’t sleep on a flight.

Middlemarch and The Name of the Rose - I had multiple goes at both but was just too young. Also have a theory that you can only read Margaret Drabble’s novels when you are roughly the age she was when she wrote them, which is working perfectly so far.

Middlemarch and The Name of the Rose - I had multiple goes at both but was just too young. Also have a theory that you can only read Margaret Drabble’s novels when you are roughly the age she was when she wrote them, which is working perfectly so far.

Middlemarch. I simply didn't understand it when I was a student! But I know a bit more about why people make unsuitable marriages and the desire to do 'good works' and leave a legacy now I am in my mid-40s. So the story is much more relatable.

Two examples immediately spring to mind for me - The Great Gatsby and The Sheltering Sky. First time around it was a case of 'whats all the fuss?' Second time...'Ah, I get it now'.

The Great Gatsby. First read it as a teen. IMO regret and a certain type of melancholy is an emotion best understood in middle age. Ditto Remains Of The Day.

Catch 22. Then was advised to get past a certain page and then it would be ok and it was 👍👍👍

Also Catch 22! Thirty year gap between first and second reading.

Cloud Atlas. Because I saw it on Sara Cox’s book show and I felt like I must be stupid as I didn’t get it. Loved it the second time.

David Mitchell's Cloud Atlas. Took me three attempts over about 10 years. Someone on the radio had said it was their favourite ever book, so I kept thinking it must be worth another go.

Ulysses, tried twice years ago & found it confusing & annoying. I recently saw an old Arena episode on the book & suddenly i had an “in” & finally finished it. Still annoying but less confusing.

Just finished Ulysses - fourth attempt over about thirty years. Was worth the revisit

Yes. This was me with Shuggie Bain got it when it was booker nominated in 2020 - covid was here & no vacccines fully rolled out, my cup of worries was full & I couldn’t handle it. Picked it up last week and it’s possessed me ever since. It’s full of pain but very relatable for me

I excitedly started Shuggie Bain but just couldn’t get into it. It just felt so bleak. But so many friends recommended it, I tried again and liked it. Then when Young Mungo came out, I finished it in one sitting.

It took me about three attempts to crack Midnight’s Children. Now it’s compulsory every couple of years. It’s just the epic fantasy and the little things.

Midnight's children - Salman Rushdie. Just couldn't get going with it first time round and then tried again years later and absolutely loved it.

Dune by Frank Herbert. Tried reading it when I was 8-9. Utterly failed and didn’t enjoy it. Grabbed it again when I was 16, loved it. Read it again in my late 20s and loved it even more.