I specifically ordered a copy of I Am Legend without Will Smith on the cover. Guess who was on the cover of the copy I received.

This was assigned reading in 7th grade and it blew my little 12-year-old mind. It was the first book I read that felt "important." I'd read books I enjoyed at that point, but never anything that really made me think. I still love it.

This is my favorite book. I get that it's not everyone's thing, but as someone who likes character-focused stories more than plot-driven ones, this book is damn near perfect. Holden is such a complex and real character. I think people who don't like the book because Holden is a spoiled brat are only reading at the surface level and not really paying attention to how he interacts with the world around him. Yes, he's rich (or rather his parents are) but that doesn't mean he has no problems. He's clearly going through serious mental health struggles. His brother's death is clearly affecting him and he feels alienated and can't seem to make real connections with anyone aside from his little sister. He needs help from the adults in his life. His parents don't interact with him once in the entire book. Every time he flunks out of one boarding school, they just ship him off to the next. And the only adult he feels like he can trust turns out to be a creep. He's also worried about growing up. Who isn't at that age? For that matter, who isn't kind of a selfish dick when they're 16? Holden is an honest portrayal of a teenager who's gone through some shit and doesn't have a support system to help him out. Keep in mind too that this was written back when it was taboo to talk about your emotions, especially if you were a man. He has no outlet other than self-loating and self-medicating. He's definitely flawed, but I wouldn't call him a bad person. For all his nasty thoughts about "phonies" he's actually very empathetic for the most part and even genrous. He even worries about his teacher's feelings as he's getting expelled.

One of the things I like most about Catcher is how I can read it again and again and get something new out of it every time. When I was in high school, I liked it because I had a similar mindset to Holden. Not as extreme, but I was also worried about adulthood and about growing up and turning into something I hated. In my 20s, I thought Holden was just an annoying spoiled brat who didn't appreciate all the opportunities he was given and I disliked the book for a long time. But for some reason I decided to pick it up again around 30 and I'm glad I did because I fell in love with it all over again. For different reasons this time. Now I can see Holden as the broken kid he is. He's lost and has nobody to guide him. It sounds corny, but I just want to reach through the pages and give him a hug. This book is a masterpiece.

Oh, ok. Yeah, it does get slow.

I think it qualifies as horror by today's standards. An ancient evil traveling across lands to expand his vampire colony? Snaring innocent people in his wake? That's a pretty horrific concept. I mean, can you imagine being Johnathan Harker and witnessing all the crazy shit he did? There are a couple scenes that creeped me out more than almost anything written in recent years.