I'm afraid to recommend books, films or music. I did it in the past and it was catastrophic. So I stay away from everything. A few weeks ago, a colleague asked me for a book to read on her holiday and I ended up lending her 3, not being able to figure out which one she’d like (she's into Murakami and Kundera - stuff like that). I still ask myself whether she'd like at least one of them.So yes, I’m afraid to recommend [b:On the Road|6288|The Road|Cormac McCarthy|http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/21E8H3D1JSL._SL75_.jpg|3355573], for many reasons. I hope I didn't already do it (for the sake of its popularity, because I didn't like it in the first place), except for David, who didn’t finish it, anyway. I must admit that when I first read it (half of it or so), I had the obvious reasons – the icon book of a certain generation I didn’t even bother reading too much about – so me not liking / getting it has a pretty superficial explanation. It took me ages to turn the pages and I wasn’t at all impressed.
But this time I started without any expectation, I was very determined to leave it in case it didn’t satisfy my taste; but it turned that for the first time in several years, this was the book that kept me late at night (I usually fall asleep after 2 pages or so – I’m a daytime reader by all means!).
So what is it that made me like it? Could it be Kerouac’s writing? Or Dean’s lust for life? Realizing that I’m too conformist a person to ever get close to being like that? – i.e. leave everything behind and hit the road. It’s probably all these together plus many more. I absolutely enjoyed it and I’m really happy I gave it another chance. And yes, I do believe there's a time and mood for each book.