Monday, January 22, 2018

Admitting Some Favorites

I sometimes have a problem when it comes to admitting when I love something. Some things. Certain things.
I was thinking about this the other day when I was re-reading Attachments by Rainbow Rowell for the I'm-not-sure-how-many-times. I finished my other book but still had commuting time left and being bookless is unacceptable, obviously. And Attachments has been a go-to whenever I need something else to read, even if it's just a couple chapters. Which was my plan. But a couple chapters turned into a few more chapters turned into the whole book.

It was roughly at that point that I had to admit to myself that yeah, I think Attachments is probably one of my favorite books. But why do I have to admit it? What is it something I ever denied? Or not actively denied, I suppose (because no one was challenging me) but something I didn't really acknowledge.

This isn't the first time it's happened, although the first time I can think of with a book. The other 2 instances that come to mind are movies: Clueless and Jurassic Park.

Both are movies I've seen a million times from the time they came out to present day and yet for both it's been within the last 3-5 years I've acknowledged that these are favorites. I've always liked them. I have read the novelization of both movies. Yes, even Jurassic Park which WAS BASED ON A BOOK (which I also read). No, I don't know why the novelization exists.
Maybe I have an idea
Maybe I didn't acknowledge it at first because none of these are particularly high-brow things. I mean, they aren't especially low-brow things either. Distinctly middle-brow. Very average brows. And it's not like other things that I consider favorites are impressively intelligent (Lamb by Christopher Moore, The Martian by Andy Weir and also the movie, World War Z by Max Brooks). 

Maybe some things are just a slow burn. Some things are instant favorites and some are comforting and eventually you realize how much you rely on them.

I don't have too much of a point here other than maybe I should revisit other things I really like to see if maybe I actually like-like them. Also that everyone should read (or reread) Attachments because it is the most wonderful, sweetest thing.