The Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger

BATB score: 9/10 🫠

written in 1951, J. D. Salinger's book "the catcher in the rye" has been banned 9 times for being a 'bad influence' to young adult readers - excessive vulgar language (meh), sexual scenes (meh), and debatable moral issues on addictions (meh) likeas our world isn't full of these examples on a day to day

the book has been linked to many real life high-profile murder cases - John Lennon's murder and President Ronald Reagan's attempted assassination - the murderers all claimed that they identify with the book's main character Holden Caulfield (now that's interesting)

J. D. Salinger made it clear that he will not allow any movie adaptation to be made of his novel and expects readers to appreciate his writings as an art form - complete in itself. Because Salinger is dead, the rights will be of public domain in Y2046!

Best to: understanding the back story of the book makes the book way more exciting than what its writings really is about - the writing is like the voices in your brain - cluttered, all over the place, no real point, just noise, yet 100% accurate

Best for: anxious people fighting with inner voices 24/7; if you've read this as a required read back in high school, it's worth re-reading for leisure (best to re-read in one sitting for the most impact - you feel more of how overwhelming everything is)

Best as: the novel's main character, 16-year-old Holden Caulfield, is presumable at a mental hospital for what we, in 2022, would call today as a typical day-to-day anxiety, depression, and loneliness

BATB lingering thought: I can strongly relate to Holden. Honestly, at times, my anxieties and bad thoughts are worst than Holden's, I deserve to be at a mental hospital. Don't we all?

Best quote: “The mark of the immature man is that he wants to die nobly for a cause, while the mark of the mature man is that he wants to live humbly for one.”

“I am always saying "Glad to've met you" to somebody I'm not at all glad I met. If you want to stay alive, you have to say that stuff, though.”

“People always clap for the wrong reasons.”