I read
Catcher in the Rye a long time ago, maybe more than 25 years ago. I remember liking the way the narrative caught the "voice" of Holden Caulfield's thoughts, but also thinking that some of the slang was already dated, and having an insight about how fast all slang becomes archaic as opposed to more standard usage. I wonder if that won't change now, at least for a while because of the technology we have to capture speech as speech, a virtual "oral tradition" that gives a longer-lasting status to voices that aren't standardized. But I digress, and in a wordy way, too. I would probably re-read and discuss this book if we read it, but I'd like to give the alternative idea that maybe we would like to read
Frannie and Zooey by J. D. Salinger instead. I thought after I first read it that it might well be my favorite book ever. That was a long time ago, too. I don't know if it would still have that place on my list, but I think the topics and his treatment of them might make for a lively and thought-provoking discussion at booktalk. (Ever the stealthy and innocent-looking trouble-maker....)
![Whistling :whistle:](https://www.booktalk.org/images/smilies/ges_whistle.gif)
"Where can I find a man who has forgotten the words so that I can talk with him?"
-- Chuang-Tzu (c. 200 B.C.E.)
as quoted by Robert A. Burton