RIP - J.D. Salinger

Apparently, J.D. Salinger has died. While sad, this isn't exactly a shock. I originally read through Salinger's work in my teens, but a few years ago, decided to go back to see if it would still appeal to me in my late-20s. Much to my surprise, I actually thought it was even better then than it had been in high school. I think Catcher in the Rye was the one that was most to my tastes in my teens; not surprisingly, while I didn't find it weak or bad, it didn't resonate in the same way the second time. That said, Nine Stories, Frannie and Zooey, and Raise High the Roofbeam, Carpenters/Seymour: An Introduction were even more impressive the second time around. Too often, so-called the production of "literary giants" doesn't really hold up, but Salinger, perhaps due to his minimal output, was absolutely deserving of that title. Salinger was a titan, and in that regard, his passing is sad (if inevitable); but with Seymour, Zooey, Holden, the Glass family, and others still commonly read, it's hard to be too upset.