by George Giannakos and Robyn Yager | Slowing down a little and breaking out a good book is never a bad idea. But what to read? You could walk into any bookstore and roll the dice on a recent release, but here’s another option: pick up a book that you last put down 5, 10, or 20 years ago. For the next book in Scout’s Read It (Again) series, we’ve picked Vladimir Nabokov’s scandalous 1955 novel, Lolita.

Why You Should Read It Again | Although widely considered to be an “erotic novel”, Lolita is just as widely celebrated as one of the best books of the 20th century. Despite its highly controversial theme (a middle-aged literature professor becomes obsessed and then sexually involved with 12-year-old Dolores, nicknamed “Lolita”), Nabokov’s writing has been compared to the prose of James Joyce. Read it again because its literary pastiche deserves as least two or three reads; you’re bound to find something new in every read.

Pair It With | Coincidentally, The Cinematheque and the Vancouver Art Gallery have collaborated on a collection of film screenings in honour of the gallery’s current exhibition, Grand Hotel. This week, the film centre is showing the 1962 Stanley Kubrick adaptation of the novel (featuring a brilliant performance by Peter Sellers), so why not brush up on the storyline prior to attending the film? Thumb its pages at the West End’s appropriately named Lolita’s for a spicy chilli margarita before catching before catching the show.

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