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What are some Books you wish you could read for the first time again?
- Thread starter Deleted member 52442
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Always wanted to read this but seemed daunting for some reason.
As for myself? Anything by Iain Banks honestly. His world building in the Culture series really popped the kid off my head. My mind went to so many amazing places. I would probably pick Player of Games since I enjoy retreading that a lot. Maybe Use of Weapons as a contender.
- The Count of Monte Cristo
- The Lord of the Rings
- The Silmarillion
- The Master and Margarita
- Excession
- Star Maker
To name but a few.
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I think many books stuck with me because I read them at certain time in life. Would be interesting to know If I would regard certain books so highly if I read them today for the first time.
It's a tour de force with a scope far beyond most science fiction I've ever read. Not The Culture, Foundation or any of Arthur C. Clarke's masterpieces can compare, and I love those dearly.
So many books have shaped my thinking throughout my life that I would hate to have the memory of them expunged even if I could read them again with a fresh perspective, honestly.
A lot of Stephen King's books. Mainly Salem's Lot, It and the Dark Tower series. The Harry Potter books , Neverending Story, the first two Robert Langdon novels , The Alienist, The Swarm, the early Jack Ryan novels, The List of Seven, Wool, the early Vampire Lestat Books, The Martian.
Sadly, books don't seem to have the same impact on me that they used to have. So I'm glad I read most of them at a younger age.
Sadly, books don't seem to have the same impact on me that they used to have. So I'm glad I read most of them at a younger age.
Obviously, we're both big Tolkien fans; but I would say that The Silmarillion is not a book I'd read for the first time again. I feel that I always get more out of it with each reading, and I see more things that I'd missed or forgotten about. As a first time read, it's a bit dense.
Your wish is your wish, of course. I just find it interesting how two Tolkien fans could disagree about such a thing, trivial as it is.
Indeed. I feel that subsequent readings, plus ancillary material from Tolkien scholars such as Verlyn Flieger, have somewhat diminished the sense of wonder I felt when reading it for the first time.
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Oh also-"On Writing" by Stephen King. It's my favorite book of all time-I could listen to the audiobook on a loop. It's a must listen for anyone. It's a combination of autobiography/a look into the writing process/a celebration of the love of writing and reading.
King was born poor and married poor. Writing wasn't his job - it was his passion that he did in his spare time. He wrote in a little laundry room while his kids were sleeping. They had to choose between medicine and food when a paycheck came. The chapter where he describes getting a phone call from his agent and learning that the paperback rights for Carrie would get him out of poverty for the first time in his life brings me to tears every time I hear it. He was so overwhelmed and overjoyed he went out to immediately buy his wife a gift to celebrate and for some reason got her a hair dryer. It's a beautiful story.
King was born poor and married poor. Writing wasn't his job - it was his passion that he did in his spare time. He wrote in a little laundry room while his kids were sleeping. They had to choose between medicine and food when a paycheck came. The chapter where he describes getting a phone call from his agent and learning that the paperback rights for Carrie would get him out of poverty for the first time in his life brings me to tears every time I hear it. He was so overwhelmed and overjoyed he went out to immediately buy his wife a gift to celebrate and for some reason got her a hair dryer. It's a beautiful story.
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La Sombra del Viento, or in English, The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafón. One of the best books I have ever read.
I'm inclined to say ASOIAF--the last book/book series that I was obsessed with; I devoured the first four (five was not out yet) in like 5-6 weeks. But I think I enjoyed my rereads more since I was better able to process the complex mountains of detail crammed into those books; and a chronological reading of the AFFC-ADWD chapters made, for me, that chunk of the story more enjoyable. So I'd probably go with LOTR, which I read for the first time when I was old enough to follow it, but probably too young to fully parse and appreciate Tolkien's prose.
That's very interesting. My sense of wonder was large for the Hobbit and LotR, but not so much for the Silmarillion, which felt like a dense labyrinth of mythology to explore and ruminate on, rather than to experience in awe.
Different strokes and all...
Wonderful list. I should add:
- Dune
- Shogun
and my favorite guilty pleasure: The Ninja
I think it primarily has to do with the fact that The Silmarillion was the first Tolkien book I read. It was unlike any other fantasy that I'd come across in my teen years. That's probably why I have less attachment to The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit.
Diana Khoi Nguyen's Ghost Of and Natalie Eilbert's Indictus, two poetry collections, one about suicide and the other about sexual assault, exploring their matters in novel and restorative ways.
When I first read these books they got me to be more confrontative of my traumas and to be more responsible with how I talk about life, or the transgressions thereof. And while that ability of theirs is still there, these days I study them more and reckon with them less.
When I first read these books they got me to be more confrontative of my traumas and to be more responsible with how I talk about life, or the transgressions thereof. And while that ability of theirs is still there, these days I study them more and reckon with them less.
Shogun by James Clavell
Wizard and Glass by Stephen King
Sex, Drugs and Cocoa Puffs by Chuck Klosterman
Wizard and Glass by Stephen King
Sex, Drugs and Cocoa Puffs by Chuck Klosterman
The Dark Tower series for sure.
Maybe Harry Potter since my kids are reading them now and it would be good to experience them alongside them.
Also 1984 and Catcher in the Rye. Loved those books when I read them back in school.
Maybe Harry Potter since my kids are reading them now and it would be good to experience them alongside them.
Also 1984 and Catcher in the Rye. Loved those books when I read them back in school.
Ah. That makes sense. I went the Hobbit -> LotR -> Silmarillion route.
To Kill A Mockingbird. The characters and themes resonate just as strong with every read, but the childhood nostalgia is never as impactful as that first time.
Lord of the Rings, East of Eden, the inferno, farwell to arms
edit: how could I forget The Count of Monte Cristo, best revenge story ever (thanks dantes, (the poster) for reminding me!)
edit: how could I forget The Count of Monte Cristo, best revenge story ever (thanks dantes, (the poster) for reminding me!)
Kafka on the Shore. Especially if I could wipe all Murakami tropes from memory.
man why. Flowers and the road fucked me up pretty bad. If anything I wish I could unread them
LOTR trilogy, A Wizard of Earthsea, and The Perennial Philosophy were all life-changing for me.
Since I've seen it mentioned a few times I'll ask... Does House of Leaves still hold up? Is it actually good, or was it just novel enough at the time to generate excited word of mouth?
Since I've seen it mentioned a few times I'll ask... Does House of Leaves still hold up? Is it actually good, or was it just novel enough at the time to generate excited word of mouth?
Hyperion
Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell
Excession
Ghost in the Shell (it fucking counts)
The Remains of the Day
Ancillary Justice
House of Leaves
Yes. I think it's brilliant.
Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell
Excession
Ghost in the Shell (it fucking counts)
The Remains of the Day
Ancillary Justice
House of Leaves
Yes. I think it's brilliant.
I endorse the two mentions of The Book Of The New Sun, and I'd like to add Mason & Dixon or Gravity's Rainbow.
Thomas Pynchon doesn't deserve his reputation for inaccessibility. Both of those books are rollicking good times that just happen to be clothed in some of the best, weirdest prose ever committed to page.
Oh, and The Big Sleep. Just so I could discover another of the finest prose stylists and mood-evokers there ever was.
Thomas Pynchon doesn't deserve his reputation for inaccessibility. Both of those books are rollicking good times that just happen to be clothed in some of the best, weirdest prose ever committed to page.
Oh, and The Big Sleep. Just so I could discover another of the finest prose stylists and mood-evokers there ever was.
yeah, i chase those feelings. it's hard for me to have such visceral reactions to books. i read the road in one day. on christmas. was completely blown away.
Treasure Island because I want to be that child again and this book fueled my imagination like nothing else.
Thor Heyerdahl's Aku-Aku: the Secret of Easter Island is another one. Both made me a huge fan of marine landscapes, caves and exploring nature in general.
Thor Heyerdahl's Aku-Aku: the Secret of Easter Island is another one. Both made me a huge fan of marine landscapes, caves and exploring nature in general.
Hitchhiker's Guide - assuming I could also wipe out all real world references that spun out from it (42)
