I am an Amazon affiliate and receive a small commission that does not cost you anything if you buy from this link. It helps pay for this blog!
We all fight over our favorite books, but I find the more interesting question to be: what are your most frequent books?
WHY DO WE RETURN TO BOOKS?
With no conscious decision, there are some books I’ve read dozens and dozens of times, and in contrast, there are some books I love so much or that are so life-changing, I know repeated exposure will never match the feeling, so I’ve never gone near them again. WHAT distinguishes them? I don’t know.
This isn’t a definitive list of the best books or anything like that, but just a peek into the weirdness and deeply personal experience of reading. I’ve covered my favorite libraries in fiction before, some other books I’ve read again and again.
BOOKS I’VE READ DOZENS OF TIMES
Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen
Mostly because I needed something slightly engaging to fall asleep to and a British accent reading Jane Austen was perfect. I can quote large chunks of this book. Like full chapters at a time by now…
Animal Dreams, Barbara Kingsolver
It’s set in New Mexico, and I was living in Europe when I was reading this on repeat. I love the message, but I mostly read it for this quintessential Western American story, so familiar to where I grew up.
This is one of her endless futuristic mysteries. This one focused on leadership, and I picked it up just as I jumped into management and was definitely feeling the crunch. It was so idealized and perfect that I just kept returning to it.
Ghost Mountain Shifters, Audrey Faye
This group of werewolves live collectively in the woods and the community support and healing were completely addictive during the pandemic isolation.
This is like Star Wars, only woke (in the best way), with a hero with huge integrity and a fascinating world. It’s just…entertaining. I go searching for cool new books and just find myself redownloading these when I need to turn off my brain.
BOOKS I’VE LOVED BEYOND REASON AND NEVER TOUCHED AGAIN
I read this in middle school, one of the first “adult” books I picked up, and I remember being so shocked and rocked at every turn that I knew I would never feel that shocked again and would rather have a perfect memory.
Stranger in a Strange Land, Robert A Heinlein
The origin of the slang “grok,” this alien comes to earth story is one of the first Sci-Fi books I read, and the contrast between this and Dicken’s endless wordsmithing was…marked.
Lord of the Rings, JRR Tolkien
I think I haven’t revisited this one simply due to the size. I have a friend who can tell you what is happening on any day of our calendar year in the book, and I’ve felt so inadequate in comparison.
A Prayer for Owen Meany, John Irving
During the climactic scene of this book, I remember dropping the book, running out the door of my house, and about three blocks before I slowed down, it was that shocking, in the best way. And knew I could never return to it.
What are the books you’ve read a thousand times and what are the books you’ve read once? I realize this says so much more about who I was as a person and where I was than about the books.