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.

Treachery in Death, JD Robb

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.

Starship Mage, Glynn Stewart

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

Jane Eyre, Charlotte Brontë

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.

The post What Books Do You Read Again and Again? first appeared on Postcards from Pluto.

I love getting lost in a library. It is extra fun when I get lost in a library in a book. And the most fun is when I get lost in a magical library in a book. Here are the best ones.

1984, George Orwell

Definitely not a favorite, but a HUGE influence. The Ministry for Truth, where “ignorance is strength” rocked my world as a sophomore in high school. It was really the first true dystopian novel I read and I had no idea such a thing was possible! Little did I know how relevant it would be.  It was a WARNING, not an instruction manual!

The Midnight Library, Matt Haig I read this recently, (the inspiration for this post, actually), and was surprised to see a true parable getting mainstream play. It’s a clever book about regret, choices, and quantum physics. And like I said, it’s just a straight-up, unapologetic parable.

The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern. Time and Fate fall in love in a library for all stories beneath the earth. Also, there are bees. And the librarians get their tongues cut out. The ending fumbled a teeny bit as the story got away from her, but my god, the library was spectacular!

The Invisible Library by Genevieve Cogman. A spy steals fiction from alternate realities and brings it back to one huge library of everything ever written anywhere. This one is a teeny bit slow to get started, but it’s another with multiple universes. (What is it about a library that lends itself so well to different versions of life?

Abhorsen Trilogy by Garth Nix. Technically there is only a library featured in one of these books, but this trilogy is classic! Who would have thought a necromancer would have been so romantic? This is YA, and the contrast between the girl who can see the dead and the rest of her people who can see the future broke my heart the first time I read it.

The Memory Librarian by Janelle Monae. Multi-hyphenates are all the rage these days, but a singer who can write like this?  I’m slightly jealous. This is a series of stories set within her albums in this unique Afrofuturism book less about a library and more about who curates the rest of our information.

These are some of my favorite books. Please send your suggestions if you know of any other good magical libraries! Truly, they are one of my favorite things.

The post The Best Magical Libraries in Fiction first appeared on Postcards from Pluto.