Four Books I’d Read All Over Again
Because reading them once wasn’t enough to absorb all the lovely things in them.
Because reading them once wasn’t enough to absorb all the lovely things in them.
When I was young, I used to re-read my favorite books again and again.
I’ve read the whole Harry Potter series seven times. I’ve read Angels and Demons twice, the A Song of Ice and Fire series twice and PG Wodehouse books several times over, especially the Psmith books, which I loved with all my heart.
When I was younger, the only books I could read were the ones available in my school library and in the single bookshop that our small town had. I didn’t know many authors and all my friends also were exposed to the same books as I was. There was no online shopping either, back in the day.
But now, because I’m exposed to so many new books, genres, and authors every day, I feel a fear of missing out on something new and exciting. I can’t help but wonder what’s the need of re-reading a book when I can easily read something new and entirely different.
This defeats the purpose of being a reader because I never thought my goal would someday be to read as many books as possible. As a reader, my goal was always supposed to be to get as much pleasure as possible out of reading. If re-reading a book makes me happy, then why not indulge in that pleasure? Who’s counting happiness in the number of books I read, anyway!
This post contains four books I’d love to read all over again. If you haven’t read them even once, please pick them up because they are incredible.
(Note: This article contains affiliate links. If you choose to purchase the books through these links, it will help me earn a small amount of money — at no extra cost to you. Thanks!)
1. Beartown by Frederick Backman
This is the story of a small town where the only thing the citizens look forward to each year is the Junior Hockey Team and their performance against other towns.
It’s the story of the team members, boys who are forced to carry the weight of expectations of a whole town on their shoulders, and how the shower of love and an instant deity status changes them when they meet these expectations. The story also explores the ignominy and darkness the love for hockey forces you into when you fail to perform your best at the moment when it matters the most.
This is the story of a boy and a girl who could have been in love but give each other nightmares for the rest of their lives. It’s the story of a mother and father who try and fail each time to protect their precious children. It’s the story of two friends who promise to love and support each other all their lives but abandon the promise when things go rough, only to live with regret.
At the heart of Beartown is a tragedy. But this book isn’t so much about the tragedy as it is about recovering from it. It is about how the betrayal of a loved one breaks you, and what you need to do to crawl back from the depths again. Backman masterfully explores the human psyche, with a potpourri of characters from different backgrounds and with conflicting intentions, and how they all react to a tragedy that shakes the entire town.
Why I want to read it again
This is such a phenomenal book. What riveting characters! What a heartbreaking story!
The author does an incredible job of fleshing out so many characters. Each of them is distinct from each other, and yet, they are so similar, tied together by the bonds that arise from living in the same town since their birth. This book broke my heart and made me smile with tears in my eyes. At moments, it made my heart race and gave me goosebumps.
I will read it again because of the sheer beauty in Backman’s words, and how deeply his characters could move me. I’ll read it again just to be in Beartown once more, and to experience the spectrum of emotions that come with being human.
2. The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy
An idyllic village where nothing really happens.
A divorcee who’s still blamed by her family as if whatever happened to her was her fault.
A boy-girl pair of dizygotic twins who have shared their entire lives while growing up and are fated to share much more than anything they could have imagined.
A secret relationship that’s forbidden by the rules of the society that dictate whom to love and how. And how much.
When I first read the book, I remember feeling mesmerized at how beautifully each sentence was crafted. I learned so many new words and a different style of writing. Now, I’ve somehow imbibed and taken apart these gems in my writing as well.
Why I want to reread this book
I read this book when I was in college and wasn’t even a serious writer. But now that I make a full-time living out of it, I know reading this book would be like a goldmine of writing tips and secrets as a writer.
Aside from that, I remember how misty-eyed and wistful the story made me feel. It was like having a secret friend my parents didn’t approve of, who I could visit after school every day and spend some of the happiest times with.
Times that were just mine and nobody else’s.
I’d love to read this book for the magic it worked on me. I’m sure now, ten years down the lane, the magic would be even more impactful.
3. Death on the Nile by Agatha Christie
This is one of the best murder mysteries I’ve ever read. I like it even better than the more famous And Then There Were None and The Murder of Roger Ackroyd by the same author.
I remember loving this book, not just because of how cleverly the red herrings were scattered all across the story, but also for how amazingly all the threads tied up in the end, leading up to the final reveal.
I also loved the book for the characters. I still remember Jackie, the female lead, who used to be my role model while growing up.
Why I want to reread this book
I don’t remember a single word of how the murder happened and why. I don’t remember anything except who was killed and who’s the killer. I’d love to read this book again, knowing what I know now, and would love to dissect the magic of Agatha Christie, the Queen of Crime.
When I read it this time, I know it would be a different sort of journey, like a crash course on how to write the perfect thriller.
4. The Adventures of Tintin by Hergé
This is not a book, but a set of 13 comics by the Belgian cartoonist Georges Remi, who wrote under the pen name Hergé.
Tintin is an investigative journalist, who along with his white Wire Fox Terrier, Snowy, goes on trips to various countries in the world to solve crimes committed by exotic villains and criminal masterminds threatening the world’s safety.
On some adventures, Tintin and Snowy are accompanied by Captain Haddock, the alcoholic bearded ship’s captain who loves his whiskey and hates any form of exercise. Together, the trio goes on incredible adventures and land up in the funniest, most hilarious situations that lead to some heartwarming, memorable stories.
Why I want to reread this book
I read these books when I was in school. Back then, owning a Tintin comic was a privilege. I remember it was priced at ₹250, which is about $4 US, a luxury to be spent on a single comic.
I exchanged a lot of books with my friends to finally read all the comics in the series. Even though it took me three years, it was totally worth it. I remember being hooked on the creativity of the author. The stories simply took my breath away. Every illustration was hand-drawn and had so many intricate details that you’d almost miss out on the funniest bits if you were in a hurry to finish the story.
I want to read it now because I know I would appreciate so many of the scenes that must have flown right over my head when I was in school.
I’m not much of a comics fan, but the characters in The Adventures of Tintin were so lovable that I still remember all of them and their unique idiosyncrasies by heart.
Re-reading Tintin would be like taking a walk down memory lane and reliving those golden days of my childhood.
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