Tuesday, October 11, 2011

Books I Wish I Could Read Again For The First Time


1. Island of The Blue Dolphins by Scott O'Dell - I read this when I was twelve and again as an adult - I still enjoyed it, but the magic had gone.

2. The Lion by Joseph Kessel - I also read this when I was twelve and it secured my position as a life-long reader. I looooved this story. It had an emotional ending (mild by today's standards) which kind of blew my tender tween mind.

3. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee - I read this as a teenager and I was absolutely mesmerized by the imagery, the characters, and the message. I haven't read it since because I am afraid to break the spell.

4. The Clan of The Cave Bear by Jean Auel - I also read this as a teenager and vowed to name any girls I had after Ayla. How cool was she?! I now have three super-excellent, handsome and smart boys. No girls.

5. The Life and Times of The Thunderbolt Kid by Bill Bryson - I laughed myself silly through this entire memoir.

6. A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius by Dave Eggers - I read this when it first came out sometime in the 90s and loved every word. I tried reading it again last year and couldn't make it through the first twenty pages. Ugh, I don't know what happened?

7. Catch Me if You Can by Frank W. Abagnale - I came across this book in the library years before the movie came out. The whole premise of this guy faking his way through all these professions was just so . . . fantastical. I kept shaking my head and reading excerpts out loud to hub; we could hardly believe this guy got away with so much for so long. The movie is not as good as the original book.

8. Sacajawea by Anna Lee Waldo - This is the story of the young Native woman who escorted the Lewis and Clark expedition across the Western United States in the early 1800s. The history and adventure in this book had me enthralled. I first read it in my early twenties and then again about ten years later and it just wasn't the same.

A Top Ten meme from The Broke and The Bookish

 Previous Top Tens:
~Top WTF? Endings
~ Recos From Other Bloggers
~Authors I'd Love to Meet
~Literary Settings
~Books I'm Glad Were Recommended to Me
~Favorite Places To Read
~Books That Should Be Made Into Movies
~Bookish Pet Peeves

39 comments:

Beth said...

I’m with you on “To Kill a Mockingbird.” I’d also add to my list “Lord of the Rings,” “We Were the Mulvaneys” by Joyce Carol Oates and the Narnia series by C. S. Lewis.
There are so many!

Laura said...

I agree wholeheartedly with To Kill A Mockingbird- it's still great on the re-read though, just not quite the same...

Sarah @ Breaking the Binding said...

I can't believe I forgot about "The Island of the Blue Dolphins"! I loved that book so much as a girl and I often through about escaping to my very own island. I seriously double I would've survived though...

Clair said...

Thanks for the comment. I had thought about adding the Clan of the Cave Bear to my list but for some reason I didn't, not sure why! Love the list though.

Trish said...

Beth & Laura - TKAMB is one of my all time favorite books! It's too bad she never wrote any others.

Sarah - I know, right? I just thought the whole thing would have been such a cool adventure. But, yeah, me? survive? Probably not.

Clair - It just got rereleased last year and I was tempted to pick it up again. I'm afraid the magic will have gone, though.

Alexa S. said...

Island of the Blue Dolphins! I seriously got so excited when I saw this book on your list because I'll have to admit to forgetting about it. But a rush of memories just came back and that's so cool. I must reread it now!

Thanks for stopping by my blog!

Christin said...

I agree with you about Island of the Blue Dolphins. When I reread it, it just wasn't the same. Great list!

Thanks for stopping by my TTT :)

Anonymous said...

I loved To Kill A Mockingbird but in no way would want to read it for the first time. I hated it the first time I read it. Now I love it so much it has become one of my annual reads. I know that isn't the usual, but it is what it is. Thanks for stopping by.

Jenny said...

There's lots of books that I'm afraid to read again, it just won't be the same. I loved The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid too! I'll have to read Catch Me If You Can, I didn't know it was a book.

Tara said...

Ooooo, To Kill a Mockingbird is a good one! I remember reading that in school and reading ahead of the class because I enjoyed it so much.

Trish said...

Alexa & Christin - I'm glad you enjoyed it as much as I did! It was one of my defining childhood reads.

Five - That's an interesting take. I've had that with other books, but not this one. I'm glad you've rediscovered it!

Jenny - I'm not much of a re-reader myself. There are just too many 'new' books waiting for me.

Trish said...

Tara - haha yes reading ahead! I think I did the same thing.

eden.kaye said...

you are very welcome. =] i haven't read that book in forever but what I can remember it was depressingly amazing.

Tracy said...

There are so many books that would apply to, I couldn't possibly narrow it down to ten!

Alexis @ Reflections of a Bookaholic said...

I love this list. I agree, certainly, with To Kill a Mockingbird.

Daisy said...

I haven't read any of the books on your list, but you have made really excited about getting to The Clan of the Cave Bear!! It's been gathering dust on my shelf for some time now... I should get to it :)

Great list! And I'll have to add Catch Me If You Can to my TBR list! Didn't know the movie was based on a book...

Trish said...

eden - Go Ask Alice certainly wasn't a happy book, that's for sure. I just remember being so awed by what she went through.

Tracy - I know! I felt like I could have just listed ALL of my favorite books.

Alexis - yes, I've seen it on a lot of today's lists.

Trish said...

Daisy - Clan of the Cave Bear is fun and fantastic escapist reading! I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

Lisa said...

To Kill a Mockingbird would be a great one to reread for the first time. The first time I read it the novel was required reading for school. I loved it but was scared to talk about it because at the time nobody liked required reading. I've reread it a couple of times, but it is nothing like the impact the first time gave me.

The Library Owl said...

I've only read To Kill a Mockingbird from your list! Although it was brilliant :) I'll have to look into the others ASAP!

Trish said...

Lisa - Funny how kids are ;) But, yes, that first time? It was magical.

Library Owl - the other books are some of my favorites!

I Eat Words said...

You chose some great ones! I remember first reading Clan of the Cave Bear and loving Ayla too. Never thought of naming my kid after her though! Such a cute idea. :)

-Britney

Sam (Tiny Library) said...

Oh, To Kill A Mockingbird. That book destroyed me completely the first time I read it, I think I was about 12 and I knew nothing about American Civil Rights.

Andrea @ The Busy Bibliophile said...

Oh man, I forgot all about Clan of the Cave Bear! That one stayed with me for a long time. Here's my list.

Christy said...

I forgot about Island of the Blue Dolphins. That's a great choice!

Trish said...

Eat Words - It was such a fun book, wasn't it?

Sam - I can imagine it was hard to take in a story like that if you were not familiar with the times.

Andrea - It was a long ago read for me, too. I'm glad to see it's come back for a new generation of readers.

Christy - It was one of my all time favorite childhood books!

Sara (of the Page Sage) said...

To Kill a Mockingbird! I love that book, but I wish I had waited to read it.

I'm guessing you're a Markus Zusak fan, too? Haha Have you read I am the Messenger? So good!

melissa @ 1lbr said...

I know, I hate the loss of enjoyment for books read when we were kids. It's just never the same!

RachelKiwi said...

love your list. i laugh out loud at bill bryson too! i've had clan of the cave bear and sacagawea on my shelf for awhile now... but haven't gotten the urge to read them. you just changed that!

so funny... i read a heartbreaking work of staggering genius a year or two ago and absolutely despised it. but i finished it!

Deb Nance at Readerbuzz said...

I read Catch Me way back when, too. The author came to our nearby community college and spoke. Wow! It was amazing. Hard to believe.

Trish said...

Sara - Hmm good point. Its one of those books that could be read either as an adult or as a teen. Wonderful story.

No! I haven't gotten my hands on a copy of I Am The Messenger yet. Ever since reading Book Thief this summer I am very much a fan of Markus Zusak. Can't wait!

Melissa - I know! Childhood is already such an imaginative time. Books are a real treat :)

Rachel - Heh, it seems we have similar tastes! There's nothing like a little nudge to move books to the top of the pile. I've had a few today, too.

Deb - How cool! I would have loved to see him in person.

DeniseF said...

Island of the Blue Dolphins is such a great book!

Lady In Read said...

I have not read any of the books on your list except for 'To Kill a Mockingbird'. (that is on my list too)
# 4 and # 8 on your list - I have added them to my TBR list now.

Anonymous said...

I have never read Clan of the Cave Bear - my school library, where I read these from, only has 2, 3 and 4! I really would love to go back and re-read that whole series but funnily enough, the library I belong to now doesn't have #1 in its catalogue either!

LBC said...

Twelve was kind of a magical age for me in bookish terms I think. So was eight. I have moments in my life where I remember being really into books (more than all the rest of the time).

I loved reading Heartbreaking Work. Maybe I won't try it again...


Come visit my list at The Scarlet Letter.

Anonymous said...

I think I read Island of the Blue Dolphin as a kid, but I can't remember hardly anything about it.

Ah, Clan of the Cave Bear. Great series! Not that great for a 15 year-old, in retrospect, but I at least had the decency to blush and skip over some of the "adult" parts. :p

I don't know much at all about Sacajawea. Does this make me a bad feminist?

The Literary Nomad said...

Great list! I have just recently bought A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius so am looking forward to reading it now.

KarenSi said...

To Kill A Mockingbird would definitely have made mine if I had made a list. One of my all time favourites. I also laughed a lot reading The Life And Times of the Thunderbolt Kid. Great list.

Trish said...

Denise - Yes, so true! I still have my original copy. It's a little yellowed and worn, but I love seeing it there on the shelf.

Lady - Great! I hope you enjoy them.

1Girl - Really, it's the first book that is the best. If I were to reread any of them it would be that one.

LBC - A magical age, yes. Twelve still has some childish wonder but with an eye to maturity. A great time for reading books!

couchpotato - Haha *ahem* yes there was some rather adult content in that series, although not as much in the first book.

Literary Nomad - I hope you enjoy it as much as I did the first time. Just don't try reading it again lol it didn't work for me the second time.

Karen - Thanks! Lists like this help me to remember why I love reading.