“If you would tell me the heart of a man, tell me not what he reads, but what he re-reads.” – Francois Mauriac
Lately I have been reading books I feel like I SHOULD read. Granted I have enjoyed parts of them, am glad I am reading them, BUT are they books that draw me back towards them every hour of the day until I finish the last page? Are they books I will want to read again someday? Unfortunately, NO.
With this in mind, yesterday I wondered longingly over to my bookcases and pulled out these seven books that I not only enjoyed and could not put down, but that I would love to (or already have) re-read:
Seven books to read or re-read
Atonement: A Novel
by Ian McEwan. This is one of my all time favorite books. I will never forget where I was sitting when a certain part blew me away. It is set in pre-WWII England through present day. It chronicles the effect of a childhood mistake across lives and lifetimes. This book won several awards after its publishing in 2001.
The Age of Innocence
by Edith Wharton won the Pulitzer Prize for fiction in 1921. This is set in upper-class New York City in the 1870s where people act and marry how they “should.” I have re-read book this several times, and (like Newland) the ending, which I thought I didn’t want, ends up being what I love about it most.
Memoirs Of A Geisha
by Arthur Golden. Just wow – I could not put this book down! I told my family, “you might as well just let me finish this now because I’m not doing anything around this house until I finish it.” Taking readers to a world most of us have no knowledge of (the Gion district pre-WWII Japan), this story about the life of a geisha is masterfully told.
In Cold Blood
by Truman Capote. This is my sinister pick about a savage, senseless murder. It is scary, chilling, and horrifying. Based on a true event which the author investigated after the fact, it is also a masterpiece. The movie (2005, Capote) I consider among my favorites as well.
The Paris Wife by Paula McLain. This book is essentially Hemingway’s A Moveable Feast from his wife’s point of view. I love the scenes of expat Paris in the 1920s and the insight into Hemingway and this lifestyle.
Middlesex 
by Jeffrey Eugenides won the Pulitzer Prize in 2002. A multi-generational family saga about immigration and intersexuality (having traits of both male and female), this book is both interesting and dramatic. With timely themes, it has been called a Great American Novel and its portrayal of Detroit similar to what Joyce did for Dublin.
Finally, Rebecca
by Daphne Du Maurier is a book I would love to re-read right now. This is my sister-in-law’s favorite book that she has re-read several times, when I finally read it I honored it with this post.
As for now, I need to get back to that book I should read. What do you want to re-read today?
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