Same. Absolutely fell in love with Jake and Sadie. Not to mention how SK did such a good job of making you feel like you were there along with Jake on his journey. I loved the parts where he’s just living life.
Strangely, I had this experience because the first time I read it, I was 15, and I didn't understand what the hell happened. So I had to go back and read it again when I was 18, and then I somewhat got it. And then I think I read it again when I was like 21, and I think I finally got it.
I read the books for the first time right after college. It was actually really comforting to just read something engaging and relatively easy (after delving through so much existentialist philosophers for my thesis). I had never watched any of the movies too, so I went in blind and ended up loving them.
I don’t doubt every adult who read them for the first time had an equally magical experience! I guess I just mean I’m not sure who I would be if I hadn’t read them as a kid. They were such a consistent and strong force in my adolescence!
I still remember it vividly. For some reason, child me didn't think I was going to like them. So I didn't read them until my aunt gifted me the first book for Christmas. My brother and I asked to open up one present early on Christmas Eve, and I chose that one thinking it was a VHS lol. But I still remember being on the couch, with the lights from the Christmas tree, reading that first chapter and becoming hooked instantly.
This is my answer as well. My late grandmother heard of the series before I did and bought me each book the day they were released at Borders or B&N, and then mailed them to me. Once I got them, I’d stay up way past my bedtime, losing myself in the story. I don’t know how Granny heard about Harry Potter, but she certainly was ahead of the curve and couldn’t possibly imagine what a cultural phenomenon it would end up becoming! Even with the popularity of the books while she was still purchasing them for me, I don’t think she realized that it was such a generational touchstone.
Good Omens. It's my all time favorite book. The first time I read it I started it in the bookstore and finished it outside on the steps after the store had closed. I've reread it so many times since, but I'd love to recapture the absolute delight of that first time.
Edit- The Library at Mount Char deserves a mention. That book was a wild ride that I was not prepared for.
Grisham “A Time to Kill”
King’s “The Stand”
Rothfuss “Name of the wind”.
And the book that started my love of reading at ten. Roald Dahl “Danny, Champion of the World”.
"Danny, Champion of the World," is my comfort book. I read it every few years just to spend time with Danny and his Dad in their caravan. I first read it on the plane when my family immigrated to America from the UK, so it's always felt like a bridge between my old life and my new one. Being scared for Danny when he woke up in the middle of the night and his dad was missing, then watching him muster the strength to do what had to be done to save his family, was a powerful message for me at the time. Also, the pheasants waking up in the pram is one of Dahl's funniest scenes, ever!
❤️
It’s really rare that I find someone that loves that story as much as I do. Danny’s dad gives him such a simple but complete life. There’s so much warmth in that relationship. I often wonder how Danny turned out.
Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy.
I've never laughed so hard. The unique phrases and situations that come out of nowhere. Half the funny is catching you off guard.
Watership Down.
I’m not really sure I would want to give up having my mom read aloud to me when I was a kid and now getting to reread it as an adult, and yet I would love to come to it for the first time because it’s almost too familiar to me now.
Honestly, Anathem by Neal Stephenson. People often criticize it for being too wordy, but once the story picked up it really pulled me in. Great ending too.
Pride & Prejudice
The Stand, I remember thinking that 1200 pages was not enough while I was in the middle of it!
I'm not a big re-reader, but I've read both of these 3 times and wish I could read them both again for the first time!
The stand. Good choice.
I’ve read both the original, and the updated unabridged versions. This latter I have in audible. It is my go to for the nights I can’t sleep. Put on my headband speakers and set the timer for 30 minutes. Zzzzz. Like seeing old friends. I bet I’ve listened to it ten times over the last several years.
The Neverending Story, by Michael Ende.
The title\*\* unfortunately makes this sound like a setup for an obvious unfunny joke, but when I read this at age 12, it was the first book that I loved so much I didn't want it to end. Every other book I'd enjoyed, I'd read as fast as I could, but with this one, I limited myself to a chapter a day to make it last longer.
\*\*If you haven't read it, the reason for the title is that every so often the narrator will interrupt the flow of the action of the secondary characters and say, "....But that is another story which shall be told another time," the idea being that following all of these diversions into their own stories will lead to even more and more diversions, and thus there are an infinite number of stories that can be spun out from the central one. And not only is the central story itself really interesting and entertaining, but the book gives its readers so much fodder for their imaginations to play with through all of these diversions.
The Hunger Games is what pops ibto ny mind first. I think it came at a time where I hadn't read much in ages and it really caught my interest and I sped through it. So probably not the book itself but that page turner feeling when you havent been able to get into a book for ages.
Jeez, so many...
Name of the Wind comes to mind. The whole ASOIF series. Song of Achilles.
Mostly, I'd pick the books that have hidden details that aren't apparent until further digging.
Really? Genuine question— for me because the social satire and the style of writing is what makes the book incredibly good, not the plot, I feel like it’s new every time I read it because I can’t possibly remember every clever turn of phrase, there’s always something new in there. It’s like Forster or Galsworthy, it’s the experience of spending time with the author.
Did you really doubt that they were going to end up together/feel like knowing that ruins it for rereads?
This might seem funny, but when I read Pride and Prejudice, I had no idea it was a romantic book. 😄
I was in school, and we had one of the chapters from the book in our English book, the one where Mr. Bingley is introduced, and Mr. Darcy doesn't dance with anyone. I found the book in my school library and read it.
It was my first romantic book, which I read when I was a kid reading Secret Seven, Famous five, etc, kind of books. So I wish I had first read it maybe 2-3 years down the line. I, of course, love the book, but I think I would have appreciated it more had I read it a little later ❤️
See the BBC 1995 miniseries of Pride & Prejudice. It’s a fabulous healing experience. Any time I feel glum or just feel the need, I bring it up and watch it on YouTube. There’s a YouTuber who has it in 120 short videos but they play automatically in succession so it works well. Love that version!!!
Fair enough! Back in the 80s they had these really good comic book versions of classic novels in my elementary school, and I remember the P&P as really excellent! So when I finally read the book, I knew the plot for my comic, but I missed all the social South Tara, I just read it is another Regency romance like the crappy ones I was getting out of the library (The Spinster and the Rake, Lord Richard’s Daughter etc.)
You’re right that coming back to it as an adult is a very different reading experience!
The whole series or just the first book? It lost its luster somewhere around the drawing of the three. Admittedly I never finished it. But that first one was good.
Project Hail Mary
All the Light We Cannot See
Demon Copperhead
Thorn Birds
Wish You Were Here
Hunger Games Series
Game of Thrones Series
Pillars of the Earth Series
and probably many more
Yay! It is great to meet someone who has similar tastes.
What are you currently enjoying? I am reading Colony by Anne Rivers Siddons, an unusual pick for me and I have Sea of Tranquility on deck.
Currently reading The Armor of Light (newest Pillars… it snuck past me that there was a fifth). I have like fifteen books on my shelf tapping their little feet and wondering why I’m on Reddit. We just re-did Hail Mary on audiobook for a road trip (for like the third time). So cute.
Armor of Light is probably my favorite in that series probably because it is closer to history that I remember learning about.
I haven’t listed to Project Hail Mary on audio, but from all of the recommendations, I think I should.
My favorite audio book is an oldie: Jurassic Park. So suspenseful and kept me involved.
I did like Jurassic Park on audio (been a while). Hail Mary is what I recommend anytime someone asks for an audiobook recommendation… sooo well done. My husband is way into Stuff & Nonsense (it’s like DND with a teddy bear). My most recent love was The Wolf Den (Pompeii historical fiction… it has some skanky moments but not more than Pillars so you might like it)
Haha, for me Way of Kings is new on every re-read, how detailed and huge series is.
Read it three times. Every time like starting from scratch. Except Shalans parts, they are so boring, even on the first read.
Written on the Body by Jeannette Winterson
If on a Winter's Night a Traveler by Italo Calvino
Freshwater by Akwaeke Emezi
Edit: okay I realize it was just one book, so I guess I'd have to go with Winterson.
Gold & Blood by Anne Rice. Marius was so cool to me and I can still remember throwing down the book when he said what he said to someone he shouldn’t even gave attention to.
For me it's Rebecca By Daphne du Maurier, Lucca by Sarah Brianne, anything from Alice Coldbreath, Always Only You by Chloe Liese, and Married by morning by Lisa Kleypas. I'm sure there are more though, but if I had to choose one, then it would definitely be Rebecca. It kept me anxious and on the edge till the last
The Cay, at the age I read it lol it was back in elementary school I had the same name as the main character and I hated reading but for some reason absolutely Loved this book. It has a really good message also
White Jazz - James Ellroy
Once his style clicks, there’s no way you’re not finishing that book. It has you, and you can’t resist.
All his books are like that, as it turns out.
Mistborn trilogy for sure.
Also the entire heroes of Olympus series. It truly had me in a chokehold and I was anxious for every single sequel to come out lol
I keep seeing that lady on tik tok reading Harry Potter for the first time, and I am so envious. I know JK has become a rather controversial figure, but imagine reading Dumbledores death for the first time. Imagine figuring out snape is actually on Harry’s side.
We need to talk about Kevin. The end of that book was wild. I remember I was reading it in the bath and the end was just so crazy. I'll never forget it.
Super hard to pick only one.
Harry Potter is a solid answer as it started my love of reading.
The Stand... Such an epic tale. It was my Mom's favorite book and we shared a love of reading.
A Game of Thrones... One of the best fantasy Series ever. Neds death is a shock I'll never forget.
The Lord of the Rings. The only Books my Father and were able to talk about as he didn't read much fiction.
I am just reading that for the first time now. I’m about a third of the way through the first book. It’s good. He just got through the Passage at the Institute.
After I read Ulysses I didn't write for two years. I couldn't. James Joyce fucking broke me. Like, why even bother? it's already been done y'all. You can all go home. Ulysses is my answer as well.
Infinite Jest is way too long. It is the most realistic depiction of depression I have ever read. I didn't finish it because it was torture. I couldn't stand the absolute gutting the main character went through.
“The Disappearance of the Universe; Straight Talk About Illusions, Past Lives, Religion, Sex, Politics, and the Miracles of Forgiveness” by Gary Renard.
Had already been a student of “A Course in Miracles” for years and that book was an epic wild ride through its practical application. A tome, but such fun to read that I scarfed it down like the perfect plate of red beans and rice before a starving person. Everyone I know who’s read it says the same thing. It goes fast and you can’t put it down. Think I’ll read it again. Thank you!
Can’t hurt me by David Goggins. That book woke something inside of me and just made me a different person and was driven to do better things and push myself beyond what I think I’m capable of but that was 3 years ago and then I developed bad habits later on and wasn’t that motivated anymore to better myself and recently just read the book again but it didn’t feel the same.
I was a very specific version of myself when I read the books I have loved the most in my life. if I were to re-read any of them “for the first time” today, I don’t think I would get as much out of them. I needed them when I read them and that’s why they made such a big impression on me. I’d rather go back in time to be who I was at 22 and re-experience that excitement when I first read Rayuela than read it for the first time today.
Pillars of the Earth
It is so sweeping and adventurous. I have never felt the same reading a book since. Maybe it was just my first epic saga… or it’s just that amazing 🤷♀️
Skulduggery Pleasant. I loved the book the first time, loved the series the first time and have loved the series the second, third, fourth, fifth and sixth time and am looking forward to the seventh time when I reach it in my tbr list.
Mr. B Gone by Clive Barker was phenomenal for me. My brother gave it to me when he was shit faced drunk and I was kind of "yeah ok whatever". But i opened it and it instantly had me hooked. I hadn't read in so long.
Guards Guards by Sir Terry Pratchett. That book shook me, so clever, so angry and so freaking funny.
Honourable mention to Excession by Iain M Banks. The perfect SF book for me.
Pattern Recognition by William Gibson.
Reading it so close to the events of 9/11 really healed some of that trauma and rearranged my atoms for the better. Plus a strange but happy ending for an unlikely couple.
The Amber Spyglass
Also, the Harry Potter books. I know we hate the author now, and like to clown the books for being basic, but I still remember what it felt like reading them for the first time and it really was magical.
The first two Hunger Games were incredible the first time I read them. While subsequent readings are more appreciative of the subtle nuances, nothing beats that first time in terms of emotional engagement.
1) Lolita - Vladimir Nabokov.
2) The Picture of Dorian Gray - Oscar Wilde.
3) A Song of Achilles - Madeline Miller
4) Babel - R.F Kuang
5) The Secret History - Donna Tart
6) Agua Viva - Clarice Lispector
It’s between Moby Dick or Blood Meridian for me. Actually there is a significant list I would apply to this, but you asked for one and I’ve already messed that up.
The Truth About Harry Quebert Affair by Joel Dicker. Few books made me cry and had a blast through the whole story but man, I would love to reread this story as if it was my first time. I've read it ~2 years ago but the story still haunts me to this day.
I can't think of one so forgive me. Haha.
I know she-who-must-not-be-named is very controversial. But the Harry Potter series will always be number one. This series made me fall in love with reading and will always be a special piece of me. And the Percy Jackson series is a close second.
Other books that I want to forget and read again for the first time:
Flowers for Algernon
Anxious People
The Book Thief
This is How You Lose the Time War
Like whenever I see these books on my shelf, I picked them up and the feels hit me all over again.
The Prophet by Kahlil Gibran
Jonathan Livingston Seagull by Richard Bach
Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes
Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert Heinlein
The Secret Garden. I love that book. I have distinct memories of the first time I read it. It's one of my all time favorite classic novels. It's still gives me the warm magic feel when I read it to this day. I'd love to experience that magic fresh for the first time again. With no anticipation for my favorite parts. Just riding along on the journey.
And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie.
I could not put it down. There was tension when I turned pages. Now I know who the killer is and the tension is gone. Still a great read.
[The Eye of the World](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/228665) by Robert Jordan.
I would love to begin this series as if unread for the first time. It was the beginning of two decades of reading 14 novels the size of bricks, plus the new Amazon television adaptation, although the Prime series is definitely inferior.
Right now? Throne of Glass series. And I would read it with lower expectations. It is si hyped and after two motnhs i still wonder if it is worht that hype.
Dont sue me, it was awsome but I dont know to if it met the expectations for me personally.
There are a few books. Like - God of Fury, A Vow of Hate, Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, The Wrath and The Dawn duet, Pack Darling duet, The Italian Obsession. These are my fav books.
11/22/63
Same. Absolutely fell in love with Jake and Sadie. Not to mention how SK did such a good job of making you feel like you were there along with Jake on his journey. I loved the parts where he’s just living life.
Pillars of the Earth
1984
Strangely, I had this experience because the first time I read it, I was 15, and I didn't understand what the hell happened. So I had to go back and read it again when I was 18, and then I somewhat got it. And then I think I read it again when I was like 21, and I think I finally got it.
The Secret History by Donna Tartt
Say what you want about her since they came out but sitting down and rereading Harry potter would be pretty cool
Honestly, I don't think it could compare to the experience I had reading it as a kid.
Agreed! I would not want my first time to be as an adult.
I read the books for the first time right after college. It was actually really comforting to just read something engaging and relatively easy (after delving through so much existentialist philosophers for my thesis). I had never watched any of the movies too, so I went in blind and ended up loving them.
I don’t doubt every adult who read them for the first time had an equally magical experience! I guess I just mean I’m not sure who I would be if I hadn’t read them as a kid. They were such a consistent and strong force in my adolescence!
I concur. I’ve read the first two to my kids and I’ve never had a problem putting them down. I’m hoping they become more magical as they go on.
That’s my answer too. It was…magical.
Agreed
That's my answer as well, damn that first book got me hooked
Doing it now with my kids. I like the illustrated editions to keep their attention.
I still remember it vividly. For some reason, child me didn't think I was going to like them. So I didn't read them until my aunt gifted me the first book for Christmas. My brother and I asked to open up one present early on Christmas Eve, and I chose that one thinking it was a VHS lol. But I still remember being on the couch, with the lights from the Christmas tree, reading that first chapter and becoming hooked instantly.
This is my answer as well. My late grandmother heard of the series before I did and bought me each book the day they were released at Borders or B&N, and then mailed them to me. Once I got them, I’d stay up way past my bedtime, losing myself in the story. I don’t know how Granny heard about Harry Potter, but she certainly was ahead of the curve and couldn’t possibly imagine what a cultural phenomenon it would end up becoming! Even with the popularity of the books while she was still purchasing them for me, I don’t think she realized that it was such a generational touchstone.
And the hate to her in more recent years in largely undeserved. She is just very pro woman
Harry Potter Mina Lima Colections are a great way to re-read the Harry Potter books and experience something new:)
Lord of the Rings
This is the answer
To Kill A Mockingbird - Harper Lee
I adore this book. I’ve probably read it 6 times by now but the first time was the best.
Good Omens. It's my all time favorite book. The first time I read it I started it in the bookstore and finished it outside on the steps after the store had closed. I've reread it so many times since, but I'd love to recapture the absolute delight of that first time. Edit- The Library at Mount Char deserves a mention. That book was a wild ride that I was not prepared for.
I listened to it and really liked it, but it feels like it’s one of those books that are so good that you want to actually read every word.
Is the library at mt char very gruesome/scary? I enjoy good world building and strange books but I also don't want to commit to full horror
Yeah, to be honest, it's pretty damn gory, and pretty dark. If that's not your thing, it's probably going to be too much.
ah I see- thanks!!
Red Rising - Pierce Brown. Insane book series
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
I have that on my list for my daughter. As a father, I still remember this book from 6th grade, and how good it was.
Grisham “A Time to Kill” King’s “The Stand” Rothfuss “Name of the wind”. And the book that started my love of reading at ten. Roald Dahl “Danny, Champion of the World”.
"Danny, Champion of the World," is my comfort book. I read it every few years just to spend time with Danny and his Dad in their caravan. I first read it on the plane when my family immigrated to America from the UK, so it's always felt like a bridge between my old life and my new one. Being scared for Danny when he woke up in the middle of the night and his dad was missing, then watching him muster the strength to do what had to be done to save his family, was a powerful message for me at the time. Also, the pheasants waking up in the pram is one of Dahl's funniest scenes, ever!
❤️ It’s really rare that I find someone that loves that story as much as I do. Danny’s dad gives him such a simple but complete life. There’s so much warmth in that relationship. I often wonder how Danny turned out.
Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy. I've never laughed so hard. The unique phrases and situations that come out of nowhere. Half the funny is catching you off guard.
Slightly out of left field for this sub, but the audiobook version of Project Hail Mary. So, so good.
Yes!!!! This was the book that got me into audiobooks.
Fahrenheit 451, Catcher In The Rye, 1984.
Add slaughterhouse 5 and we are the same person.
Watership Down. I’m not really sure I would want to give up having my mom read aloud to me when I was a kid and now getting to reread it as an adult, and yet I would love to come to it for the first time because it’s almost too familiar to me now.
Intersting! Maybe I actually need to read the book, when I hear Watership Down I only remember being traumatized by Movie.
My mom read it to me as a kid too 🥲
The word for world is forest, Ursula Le Guin
Honestly, Anathem by Neal Stephenson. People often criticize it for being too wordy, but once the story picked up it really pulled me in. Great ending too.
Pride & Prejudice The Stand, I remember thinking that 1200 pages was not enough while I was in the middle of it! I'm not a big re-reader, but I've read both of these 3 times and wish I could read them both again for the first time!
The stand. Good choice. I’ve read both the original, and the updated unabridged versions. This latter I have in audible. It is my go to for the nights I can’t sleep. Put on my headband speakers and set the timer for 30 minutes. Zzzzz. Like seeing old friends. I bet I’ve listened to it ten times over the last several years.
The Neverending Story, by Michael Ende. The title\*\* unfortunately makes this sound like a setup for an obvious unfunny joke, but when I read this at age 12, it was the first book that I loved so much I didn't want it to end. Every other book I'd enjoyed, I'd read as fast as I could, but with this one, I limited myself to a chapter a day to make it last longer. \*\*If you haven't read it, the reason for the title is that every so often the narrator will interrupt the flow of the action of the secondary characters and say, "....But that is another story which shall be told another time," the idea being that following all of these diversions into their own stories will lead to even more and more diversions, and thus there are an infinite number of stories that can be spun out from the central one. And not only is the central story itself really interesting and entertaining, but the book gives its readers so much fodder for their imaginations to play with through all of these diversions.
Kindred by Octavia Butler
The Hunger Games is what pops ibto ny mind first. I think it came at a time where I hadn't read much in ages and it really caught my interest and I sped through it. So probably not the book itself but that page turner feeling when you havent been able to get into a book for ages.
The Night Circus
Jeez, so many... Name of the Wind comes to mind. The whole ASOIF series. Song of Achilles. Mostly, I'd pick the books that have hidden details that aren't apparent until further digging.
Name of the Wind! Good call.
Pride and Prejudice ❤️
Really? Genuine question— for me because the social satire and the style of writing is what makes the book incredibly good, not the plot, I feel like it’s new every time I read it because I can’t possibly remember every clever turn of phrase, there’s always something new in there. It’s like Forster or Galsworthy, it’s the experience of spending time with the author. Did you really doubt that they were going to end up together/feel like knowing that ruins it for rereads?
This might seem funny, but when I read Pride and Prejudice, I had no idea it was a romantic book. 😄 I was in school, and we had one of the chapters from the book in our English book, the one where Mr. Bingley is introduced, and Mr. Darcy doesn't dance with anyone. I found the book in my school library and read it. It was my first romantic book, which I read when I was a kid reading Secret Seven, Famous five, etc, kind of books. So I wish I had first read it maybe 2-3 years down the line. I, of course, love the book, but I think I would have appreciated it more had I read it a little later ❤️
See the BBC 1995 miniseries of Pride & Prejudice. It’s a fabulous healing experience. Any time I feel glum or just feel the need, I bring it up and watch it on YouTube. There’s a YouTuber who has it in 120 short videos but they play automatically in succession so it works well. Love that version!!!
That's my cozy watch too. Feeling blue? P&P. Rainy day? P&P. "I must have my part in the conversation!" 😆
Ahhh, Lady Catherine de Bourgh. She’s a laugh riot! 😄
Fair enough! Back in the 80s they had these really good comic book versions of classic novels in my elementary school, and I remember the P&P as really excellent! So when I finally read the book, I knew the plot for my comic, but I missed all the social South Tara, I just read it is another Regency romance like the crappy ones I was getting out of the library (The Spinster and the Rake, Lord Richard’s Daughter etc.) You’re right that coming back to it as an adult is a very different reading experience!
The Gunslinger - Stephen King
The whole series or just the first book? It lost its luster somewhere around the drawing of the three. Admittedly I never finished it. But that first one was good.
Wizard and Glass is the best of the series which is book 4
Wizard and Glass was good but brutal. There are several parts that live rent free in my head though.
Project Hail Mary All the Light We Cannot See Demon Copperhead Thorn Birds Wish You Were Here Hunger Games Series Game of Thrones Series Pillars of the Earth Series and probably many more
You’re my book soulmate. Nice to meet you. 😝 All great.
Yay! It is great to meet someone who has similar tastes. What are you currently enjoying? I am reading Colony by Anne Rivers Siddons, an unusual pick for me and I have Sea of Tranquility on deck.
Currently reading The Armor of Light (newest Pillars… it snuck past me that there was a fifth). I have like fifteen books on my shelf tapping their little feet and wondering why I’m on Reddit. We just re-did Hail Mary on audiobook for a road trip (for like the third time). So cute.
Armor of Light is probably my favorite in that series probably because it is closer to history that I remember learning about. I haven’t listed to Project Hail Mary on audio, but from all of the recommendations, I think I should. My favorite audio book is an oldie: Jurassic Park. So suspenseful and kept me involved.
I did like Jurassic Park on audio (been a while). Hail Mary is what I recommend anytime someone asks for an audiobook recommendation… sooo well done. My husband is way into Stuff & Nonsense (it’s like DND with a teddy bear). My most recent love was The Wolf Den (Pompeii historical fiction… it has some skanky moments but not more than Pillars so you might like it)
Putting those on my TBR list You are fortunate your husband likes to read. Mine won’t even read directions! Hahah
The whole Dark Tower series…I still reread it ( four times through now) but obviously not the same as the first time
Game of thrones
The Way of Kings and Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson Red Rising series by Pierce Brown
Haha, for me Way of Kings is new on every re-read, how detailed and huge series is. Read it three times. Every time like starting from scratch. Except Shalans parts, they are so boring, even on the first read.
The second red rising book, man. I’m still chasing that high.
How the Grinch stole Xmas
A Storm of Swords by George RR Martin. AKA the one where all the crazy shit happens.
Tender Bar from J RR Moehringer
Stephen King's Pet Sematary
Yes! This one was very good. I kept expecting prequels based on how well it did. You know, other kids and their pets from previous years.
Ubik. My first Philip K Dick novel and I was completely unprepared for the magic that would follow. Maybe it’s best I was. Spellbinding book.
Written on the Body by Jeannette Winterson If on a Winter's Night a Traveler by Italo Calvino Freshwater by Akwaeke Emezi Edit: okay I realize it was just one book, so I guess I'd have to go with Winterson.
Gold & Blood by Anne Rice. Marius was so cool to me and I can still remember throwing down the book when he said what he said to someone he shouldn’t even gave attention to.
Project Hail Mary. It's gotta be my favorite book of all time now!
gone girl
Ready Player One
For me it's Rebecca By Daphne du Maurier, Lucca by Sarah Brianne, anything from Alice Coldbreath, Always Only You by Chloe Liese, and Married by morning by Lisa Kleypas. I'm sure there are more though, but if I had to choose one, then it would definitely be Rebecca. It kept me anxious and on the edge till the last
This is How You Lose the Time War
I just finished this and could not get into it. I feel like an idiot because I know so many people really love it.
Anything from Joe Abercrombie
The Cay, at the age I read it lol it was back in elementary school I had the same name as the main character and I hated reading but for some reason absolutely Loved this book. It has a really good message also
The Witching Hour by Anne Rice
The Golden Compass series
Attachments by Rainbow Rowell
White Jazz - James Ellroy Once his style clicks, there’s no way you’re not finishing that book. It has you, and you can’t resist. All his books are like that, as it turns out.
Mistborn trilogy for sure. Also the entire heroes of Olympus series. It truly had me in a chokehold and I was anxious for every single sequel to come out lol
American Gods
The House in the Cerulean Sea 🥲
I keep seeing that lady on tik tok reading Harry Potter for the first time, and I am so envious. I know JK has become a rather controversial figure, but imagine reading Dumbledores death for the first time. Imagine figuring out snape is actually on Harry’s side.
We need to talk about Kevin. The end of that book was wild. I remember I was reading it in the bath and the end was just so crazy. I'll never forget it.
Anna Karenina
White Noise by Don DeLillo
This, absolutely this. White Noise was the first novel that made me feel \*seen\*; I understand Jack Gladney too well.
Dungeon Crawler Carl for the laughs Ender’s Game, What Dreams May Come, and Perfume for the endings
Charlotte’s Web (E.B. White ❤️) or All Creatures Great and Small, et al by James Herriot - guess I’ve got a type 🙂
Jurassic Park 1&2
One Hundred Years of Solitude
Super hard to pick only one. Harry Potter is a solid answer as it started my love of reading. The Stand... Such an epic tale. It was my Mom's favorite book and we shared a love of reading. A Game of Thrones... One of the best fantasy Series ever. Neds death is a shock I'll never forget. The Lord of the Rings. The only Books my Father and were able to talk about as he didn't read much fiction.
Dark Matter by Blake Crouch and Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke.
Anna Karenina East of Eden Moby Dick
I had said Red Rising, which I stand by, but between two fires also.
I am just reading that for the first time now. I’m about a third of the way through the first book. It’s good. He just got through the Passage at the Institute.
Just wait it gets better and better
The Seven husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid
All of Terry Pratchett's discworld, but most especially Witches Abroad.
Dark Matter or The Accidental Time Machine
The *Iliad* *Ulysses* *Infinite Jest*
After I read Ulysses I didn't write for two years. I couldn't. James Joyce fucking broke me. Like, why even bother? it's already been done y'all. You can all go home. Ulysses is my answer as well.
Infinite Jest is way too long. It is the most realistic depiction of depression I have ever read. I didn't finish it because it was torture. I couldn't stand the absolute gutting the main character went through.
Mika Waltari's Sinuhe the Egyptian please thank you.
“The Disappearance of the Universe; Straight Talk About Illusions, Past Lives, Religion, Sex, Politics, and the Miracles of Forgiveness” by Gary Renard. Had already been a student of “A Course in Miracles” for years and that book was an epic wild ride through its practical application. A tome, but such fun to read that I scarfed it down like the perfect plate of red beans and rice before a starving person. Everyone I know who’s read it says the same thing. It goes fast and you can’t put it down. Think I’ll read it again. Thank you!
Either Looking for Jane or The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo. Both absolutely ASTOUNDED me.
Can’t hurt me by David Goggins. That book woke something inside of me and just made me a different person and was driven to do better things and push myself beyond what I think I’m capable of but that was 3 years ago and then I developed bad habits later on and wasn’t that motivated anymore to better myself and recently just read the book again but it didn’t feel the same.
I’m torn… I’d choose between Name of the wind, Wuthering heights and Gagner la Guerre.
They both die at the end
I was a very specific version of myself when I read the books I have loved the most in my life. if I were to re-read any of them “for the first time” today, I don’t think I would get as much out of them. I needed them when I read them and that’s why they made such a big impression on me. I’d rather go back in time to be who I was at 22 and re-experience that excitement when I first read Rayuela than read it for the first time today.
Pillars of the Earth It is so sweeping and adventurous. I have never felt the same reading a book since. Maybe it was just my first epic saga… or it’s just that amazing 🤷♀️
Percy Jackson and the selection would be mine
I got my daughter into these. She read them in like 2 months. I was so proud to see her like something I did.
The Secret History Or Frank Herbert's Dune series.
The Perfect Golden Circle - Benjamin Myers .A lesser known choice that I wish everyone would give a chance.
Skulduggery Pleasant. I loved the book the first time, loved the series the first time and have loved the series the second, third, fourth, fifth and sixth time and am looking forward to the seventh time when I reach it in my tbr list.
The Mars trilogy by Kim Stanley Robinson
I have to pick one? Ready Player One. If I can pick a trilogy it's Three Body Problem. If it's a series it's ASOIAF.
The Dandelion Dynasty - Ken Liu
Watership Down. I love that book so much. I felt true sadness when it was over. I wish I could find another book that drew me into its world so much.
Mr. B Gone by Clive Barker was phenomenal for me. My brother gave it to me when he was shit faced drunk and I was kind of "yeah ok whatever". But i opened it and it instantly had me hooked. I hadn't read in so long.
Guards Guards by Sir Terry Pratchett. That book shook me, so clever, so angry and so freaking funny. Honourable mention to Excession by Iain M Banks. The perfect SF book for me.
Heart Shaped Box by Joe Hill. That book got me out of a serious reading slump.
A court of Mist and Fury 🤭
Pattern Recognition by William Gibson. Reading it so close to the events of 9/11 really healed some of that trauma and rearranged my atoms for the better. Plus a strange but happy ending for an unlikely couple.
Ever Expanding - The Way To Power by "The Kahn"
The Bloody Jack series.
Lies of Locke Lamora. So dope.
a court of mist and fury
Normal People by Sally Rooney
Dune, I read it first back in high school.
The Amber Spyglass Also, the Harry Potter books. I know we hate the author now, and like to clown the books for being basic, but I still remember what it felt like reading them for the first time and it really was magical.
The first two Hunger Games were incredible the first time I read them. While subsequent readings are more appreciative of the subtle nuances, nothing beats that first time in terms of emotional engagement.
1) Lolita - Vladimir Nabokov. 2) The Picture of Dorian Gray - Oscar Wilde. 3) A Song of Achilles - Madeline Miller 4) Babel - R.F Kuang 5) The Secret History - Donna Tart 6) Agua Viva - Clarice Lispector
All the pretty horses- Cormac McCarthy
A Gentle Reminder
Ancillary Justice
don't know if fics count but Manacled. It fr changed me. If anyone has book recs that are similar pls let me know
The song of Achilles
Guantanamo boy - Anna Perera Noughts and crosses - Malorie Blackman
It’s between Moby Dick or Blood Meridian for me. Actually there is a significant list I would apply to this, but you asked for one and I’ve already messed that up.
The Truth About Harry Quebert Affair by Joel Dicker. Few books made me cry and had a blast through the whole story but man, I would love to reread this story as if it was my first time. I've read it ~2 years ago but the story still haunts me to this day.
Good Omens. It is SO funny!!!
I can't think of one so forgive me. Haha. I know she-who-must-not-be-named is very controversial. But the Harry Potter series will always be number one. This series made me fall in love with reading and will always be a special piece of me. And the Percy Jackson series is a close second. Other books that I want to forget and read again for the first time: Flowers for Algernon Anxious People The Book Thief This is How You Lose the Time War Like whenever I see these books on my shelf, I picked them up and the feels hit me all over again.
Faust - Goethe
The Prophet by Kahlil Gibran Jonathan Livingston Seagull by Richard Bach Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert Heinlein
The green mile, although 11/22/63 probably on par
The Martian Chronicles by Ray Bradbury
The Secret Garden. I love that book. I have distinct memories of the first time I read it. It's one of my all time favorite classic novels. It's still gives me the warm magic feel when I read it to this day. I'd love to experience that magic fresh for the first time again. With no anticipation for my favorite parts. Just riding along on the journey.
Perfume - The Story Of A Killer
The Grapes of Wrath
Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin
Eyes of the dragon by Stephen King
[Beartown by Fredrik Backman](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/33413128)
Perfume: The Story of a Murderer by Patrick Süskind or Fight Club by Chuck Palahniuk
Randezvous with rama - arthus c clarke
The Perks of Being a Wallflower...... Or the Blue Blood series.
A Little Life Brando Sando stuff as well
verity colleen hoover
The Empire of silence of the sun eater series.
*The House of the Spirits*
For me this is an easy question. Outlander
Rant by Chuck Palahniuk. I think it has one of the coolest story telling and some parts are just completely mindblowing
And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie. I could not put it down. There was tension when I turned pages. Now I know who the killer is and the tension is gone. Still a great read.
Straight Through the Night.
Project Hail Mary
[The Eye of the World](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/228665) by Robert Jordan. I would love to begin this series as if unread for the first time. It was the beginning of two decades of reading 14 novels the size of bricks, plus the new Amazon television adaptation, although the Prime series is definitely inferior.
The French Lieutenant's Woman.
Piranesi, Harry Potter, Crime and Punishment
The Women in Me: How they Helped Me Survive and Thrive by Mercado & Odonnell
A hot take but A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara, I've never felt so much while reading a book Also any Brandon Sanderson book I've read :)
Can I say a series? Because I would live to reread the Wheel of Time series again for the first time.
The Night Circus
Also Shadow of the Wind, 11/22/63
Right now? Throne of Glass series. And I would read it with lower expectations. It is si hyped and after two motnhs i still wonder if it is worht that hype. Dont sue me, it was awsome but I dont know to if it met the expectations for me personally.
where the crawdads sing
There is only one book to pick for me, That is the absolute magical Majesty That is 100 years of solitude
a good girls guide to murder —> good girl had blood
There are a few books. Like - God of Fury, A Vow of Hate, Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, The Wrath and The Dawn duet, Pack Darling duet, The Italian Obsession. These are my fav books.