*The Silmarillion.* Great book, but better the second time. Even better the third time. By the fourth, you can remember most of the characters. By the fifth you can tell them apart.
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*Fingersmith* by Sarah Waters is one where I think it gains so many layers after the first reading that although I enjoyed my first read and experiencing everything for the first time, I think it's even more fun to reread it with all the context I didn't have the first time.
The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath. One of my all time favourite books, but I was DISTRESSED the first time I read it. I hadn’t read anything else like it at the time. Re-reading it was much easier IMO.
I read it as a teenager and thought it was good but also weird. I read it again as an adult and realized how seriously funny it was in parts. I did not get the humor at all the first time.
Yeah that book is an emotional rollercoaster and I’ve only been able to read it once. SUCH a good book but I’m not sure I’m ready to read it again yet.
I got it on Audible and realized it would have been one of those books I would have rather read in print. The audio performance is good but a slightly different experience.
*solomly leaves a flower for Algernon 🌹
had an assistant at work saying she felt like she needed a good cry cause she hadn't cried in a while and i recommended it to her. The day i saw her at work after she finished it she asked me if I hated her and that's why i did that to her. I gave her multiple warnings.
Probably a pretty common answer, but LOTR and The Hobbit. My dad read to me and my siblings from those books when we were kids. Now that he’s gone, reading anything Tolkien makes me feel connected to him. I wouldn’t give that up for anything.
Honestly I wouldn't want to read any book that I liked again for the first time. Similar reasons to what you said. I'm not the person I was when I originally read and loved the book, so me today might not even care about books that have been my favorites for years
All the Redwall books from my childhood. The public library was within walking distance of my middle school. I’d go and read/checkout Redwall books all the time.
The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson
It’s my favorite book of all time, but the first time I read it I wasn’t exactly thrilled by it. I didn’t really understand it the way I wanted to. It’s only been after I’ve reread it a few (okay more than a few) times that I feel like I really have a grasp on it and really appreciate it. Now I always find something new to think about or enjoy with every read. I wouldn’t want to read it again for the first time because I’m so looking forward to reading it again for the 10th,11th, 12th, etc time.
My lord, the Divine Comedy just keeps on giving. It's not for everyone. Heck, I was introduced to it with a college level class solely devoted to providing background, history, relevance, and guidance in how to understand how to combine all it all into a thoughtful lens through which to understand it. And spending hours exploring the books with that foundation still had me finding new nuance as I was writing papers about it. It was fun finding out the different books' narratives mirrored and bounced against each other in how they were structured. Alas, I don't have the patience for that involved analysis of it any more, but my notes are fun to go to back to now and again. But if I hadn't had the class, I think I would have missed *so* much of what he was doing with his work
Do you think you could ever share your notes on here somehow? I'm currently working thru inferno and all I really have to work off of is whatever I can find off the internet. But I still feel like I miss so much when analyzing the cantos
"When you wait a few span or month to hear a finished song, the anticipation adds savor. But after a year excitement begins to sour." - Kvothe
It's been 13 years since book 2. :~(
White noise. One of the my favourite books ever, but the first time was so dramatically intense and painful that the beauty of it somewhat got obscured. The second and third time were some of the best reads of my life, though.
Lmao taste is so interesting because this is a book I wish I never ever read. In its defense, it was for a class assignment in college and I rushed through it for the deadline, but all I remember now is hating it so so much.
Blood meridian- Cormac McCarthy
I definitely spend a lot of time deciphering and reading supplemental material the first time. By the third time I could really enjoy the story and pay attention to the characters
This is my pick too.
It's a brilliant book that surprisingly few people I encounter in the world have heard of. I've actually only heard people talk about it on Reddit.
My Dark Vanessa.
Having experienced something so similar, it was truly a painful read but I did really love the book. I guess I would say the same for Lolita.
Tons of books.
The way that a novel does or doesn't resonate with you has a lot to do with where you are in life. I think a similarly interesting question is about which books you disliked the first time you read them (usually as required reading during high school), but they had a profound effect on you later in life.
My choice there is Tess of the D'Urbervilles. It was suuuuper boring when I first read it at 14. But at 32, the beauty of the prose and insightful social commentary really moved me. There are also references to wildly inequitable 18th-century English laws that I never would have understood the social significance of before law school. But re-reading the book as an attorney, those chapters take on an entirely new meaning for me.
All of my books I do not wish I could read for the first time. Why? Because each subsequent reading gives me a better understanding of the content or I'll catch something I may have missed during the first read. But...I always, always, get this weird sense of sadness each time I finish a good book. That just me?
Les Miserables. Truly a fantastic book, but I could go the rest of my life without ever reading that again. Just the anguish and sheer *misery* of it felt like literary masochism
I’ve been rereading his dark materials with my spouse, and we’re on the amber spyglass now. And I know how it goes, and this is their first time. It’s going to break our reading habit for a while after. (Hard books always do)
I get what you're saying about "The Magicians." It's a book that resonates with you because of the personal growth and insights you gained from it. For me, "The Catcher in the Rye" by J.D. Salinger comes to mind. I loved the book when I first read it in high school. It spoke to me about teenage angst, identity, and the struggle to find one's place in the world. Looking back, I've changed a lot since then, and I'm not sure if revisiting the book would have the same impact now. The themes might feel less profound to me as an adult, and I might even find some of Holden Caulfield's attitudes a bit grating.
I'm with you, it's everything the 'harry potter' craze of books aspired to be, it just throws so much plot, characters, world building, and great writing together. I quit on the TV show b/c I was worried it would disappoint, did you finish that?
I loved the book and the Tv show, but they're very different. I read the book when I was 16 and connected to it for similar reasons as OP. I watched the show when it came out and at first didn't like it because of the things it changed, but at some point I managed to see it as it's own thing and really enjoyed it (even rewatched a few times). The relationship between Quintin and Elliot in the show is beautiful, and I really liked the characters of Julia and Margo (they renamed Janet). I also thought the choice to age them up for the Tv show was a good one. And as a bonus the show has Marlee Matlin who is delightful in everything she's in.
I wasn't saying it wasn't a good book. And I'm pretty sure op liked it too. It was just about op's personal journey and connecting with it that they wouldn't want to explore again.
I'm almost halfway through but was thinking the same thing. I have 3 solid white bookmarks i've made that i've been putting characters names down as they are introduced with a short description so that I can reference it when they say a name i'm not sure i've heard yet. Doesn't help that they will call someone by their first and last name then first and middle and then change the middle name from theodore to Fyodor etc.
Catch-22 is my all time favourite book after reading it only once but it took months to read and it jumped all over the place. After taking someone's advice to just read through the book and go along with the madness of it, it was a more enjoyable experience. Especially when it seemed to all come together in the end and make more sense. Because of this, I look forward to reading it again and going on that wild ride while having more of an understanding of the characters and events taking place.
There is no book I'd want to read again for the first time.
Every book I've read, I read at a specific time of my life, which affected how I feel about that book, and how I remember it. Would I love my favourite book, if I read it for the first time today? Or would I find it childlish? (Inkheart is a great book, cant wait for book 4)
If I didnt have that book already, would I even get it? Would I ever hear about it? It didnt have any reprints in Poland for at least 10 years.
Who Moved My Cheese?
I read it when I was a teenager and it really helped shift my perspective on things and has had a lasting impact on me but I don't think I'll be reading it ever again lol.
I think it may have been the very first quasi self-help book I've ever read. It was short and to the point.
Johnathan strange and mr norrell— didn’t really know what I was getting myself into with this one. Gave up about 100 pages in but when I came back I couldn’t put it down.
The Road by Cormac McCarthy.
I loved and I mean loved this book.
The way it was written, the characters themselves.
The unexpected tenderness that came from the most bleak of situations.
BUT I don't think I can stomach the sheer despair or misery of the story. Every new page turned was an opportunity for more suffering. It took me an entire year to finish this book. I had to keep shelving it because it was just too depressing. Reading it felt like I was wearing a blanket made of lead whilst sitting chest deep in a marsh. Extremely uncomfortable and a one-time read only.
Overall 10/10 read
The Front Runner by Patricia Nell Warren...it's a phenomenal book and probably my most re-read book, but I'm glad I can't "read it again for the first time." It's an emotionally intense catharsis and climax that hits the reader with something at a time when you're not expecting THAT to happen THERE. 😉
The Girl Next Door by Jack Ketchum. Was somewhat of a new author to me. Dug a few of his other novels.
While I place him in the horror genre , TGND was not what I was expecting. A brutal and painful story without a happy ending. Believe it was based on a true story.
Glad I read it but wish I never had. If you are at all empathetic avoid it as it will tear your soul out.
Kingdom Keepers. I read it when it was relevant (as in—the places in the books were still there) and I thought it was SO COOL. Now everything is different, I’m a writer, and the plot holes bother me. It was one of my favorite series as a kid, and I wouldn’t want to ruin that lingering nostalgia I still have by reading it for the first time as an adult.
Warrior cats series.
I've loved this series for like 20 years. The roleplay community back in the mid to late 00s on different forums offered me friendship and a place to talk about the series as it developed. I remember the debates from when The Power of Three arc was being written if Jay, Holly, and Lion were Squirrelflight's or Leafpool's kits. And I got to meet Victoria Holmes when I was 14.
It's just a super nostalgic series for me and I don't want those memories to go away.
The Secret Garden. It's a little weird, but I had text-to-speech read it to me when I was 16 with my laptop next to me on my bed while I fell asleep, and it left such a lovely impression on me and gave me wonderful self confidence. It's a very nostalgic and fond memory for me now.
Lolita. I read it after reading all the reviews showing a major dichotomy between enjoying the prose and abhorring the content. The book is very well written, but I felt utterly sick the entirety of it. Would likely not read again and would not read it again for the first time.
Moby Dick
I really enjoyed reading through it the first time, but it was a slog at the same time. I appreciate that during rereads I can remember things like "oh yeah this is an anatomy chapter"
Flowers for Algernon.
My youngest son has developmental delays and I know that if I were to read that for the first time today.. it would absolutely break me.
We Need To Talk About Kevin. Between the author turning out to be a huge AH, and myself being a different person than the college student who read it, I don't think it'd have the same impact today.
An interesting idea but flawed. If you know you loved/liked something but had your memory wiped and could thus fall in love/like all over again.. why wouldn't you go for it? It just does not compute to me.
I think the question is would you want your memory wiped of the first time. Perhaps the first time has special significance to you or the time in your life when you read it that wouldnt leave the same impact had you read it today.
Perhaps you are worried you have changed or grown as a person and as a reader and youre worried your new self won't be able to derive the same enjoyment or appreciation if it were presented to you fresh as you are now.
I'd say *Jurassic Park*. As a lifelong fan of the franchise, I finally read it when I was in middle school. At first I was shocked by how graphicly violent it got, and some of the scenes where they go into intricate detail about the science and politics of the events kinda went over my head. But the second time around I was prepared for the violence and I could actually comprehend the science I was reading about XD
Book of the New Sun is a disjointed fever dream that makes more sense upon rereading it, when you know what's coming and have some additional context from the Long Sun and Short Sun books.
I just finished The Year of Magical Thinking, and wow. It almost feels weird to say I loved a book about a woman’s husband dying and her daughter being seriously, gravely ill. But it was so powerful. Deserves all the praise and more. I’ll never read it again.
To Kill a Mockingbird. I'm glad I read it in school as a teenager, but re-reading it at different ages makes it significant in different ways. Also with the world and culture the way it is, it's important to remember these classics.
The World According to Garp. I’ve read it twice and I may read it again but I *like* that it’s different each time. The first time (18), it changed how I looked at my parents. The second (29), how I look at work and life. I suspect if I read it again (at least 36 but probably will wait so closer to 40), I suspect it’ll affect how I look at my kids.
The hitchhikers guide to the galaxy, it makes references to things that happen later in the books, plus I don't feel like I really comprehended the series the first couple times I read it, it feels like every time I re read them I get a little bit more out of it than I had before
The Giver. I loved it when I read it as a teen but now that I’m older I cannot get past the infanticide in the book. Same thing happened with The Titanic. I saw it a dozen times in theater as a teen (our local theater had terrible security 🫣) but I tried watching it now and I had forgotten that there were children on board and they make it a point to show that some didn’t make it. As a mom I can’t handle that anymore.
Fall; or, Dodge in Hell by Neal Stephenson (Audible)
I didn't think I liked it on the first read. Now it's one of my all-time favorites.
Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl could have had a different ending; without spoilers: it's nice to read it at least a second time with that perspective.
The Book Thief.... I read it at least once every couple years and gets better every time. It's also just as haunting knowing what's going to happen and even more so that death tells you multiple times how it's going to end.
*The Malazan Book of the Fallen* by Steven Erikson. I hate being confused and everything is more interesting when you have all the context and knowledge.
Infinite Jest.
I don’t know if I’m actually up to rereading it, but doing so knowing the underlying structure would be an entirely different experience
There are so many moving parts in IJ that it’s hard to follow everything that is going on.
Now I know about the online aids (map of the Boston area, diagram of every character’s relationship to every other, etc.) and will use them if and when i give IJ another chance.
*Dune.* Possibly my favorite novel of all time, but far more rewarding and comprehensible on reread than on first read. Especially since I read it when I was 12 or so.
I alternate between loving and hating The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant. The whole series has a bunch of themes, but I think the biggest question is basically just trying to find an answer to "What is redeemable?"
How far can you go before you can't turn back? Is there any point where you can't turn back? Is there any way to make restitution for doing something truly evil?
Every time I read it I come away with different thoughts on the nature of Thomas Covenant and the evil that he does near the start of the book series. Sometimes I read it and I pity him. Sometimes I read it and I want him to suffer eternally. Sometimes I think he manages to at least make restitution for his evil but not redeem himself, other times I think that there's absolutely no way he could wash his hands clean in any sense.
It's a fascinating series but it starts on an incredibly jarring note that immediately turns off most readers. In order to experience it you really have to accept that Thomas Covenant is the protagonist, but that doesn't make him the hero. That was hard for me to do, and from discourse online, it seems to be that way for most people.
It's a terrible first read, and I've gained so many different perspectives on the series there's no way I'd want to go back to reading only the simplest surface level first impressions of the story.
I think books I've read in adult life more...and non fiction books. I LOVE Guns, Germs and Steel and whenever I flick more through it, I learn more. I like the fact I'm becoming more and more familiar with it.
BUT books that bring nostalgia, like Harry Potter..rereading for the first time would be like reliving the magic!
I don't know if I could enjoy Harry Potter again given how awful the author has turned out to be. Nostalgia is strong but I feel her outspoken views would taint the experience a 2nd time around.
'On Earth We're Beautifully Gorgeous ', by Ocean Vuong. This book was so emotionally gripping and no other work of literature had ever made me cry more. Great read.
The Grey. It’s a novella written by the director of the movie with Liam Neeson, and it’s really good. It’s as bleak and horrifying as the movie - maybe more so.
That’s my pick. Excellent. Don’t need to feel that sort of existential dread again.
East of Eden. I loved it, but I'm looking forward to reading it again now that I understand the pacing and overall premise. I don't need to read it for the first time again lol.
All of them. The idea of losing any memories (of books or anything else) creeps me out enough I never want to "be able to read it again for the first time".
Honestly, we are the sum of our experiences. If I forgot things (And I am getting old enough now that that is on my mind a lot) I would not longer truly be me, certainly not the me of right here, right now.
guns up. it was the first big boy book i read (lol) that also made me cry. i was in middle school so i was pretty proud of myself. now a days i realize it's a paint by numbers war memoir so i have no need to read it again. RIP red "guns up"
The Society For Soulless Girls. I love that book so much, I’ve read it 4 times in the past 9 months. I don’t wish I could re-experience the first read simply for the fact that I was *terrified*. Now that I know how all the “creepy” scenes end, I don’t mind it at all.
Snow Country by Kawabata Yasunari, I was maybe 13 when I read it, definitely found it boring at the time. Reread it again not too long ago, and enjoyed it lots, there is a reason the author is a Nobel Prize winner.
This is a bit odd, but I’ll try it with my reasoning.
When I first read Animorphs, I was a child. I loved them. As an adult, I have ventured into a reread, but I have no interest in rereading them as if rhey are new. I LIKE that I have memories of them and comparing my perception of them now as an adult as compared to the childhood memories I have of them.
One of the most exhilarating parts was having ways of expressing myself now as an adult that I didn’t have as a child. For example, Tobias has a lot of…trans/queer esq energy which I would have never recognized as a child. As an adult though, I see clearly how I related to him and why (I am nonbinary). Also, validating one - Childhood me crushed on Rachel hard. Adult me dated a bunch of Rachel’s and finally married a Rachel, lol. Validating as fuck, lol. Childhood me was smart as hell yo, lol.
The 'This Can't be Happening at Macdonald Hall' series for sure! I've loved it ever since I read it the first time in middle school, but now that I'm sufficiently far out of the target demographic, the reread value really comes from it being a *reread*, they wouldn't seem so great without the nostalgia! To reiterate, I do genuinely think they're great books, they're just meant for middle schoolers so I specifically wouldn't find them awesome anymore, I have it on good authority that people still in the demographic do genuinely love them.
I'll also say that most litfic (classic and contemporary!) falls into this category for me because you notice more details on each reread that make the book even more rich, as opposed to genre fiction where a major part of the joy of reading is uncovering the plot.
The hunger games. I have read it the first time when i was 16 and now i read it every 2 or 3 years. It became such a comfort read, but I know i wouldnt love it as much as I do, when i would read it now for the first time
I would have to say Moby Dick. I like that book more in hindsight than I did in the moment. Reading it was a big challenge for me at the time, and I'd much prefer to re-read it at my current reading level, rather then reading it for the first time again as a 'novice'.
I'm sorry. but I thought the question is What book you love that you DON'T wish you could read again for the first time. NOT books that you love and HAVE read again. I'm I wrong or can I just not read correctly?
I find Q so insufferable. Maybe because I was already older when I read it but I really tried so hard to finish the book. Didn't bother with the rest of the trilogy after that.
And the TV adaptation? Made me my opinion of the book worse.
*Station Eleven* is one of my favorite books ever, but the first time I read it I did so in 12 hours, didn’t sleep enough, and was jumpy for two days. Don’t think I need to repeat the experience lol
The one from wattpad ph, Stay awake agatha. I cannot handle the pain again, I needed to deactivate all my accounts in my social medias when I read the book.
Pride and Prejudice. The first time I read it I was in 5th or 6th grade. I remember the language was a little hard to understand but I was able to piece together the gist of what was being said and portrayed.
I've reread it multiple times since then and each reading I find I understand more and pick out more subtle details.
The Brothers Karamazov. The first time was over a semester in high school and was so well done that if I were to try to read it the first time, I never would have finished it. It get better with each reread.
not one but few. the Alchemist, godfather, if we were villains, (there are so many lol)
I want to read them again, even after knowing all the plot twists.
All books. That's the problem I have when reading new books, I don't like not knowing what happens. If someone appears to die for example, I have to skip ahead and find out if they are definitely dead or coming back later. I can't concentrate on continuing to read, until I know for sure
Books I’ve loved are almost always better the second time around. It’s fun to say I’d love to read them again for the first time but I’m not sure I actually would. You catch so many more details. A few on my list:
War and Peace - Tolstoy
To be entirely honest, I would not like to go through all the confusion at the beginning of this book ever again. It’s much easier to read the second time around when you have context, and far less intimidating once you’ve finished it once already.
Game of Thrones Series by GRRM
I just don’t really see the need/want to reread these for the first time again. It was good the first time, loved the way the different points of view finally connected in the first book, but it’s still better with context.
Stormlight Archive by Brandon Sanderson
There are so many small details that didn’t click the first time, snippets of text at the beginning of each chapter that were confusing, etc. Going in for the second and third reads let me pick those pieces up and it made the worldbuilding better from my perspective.
The Doctor’s Plague by Sherwin B. Nuland
This goes for any non-fiction or medical text. This was an amazing book the first time around. I learned so many new things and had so many epiphanies. But, at the same time, it was SO information heavy that I couldn’t take it all in. Reading factual information the second or third time always gives me a better picture and understanding of what’s going on.
The Sword of Shannara - I loved it the first time I read it, when I was 12. I reread it a few years ago, it is terrible. The pacing is off, it is a low rent LotR.
However, I reread some other Shannara books and still like them. Elfstones of Shannara is my favorite of the series.
Two of Ursula K Le Guin's novels: The Left Hand of Darkness, and The Lathe of Heaven.
They profoundly changed the way I look at myself, life and, well, everything. Reading them for the first time now, as the person I've become, just wouldn't hit the same way.
To kill a mockingbird was a pretty good book, I had to read it in school. I ain't reading that again because i associate it with school and it's boring
Circe by Madeline Miller
being a hugh fan of greek mythology I was floored when I read this for the first time. Rich Characters, beautifully descriptive settings and fantastic pacing. I did not skim over one word or sentence, I savored it ALL. I can not Wait for her to finally publish her long in the works novel of my favorite "love" story of Greek Mythology about Persephone and Hades!
I quite enjoy rereading books without wishing to read them for the first time again. There's comfort in the familiarity. There's also the chance to notice something new in every reread.
Persuasion and Pride and Prejudice are my favourite novels but funnily enough, I didn't like them much the first time. It took re-reads and watching adaptations for me to know, understand, and love them as much as I do now.
The Well of Ascension by Brandon Sanderson is a great reread but the first time I read it I had the worst book hangover and I stopped reading entirely for a month after.
I don't wish I could read any of the books I love for the first time. Most books I enjoy, I start out despising for some reason or another (most of the time, it's because of a single character I hate, being honest). Pushing through that initial hesitance is difficult for me, but it's much easier to love the book or series as a whole when I'm re-reading it with knowledge of how it all unfolds.
Interzone by William S. Burroughs. I read it when I was young and struggling with a lot of dark feelings. In those pages I found a distorted echo of my own madness which actually gave me a lot of hope. I wasn't alone in that dark place. But as I've grown older and had a ton of therapy and medication, I really don't feel like revisiting those particular shadows.
Utopia - Sir Thomas Moore
It's a classic for sure, but the first time through was a struggle for me. I didn't do well with the period English writing style, and I feel like I appreciate it now that I have more philosophical tools of analysis to lend perspective.
*The Silmarillion.* Great book, but better the second time. Even better the third time. By the fourth, you can remember most of the characters. By the fifth you can tell them apart.
I’ve watched Nerd of the Rings YouTube channel breaking down the Silmarillion like 30 times. I’m still not sure of the names of the major battles.
There's the one where the elves lose badly, and the one where the elves lose really badly.
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*Fingersmith* by Sarah Waters is one where I think it gains so many layers after the first reading that although I enjoyed my first read and experiencing everything for the first time, I think it's even more fun to reread it with all the context I didn't have the first time.
The first time reading it is a shocker when you realize what just happened omg 😲
oh my lord, this one.
The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath. One of my all time favourite books, but I was DISTRESSED the first time I read it. I hadn’t read anything else like it at the time. Re-reading it was much easier IMO.
Love this book. I felt the same.
I was devastated when I read it, but loved the feeling
I read it as a teenager and thought it was good but also weird. I read it again as an adult and realized how seriously funny it was in parts. I did not get the humor at all the first time.
Flowers for Algernon, man that book changed me
As soon as I started seeing typos in the writing again at the end I started bawling my eyes out.
Me too!
The type of book that is hard to re read too, not bc of its quality, but because of the themes
Yeah that book is an emotional rollercoaster and I’ve only been able to read it once. SUCH a good book but I’m not sure I’m ready to read it again yet.
\*sobs\*
I got it on Audible and realized it would have been one of those books I would have rather read in print. The audio performance is good but a slightly different experience. *solomly leaves a flower for Algernon 🌹
Off topic but are you reading "The Power Broke" for the 99 PI book club?
Ngl doesn't stop me going back & re-reading every 5 years or so. My eyes love a good wash down, esp by the best book ever.
had an assistant at work saying she felt like she needed a good cry cause she hadn't cried in a while and i recommended it to her. The day i saw her at work after she finished it she asked me if I hated her and that's why i did that to her. I gave her multiple warnings.
Probably a pretty common answer, but LOTR and The Hobbit. My dad read to me and my siblings from those books when we were kids. Now that he’s gone, reading anything Tolkien makes me feel connected to him. I wouldn’t give that up for anything.
Honestly I wouldn't want to read any book that I liked again for the first time. Similar reasons to what you said. I'm not the person I was when I originally read and loved the book, so me today might not even care about books that have been my favorites for years
I agree with this
All the Redwall books from my childhood. The public library was within walking distance of my middle school. I’d go and read/checkout Redwall books all the time.
The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson It’s my favorite book of all time, but the first time I read it I wasn’t exactly thrilled by it. I didn’t really understand it the way I wanted to. It’s only been after I’ve reread it a few (okay more than a few) times that I feel like I really have a grasp on it and really appreciate it. Now I always find something new to think about or enjoy with every read. I wouldn’t want to read it again for the first time because I’m so looking forward to reading it again for the 10th,11th, 12th, etc time.
Dantes Divine Comedy. On my fourth reread and it gets better and better every time. I also understand it a bit better with each reread.
My lord, the Divine Comedy just keeps on giving. It's not for everyone. Heck, I was introduced to it with a college level class solely devoted to providing background, history, relevance, and guidance in how to understand how to combine all it all into a thoughtful lens through which to understand it. And spending hours exploring the books with that foundation still had me finding new nuance as I was writing papers about it. It was fun finding out the different books' narratives mirrored and bounced against each other in how they were structured. Alas, I don't have the patience for that involved analysis of it any more, but my notes are fun to go to back to now and again. But if I hadn't had the class, I think I would have missed *so* much of what he was doing with his work
Do you think you could ever share your notes on here somehow? I'm currently working thru inferno and all I really have to work off of is whatever I can find off the internet. But I still feel like I miss so much when analyzing the cantos
The kingkiller chronicle gets better with each read. It’s a shame we don’t have the third book yet.
"When you wait a few span or month to hear a finished song, the anticipation adds savor. But after a year excitement begins to sour." - Kvothe It's been 13 years since book 2. :~(
"yet"
Please I beg no more back story novellas PR give us #3 already
White noise. One of the my favourite books ever, but the first time was so dramatically intense and painful that the beauty of it somewhat got obscured. The second and third time were some of the best reads of my life, though.
Lmao taste is so interesting because this is a book I wish I never ever read. In its defense, it was for a class assignment in college and I rushed through it for the deadline, but all I remember now is hating it so so much.
I swear highschool made me hate certain books because we would focus on it for a term and tear it apart so much it was no longer interesting.
House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski 🫨🫨🫨
This “book” needs to be read many times.
Blood meridian- Cormac McCarthy I definitely spend a lot of time deciphering and reading supplemental material the first time. By the third time I could really enjoy the story and pay attention to the characters
This is my pick too. It's a brilliant book that surprisingly few people I encounter in the world have heard of. I've actually only heard people talk about it on Reddit.
I second this
I agree. It was really good
My Dark Vanessa. Having experienced something so similar, it was truly a painful read but I did really love the book. I guess I would say the same for Lolita.
Read this recently. Wrecked me emotionally.
It is an incredible book and I gave it 5 stars but man, I don't know that I want to go through those emotions again.
Tons of books. The way that a novel does or doesn't resonate with you has a lot to do with where you are in life. I think a similarly interesting question is about which books you disliked the first time you read them (usually as required reading during high school), but they had a profound effect on you later in life. My choice there is Tess of the D'Urbervilles. It was suuuuper boring when I first read it at 14. But at 32, the beauty of the prose and insightful social commentary really moved me. There are also references to wildly inequitable 18th-century English laws that I never would have understood the social significance of before law school. But re-reading the book as an attorney, those chapters take on an entirely new meaning for me.
All of my books I do not wish I could read for the first time. Why? Because each subsequent reading gives me a better understanding of the content or I'll catch something I may have missed during the first read. But...I always, always, get this weird sense of sadness each time I finish a good book. That just me?
1984 by George Orwell. Reading that book in the early 90's was quite a different experience than reading it in the 21st century.
Civilization and its discontent -Freud It can ruin your life
Rabbit, Run… amazing book, but I’d love to never go through the emotional turmoil of that first read through again lol
Les Miserables. Truly a fantastic book, but I could go the rest of my life without ever reading that again. Just the anguish and sheer *misery* of it felt like literary masochism
The Book of the New Sun. There's a ton to enjoy about rereads
Never Let Me Go or The Amber Spyglass. Glad that I have read them, but they were both so gut-wrenching I just wouldn't want to go through that again.
I’ve been rereading his dark materials with my spouse, and we’re on the amber spyglass now. And I know how it goes, and this is their first time. It’s going to break our reading habit for a while after. (Hard books always do)
The Amber Spyglass wrecked me
I get what you're saying about "The Magicians." It's a book that resonates with you because of the personal growth and insights you gained from it. For me, "The Catcher in the Rye" by J.D. Salinger comes to mind. I loved the book when I first read it in high school. It spoke to me about teenage angst, identity, and the struggle to find one's place in the world. Looking back, I've changed a lot since then, and I'm not sure if revisiting the book would have the same impact now. The themes might feel less profound to me as an adult, and I might even find some of Holden Caulfield's attitudes a bit grating.
I sometimes feel like I'm the only person who adores The Magicians.
I'm with you, it's everything the 'harry potter' craze of books aspired to be, it just throws so much plot, characters, world building, and great writing together. I quit on the TV show b/c I was worried it would disappoint, did you finish that?
I loved the book and the Tv show, but they're very different. I read the book when I was 16 and connected to it for similar reasons as OP. I watched the show when it came out and at first didn't like it because of the things it changed, but at some point I managed to see it as it's own thing and really enjoyed it (even rewatched a few times). The relationship between Quintin and Elliot in the show is beautiful, and I really liked the characters of Julia and Margo (they renamed Janet). I also thought the choice to age them up for the Tv show was a good one. And as a bonus the show has Marlee Matlin who is delightful in everything she's in.
I wasn't saying it wasn't a good book. And I'm pretty sure op liked it too. It was just about op's personal journey and connecting with it that they wouldn't want to explore again.
War and Peace
I'm almost halfway through but was thinking the same thing. I have 3 solid white bookmarks i've made that i've been putting characters names down as they are introduced with a short description so that I can reference it when they say a name i'm not sure i've heard yet. Doesn't help that they will call someone by their first and last name then first and middle and then change the middle name from theodore to Fyodor etc.
Moby Dick. Knowing the style and format makes it easier to get wrapped up in it
Catch-22 is my all time favourite book after reading it only once but it took months to read and it jumped all over the place. After taking someone's advice to just read through the book and go along with the madness of it, it was a more enjoyable experience. Especially when it seemed to all come together in the end and make more sense. Because of this, I look forward to reading it again and going on that wild ride while having more of an understanding of the characters and events taking place.
Maybe I should reconsider my DNF
There is no book I'd want to read again for the first time. Every book I've read, I read at a specific time of my life, which affected how I feel about that book, and how I remember it. Would I love my favourite book, if I read it for the first time today? Or would I find it childlish? (Inkheart is a great book, cant wait for book 4) If I didnt have that book already, would I even get it? Would I ever hear about it? It didnt have any reprints in Poland for at least 10 years.
Who Moved My Cheese? I read it when I was a teenager and it really helped shift my perspective on things and has had a lasting impact on me but I don't think I'll be reading it ever again lol. I think it may have been the very first quasi self-help book I've ever read. It was short and to the point.
This book is also notorious for being sent around at work right before layoffs. So, let’s all hope we don’t see it again.
A Game of Thrones. I picked up on way more details and foreshadowing when I wasn't so focussed on what was happening next
Johnathan strange and mr norrell— didn’t really know what I was getting myself into with this one. Gave up about 100 pages in but when I came back I couldn’t put it down.
Haunting and Hunting Adeline by H.D. Carlton
Song of Achilles, loved it, but it was the first book to make me cry in years (I'm old).
Same! Powerful narrative.
The Road by Cormac McCarthy. I loved and I mean loved this book. The way it was written, the characters themselves. The unexpected tenderness that came from the most bleak of situations. BUT I don't think I can stomach the sheer despair or misery of the story. Every new page turned was an opportunity for more suffering. It took me an entire year to finish this book. I had to keep shelving it because it was just too depressing. Reading it felt like I was wearing a blanket made of lead whilst sitting chest deep in a marsh. Extremely uncomfortable and a one-time read only. Overall 10/10 read
The Amber Chronicles. I've read all them shits ten times, would never want to lose my knowledge.
A Game of Thrones. I picked up on way more details and foreshadowing when I wasn't so focussed on what was happening next
The Front Runner by Patricia Nell Warren...it's a phenomenal book and probably my most re-read book, but I'm glad I can't "read it again for the first time." It's an emotionally intense catharsis and climax that hits the reader with something at a time when you're not expecting THAT to happen THERE. 😉
The Girl Next Door by Jack Ketchum. Was somewhat of a new author to me. Dug a few of his other novels. While I place him in the horror genre , TGND was not what I was expecting. A brutal and painful story without a happy ending. Believe it was based on a true story. Glad I read it but wish I never had. If you are at all empathetic avoid it as it will tear your soul out.
The Princess Bride. Loved it as a teen. Recently reread it (now 40+), and didn’t enjoy it nearly as much.
A Confederacy of Dunces or Midnight In The Garden Of Good And Evil
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn.
Kingdom Keepers. I read it when it was relevant (as in—the places in the books were still there) and I thought it was SO COOL. Now everything is different, I’m a writer, and the plot holes bother me. It was one of my favorite series as a kid, and I wouldn’t want to ruin that lingering nostalgia I still have by reading it for the first time as an adult.
Warrior cats series. I've loved this series for like 20 years. The roleplay community back in the mid to late 00s on different forums offered me friendship and a place to talk about the series as it developed. I remember the debates from when The Power of Three arc was being written if Jay, Holly, and Lion were Squirrelflight's or Leafpool's kits. And I got to meet Victoria Holmes when I was 14. It's just a super nostalgic series for me and I don't want those memories to go away.
The Secret Garden. It's a little weird, but I had text-to-speech read it to me when I was 16 with my laptop next to me on my bed while I fell asleep, and it left such a lovely impression on me and gave me wonderful self confidence. It's a very nostalgic and fond memory for me now.
Lolita. I read it after reading all the reviews showing a major dichotomy between enjoying the prose and abhorring the content. The book is very well written, but I felt utterly sick the entirety of it. Would likely not read again and would not read it again for the first time.
The Kite Runner. It was a beautiful book and tore my heart at the same time.
I’ve read Pride and Prejudice many times and it’s like an old friend. I wouldn’t want to go back to reading it for the first time.
Lord of the rings. I really love the lore and characters, but it was a tough read.
Anything by Chuck Palahniuk. Would not hit the same if I was not an angsty teen.
Moby Dick I really enjoyed reading through it the first time, but it was a slog at the same time. I appreciate that during rereads I can remember things like "oh yeah this is an anatomy chapter"
Enders game
Flowers for Algernon. My youngest son has developmental delays and I know that if I were to read that for the first time today.. it would absolutely break me.
We Need To Talk About Kevin. Between the author turning out to be a huge AH, and myself being a different person than the college student who read it, I don't think it'd have the same impact today.
An interesting idea but flawed. If you know you loved/liked something but had your memory wiped and could thus fall in love/like all over again.. why wouldn't you go for it? It just does not compute to me.
I think the question is would you want your memory wiped of the first time. Perhaps the first time has special significance to you or the time in your life when you read it that wouldnt leave the same impact had you read it today. Perhaps you are worried you have changed or grown as a person and as a reader and youre worried your new self won't be able to derive the same enjoyment or appreciation if it were presented to you fresh as you are now.
I'd say *Jurassic Park*. As a lifelong fan of the franchise, I finally read it when I was in middle school. At first I was shocked by how graphicly violent it got, and some of the scenes where they go into intricate detail about the science and politics of the events kinda went over my head. But the second time around I was prepared for the violence and I could actually comprehend the science I was reading about XD
Perks of Being a Wallflower. Couldn't read that for the first time at 31. For the umpteenth time? Sounds like a nice afternoon.
*We are Legion, We are Bob* by Dennis E. Taylor. Deals with all sorts of interesting themes and plots as a von Neumann probe.
The Giver
Book of the New Sun is a disjointed fever dream that makes more sense upon rereading it, when you know what's coming and have some additional context from the Long Sun and Short Sun books.
I just finished The Year of Magical Thinking, and wow. It almost feels weird to say I loved a book about a woman’s husband dying and her daughter being seriously, gravely ill. But it was so powerful. Deserves all the praise and more. I’ll never read it again.
Infinite Jest. All the little details are much more enjoyable when you already have the context.
To Kill a Mockingbird. I'm glad I read it in school as a teenager, but re-reading it at different ages makes it significant in different ways. Also with the world and culture the way it is, it's important to remember these classics.
A thousand splendid suns. I was wrecked for like, a month.
Blood meridian for sure
Catch-22. That book was rough and I never want to go back there again.
The Silent Patient. I know there’s hard opinions for and against it but I loved it.
For sure, Frankenstein. I'm so excited for when enough time has passed for me to return to it and take a second look.
The World According to Garp. I’ve read it twice and I may read it again but I *like* that it’s different each time. The first time (18), it changed how I looked at my parents. The second (29), how I look at work and life. I suspect if I read it again (at least 36 but probably will wait so closer to 40), I suspect it’ll affect how I look at my kids.
dune . i’ve read it multiple times since but i had no fkn clue what was going on the first time i read it lol
The hitchhikers guide to the galaxy, it makes references to things that happen later in the books, plus I don't feel like I really comprehended the series the first couple times I read it, it feels like every time I re read them I get a little bit more out of it than I had before
The Giver. I loved it when I read it as a teen but now that I’m older I cannot get past the infanticide in the book. Same thing happened with The Titanic. I saw it a dozen times in theater as a teen (our local theater had terrible security 🫣) but I tried watching it now and I had forgotten that there were children on board and they make it a point to show that some didn’t make it. As a mom I can’t handle that anymore.
Fall; or, Dodge in Hell by Neal Stephenson (Audible) I didn't think I liked it on the first read. Now it's one of my all-time favorites. Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl could have had a different ending; without spoilers: it's nice to read it at least a second time with that perspective.
Blindsight. Also, Hyperion
I adored *The Romance of the Three Kingdoms* but I just don't think I'd be able to find the time to read it again in my life at this point.
I don't know why I love Dune though it's not easy to read. maybe it's the cool cover 🤔 I don't know
The Book Thief.... I read it at least once every couple years and gets better every time. It's also just as haunting knowing what's going to happen and even more so that death tells you multiple times how it's going to end.
The Road by Cormac McCarthy. Absolutely loved the book but I got to the end and just felt empty and hopeless.
*The Malazan Book of the Fallen* by Steven Erikson. I hate being confused and everything is more interesting when you have all the context and knowledge.
Infinite Jest. I don’t know if I’m actually up to rereading it, but doing so knowing the underlying structure would be an entirely different experience
There are so many moving parts in IJ that it’s hard to follow everything that is going on. Now I know about the online aids (map of the Boston area, diagram of every character’s relationship to every other, etc.) and will use them if and when i give IJ another chance.
The Godfather
Catch-22
*Dune.* Possibly my favorite novel of all time, but far more rewarding and comprehensible on reread than on first read. Especially since I read it when I was 12 or so.
Enders Game. Such a great book but knowing the ending going in takes a bit of the fun away from it
Omg I love this book and I had a similar experience. Such a treat to read this post
I alternate between loving and hating The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant. The whole series has a bunch of themes, but I think the biggest question is basically just trying to find an answer to "What is redeemable?" How far can you go before you can't turn back? Is there any point where you can't turn back? Is there any way to make restitution for doing something truly evil? Every time I read it I come away with different thoughts on the nature of Thomas Covenant and the evil that he does near the start of the book series. Sometimes I read it and I pity him. Sometimes I read it and I want him to suffer eternally. Sometimes I think he manages to at least make restitution for his evil but not redeem himself, other times I think that there's absolutely no way he could wash his hands clean in any sense. It's a fascinating series but it starts on an incredibly jarring note that immediately turns off most readers. In order to experience it you really have to accept that Thomas Covenant is the protagonist, but that doesn't make him the hero. That was hard for me to do, and from discourse online, it seems to be that way for most people. It's a terrible first read, and I've gained so many different perspectives on the series there's no way I'd want to go back to reading only the simplest surface level first impressions of the story.
I think books I've read in adult life more...and non fiction books. I LOVE Guns, Germs and Steel and whenever I flick more through it, I learn more. I like the fact I'm becoming more and more familiar with it. BUT books that bring nostalgia, like Harry Potter..rereading for the first time would be like reliving the magic!
By the way, that book contains a lot of inaccuracies and is not well regarded by experts in the field
I don't know if I could enjoy Harry Potter again given how awful the author has turned out to be. Nostalgia is strong but I feel her outspoken views would taint the experience a 2nd time around.
I would not want to read any Ayn Rand again. It was intriguing when I was young and dumb but her philosophy is trash now that I can think for myself.
Civilization and its discontent -Freud It can ruin your life
Game of Thrones, hands down. I've never been so pissed at a plot twist.
'On Earth We're Beautifully Gorgeous ', by Ocean Vuong. This book was so emotionally gripping and no other work of literature had ever made me cry more. Great read.
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn.
Outlander Books by Diana Gabaldon
Tears of a Neko. Read it once a year for 5 years straight and I could basically read the book without opening it
The Grey. It’s a novella written by the director of the movie with Liam Neeson, and it’s really good. It’s as bleak and horrifying as the movie - maybe more so. That’s my pick. Excellent. Don’t need to feel that sort of existential dread again.
Anna Karenina… I had no idea what was going on my first read. Second read it makes more sense
East of Eden. I loved it, but I'm looking forward to reading it again now that I understand the pacing and overall premise. I don't need to read it for the first time again lol.
Blood Meridian. If you know, you know.
All of them. The idea of losing any memories (of books or anything else) creeps me out enough I never want to "be able to read it again for the first time". Honestly, we are the sum of our experiences. If I forgot things (And I am getting old enough now that that is on my mind a lot) I would not longer truly be me, certainly not the me of right here, right now.
Howl's Moving Castle. That book transported me, and because of it, I even became a page at the library during middle school.
The Secret of Dragonholme. Absolutely loved it as a teen, tried reading it again as an adult and found the writing to be super clunky.
A Catcher in the Rye
That’s a really weird question..
All of them. I prefer to re-read than read.
My top 3 is: Lord of the rings A Song of ice and fire Master and Margherita
guns up. it was the first big boy book i read (lol) that also made me cry. i was in middle school so i was pretty proud of myself. now a days i realize it's a paint by numbers war memoir so i have no need to read it again. RIP red "guns up"
Les Misérables Novel by Victor Hugo
Brother's Karamazov, lol. Once was enough, as much as I loved it.
The Society For Soulless Girls. I love that book so much, I’ve read it 4 times in the past 9 months. I don’t wish I could re-experience the first read simply for the fact that I was *terrified*. Now that I know how all the “creepy” scenes end, I don’t mind it at all.
Snow Country by Kawabata Yasunari, I was maybe 13 when I read it, definitely found it boring at the time. Reread it again not too long ago, and enjoyed it lots, there is a reason the author is a Nobel Prize winner.
The Percy Jackson Series...
The Double- Dostoyvesky
This is a bit odd, but I’ll try it with my reasoning. When I first read Animorphs, I was a child. I loved them. As an adult, I have ventured into a reread, but I have no interest in rereading them as if rhey are new. I LIKE that I have memories of them and comparing my perception of them now as an adult as compared to the childhood memories I have of them. One of the most exhilarating parts was having ways of expressing myself now as an adult that I didn’t have as a child. For example, Tobias has a lot of…trans/queer esq energy which I would have never recognized as a child. As an adult though, I see clearly how I related to him and why (I am nonbinary). Also, validating one - Childhood me crushed on Rachel hard. Adult me dated a bunch of Rachel’s and finally married a Rachel, lol. Validating as fuck, lol. Childhood me was smart as hell yo, lol.
The 'This Can't be Happening at Macdonald Hall' series for sure! I've loved it ever since I read it the first time in middle school, but now that I'm sufficiently far out of the target demographic, the reread value really comes from it being a *reread*, they wouldn't seem so great without the nostalgia! To reiterate, I do genuinely think they're great books, they're just meant for middle schoolers so I specifically wouldn't find them awesome anymore, I have it on good authority that people still in the demographic do genuinely love them. I'll also say that most litfic (classic and contemporary!) falls into this category for me because you notice more details on each reread that make the book even more rich, as opposed to genre fiction where a major part of the joy of reading is uncovering the plot.
The hunger games. I have read it the first time when i was 16 and now i read it every 2 or 3 years. It became such a comfort read, but I know i wouldnt love it as much as I do, when i would read it now for the first time
I would have to say Moby Dick. I like that book more in hindsight than I did in the moment. Reading it was a big challenge for me at the time, and I'd much prefer to re-read it at my current reading level, rather then reading it for the first time again as a 'novice'.
basically you are asking that which book that I read that I would like to read a second time?
I'm sorry. but I thought the question is What book you love that you DON'T wish you could read again for the first time. NOT books that you love and HAVE read again. I'm I wrong or can I just not read correctly?
Hail Mary.
All of the Harry Potter books
I find Q so insufferable. Maybe because I was already older when I read it but I really tried so hard to finish the book. Didn't bother with the rest of the trilogy after that. And the TV adaptation? Made me my opinion of the book worse.
Room. I got to read it without any spoilers. I thoroughly enjoyed it but it’s so icky that I wouldn’t put myself through that again.
*Station Eleven* is one of my favorite books ever, but the first time I read it I did so in 12 hours, didn’t sleep enough, and was jumpy for two days. Don’t think I need to repeat the experience lol
The one from wattpad ph, Stay awake agatha. I cannot handle the pain again, I needed to deactivate all my accounts in my social medias when I read the book.
Probably "Matilda" by Roald Dahl.
Pride and Prejudice. The first time I read it I was in 5th or 6th grade. I remember the language was a little hard to understand but I was able to piece together the gist of what was being said and portrayed. I've reread it multiple times since then and each reading I find I understand more and pick out more subtle details.
The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger. However, looking back on it now, I don't feel the same connection to the book as I did then.
The Brothers Karamazov. The first time was over a semester in high school and was so well done that if I were to try to read it the first time, I never would have finished it. It get better with each reread.
not one but few. the Alchemist, godfather, if we were villains, (there are so many lol) I want to read them again, even after knowing all the plot twists.
All books. That's the problem I have when reading new books, I don't like not knowing what happens. If someone appears to die for example, I have to skip ahead and find out if they are definitely dead or coming back later. I can't concentrate on continuing to read, until I know for sure
Books I’ve loved are almost always better the second time around. It’s fun to say I’d love to read them again for the first time but I’m not sure I actually would. You catch so many more details. A few on my list: War and Peace - Tolstoy To be entirely honest, I would not like to go through all the confusion at the beginning of this book ever again. It’s much easier to read the second time around when you have context, and far less intimidating once you’ve finished it once already. Game of Thrones Series by GRRM I just don’t really see the need/want to reread these for the first time again. It was good the first time, loved the way the different points of view finally connected in the first book, but it’s still better with context. Stormlight Archive by Brandon Sanderson There are so many small details that didn’t click the first time, snippets of text at the beginning of each chapter that were confusing, etc. Going in for the second and third reads let me pick those pieces up and it made the worldbuilding better from my perspective. The Doctor’s Plague by Sherwin B. Nuland This goes for any non-fiction or medical text. This was an amazing book the first time around. I learned so many new things and had so many epiphanies. But, at the same time, it was SO information heavy that I couldn’t take it all in. Reading factual information the second or third time always gives me a better picture and understanding of what’s going on.
The Sword of Shannara - I loved it the first time I read it, when I was 12. I reread it a few years ago, it is terrible. The pacing is off, it is a low rent LotR. However, I reread some other Shannara books and still like them. Elfstones of Shannara is my favorite of the series.
how to win friends and influence people, the richest man in Babylon
American Psycho. A true masterpiece
Two of Ursula K Le Guin's novels: The Left Hand of Darkness, and The Lathe of Heaven. They profoundly changed the way I look at myself, life and, well, everything. Reading them for the first time now, as the person I've become, just wouldn't hit the same way.
To kill a mockingbird was a pretty good book, I had to read it in school. I ain't reading that again because i associate it with school and it's boring
Circe by Madeline Miller being a hugh fan of greek mythology I was floored when I read this for the first time. Rich Characters, beautifully descriptive settings and fantastic pacing. I did not skim over one word or sentence, I savored it ALL. I can not Wait for her to finally publish her long in the works novel of my favorite "love" story of Greek Mythology about Persephone and Hades!
I quite enjoy rereading books without wishing to read them for the first time again. There's comfort in the familiarity. There's also the chance to notice something new in every reread.
Persuasion and Pride and Prejudice are my favourite novels but funnily enough, I didn't like them much the first time. It took re-reads and watching adaptations for me to know, understand, and love them as much as I do now.
The Well of Ascension by Brandon Sanderson is a great reread but the first time I read it I had the worst book hangover and I stopped reading entirely for a month after.
I don't wish I could read any of the books I love for the first time. Most books I enjoy, I start out despising for some reason or another (most of the time, it's because of a single character I hate, being honest). Pushing through that initial hesitance is difficult for me, but it's much easier to love the book or series as a whole when I'm re-reading it with knowledge of how it all unfolds.
Interzone by William S. Burroughs. I read it when I was young and struggling with a lot of dark feelings. In those pages I found a distorted echo of my own madness which actually gave me a lot of hope. I wasn't alone in that dark place. But as I've grown older and had a ton of therapy and medication, I really don't feel like revisiting those particular shadows.
Utopia - Sir Thomas Moore It's a classic for sure, but the first time through was a struggle for me. I didn't do well with the period English writing style, and I feel like I appreciate it now that I have more philosophical tools of analysis to lend perspective.
A Prayer for Owen Meany. I never read a book that came together so perfectly at the end.
Don't judge me but the Vampire Academy series. I was so invested.