I've recently read a ton of graphic novels and memoirs - some I loved and others not so much but were still a thrill to read. Guts by Raina Telgemeier I am always on the lookout for Raina Telgemeier's comics, so when I found Guts available at my library's Overdrive catalog last year, I had to request it right away. Her comics are always delightful, designed for the middle-grade audience, and written very well. Guts is a continuation of her Smile nonfiction graphic memoir series (see Smile and Sisters ) and recounts a period in her childhood when she experienced IBS for the first time. When Raina wakes up one night with an upset tummy, she just assumes it's a stomach bug as her mom is also showing the same symptoms. But when it doesn't go away soon but is instead influenced by the daily highs and lows of being a middle grader - good friends, not so good ones, and then the bullies, she realizes there's something else going on. If you have not read the previous
Technically speaking, any book I love and rave about should fall into that category. Unfortunately, not many books have retaining power. I find that I forget what many books are about a year or more after I raved about it. Good thing I try to review most of those books, otherwise, I'll probably be looking dazedly at the titles.
Even if I did remember what a book was about, that doesn't mean I still love the idea of that book. I have often changed my ratings of books based on what I currently feel about it. That's a fodder for a whole different post, but I feel better about doing it, because I actually prefer reviewing a book after a good amount of time has passed since I read it.
Coming back to this post's topic, I found myself perusing my read list for books I would love to read again, for the first time; and experience all that initial excitement, cleverness, wow factor, character love, and many other things that made the book make me smile even months, years after. Do you have books like that?
So without further ado, below is my list of 10 books I wish I could read all over again, simply for the amazing feel of being in the book, with notes from my review.
10. 13 rue Thérèse by Elena Mauli Shapiro: Reading this book is like solving a puzzle, like playing treasure hunt. This is a mystery, but not a mystery by any traditional definition of this genre. Instead, it almost feels like the reader is solving the puzzle.
9. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer: Some of my best passages in the book were all about reading. Any book lover will want to print out those quotes and paste them up on their work spaces or reading corners. Most of the characters spoke passionately about the books they read, much akin to what happens in book clubs (and blogs).
8. Attachments by Rainbow Rowell: The whole story is really not such a big deal. It's all predictable, and nothing shocking happens. But it's so heartwarming that I enjoyed every bit of it. It gives the same feeling as watching movies like When Harry Met Sally or You've Got Mail or many other romantic comedies does. Attachments made my list (as opposed to Eleanor and Park or Fangirl) because this is the book that got me to the Rowell club.
7. The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman: [This book] has fantasy at its best. There are all sorts of inexplicable things happening - worms lodged in the feet? three people who seem to have been around since time immemorial, literally? a pond that may as well be an ocean? memories that can be easily wiped or modified? The best part is that you can read this book without questioning even one of those fantastical elements. You can ask ten questions for every strange thing mentioned, but the odds are that you won't think to ask - as a reader, I felt the same willingness to accept anything that children are bestowed with.
6. Haroun and the Sea of Stories by Salman Rushdie: [This book] felt like a whiff of lively breeze. Reading this book made me remember the joy of reading magical books like Harry Potter and The Night Circus. While not as long or as atmospheric, Haroun and the Sea of Stories deserves its own place on that shelf of fascinating fantasy books.
5. The Weird Sisters by Eleanor Brown: Along with their father, they quote Shakespeare so often that it becomes their way to express their feelings almost always. Their father is a Shakespearean professor who has inculcated in the three sisters an immense and intense love for reading. Oh, believe me when I say that you'll love these three sisters simply because they do not go anywhere without a book in hand, and will pull out one whenever they have a free minute to spare.
4. Ready Player One by Ernest Cline: [This book] celebrates geekdom like very few other books. Even now, two days later, I'm itching for a similar read. That's not to say that this book was perfect, because it did bug me at some level, but the thrill I derived from reading it far outweighs any niggles.
3. The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern: I started reading it on the train at 7 am in the morning, when I was going to New York, planning to read a couple of pages and then nap a bit. But instead, I bought a cup of coffee and spent the next couple of days reading the book at all possible opportunities.
2. Harry Potter series by J. K. Rowling: This post I wrote almost three years ago says it all.
1. Where'd You Go, Bernadette? by Maria Semple: Now here's a book I would love to read twice. I may not even mind reading any other similar books out there. When I read the synopsis of this book, it sounded very much like light women fiction to me - which I read only occasionally, usually when I am in need of a light read. In the end, this book became my favorite book from last year.
And finally, the book that inspired this post. The book that I think will squeeze itself into this list very soon.
Coming back to this post's topic, I found myself perusing my read list for books I would love to read again, for the first time; and experience all that initial excitement, cleverness, wow factor, character love, and many other things that made the book make me smile even months, years after. Do you have books like that?
So without further ado, below is my list of 10 books I wish I could read all over again, simply for the amazing feel of being in the book, with notes from my review.
9. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer: Some of my best passages in the book were all about reading. Any book lover will want to print out those quotes and paste them up on their work spaces or reading corners. Most of the characters spoke passionately about the books they read, much akin to what happens in book clubs (and blogs).
7. The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman: [This book] has fantasy at its best. There are all sorts of inexplicable things happening - worms lodged in the feet? three people who seem to have been around since time immemorial, literally? a pond that may as well be an ocean? memories that can be easily wiped or modified? The best part is that you can read this book without questioning even one of those fantastical elements. You can ask ten questions for every strange thing mentioned, but the odds are that you won't think to ask - as a reader, I felt the same willingness to accept anything that children are bestowed with.
5. The Weird Sisters by Eleanor Brown: Along with their father, they quote Shakespeare so often that it becomes their way to express their feelings almost always. Their father is a Shakespearean professor who has inculcated in the three sisters an immense and intense love for reading. Oh, believe me when I say that you'll love these three sisters simply because they do not go anywhere without a book in hand, and will pull out one whenever they have a free minute to spare.
3. The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern: I started reading it on the train at 7 am in the morning, when I was going to New York, planning to read a couple of pages and then nap a bit. But instead, I bought a cup of coffee and spent the next couple of days reading the book at all possible opportunities.
1. Where'd You Go, Bernadette? by Maria Semple: Now here's a book I would love to read twice. I may not even mind reading any other similar books out there. When I read the synopsis of this book, it sounded very much like light women fiction to me - which I read only occasionally, usually when I am in need of a light read. In the end, this book became my favorite book from last year.
And finally, the book that inspired this post. The book that I think will squeeze itself into this list very soon.
The Storied Life of A. J. Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin
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The Storied Life of A. J. Fikry