Top 10 List of Books That I would Read a Second Time

You can never step into the same book twice, because you are different each time you read it.

– John Barton

I have often read favorite books more then once. Who Has Seen the Wind by W. O. Mitchell, I read twice; Stephen King’s The Stand, I read three times; The Razor’s Edge by W. Somerset Maugham, five times; Charles Dickens’s A Christmas Carol, I believe is somewhere between thirty five and forty reads (the annual reading of this holiday classic has been a Christmas tradition for me since sometime in my early twenties), and many more titles too numerous to mention.

I have found, however, as I grow older, that, though I still have the desire to reread favorite books I can’t seem to justify it to myself, taking the time required to go back and read something again when there are so many books out there that I haven’t read but wish to, and the list seems to grow daily. Since turning fifty I kind of feel like I am running out of time. Even my own personal library contains numerous books that I have yet to read.

When I was younger I would buy a book, or perhaps two or three at one time, and even large lots if I happened to get a really good deal at a used book shop or yard sale, and add it, or them, to my library. Rarely would I purchase another book until those new acquisitions were read. That way there was nothing in my library that I hadn’t read. I know this may seem a little anal retentive, but it was how I did things. Somehow, over the years this practice has fallen by the wayside and I now have plenty of books at home that I need to find the time to get around to, and I am adding to them regularly.

My most recent purchase was The Chill by Scott Carson, which I pre-ordered from Chapters because of a recommendation by Stephen King, on Instagram. This book now sits in position number six on the end table next to my reading chair. The point I am so long windedly trying to make is that life may just be too short to read the same book twice. Then again, it could be as John Barton said, and we never really read the same book twice. Either way I know that there are plenty of books that I have read that I would love to read again.

So, here is my top ten list of books that I would read a second time:

1. Moby Dick by Herman Melville

I realize that it is probably a little cliché to have this classic on any book list but I feel I have to include it here. I read this book when I was in my twenties. It stirred in me a longing for seafaring adventure and derring-do that no other book, except for John Buchan’s, Salute to Adventurers (which I read three times as a young man) ever has. Unfortunately, I could never act on this longing due to an extreme tendency toward sea sickness. (Author’s Note: Since publishing this post I did read Moby Dick again, and all I can say is “What was I think”? Moby Dick, Again. What Was I Thinking?)

2. Away by Jane Urquhart

I read this book when I was living in Northern British Columbia, on Canada’s west coast. It was recommended by Bill Richardson on his CBC Radio program, The Roundup, (oh how I miss the “Sad Goat”). Anyway, a recommendation from Bill was good enough for me. Among the many books he has authored is one of my favorites, and one which I have read twice, Bachelor Brother’s Bed and Breakfast. So, on Bill’s endorsement I bought Away, read it, loved it, and would read it again.

3. Random Passage and Waiting for Time by Bernice Morgan.

Yes, this is two books, but I include them here as one, not just because Waiting for Time is part two of Random Passage, or that Random Passage cannot stand alone, it can and does, quite well. I just don’t believe anyone should read one without reading the other. The story would just not be complete, and oh what a story it is. Once you have met Mary “Bundle” you will never forget her.

4. Isaac’s Storm by Erik Larson.

This is the true story of meteorologist Isaac Cline and the deadliest natural disaster in U.S. history, the 1900 hurricane that changed Galveston, Texas forever. It is a work of non-fiction that reads like a heart pounding adventure novel. The story moves at a steadily increasing pace, as if trying to keep up with the storm itself. Once the first waves begin to roll up on Galveston’s beaches the book becomes impossible to put down. I am getting goosebumps now just thinking about it.

5. The Shipping News by Annie Proulx

Perhaps it is because I was just escaping a bad, emotionally and mentally abusive relationship, and looking for a new start when I read this that the book affected me so profoundly (I cannot not explain why this could be without giving away too much of the story so I will leave it here) but I believe it is much more than that. It is a great story with unforgettable characters in a setting that for many readers, us Newfoundlanders excepted, will seem very strange and somewhat exotic. I guess the only way for me to know for sure if it was the story or the circumstances of my life when I read it that made it resonate with me as it has is to give it a second read.

6. A Good Year by Peter Mayle

Set in the author’s Beloved Provence, A Good Year is a feel-good story of finding one’s true place in the world, something that, except for those lucky individuals who have already done it, we all long for. It is also a glimpse into the somewhat exclusive world of wine making. It is a great story with an undercurrent of the pleasures of good wine, good food and good friends that runs through the entire novel. This book played a significant part in changing the way I view eating. The consumption of food is so much more than a necessity to sustain life. If done thoughtfully and shared generously the experience of dining can be one of life’s greatest pleasures.

7. Mr. Timothy by Louis Bayard

I could have a slight bias here because of my affinity for A Christmas Carol, but I found this book about the adult “Tiny Tim” a wonderful read, and difficult to put down. Bayard’s portrayal of the familiar Dickens characters makes them more real. Once you’ve read Mr. Timothy you will never see Ebenezer Scrooge, Tiny Tim, or Bob Cratchit the same way again.

8. Late Nights on Air by Elizabeth Hay

I cannot express how deeply I hate winter and despise the cold, which, living in St. John’s, Newfoundland, a place of cold, snowy, long, miserable winters, can make life quite difficult for several months a year. My dream, growing more and more persistent as I get older, is to spend the winter months somewhere warm, preferably with palm trees and a sandy beach. However, I would gladly suffer through a Yellowknife winter if I could spend it with the wildly eccentric yet totally lovable cast of characters of Late Nights on Air.

9. Hearts in Atlantis – Stephen King

I have read many of Stephen King’s books twice, some more than twice, but for some reason not Hearts in Atlantis, and I cannot for the life of me figure out why. There is just so much in this book that it deserves a second or even third read. If The Stand is Stephen King’s best novel, which many of his fans, myself included, believe, then Hearts in Atlantis is an extremely close second, perhaps, at least in my opinion, tied with 11/22/63 for this spot. For those of you who have only seen the movie version of Hearts in Atlantis and not read the book, you’ve only got about twenty percent of the story.

10. How I Spent My Summer Holidays by W. O. Mitchell

It’s doubtful that there has ever been a kid who has gone to school that has not had to face the dreaded September “How I Spent My Summer Holidays” essay assignment, and I am fairly certain that a young W. O.  Mitchell was no exception. In this novel he has managed to take this seemingly mundane and certainly cliché theme and turn it into a totally entertaining, often amusing, and deeply moving coming of age story. I read this book as a teenager and had always meant to revisit it as an adult but never got around to it, perhaps this summer will be a good time to do so.

Why These 10?

When I started thinking about books that I would like to read a second time these were the first ten that came to mind. While going through my library to find these books so that I could photograph them for this blog I saw so many more books that I would love to read again. I also came across books that I have already read more than once and felt that I should like to give them another read. It is unlikely though that I will ever find the time to return to most of them. Perhaps if I make my way through the ten here I will compile a second list.

For now I have to run. I am about half way through Cooking for Picasso by Camille Aubray and I am anxious to get back to it.

Cheers!

Stephen