My 82-year-old father-in-law (who we affectionately refer to as "El Capitan") has been in rehab after breaking his hip and getting a partial replacement. He brought a copy of Lonesome Dove that he found in a Little Free Library into the hospital with him, and then my brother-in-law got him a copy of Ron Chernow's new Mark Twain biography and he's been reading that instead. We've been nervous about his health (he's had two strokes in the past 20 years and has rheumatoid arthritis), and I'm hoping he lasts long enough to at least finish both of these books.
I read Lonesome Dove while recovering from having my wisdom teeth out—it’s very, very good for convalescing. Best of luck to your FIL and everyone looking after him.
And Then There Were None and The Westing Game are both All-Timers for me and I still think about Angela Wexler (the bomber) on the reg. That "pretty but brittle and secretly furious" character type really implanted on my id.
I LOVE and then there were none, and I was so mad at the lifetime(?) series a few years ago that changed a LOT of the "murders" and also how the deaths of the characters playied out
I loved The Westing Game, too! I still have my copy from when I was kid. My kids and I listened to it on Audible in the car and they were really into it as well. I do think it's better as a read book than an audio book, but only because there are plays on words that I think work better in writing than listening.
Writers and Lovers is so lovely, I cried so much the first time I read it (and cried ALMOST as much every other time). Most recently, I read Family Meal by Bryan Washington and just bawled at the ending. It's one that I look forward to reading for a second time, even though I know it won't quite match that first read experience.
Rebecca Stead is SUCH a special author-- I have deep love for a middle grade novel she wrote called "The List of Things that Will Not Change." Highly recommended.
I really wish I could read Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell for the first time again. It was such a rush reading it and the twists and turns had me tearing through it. Same with Orlando by Virginia Woolf.
I remember fondly reading all the Lord Peter Wimsey novels as a teenager and my mother's best freind telling me she envied me being able to read them for the first time. Dunno what I'd read again for the first time... Pride & Prejudice? A Room With A View? (Also, my covid-induced manias were velvet clothes and West German ceramics?! The velvet happened b/c we watched Sex Education and I fell in love with Gillian Anderson's character's wardrobe, but the ceramics... still a mystery.)
I don’t mind reading the Peter Wimsey books over and over again, so I don’t know that I can put them on my list. Well - except for Nine Tailors. The twist at the end practically knocked me over, and I will never feel that again. But Gaudy Night? That’s as good the tenth time as the first. Maybe better.
I reread Gaudy Night for the first time this past fall in years (it was a book I reread constantly when I was in grad school and the early years of being a professor, along with Jill Ker Conway's Road From Coorain and True North) and loved it as much as ever.
I read all the Lord Peter books for the first time when I was about 13 and most of them seemed fine (I appreciate them more as an adult), but the one that really and truly stopped me in my tracks was Gaudy Night. I tore through it in August, and I remember it felt like falling through a trap door into another life. All those women just living their single scholarly dreams! I didn’t have to get married or have kids if I didn’t want to! (I grew up in a very conservative environment, obviously. Thank goodness for books!)
There is moment in the Laura Kim Kohler ad where she starts kind of running up the stairs while the voiceover intones something about need and desire - and all I could think was, “She really needs to go! That’s why she needs a toilet!”
I do not think that is the image that they were trying to inspire.
I did not have “cackling at a toilet ad” on my bingo card for today, but apparently should have.
Unrelatedly, I am concerned about the description of our new Scottish island village as “hauntingly beautiful.” Makes me think there IS a curse, although if any group of people is able to tackle the problem of a cursed property, it’s definitely the Broads. So I guess I’m in!
Wouldn’t that make an excellent limited series?! A group of cool, interesting, smart ladies who are internet friends meet up in Scotland and then need to unexpectedly solve/break a haunted curse AND pick out cute tartan to take home?!
I have a trip planned in September that requires me to pack light but also will give me time to read. I plan on taking 2 books with me that have been on my TBR forever--Lonesome Dove and Skippy Dies by Paul Murray.
I wish I could re-read all of the Vampire Chronicles for the first time (big Anne Rice stan here), but rereading them in different stages of my life has been a pleasure as well. RIP, Anne. Would also carry a Queen of the Damned tote...
But for ~*literary*~ re-first-reads, I'd love to experience The Bell Jar and The Handmaid's Tale again for the first time. This might say a lot about me as a person, but those were both very earthshattering books for me when I read them the first time in high school. I think they were both summer reading? At least The Handmaid's Tale was, and potentially on a list with Brave New World and 1984, and inspired a love(?) of dystopian novels for me.
Now, in our current climate, I don't think I can read the The Handmaid's Tale again. I couldn't finish the show. I can't stomach it, because I think we're going there...
My book club read The Testaments (the sequel to the Handmaid's Tale) this month and there's a part where a protest goes bad that I was reading in the days leading up to the No Kings protests and it was chilling. Similar to the show Andor, it's amazing to me how just by looking at the past these people have been able to basically predict the future.
Handmaid's Tale was required reading for AP English at my school--our teacher had to fight to get it into the curriculum. I have STRONG memories of reading it for the first time, and then went on a total Margaret Atwood binge.
I grew up in the general area, and there's also a very fun art museum in Kohler! Enjoy, and if you are a beer drinker, have some Spotted Cow for me (idk how midwest-familiar you are, but that's my favorite beer that is only available *in* Wisconsin)
Yes, we live in the Twin Cities and my husband did his masters at Madison, so anytime we pop over, we get some Spotted Cow! The reason we’re stopping in Kohler is because I saw The Greenhouse coffee shop online, and it looks beautiful! We didn’t plan much for the trip, but tried to allow time for cool things to pop up. And that’s just what’s happening- thanks for the art museum recommendation!
We went to a wedding there years ago and it was awesome! Everyone kept popping into all the bathrooms, even cross gender, because they were all so interesting.
I hope you have time to go into Sheboygan and visit the Kohler Museum! The public bathrooms there are capital A amazing. And the museum is fantastic too, they always have something really interesting to look at.
Went to Kohler a couple weeks ago to celebrate my retirement by decompressing at the spa. I highly recommend the spa. I've been there before and it never disappoints. Every service I had was great, plenty of spots to lounge and lots of water options (of course). They have some great (but pricey) body treatments which use a fancy shower that's over the table to rinse you down while you get face and and scalp massages. Also echo the comments on visiting the art museum.
There are two books in recent memory that I started over as soon as I finished them the first time because they were THAT GOOD. I wish I could read again-for-the-first-time: "This is How You Lose the Time War" by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone, and "A Psalm for the Wild Built/A Prayer for the Crown Shy" by Becky Chambers (two novellas in a duology). Both/all three were *chefs kiss*.
I wish I could do Louise Penny’s books over for the first time. My mom recommended the 6th book in the series to me. Bury Your Dead, and I loved it so much I went back to start the Gamache series at the beginning. I just gobbled them up. I loved the mysteries, the characters, the wit, the smarts, and of course the town. I never thought I was a “cozy mystery” person. Turned out I was. I want to do them all over again for the first time.
My digital subscription to NY Magazine is the second best $5 I spend every month. And I’m in Boston. Highly recommend to fellow broads.
I wish I could read The Gargoyle by Andrew Davidson for the first time all over again. It is a weird but original and interesting book like nothing I’ve read before. It’s not for everyone but reading was such a unique experience.
I'm currently rereading Donna Tartt's The Secret History, which I last read in high school shortly after it was published. It feels a bit like a first time read because other than the basic plot and the victim, I didn't actually remember that much. I'm certainly understanding more references as a 40-something who studied Classics than I would have as a 15-year-old. Other books I wish I could read again for the first time with the knowledge I have now: Possession by AS Byatt (it kicked my ass when I read it in college, I've since re-read it several times and it has become a favorite), The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton. Books I wish I could read for the first time again just because they were so much fun: The Outlander Series, The All Souls Trilogy (which is now 5 books, but who's counting?).
General question for the group: I just ordered something that it turns out is shipping from Australia. Are the tariffs still a thing? If so, Australia is 10%, which is fine as I received free shipping on my order, and it wasn't crazy expensive. When does the tariff get collected? Who collects it? Why did anything think this was a good idea?
Came here to say The Secret History would definitely be on my list of books I wish I could read again for the first time. I'm definitely going to re-read The Goldfinch this year, though. I'm a big Donna Tartt fan.
There's a long story as to why I can't read The Goldfinch again any time soon, but my copy is signed, and I interacted with Tartt a few times around the time the book was published. She was always gracious.
I was also going to say Possession by AS Byatt. Just the way it all comes together at the end. I actually immediately reread the ending, but you only get that feeling of awe and completeness the first time.
It's such an interesting question -- like, what was that book that you remember grabbing you in a way that is, well, memorable...
Probably my first was Anne of the Island. Of course I loved the series from the start, but AotI was very likely my first (of what has turned out to be MANY) real "romance" novel -- the first two were great books, but when I got to AotI, it was dramatic (we almost lost Gilbert!) swoony, ROMANTIC...I remember it gripping my tween heart like nothing had before. Sigh. Sweet Gilbert. And I recall of course WANTING them to get together, but that first time, I didn't really KNOW, or how, or anything. I wish I could read it again for the first time not knowing what the heck was going to happen, and then swoon all over again.
I hate to give any airspace to horrible JK Rowling, but Goblet of Fire was definitely a "whew, what just happened to me" when I first read and finished it. Moving on.
I read a ton of romance; I write romance, but still Nora Goes Off-Script by Annabel Monaghan stopped me in my tracks on the first read. And it was so good in terms of the "dark period" for the protagonists, and the use of the other characters, and the story telling, it was a game changer. I've re-read it bunches, but nothing will be like the first time when you didn't know how they could possibly get to their HEA. I recommended it to everyone I knew at the time and everyone else loved it too.
I just finished watching the original Anne of Green Gables movies with my daughter (8 years) and she was on the edge of her seat about whether Anne would realize she loved Gilbert or not. When they finally kissed, she whooped with triumph. I can’t wait to watch her read these someday
I went through a strong Romance phase in my early 30s when I picked up a Nora Roberts and a Suz Brockmann book thinking they were general fiction. I don't know what I thought the romance genre was, but they were so good--I was hooked.
I felt that way about Anne's House of Dreams with Leslie's story. I can take or leave Anne (yes, I know, heresy in Montgomery circles) but I've always loved Leslie.
There is no judgment here!! (Although you must have at least somewhat enjoyed them to get all the way through to House of Dreams?) I also adored House of Dreams. I think LM got a little freer as she got to move away a bit from Anne and embrace the other characters.
There were a couple books in the middle of the series that I frankly would NOT re-read. Seemed like just filler to keep the story going. Parts of Anne of Avonlea were impossibly slow. But some, like AotI and HoD were bangers!
I was a voracious reader and I liked the broader world of Avonlea so that's what kept me reading. Isn't it interesting which books we're drawn to and which we aren't? My roommate in grad school (who is still a close friend)'s favorite Anne book is Anne of Avonlea and we politely agreed to disagree on AoA as a book within weeks of meeting each other.
And if you're like me and love 1) home renovations and 2) history, there's a show called Restoration Home about people restoring (usually derelict) old homes in Britain, and it's a FASCINATING look at how much work it is/how much can go wrong so I feel confident** I could project manage the restoration of this castle for us all.
*I was on a lot of cold medication (back before they took the good stuff out to stop meth manufacturing) and also on a plane for this one, so I do think that really aided the total unreality of it and really added to the overall ambience
**I would, however, need unlimited money as the main thing I learned from this show is you cannot undertake historical restorations without millions and millions of dollars
Good luck potty training with a black toilet. Dark bowls scare kids. I wish they would put fun prints on toilets. Like a fleur de lei or roses or houndstooth or the book tote, lol.
You should definitely watch the episode of the Great Pottery Throwdown where they make toilets. Some are wacky, some are beautiful, some are just plain fun. The episode where they make novelty urinals is pretty darn good too!
I wish I could read Circe by Madeline Miller for the first time again. It was amazing. I flew through it in two days. I’d also love to read The Murder of Roger Ackroyd by Agatha Christie for the first time again. The ending took me by complete surprise. I was so glad it had never been spoiled for me.
You (and the person below who mentioned Louise Penny) have me thinking about mysteries. I bet they are RIPE for wanting to read again when you don't know whodunnit or whatever mystery you're trying to solve. I wish I were more into mysteries to play along with this! I'm trying to think if there were any where I was really shocked at the end when I read them the first time...maybe Daisy Darker by Alice Feeney?
Are we the same reader? I loved Circe, and The Murder of Roger Ackroyd was so good! I was also glad not to have been spoiled on the ending, It was ages ago: perhaps it's time to re-read it?
Speaking of mysteries that were a great first reads: Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn and my beloved Death on the Nile by Agatha Christie.
I read Circe until I couldn't hold my eyes open any longer, fell asleep, woke up, picked up the book off the nightstand and read until it was finished.
When Circe didn't make the "best books of the 21st century," I knew that list was BS. I LOVED that book and can't wait to reread it. I wait until the details get fuzzy.
My 82-year-old father-in-law (who we affectionately refer to as "El Capitan") has been in rehab after breaking his hip and getting a partial replacement. He brought a copy of Lonesome Dove that he found in a Little Free Library into the hospital with him, and then my brother-in-law got him a copy of Ron Chernow's new Mark Twain biography and he's been reading that instead. We've been nervous about his health (he's had two strokes in the past 20 years and has rheumatoid arthritis), and I'm hoping he lasts long enough to at least finish both of these books.
Best wishes for your FIL's health!
We will keep him in our prayers!
I hope he recovers and enjoys the books in the process.
I read Lonesome Dove while recovering from having my wisdom teeth out—it’s very, very good for convalescing. Best of luck to your FIL and everyone looking after him.
These things can be so stressful--wishing the very best for El Capitan!
I *LOVE* this idea of a first reading list!
Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin
Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
And then there were none by Agatha Christie
Writers and Lovers by Lily King
Transcendent Kingdom by Yaa Gyasi
Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout
Life after Life by Kate Atkinson
The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin
When you reach me by Rebecca Stead
A visit from the goon squad by Jennifer Egan
I adored the Westing Game when I read it in my youth. The ending made me gasp!
Life After Life was so good!
And Then There Were None and The Westing Game are both All-Timers for me and I still think about Angela Wexler (the bomber) on the reg. That "pretty but brittle and secretly furious" character type really implanted on my id.
I LOVE and then there were none, and I was so mad at the lifetime(?) series a few years ago that changed a LOT of the "murders" and also how the deaths of the characters playied out
Just here to chime in about the Westing Game!!! I re-read every couple of years and love it every time!
Hello, my people. I reread it every few years. Turtle kicking Doug in the shins is always in my head.
Tuesday Mooney Talks to Ghosts is a grown up version of The Wresting Game, IMO. Really good read!
We read Tuesday Mooney for my bookclub and that's exactly how it was pitched to us!
So many good ones on here! I got my son The Westing Game for his summer reading and am excited to read it with him (first time for us both)
I loved The Westing Game, too! I still have my copy from when I was kid. My kids and I listened to it on Audible in the car and they were really into it as well. I do think it's better as a read book than an audio book, but only because there are plays on words that I think work better in writing than listening.
Writers and Lovers is so lovely, I cried so much the first time I read it (and cried ALMOST as much every other time). Most recently, I read Family Meal by Bryan Washington and just bawled at the ending. It's one that I look forward to reading for a second time, even though I know it won't quite match that first read experience.
Rebecca Stead is SUCH a special author-- I have deep love for a middle grade novel she wrote called "The List of Things that Will Not Change." Highly recommended.
she is so special! And a lovely human - if you buy any of her books from Oblong Books, her local store, she will autograph for you!
I really wish I could read Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell for the first time again. It was such a rush reading it and the twists and turns had me tearing through it. Same with Orlando by Virginia Woolf.
It's such a good one to lose yourself in! What amazing world-building.
I remember fondly reading all the Lord Peter Wimsey novels as a teenager and my mother's best freind telling me she envied me being able to read them for the first time. Dunno what I'd read again for the first time... Pride & Prejudice? A Room With A View? (Also, my covid-induced manias were velvet clothes and West German ceramics?! The velvet happened b/c we watched Sex Education and I fell in love with Gillian Anderson's character's wardrobe, but the ceramics... still a mystery.)
I don’t mind reading the Peter Wimsey books over and over again, so I don’t know that I can put them on my list. Well - except for Nine Tailors. The twist at the end practically knocked me over, and I will never feel that again. But Gaudy Night? That’s as good the tenth time as the first. Maybe better.
I reread Gaudy Night for the first time this past fall in years (it was a book I reread constantly when I was in grad school and the early years of being a professor, along with Jill Ker Conway's Road From Coorain and True North) and loved it as much as ever.
West German ceramics are dope, tho.
I read all the Lord Peter books for the first time when I was about 13 and most of them seemed fine (I appreciate them more as an adult), but the one that really and truly stopped me in my tracks was Gaudy Night. I tore through it in August, and I remember it felt like falling through a trap door into another life. All those women just living their single scholarly dreams! I didn’t have to get married or have kids if I didn’t want to! (I grew up in a very conservative environment, obviously. Thank goodness for books!)
My people!!!
There is moment in the Laura Kim Kohler ad where she starts kind of running up the stairs while the voiceover intones something about need and desire - and all I could think was, “She really needs to go! That’s why she needs a toilet!”
I do not think that is the image that they were trying to inspire.
I did not have “cackling at a toilet ad” on my bingo card for today, but apparently should have.
Unrelatedly, I am concerned about the description of our new Scottish island village as “hauntingly beautiful.” Makes me think there IS a curse, although if any group of people is able to tackle the problem of a cursed property, it’s definitely the Broads. So I guess I’m in!
I am concerned about the deer: ticks! 😱
At least the pontoon can double as a helipad. 😁
Wouldn’t that make an excellent limited series?! A group of cool, interesting, smart ladies who are internet friends meet up in Scotland and then need to unexpectedly solve/break a haunted curse AND pick out cute tartan to take home?!
I would like to live in this novel, please.
I have a trip planned in September that requires me to pack light but also will give me time to read. I plan on taking 2 books with me that have been on my TBR forever--Lonesome Dove and Skippy Dies by Paul Murray.
lonesome dove is a doorstop; get an e-version
I wish I could re-read all of the Vampire Chronicles for the first time (big Anne Rice stan here), but rereading them in different stages of my life has been a pleasure as well. RIP, Anne. Would also carry a Queen of the Damned tote...
But for ~*literary*~ re-first-reads, I'd love to experience The Bell Jar and The Handmaid's Tale again for the first time. This might say a lot about me as a person, but those were both very earthshattering books for me when I read them the first time in high school. I think they were both summer reading? At least The Handmaid's Tale was, and potentially on a list with Brave New World and 1984, and inspired a love(?) of dystopian novels for me.
Now, in our current climate, I don't think I can read the The Handmaid's Tale again. I couldn't finish the show. I can't stomach it, because I think we're going there...
too late. we're there :(
😭
My book club read The Testaments (the sequel to the Handmaid's Tale) this month and there's a part where a protest goes bad that I was reading in the days leading up to the No Kings protests and it was chilling. Similar to the show Andor, it's amazing to me how just by looking at the past these people have been able to basically predict the future.
Handmaid's Tale was required reading for AP English at my school--our teacher had to fight to get it into the curriculum. I have STRONG memories of reading it for the first time, and then went on a total Margaret Atwood binge.
I think I read it in AP English also!
I have also been on a Margaret Atwood binge. Her dystopias are amazing.
Are we the same person?
I loved the Handmaid’s Tale book but have never been able to watch the show for that reason. You’re not alone!
I read the handmaid's tale in my early 20s and broke down into wracking sobs more than once, so I have never watched the show either
I could never make myself read it at all, definitely did not watch the show.
I’m literally going to be in Kohler next week on a road trip with my husband, so thanks for the showroom tip! It sounds awesome!
I grew up in the general area, and there's also a very fun art museum in Kohler! Enjoy, and if you are a beer drinker, have some Spotted Cow for me (idk how midwest-familiar you are, but that's my favorite beer that is only available *in* Wisconsin)
Yes, we live in the Twin Cities and my husband did his masters at Madison, so anytime we pop over, we get some Spotted Cow! The reason we’re stopping in Kohler is because I saw The Greenhouse coffee shop online, and it looks beautiful! We didn’t plan much for the trip, but tried to allow time for cool things to pop up. And that’s just what’s happening- thanks for the art museum recommendation!
I am ALSO a Twin Cities resident so lololol it's such a small world. Enjoy the road trip!
Haha! Hi neighbor! ☺️
We went to a wedding there years ago and it was awesome! Everyone kept popping into all the bathrooms, even cross gender, because they were all so interesting.
I hope you have time to go into Sheboygan and visit the Kohler Museum! The public bathrooms there are capital A amazing. And the museum is fantastic too, they always have something really interesting to look at.
I think we will have to now with all these great recommendations for it! 😊
Highly recommend the Kohler Art Museum and their Art Preserve, both in very nearby Sheboygan.
Went to Kohler a couple weeks ago to celebrate my retirement by decompressing at the spa. I highly recommend the spa. I've been there before and it never disappoints. Every service I had was great, plenty of spots to lounge and lots of water options (of course). They have some great (but pricey) body treatments which use a fancy shower that's over the table to rinse you down while you get face and and scalp massages. Also echo the comments on visiting the art museum.
There are two books in recent memory that I started over as soon as I finished them the first time because they were THAT GOOD. I wish I could read again-for-the-first-time: "This is How You Lose the Time War" by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone, and "A Psalm for the Wild Built/A Prayer for the Crown Shy" by Becky Chambers (two novellas in a duology). Both/all three were *chefs kiss*.
Time War was SO GOOD and I had to go back and re-read it immediately to really appreciate everything it was doing. I'll check out that duology!
I wish I could do Louise Penny’s books over for the first time. My mom recommended the 6th book in the series to me. Bury Your Dead, and I loved it so much I went back to start the Gamache series at the beginning. I just gobbled them up. I loved the mysteries, the characters, the wit, the smarts, and of course the town. I never thought I was a “cozy mystery” person. Turned out I was. I want to do them all over again for the first time.
I love those books too! My mom and I have read the whole series together. I would like to live in Three Pines.
My digital subscription to NY Magazine is the second best $5 I spend every month. And I’m in Boston. Highly recommend to fellow broads.
I wish I could read The Gargoyle by Andrew Davidson for the first time all over again. It is a weird but original and interesting book like nothing I’ve read before. It’s not for everyone but reading was such a unique experience.
Don’t miss the story about the Port of Missing Men—arguably the last nice house in the Hamptons (even if it is on the wrong side of the tracks).
I'm currently rereading Donna Tartt's The Secret History, which I last read in high school shortly after it was published. It feels a bit like a first time read because other than the basic plot and the victim, I didn't actually remember that much. I'm certainly understanding more references as a 40-something who studied Classics than I would have as a 15-year-old. Other books I wish I could read again for the first time with the knowledge I have now: Possession by AS Byatt (it kicked my ass when I read it in college, I've since re-read it several times and it has become a favorite), The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton. Books I wish I could read for the first time again just because they were so much fun: The Outlander Series, The All Souls Trilogy (which is now 5 books, but who's counting?).
General question for the group: I just ordered something that it turns out is shipping from Australia. Are the tariffs still a thing? If so, Australia is 10%, which is fine as I received free shipping on my order, and it wasn't crazy expensive. When does the tariff get collected? Who collects it? Why did anything think this was a good idea?
Came here to say The Secret History would definitely be on my list of books I wish I could read again for the first time. I'm definitely going to re-read The Goldfinch this year, though. I'm a big Donna Tartt fan.
There's a long story as to why I can't read The Goldfinch again any time soon, but my copy is signed, and I interacted with Tartt a few times around the time the book was published. She was always gracious.
I was also going to say Possession by AS Byatt. Just the way it all comes together at the end. I actually immediately reread the ending, but you only get that feeling of awe and completeness the first time.
It's such an interesting question -- like, what was that book that you remember grabbing you in a way that is, well, memorable...
Probably my first was Anne of the Island. Of course I loved the series from the start, but AotI was very likely my first (of what has turned out to be MANY) real "romance" novel -- the first two were great books, but when I got to AotI, it was dramatic (we almost lost Gilbert!) swoony, ROMANTIC...I remember it gripping my tween heart like nothing had before. Sigh. Sweet Gilbert. And I recall of course WANTING them to get together, but that first time, I didn't really KNOW, or how, or anything. I wish I could read it again for the first time not knowing what the heck was going to happen, and then swoon all over again.
I hate to give any airspace to horrible JK Rowling, but Goblet of Fire was definitely a "whew, what just happened to me" when I first read and finished it. Moving on.
I read a ton of romance; I write romance, but still Nora Goes Off-Script by Annabel Monaghan stopped me in my tracks on the first read. And it was so good in terms of the "dark period" for the protagonists, and the use of the other characters, and the story telling, it was a game changer. I've re-read it bunches, but nothing will be like the first time when you didn't know how they could possibly get to their HEA. I recommended it to everyone I knew at the time and everyone else loved it too.
Yes to all of this! I also just finished “It’s a Love Story” by Annabel Monaghan and it was so good!
It was! She's genius! But Nora really got me!
The way she creates messy families and characters that are so dynamic *chef’s kiss*
I KNOW, right?
I just finished watching the original Anne of Green Gables movies with my daughter (8 years) and she was on the edge of her seat about whether Anne would realize she loved Gilbert or not. When they finally kissed, she whooped with triumph. I can’t wait to watch her read these someday
I went through a strong Romance phase in my early 30s when I picked up a Nora Roberts and a Suz Brockmann book thinking they were general fiction. I don't know what I thought the romance genre was, but they were so good--I was hooked.
Long live the happy-ever-after!
I felt that way about Anne's House of Dreams with Leslie's story. I can take or leave Anne (yes, I know, heresy in Montgomery circles) but I've always loved Leslie.
There is no judgment here!! (Although you must have at least somewhat enjoyed them to get all the way through to House of Dreams?) I also adored House of Dreams. I think LM got a little freer as she got to move away a bit from Anne and embrace the other characters.
There were a couple books in the middle of the series that I frankly would NOT re-read. Seemed like just filler to keep the story going. Parts of Anne of Avonlea were impossibly slow. But some, like AotI and HoD were bangers!
I was a voracious reader and I liked the broader world of Avonlea so that's what kept me reading. Isn't it interesting which books we're drawn to and which we aren't? My roommate in grad school (who is still a close friend)'s favorite Anne book is Anne of Avonlea and we politely agreed to disagree on AoA as a book within weeks of meeting each other.
My favourite of the side characters is Philippa Gordon
Phil is fantastic!!
First Time Transcendent Reads:
-Mrs. Dalloway
-The Dubliners
-Midnight's Children*
And if you're like me and love 1) home renovations and 2) history, there's a show called Restoration Home about people restoring (usually derelict) old homes in Britain, and it's a FASCINATING look at how much work it is/how much can go wrong so I feel confident** I could project manage the restoration of this castle for us all.
*I was on a lot of cold medication (back before they took the good stuff out to stop meth manufacturing) and also on a plane for this one, so I do think that really aided the total unreality of it and really added to the overall ambience
**I would, however, need unlimited money as the main thing I learned from this show is you cannot undertake historical restorations without millions and millions of dollars
Thank you for reminding me I need to finally read Mrs. Dalloway!
Good luck potty training with a black toilet. Dark bowls scare kids. I wish they would put fun prints on toilets. Like a fleur de lei or roses or houndstooth or the book tote, lol.
You should definitely watch the episode of the Great Pottery Throwdown where they make toilets. Some are wacky, some are beautiful, some are just plain fun. The episode where they make novelty urinals is pretty darn good too!
Ooh, going to have to check this out! Thanks for the recommendation
I enjoyed that show so much but only saw one season, and don't recall seeing toilets. Must find.
It was the second season, still available on HBO Max I think.
I wish I could read Circe by Madeline Miller for the first time again. It was amazing. I flew through it in two days. I’d also love to read The Murder of Roger Ackroyd by Agatha Christie for the first time again. The ending took me by complete surprise. I was so glad it had never been spoiled for me.
You (and the person below who mentioned Louise Penny) have me thinking about mysteries. I bet they are RIPE for wanting to read again when you don't know whodunnit or whatever mystery you're trying to solve. I wish I were more into mysteries to play along with this! I'm trying to think if there were any where I was really shocked at the end when I read them the first time...maybe Daisy Darker by Alice Feeney?
Are we the same reader? I loved Circe, and The Murder of Roger Ackroyd was so good! I was also glad not to have been spoiled on the ending, It was ages ago: perhaps it's time to re-read it?
Speaking of mysteries that were a great first reads: Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn and my beloved Death on the Nile by Agatha Christie.
Man, reading any Christie for the first time is something.
Circe is my favorite book in recent years. I loved it so much.
Have you read Song of Achilles? I loved that one too
That one’s great too. I hope she releases another book in the future.
I love her writing! She has been really ill with long COVID so I'm not sure what her writing life is like - it's just awful
I read Circe until I couldn't hold my eyes open any longer, fell asleep, woke up, picked up the book off the nightstand and read until it was finished.
When Circe didn't make the "best books of the 21st century," I knew that list was BS. I LOVED that book and can't wait to reread it. I wait until the details get fuzzy.