Top Ten Tuesday: Books I Want to Read Again

Hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl

a book and a dried bundle of flowers sitting on a wooden chair I’m the sort of reader who bounces between doing many rereads and only wanting to read books that are new to me.

The next time I’m in the mood for a reread, these titles will be at the top of my list because of the sense of wonder I felt when discovering their marvellous plot twists and character development for the first time.

1. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë

2. 1984 by George Orwell

3. The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, #1) by Douglas Adams

4. The Handmaid’s Tale (The Handmaid’s Tale, #1) by Margaret Atwood

5. The Gift of the Magi by O. Henry

6. The Valley of Horses (Earth’s Children, #2) by Jean M. Auel

7. The Yellow Wall-Paper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman

8. The Hate U Give (The Hate U Give, #1) by Angie Thomas

9. The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer

10. The Martian by Andy Weir

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93 Responses to Top Ten Tuesday: Books I Want to Read Again

  1. Great list! I really need to read The Hate U Give, and I’d like to try the Earth’s Children series, too.

  2. OMG… The Yellow Wallpaper! The MOST amazing story. Did you read her novella Herland? Really excellent as well. Also, The Gift of the Magi – YES! You know, I can think of a bunch of films that used his basic story as their plot. It is as vivid to me today as it was when I first read it… maybe 40 years ago, if not more!

  3. What a great list. Those that I have read are all fantastic books, so I’ll have to have a look for the other ones.

    Thanks for visiting my TTT earlier.

  4. Wonderful list!! I’ve been meaning to read more classics, and guiltily I haven’t read any of the Brontë sisters books yet!! But I will get to them eventually!

    Happy Reading! <3

  5. Great list! I’d like to re-read the Hitchhiker series too. So much fun, and it’s been so long since I read those books.

  6. Great list, thanks for sharing – and yes Douglas Adams would be a great reread! And I adore The Canterbury Tales! In the original Middle English? Whan that Aprille with his shoures swete… Have you found Chaucer Doth Tweet on Twitter yet?

    Thanks for stopping my blog earlier today!

  7. I’m also really looking forward to rereading Jane Eyre!

  8. I hope you will love all of these the second time around!

    My post!

  9. Lots of classics! I like that you’ve included short stories–The Gift of the Magi just popped into my head the other day. I’m not dying for a reread of The Yellow Wallpaper, but I’m feeling a reread of Canterbury Tales right now. I think it’s more than 10 years since I last read it.

  10. Nice list! THUG would be a great reread.

  11. Jo

    I couldn’t get into The Hate U Give the last time I tried it. I enjoyed the movie though, so I’m hoping to try again one day and enjoy it more.
    My TTT: https://jjbookblog.wordpress.com/2020/12/01/top-ten-tuesday-292/

  12. Nice list! I know what you mean about the books here — when a story has many twists or complex characters a reread feels almost necessary to really appreciate the plot. I really want to do this with Jane Eyre actually

  13. Glad to hear it’s not just me who bounces between lots of re-reads and none! I also want to re-read The Yellow Wallpaper, I haven’t read it since I was in school and I’ve forgotten all except the basics about that story.

  14. Ooo The Martian is a good one! I listened to the audiobook first time instead of reading it and it was so good! It did take me a year to get through because I kept falling asleep 😂

  15. I also have re-reading moods, but other than the end of the year, which is my fixed yearly re-reading appointment, they’re pretty unpredictable 🙂 The Martian would indeed be a fun re-read, combined with the movie probably (which I also loved)!

  16. The Canterbury Tales has been on my TBR for SOOOOO long! I’m definitely going to have to read that one! Great list!

  17. Great list! I’d love to reread 1984 and The Handmaid’s Tale. 🙂

  18. I considered adding Hitchhiker’s Guide to my list but I haven’t finished the series yet. As soon as I do I will circle around. I rarely reread books so this was a hard list for me to create. My TTT Books I want to read again list

  19. I forgot about 1984! I did reread Animal Farm last year though.

  20. I think the only one on here that I actually remember is The Hate U Give! It’s been a while since I read 1984 but I hadn’t thought about that one until you listed it. Great choices <3

  21. I loved The Martian and definitely want to re-read it, too! So good.

  22. RS

    All very solid choices that have stood the test of time (well, maybe not THUG quite yet, but I imagine it will with age – it has that feeling).

    I’ve only read Jane Eyre, which I loved…but it occurs to me now that I had to power-read it on the second to last day of winter break so I could write an essay that was due the day we got back, so perhaps I did not appreciate every turn of language as much as I could have! It kind of feels like I’ve read it more, because one of my best friends wrote her thesis on it and still posts about it regularly on Tumblr, but still, a reread of my own would be good.

  23. 1984 is one it pays to read and re-read, just to keep the lessons in mind..and learn new ones. Orwell was prescient to say the least.

  24. I’ve read all of these except #5 and #6, and those are both on my wishlist!

  25. You’ve got some good ones on here- I’ve tried reading Jane Eyre twice now, and I’m getting to the point where I feel like maybe the Bronte sisters aren’t for me, and I should just stick to my Austen and Colette.

    1984 made me die inside, I guess I need stories with some sense of hope.

    The Martian was a lot of fun, though. I’d like to watch the movie than read it again, just to see the differences.

    Happy Tuesday!

  26. Nice choices!
    Minus the Handmaid’s Tale, which I don’t think I could stand reading again because it made me so uncomfortable. Great book, just…*shudders* I’m not ready to do it again just yet.

  27. I don’t typically re-read books but if I did.. I would totally re-read The Hate U Give. Such a great book!

  28. I love that sense of wonder! Makes me want to read The Hitchhikers’ books…

  29. I rarely re-read books, but JANE EYRE is one I definitely need to revisit. I loved it when I read it for the first time a few years ago. It’s been so long now and my memory is so terrible that I can barely remember what it’s about. A re-read is definitely in order!

    I’ve never read THE GIFT OF THE MAGI. That might be a good one to add to my yearly Christmas re-read list along with A CHRISTMAS CAROL.

    Happy TTT!

    Susan
    http://www.blogginboutbooks.com

    • I’m glad you’re thinking about rereading Jane Eyre. It’s such a wonderful story.

      And enjoy The Gift of the Magi! That’s the perfect thing to read this time of year, and even more so in 2020 when Christmas won’t exactly be the same.

  30. Nice list! Lots of classics! I listened to The Martian on audio, and felt kind of bad that I hadn’t read it, so I might someday read it in print too. I haven’t seen the movie. I listened to The Hate U Give, too, I think! I should add The Yellow Wallpaper to my list; I’ve never read it. I’ve never read anything by Jean Auel! Her books are too long and the series is too long for me to start now. 😉

  31. 1984 is a book I’ve read over and over, in parts though – especially that last segment on Newspeak. Great choices!

  32. I think I read Jane Eyre in high school or middle school, so I remember almost nothing of it. I have yet to read the Canterbury Tales. Lots of classics here!

  33. I really enjoyed The Martian and Jane Eryre, too! Thanks for stopping by my TTT! 🙂

  34. Great picks here, especially Jane Eyre, that’s one I’m sure I’ve re-read at least once before.

  35. verushka

    I love how you described the sense of wonder these books give you!!

  36. It’s been a while since I read Hitchhiker’s Guide so that’s one I should reread at some point. I also want to take another look at The Hate U Give, maybe via the audiobook.

    I have a copy of the Canterbury Tales to read for the first time!

  37. Donna van Eck

    The Hate U Give is one i need to read.

  38. I really like Jane Eyre and The Yellow Wallpaper. I’d like to reread those too.

  39. I second (or is it third?) The Martian audio version. I listened to it, and then immediately demanded my husband and I listen to it together. It got him back into reading!

  40. I’ve read 1984 a second time after I graduated school, and it was a competlely different experience than it was studying the book academically. I found out that I actually really enjoyed it! The re read has payed off.

  41. Stefani Tabakovska

    The Martian is one of my all time faves, so happy to see it on a reread list!
    Happy reading! https://readwithstefani.com/books-i-want-to-read-again/

  42. Great list, Lydia! I’d absolutely love to reread Handmaid’s Tale and The Hate U Give as well! I don’t think my feelings might change about both but I do worry sometimes when I loved a book so much (and both I really loved a great deal) 😂

  43. That IS a great list!

    I always felt especially bad for the husband in “The Gift of the Magi.” [Spoilers:] The wife’s hair will soon grow back enough to use the combs, but you can’t re-grow a watch.

    Since I have “co-morbidities” (please please please — could someone come up with a better term?) that mean getting COVID would be a particularly bad idea for me (not that I recommend anyone get it), I have been at home for months now. Lately, I’ve been thinking that my bedroom really needs some yellow wallpaper…

    It sounds as if a lot of us want to re-read _The Canterbury Tales_. Lydia: how about setting up a Chaucer reading group when you get around to _CT_ again?

    Ruth

    • Yes, that was a sad portion of “The Gift of the Magi” for sure. I wish there were a sequel that showed how the husband earned enough to get a new watch.

      What colour is your bedroom now?

      And I like the Chaucer reading group idea. Are you on Goodreads? I think there’s a way to set up reading groups there.

  44. Oh, so many great choices! I love to reread The Gift of the Magi. <3

  45. I’ve been wanting to re-read The Martian for agggessss! It’s such a good book.

  46. The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy almost made it on my list this week, but I felt like I’ve been talking about it a lot lately, so I decided to give some other books a chance. What a great series.

  47. And really I should just try and read Jane Eyre at least once! 🙂

  48. I really need to read The Hate U Give and The Martian in 2021. 🙂 Great list!

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