I don't consider myself a fan of re-reading books except for a couple of exceptions. I read Summer Sisters by Judy Blume every year in the spring when I'm getting antsy for summer. It's possible I've read it about ten times.
I've read Cherry and The Liars' Club (both by Mary Karr) and The Virgin Suicides and Middlesex (both by Jeffrey Eugenides) two or three times each because they are some of my favorite books of all time. The same can be said for She's Come Undone by Wally Lamb, Lady Chatterly's Lover, and all of the Harry Potter series (especially the later books).
But my absolute favorite book of all time is The Secret History by Donna Tartt. I read it for the first time during my sophomore year of high school while I was recovering from mono. I've been carrying that same copy around for the last eighteen years. Some of the pages are wavy from getting wet and there are brown water marks on some pages as well (I enjoy reading in the bath). The cover is torn down the middle vertically and I use the loose piece as a bookmark. I don't remember how that happened, but I think it was at the toddler hands of a younger Ziggy. Though I believe in respecting books and treating them well, and I believe they might just have a soul, I like that I've been reading the same copy all this time. In fact, I'm reading it right now, and I believe it's probably about the fifth time. It's not the same as Summer Sisters, I don't want to overdo it.
If you ever want to get me a really nice gift, a present that will blow. my. mind. get me a hard cover edition of The Secret History with a personalized inscription from Donna Tartt. That. would. be. awesome. Hey, my 40th is in six years. Surely that's long enough to make that gift happen. Get to it.
2 comments:
The Secret History was really good-I should read it again too. My favorite is East of Eden. I read it every three or four years. Never get tired of it...
Do you want me to mail it or wait until I See you?
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