I’ve been re-reading one of my favorites, Their Eyes Were Watching God, and thinking about how infrequently I hear what other books people love to re-read and why. I love being immersed in Zora’s language and humor. Is there a book you return to again and again? Why?
I've read and re-read "The Robe" which sometimes surprises me because I am not a religious person, but something the in the journey that takes place resonates with me.
I have read Their Eyes Were Watching God many times in my life since I first read it in 1979. My daughter, Victoria, gave me it in books on tape format, read by Ruby Dee! That was her last Christmas gift to me before she was killed in 2014, and I have listened to it at least once a year since then. One of my favorite lines I've ever read is "She got so she received all things with the stolidness of the earth that soaks up urine and perfume with the same indifference." Presently, I am reading Roberto Bolanno's 2666 an almost 1,000 page book in five parts. Victoria urged me to read it, and loaned me her copy in 2012. I read the first part in 2014 before she was killed and then hadn't been able to read it until this past year. Victoria was right, he is an extraordinary writer. It is impossible to summarize this work, but I offer this piece from a review written by Michael Berger in The Rumpus: "This five-part mega-novel has as its thematic centerpiece the sexual crimes against women in the city he calls Santa Theresa. But like some crazed resonance chamber, this notion of desire gone berserk enters into many asides – some unforgettable, some tedious – including modern German literature, Russian science fiction, the Black Panthers, the history of Chile, Dracula’s castle, Swiss insane asylums, the Aztecs, and Romania and Prussia in World War II. 2666 is structured as a polyphonic clash of voices and dreams, all trying to make sense of the insensible. Many of the novel’s characters succumb to murder, rape, torture, imprisonment, suicide, madness, disease, or war." It is a book to be read slowly, is not for everyone, but those, who like me, have the patience to read it, find their souls moved in unimaginable ways, particularly because of its exploration of humanity's often swept under the rug, but undeniable cruelty.
Thanks for asking. I re-read Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance every few years because it’s a classic philosophical book and I get new levels of understanding each time, because I’ve changed and the times have changed.
Neal Stephenson's "Seveneves" is a hard sci-fi novel that I think about at least once a week. It's a perfect combination of fascinating characters; a vast plot and time span; and questions of family, identity, and humanity. Plus a large part of it hinges on epigenetics (how your environment can change the way your genes work and thus change so many fundamental things about who you are), a field I find fascinating.
I've read and re-read "The Robe" which sometimes surprises me because I am not a religious person, but something the in the journey that takes place resonates with me.
I have read Their Eyes Were Watching God many times in my life since I first read it in 1979. My daughter, Victoria, gave me it in books on tape format, read by Ruby Dee! That was her last Christmas gift to me before she was killed in 2014, and I have listened to it at least once a year since then. One of my favorite lines I've ever read is "She got so she received all things with the stolidness of the earth that soaks up urine and perfume with the same indifference." Presently, I am reading Roberto Bolanno's 2666 an almost 1,000 page book in five parts. Victoria urged me to read it, and loaned me her copy in 2012. I read the first part in 2014 before she was killed and then hadn't been able to read it until this past year. Victoria was right, he is an extraordinary writer. It is impossible to summarize this work, but I offer this piece from a review written by Michael Berger in The Rumpus: "This five-part mega-novel has as its thematic centerpiece the sexual crimes against women in the city he calls Santa Theresa. But like some crazed resonance chamber, this notion of desire gone berserk enters into many asides – some unforgettable, some tedious – including modern German literature, Russian science fiction, the Black Panthers, the history of Chile, Dracula’s castle, Swiss insane asylums, the Aztecs, and Romania and Prussia in World War II. 2666 is structured as a polyphonic clash of voices and dreams, all trying to make sense of the insensible. Many of the novel’s characters succumb to murder, rape, torture, imprisonment, suicide, madness, disease, or war." It is a book to be read slowly, is not for everyone, but those, who like me, have the patience to read it, find their souls moved in unimaginable ways, particularly because of its exploration of humanity's often swept under the rug, but undeniable cruelty.
Thanks for asking. I re-read Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance every few years because it’s a classic philosophical book and I get new levels of understanding each time, because I’ve changed and the times have changed.
Neal Stephenson's "Seveneves" is a hard sci-fi novel that I think about at least once a week. It's a perfect combination of fascinating characters; a vast plot and time span; and questions of family, identity, and humanity. Plus a large part of it hinges on epigenetics (how your environment can change the way your genes work and thus change so many fundamental things about who you are), a field I find fascinating.