Wednesday Weekly Blogging Challenge: Books I Wish I Could Read Again for the First Time

 

The Wednesday Weekly Blogging Challenge is hosted by Long and Short Reviews. They offer this blog hop as a weekly prompt to help you gain new friends and visitors. You don't have to participate every week, but if you decide to post and join the blog hop for a week, Long and Short Reviews asks that you share your link on their weekly post on their website (it will be the top post on the home page each Wednesday morning). The link list remains open for new links for 48 hours. Visit the other bloggers participating to see what they discuss that week. Comments are appreciated. 

Happy Wednesday! Hope your week is going well. I plan to catch up on all comments today in between appointments. It's so crazy to me that I am this busy in January. But fingers crossed, it will all work out the way it should.

Today, we are sharing the books we wish we could read again for the first time. That's such an interesting concept, because even when I read a book a second, third, or fourth time, I discover something new that I never noticed before. Is that odd? 

On Strike for Christmas was the first book I read by Sheila Roberts. It will always be my favorite. These women going on strike because they didn't get any help from their families makes me feel seen. 

Caroline by Sarah Miller is such a fabulous book. It reminds me that Caroline was more than just Ma. There is more than one scene I would love to read again for the first time. 

The Mayflower Bride by Kimberley Woodhouse marks the beginning of this series. I would love to read again for the first time all the books I had read, and then finish the series. 

I have read The Thorn Birds by Colleen McCullough so often that when I read it now, I skip over all the wonderful descriptions of the setting. It would be amazing to experience them over again for the first time. 

I would love to read again for the first time Flowers in the Attic by V. C. Andrews to see if it captivates me like it did back when I was in high school. I recall bits and pieces of it, but is it really how I remember it? 

Shades of Gray by Jessica James made me cry a mountain of tears. I would love to feel that deep emotional connection to it all over again. 

When I first read Beyond the Code of Conduct by K. M. Daughters, I read the last chapter three times. It was so good! I would love to experience the final chapter for the first time again. I would probably read it more than once.

One of the best parts of The Long Winter by Laura Ingalls Wilder is seeing Almanzo as the hero of this story. It would be neat to see how I feel if I could read it again for the first time. Would he be just as dashing? What would I think of Cap Garland? 

What books would you like to read again for the first time?

Top Ten Tuesday: Top Ten Books I Wish I Could Read Again for the First Time & Tell Me Something Tuesday: Has a Book Ever Ignited a Hobby/Passion in You?

Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together. 

We have returned to Tuesday. See how quickly that happened. This week's topic is especially fun. We are talking about books we wish we could read again for the first time. This will likely be hard to narrow down to ten, but I am sticking with that magical number. 

Top Ten Books I Wish I Could 

Read Again for the First Time

Anne of Green Gables by Lucy Maud Montgomery - I didn't appreciate this book when I first read it, which was years before Sullivan Entertainment brought it to the small screen with Megan Follows. After watching Sullivan's production, I went back to the books and fell in love, reading all eight books in a row. 

Little House in the Big Woods by Laura Ingalls Wilder - Here is another book I didn't appreciate in my younger years. Though the Little House on the Prairie show definitely sparked my interest in Wilder's books, the internet and online forums led me to learn more about Wilder's real life, which renewed my interest in the book series. 

The Thorn Birds by Colleen McCullough - I wish I had read the book before watching the mini-series. Now, it's likely I never would have read the book without falling in love with the mini-series, but I could never get over how different Father Ralph looked from Richard Chamberlain or how the timeline of Ralph's death was altered when the book made it to the small screen. 

Beyond the Code of Conduct by K. M. Daughters - This book has such a spectacular ending that I read it three times. I would love to go back and experience it all over again. 

Under the Liberty Oak by Paige M. Cummings - This is another book with such a phenomenal ending that I want to experience it all for the first time. I read this book so early in my reviewing career that it doesn't even appear on this blog. 

Abby Finds Her Calling by Charlotte Hubbard/Naomi King - This was the first book of Hubbard's that I had read. At the time, I don't think I knew that King and Hubbard were the same person. This led me to reading all the books in this series and in Hubbard's next two series. I still miss her work.

The Secret Life of Emily Dickinson by Jerome Charyn - This amazing novel was my introduction to Charyn's work. Inspired by Dickinson's letters and poetry, Charyn blended fact and fiction so masterfully that you believe every word is the truth. I loved the passion and wit of Dickinson in this portrayal. 

Noble Cause by Jessica James - One of my favorite Civil War novels. This story touched the heart in so many ways. I cried buckets. Not every book can move me this way. It perfectly captured the emotional and physical conflict of this time in American history. 

The Lost Hours by Karen White - This novel was the first standalone of White's that I read after finishing The House on Tradd Street. She has a distinct voice and style, so I felt in familiar territory. This novel is engrossing, powerful, and mysterious. I still recall bits of it, but I would love to erase it from my mind so I could go back and experience it all again for the first time. 

My Son, John by Kathi Macias - This is another emotional book that made Macias one of my favorite all-time authors. Up until I read this novel, I had only read her nonfiction. This story is an emotional ride that tugs every heartstring. I wish I could read it again for the first time. 

Have you read any of these? What are your thoughts?

Tell Me Something Tuesday (TMST) is hosted by Jen Twimom at That's What I'm Talking About. TMST is a weekly discussion post where bloggers discuss a wide range of topics from books and blogging to life in general. Participation is optional, and you leave your comments in the weekly post if you are participating. Check it out if you would like to join.

What a creative question for Tell Me Something Tuesday. Reading the Anne of Green Gables and Little House series led me to research more about the authors' lives, which, in the case of Wilder, led to one of my largest book collections. Reading books from other children's authors inspired me to keep working at finding my place in the publishing world. Reading poorly edited books led me to become a copy and developmental editor. Amazingly, I am the worst self-editor on this coast. :) 

Has reading a book ignited a hobby or passion in you?