Which Amazing Books Do You Want to Forget to Read Again for the First Time

Readers are thinkers; to be a reader, you take the words of others, add them to your thoughts and construct new knowledge from them. We read books for various reasons, to gain more information, to learn about ourselves and for the sheer enjoyment of escaping to another world. I have always believed that some reading should be purely for pleasure. I had lost count of how many books I hated at school because I was made to read them, only to love them when I chose to read them later in life.

These five books are a collection that I wish I could take a magic pill to forget. Not because they were awful, but because I want to experience them all again for the first time.

A couple are a series that I could easily have put any of the books in, and they would still have been relevant; I chose to put the first in the series as these were the ones that started the love. Some I did not instantly fall in love with, some it took a couple of readings, they are also not my favourite books.

There will be some that you agree with and others that you don’t; for me, these are the five books I wish I could read again as a new reader.

The Book Thief — Markus Zusak

The novel is about the adventures of Liesel Meminger in Germany during the Second World War. The unique factor about the book is that death is the narrator. The book provides a fresh look into the victims of war. Liesel is a displaced child sent to live with a strange family. To keep in with the title, Liesel will steal books to improve her reading throughout the story. The book looks at the relationships of those involved; how these change during the years of war.

This book is a masterpiece; it is sad and joyous in equal measure. Through it, you can examine the war from the German perspective and realise how alike those left at home lived. The supporting characters throughout the book are strong, and through it, you will fall in love with each of them for different reasons. Even death becomes a character you enjoy. The story deals with love, morality and growing up when the world is falling apart around you.

Strangely, this was the book that I read twice before I fell in love with it. To be more precise, I read the first chapter, thought it was rubbish and threw it in the charity shop pile. The reason was that no one had told me the book’s premise. Once I fell on the knowledge that the book was narrated by death, it was much easier to read. I devoured it in a couple of days. This always annoys me; I wish I could slow myself down to enjoy the book more, but then I don’t really. It is a battle for all bookworms.

To take a forget pill and experience the beauty of this book again would be precious. To be able to meet the characters again and walk in their shoes. To experience the vast highs and lows that this book portrays and to look at this unique perspective on the war again would be an opportunity too good to turn down.

The Hunger Games — Suzanne Collins

So here is a big confession. When I want to chill, my favourite type of reading is young adult. Young adult books are set to be fast-paced to keep the attention. They have dynamic characters that relate to all. They usually include some top storytelling as well. The Hunger Games is no exception to this rule. The world-building is the best I have ever read. The only thing that annoys me about this book is I can not remember how I heard of it or who recommended it.

The book is set in the fictional world of Panem. The districts have been divided into twelve separate zones. Each of these zones specialises in providing the Capitol with one type of resource. Depending on the resource and the number of your zone, depends on how rich the environment is. Many years ago, the districts rose against the Capitol; to remind them of this and stop future uprisings, the Capitol hosts the yearly Hunger Games.

Two representatives from each district are chosen by random lottery; name pull to be more precise. These tributes then fight to the death, the winner gaining riches for their family and glory for their district. Katniss, our heroine, comes from district twelve, the poorest district. She volunteers as tribute to save her younger sister from having to face the Hunger Games, an act unheard of before. We follow her journey in the Hunger Games, which is the first of the trilogy.

This book deals with such a vast array of issues. Politics and the divide between the rich and poor, how the Capitol’s power corrupts them completely. It deals with family, survival and ultimately friendship. Katniss is one of the most likeable characters ever written into a book. She is strong, flawed and vulnerable. Taking the pill and forgetting this world and exploring it again new would bring back all the rich feelings the first read brought about.

Harry Potter — JK Rowling

Unless you live in a cave, you will have heard of Harry Potter and know the world he inhabits. However, I am willing to bet a great majority of those who know it have seen the film. All good bookworms know that movies are never as good as books. Harry Potter is no different. Although the films are brilliant and the characters everything I hoped they would be, there is much more in the books. For a start, we can not look into the thinking of the characters by watching a film.

Whatever your views on the author, Harry Potter is a master of world-building. The development of the characters over the series is one of the best in literature. Teenagers grew up with Harry Potter as he aged, so did they. I have to admit I was not a teenager when I read these. It did, however, not stop me queuing up with other fans waiting for midnight and the new release.

This is another series I have no idea when I started. Unfortunately, I was late to the party. The first three books were released when I started to read them. I suspect I was attracted, like many, by the book’s hype. Although, as many of you will know, rarely does a book live up to the hype, with Harry Potter, this is not an issue. The stories are beautifully crafted, many of the questions you may have in the films are answered in the book. I would urge anyone to read the books if your only experience has been the films.

To go back and forget the world that was created and start again would be a dream. To imagine the characters rather than having a vision of the actors who played them would be perfect. So many times, aspects of the films creep into the reading. For this book, I know I am looking for a pill that makes me forget the books and the movie. I am unsure which I would enjoy experiencing first again; I will always read the books first like all bookworms.

1984 — George Orwell

The following two books I read first at school. For this one, I was not that impressed. That is the fault of the education system in the United Kingdom; young people are made to read the books on the reading list. You read them, analyse them and review them. Never are you asked if you enjoyed them, never are the themes you want to discuss discussed in-depth; instead, you spend weeks looking at the author’s words. Major yawn. I am sure that this situation takes the love of reading away from most children.

1984 is a dystopian, science fiction novel. It is also considered a cautionary tale. It centres on three main themes; totalitarianism, mass surveillance and regressive regimentation. The book examines the role of truth and facts within politics and how they are manipulated. Within this political landscape, you follow the journey of Winston Smith, a man who starts to question not just his life but the reality of his world.

On the first read, I missed most of the subtle references to the world we all live in. Totalitarianism which is modelled on Nazi and Russian regimes. The use of propaganda to manipulate the little person. The reference to the class system and how the poor are always poor. One of the cleverest concepts is Newspeak, which has evolved into our traditional texting. Not so clever you may think, but Orwell wrote the book before texting and it was all but a random guess at our future.

To go back in time and reread this book for the first time would be a buzz. Would I see the similarities with what the world has turned into? To look at this world and see the parallels with ours with fresh eyes would make the book come alive again. It would put the same questions in my mind; it always does when I read it. It may even spark some new thoughts that I have not had. 1984 is a classic novel that many people should repeatedly read because there is something new every time.

Fahrenheit 451 — Ray Bradbury

At the beginning of this article, I said that some of these books would not feature in my top five. However, this book is definitely on that list. It is a book that I have loved since I first read it. I have read it several times since and fall in love with it every time. The bookworm in me makes this the ultimate horror novel. Mix that with the skill of writing from Ray Bradbury; this book should never be ignored. I am also lucky enough to have a beautiful classic edition with illustrations.

Fahrenheit 451 is another dystopian; only as I come to the end of this list do I realise I have a theme. The novel features a future American society where books are outlawed. Firemen are hired to burn books. The title comes from the fact that this is the temperature that books burn. I know a frightening prospect. Guy Montag, the main character, is a fireman who becomes disillusioned with work. He finds a book and keeps it, and from here, he quits work and changes sides entirely to that of protector of literature, working underground.

There are so many reasons to tell you to read this book; if you haven’t, I can’t list them all. First, it is a small book that takes a couple of hours to read. For years I wished it was longer; now I realise part of its attraction is it leaves you wanting more. I am critical of school reading, but I will always be grateful to the English teacher who introduced me to this book. The first time I read it, I fell in love; it is a feeling I would like the opportunity of experiencing again. This was the book that took me from a teenage reader into a devourer of literature and a thinker.

The bookworm conundrum

If you are an avid reader and even if you read a couple of books a year, you will know that there are books that are fleeting. You put them down; then, a couple of months later, you have forgotten what they were about. They spent a short time in your life, you enjoyed them and then moved on. There is nothing wrong with these. But, you will also know that there are books you read that stay with you for life. Books like The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas and The Kite Runner show that you remember what they were about years after reading them.

It is a testament to the writers of these masterpieces that I want to experience my initial relationship with them again. They will all stay with me until the day I can no longer remember my name. You might not agree with my selection, but you will agree with the feelings of a bookworm. So the question is, which five books would you want to forget so you can read them for the first time again?

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