Top Ten Tuesday (#4)

Top Ten Tuesday is a meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish where they post a new top ten list every week and ask bloggers to share their picks as well. This week's Top Ten Tuesday is a freebie, so I have chosen...

Today's Top Ten Tuesday: Top Ten Books I Wish I Could Read Again for the First Time 

1. The Harry Potter Series by J.K. Rowling

I think this is self-explanatory. The Harry Potter Series have been a set of books that I have grown up with my whole life. I used to eagerly anticipate the summer, not because school was out, but because the new Harry Potter book would release or the next movie would be playing in theaters. Although I love re-reading this series to death, I don't think anything can quite compare to reading and discovering these books for the very first time - analyzing each passage, gushing about each installment, anticipating the sequels - these books are masterpieces and if I could turn back time to re-read them for the very first time, you bet I would. 

2. The Queen's Thief Series by Megan Whalen Turner

If I could have had my name on any one set of books, this series would be it. Turner is a master of deception, cleverness, and brilliance and nothing can ever compare to reading this series for the first time. I love re-reading these books, but when you re-read, you know the twists, turns, and sudden tricks up ahead. However, when I read these books for the first time, I was completely blown away and shocked by the turn of events and how perfectly complex and developed these characters were as well. I truly loved reading these books for the first time and I wish I could again. 

3. On the Jellicoe Road by Melina Marchetta

Melina Marchetta is, without a doubt, one of my favorite authors of all time. What makes her novels so special is that they surprise you - not due to their plot or even their brilliant characterization (because I've come to expect that from Marchetta), but because of how much you feel for them, with them, and like them. Each and every one of her books makes me sob my eyes out and On the Jellicoe Road is one I'd love to read again for the first time simply because of how all the stories within the novel came together. I love re-reading this, but seeing missing threads come together and putting together pieces of a puzzle for the first time is something wholly special on its own. 

4. The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis 

What can I say? I love Narnia. I've grown up with these books and I remember being so awed by the rich world Lewis had created. Not only did Narnia give rise to my imagination as a child, it also taught me an innumerable number of important life lessons. There is something magical about entering that wardrobe for the first time with Lucy, Edmund, Susan, and Peter and I'd probably give a limb to re-live it again. ;) 

5. The Book Thief by Markus Zusak  

The Book Thief is the first book I can remember which made me sob for minutes on end. I'm not much of a crier, but The Book Thief inspired such an enormous depth of emotion within me the first time I read it and although I've re-read it plenty of times, I've never been able to re-live those initial emotions so strongly. I would love to read this again for the first time - especially since I had no idea what to expect from it when I read it. Little did I know back then that Zusak would become an author that I utterly admired. ( I Am the Messenger was incredible as well!) 

6. The Fault in Our Stars by John Green 

I think this is true for nearly every John Green book, not just The Fault in Our Stars. I feel as if the first time I hold a John Green book in my hands is so special because even though I know it's going to be amazing, he still manages to astound me with the level of pure awesome his novels are. Plus, no matter how many time I re-read The Fault in Our Stars, nothing can re-capture that magic of Augustus and Hazel falling in love and the innumerable tears I cried the very first time I read this. 

7. Graffiti Moon by Cath Crowley 

I don't quite know how to explain what I felt for this book the very first time I read it. I read it in one sitting, finishing it at around 2:30 AM and I felt as if I had been in Australia all that time. Even though I've re-read this countless number of times and thoroughly enjoyed the story told, I have been unable to re-capture that trance of being in Australia with these characters so vividly and I'd love to live through that again. Plus, Crowley's tale is one of suspense as you wonder if her characters will truly realize they are meant to be together or not and when you read this for the first time, it is evident Crowley keeps you guessing till the very end. 

8. Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell 

In all honesty, Gone With the Wind gets better with every re-read. Yet, the quality I miss the most about it is the initial anticipation when you read it for the first time. When I first read this phenomenal classic, I kept waiting for Scarlet to realize how much Rhett loved her and my heart shattered at its ending. In fact, I ruminated over the ending for weeks before finally coming to terms with - and finally loving - it. However, those first-time feelings it inspired were so fierce that I would love to re-live them. 

9. And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie

What kind of list would this be without a mystery novel? I think it's safe to say that all mystery novels are best when read the first time, but I feel as if that is especially so with And Then There Were None. For one, this is a novel that brought me goosebumps the first time I read it and its mystery was both haunting, alluring, and incredibly scary. Thus, reading it was an entirely different and unforgettable experience in itself. 

10. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

I. Love. Atticus. Finch. It felt necessary to say that I'm afraid! ;) To Kill a Mockingbird was a novel I first read in my early teens and I remember being utterly floored by its writing, story, and morals. I began to look up to Atticus Finch, who very quickly became my new hero, and the admiration I felt for Harper Lee can not be compared. I love re-reading this tale, but there is something unique about joining Scout and Jem's adventures for the first time and that can never be experienced quite the same way again, thus making it another book I'd dearly love to read for the first time. 

There you have it - my top ten for this week! Although there are dozens of other novels I love just as much - if not more - than these ten, I feel as if those are the books that simply get better with every re-read. In my opinion, books such as The Lord of the Rings and Jane Eyre only keep improving every time I read them and while I loved the feelings I experienced while reading them for the first time, I almost enjoy the re-reads even more. These books however, are especially special while reading them for the first time. So, if this is your first time reading any of the above books, cherish it - you won't get to re-live that experience again! :)