Top Ten Tuesday – Top 10 Books I Loved But Will Never Re-Read
Created at canva.com
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 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together. Top Ten Tuesday has been one of my favorite memes ever since I started blogging, so huge thanks to Jana for taking over the hosting duties!
This week’s TTT topic is Top 10 Books I Loved But Will Never Re-Read. This topic was challenging for me because, with rare exception like the Harry Potter series, To Kill a Mockingbird, and a few childhood favorites, I’ve never been that much of a re-reader anyway. That’s not to say I would never consider re-reading. It’s just usually not something I’m in the mood for. That said, if I was a big re-reader, the 10 books before are ones I would never consider re-visiting even though I loved them the first time around.
Why? Well, I probably took the easy way out with this topic because as you’ll notice, all of the books I’ve chosen are of the mystery, thriller, psychological thriller variety. For me, these kinds of books are all about that journey of sifting through all of the clues, coming up with possible theories as to what might have happened, etc. Once I’ve done that and made it through all of the twists and turns to what I hope is a thrilling conclusion, I just can’t imagine going back and reading them again. It’s not a mystery or a thriller to me anymore if I already know the answers. So yeah, I adored these books when I first read them but have no plans to revisit any of them.
* * * * *
Top 10 Books I Loved But Will Never Re-Read
AND THEN THERE WERE NONE by Agatha Christie
THE WOMAN IN THE WINDOW by A.J. Finn
STRANGERS ON A TRAIN by Patricia Highsmith
ONE OF US IS LYING by Karen McManus
IN COLD BLOOD by Truman Capote
THE DA VINCI CODE by Dan Brown
THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO by Stieg Larsson
* * * * *
I can completely understand not wanting to reread The Da Vinci Code. It wasn’t a thrilling book to start with for me haha.
LMAO!
I agree with that genre not being great for rereading. I don’t think I would reread any of my favorite mystery/thriller books either.
Yeah, it just seems like they’d feel a bit stale since you already know all of the plot twists ahead of time.
Yeah, I can see why it would be tough to re-read a lot of these. Once you have the answers, like you said, it kind of takes away the thrill of reading. I LOVE the movie Strangers on a Train so I feel like I should check out the book. I think my answer to this question would be similar to yours.
-Lauren
That is a great movie 🙂
I totally get not re-reading mystery/thrillers twice but when it comes to The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, reading it a second time was a whole different experience for me.
Oh really? Good to know!
Yeah, it’s hard to reread thriller-type books, because once you know the story, there’s not a lot of reason to go back. Maybe to look for things I might have missed? I have to say, I have reread The Da Vinci Code, and I’m sure I will reread Dark Matter.
Yeah, I could see doing it to see what you might have missed. Hope Dark Matter is as good for you the second time around!
I’m not much of a rereader, either. It’s something I rarely do. And I agree that if you tend to read mysteries/thrillers there’s even less of a reason/incentive to reread. I mean, the thrill is gone, right? You know all the twists and turns and secrets so there’s no real draw to experience it again. I tend to read a lot of romance so I sometimes want to experience all the feelings again. 🙂
Yes, I could definitely see re-reading romance novels. I could see myself reading Gone with the Wind again, for sure.
Yup I totally agree! There is no point in re-reading mysteries! 🙂 It’s like even though I LOVED it I would never watch six sense the movie again 🙂
Right?
I agree about the Millennium series! It’s so good but they are so long that I don’t know I would ever re-read. All the suspense and such is gone. I feel like I just wouldn’t appreciate it as much!
Top Ten Tuesday
Exactly. I feel like it would really lose something in a second read.
I wouldn’t reread One of Us Is Lying, but that’s because I didn’t like it!
My TTT: https://jjbookblog.wordpress.com/2018/04/10/top-ten-tuesday-154/
Haha, good reason!
I really liked The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo and The Da Vinci Code, but I probably won’t re-read them either. On the other hand, forgetting a lot about the story might come in handy if I want to re-read a thriller/mystery, haha 🙂
Haha, true!
I totally agree–with a lot of thrillers, it’s just not as exciting to re-read it when the mystery is part of the entire journey. I’m not sure I’d want to re-read And Then There Were None either, but I sure love it!
Exactly. It seems like the story would just lose its magic if you already knew all of the plot twists.
Ooo I don’t think I ever finished The DaVinci Code! I read about 85% of it and never continued. I did see the movie though.
I thought the book was better than the movie. I had a hard time picturing Tom Hanks as Robert Langdon for some reason.
And Then There Were None is so good! I don’t know if it’s a book I would re-read. It would certainly not be as exciting the second time around.
Right. It’s so good though. I definitely want to read more of Agatha Christie’s novels.
I would think mysteries in general would be anticlimactic in a re-read. Once you know who/how did-it, what’t the point?
Exactly!
I wouldn’t revisit a lot of mysteries/ psychological thrillers for the same reason. the journey is the fun, with all the attendant suspense, and trying to figure things out! I love your list though, as there are some books on there I really liked. The Woman in the window (so atmospheric), Dark Matter, One of Us Is Lying…
Those were all so great. Even though I might not re-read them, I’d love to read more from each of those authors.
I agree, mysteries are not good on a re-read — especially ones as intense as Unsub too.
Exactly!
I LOVE to reread, but I’m with you on mysteries / thrillers not exactly being reread material. I think the exception to that, for me personally, would be returning to Agatha Christie mysteries – there’s just something cosy and comforting about them, and that’s largely why I reread.
I want to read more of Agatha Christie’s novels.
I’m with you – I generally don’t reread anyway. But I certainly don’t want to reread any of the murder mystery/thrillers I’ve loved as a lot of the book is taken up with unravelling the puzzle…
Exactly. Once the puzzle is unraveled, I just can’t imagine going back and reading again. Seems pointless.
I am not much or a re-reader either. Although I do have myself convinced there are books I would like to re-read someday. I considered putting In Cold Blood on my list–in fact, I had it on the list, but ended up taking it off because I decided I might want to re-read it someday even if the chances are unlikely. I doubt I will read The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo again either.
Yes, I always try to convince myself that I’ll re-read but just looking at all of the books on my shelf that I’ve yet to read more than once tells me I’m kidding myself, lol.