I composed a list of my top 5 re-read books. Enjoy!

I read Gone with the Wind for the first time during college.  I had never seen the movie and didn’t even really know what the book was about.  I was blown away.  I loved it.  Since then, I’ve probably read it at least once a year.  I have a mass market paperback with the tiniest words in the world and it is straight falling apart.  I’ve been on the lookout for a new copy for the last couple of years, but really don’t want a huge, monster of a hardback.  This is one of those books that I read something “new” every time I read it and fall a little bit more in love.  Also, if we ever get dogs, their names will be Rhett and Butler.

Another big, 1000 pager that I’ve probably read 10 times.  This is one of my favorite books ever and it really never does get old for me.  I know that it’s totally sad, but there are parts that I can quote word for word.  I frigging love it.  The last time I read it was early in the year in 2009, so it’s probably time for me to give it another go.  Last year for my birthday, Shaun promised to read this because I talk about it so much and always get annoyed that he’d never read it.  While he was reading it, I’d do progress checks with him and when he told me where he was I’d say things like, “oh my gosh could you believe it when ____ said _______ to _______?!” He’d just look at me and shake his head.  It’s sad, really, that so much of my brain is taken up by The Stand.

This is one of those books where there is no real reason why I like it as much as I do. I’m not “extreme,” I don’t climb mountains, and I don’t even think I know anyone that does.  Sometimes the technical jargon in this book is over my head.  None of this matters.  This is a book that I’ve went back to when I’ve been book ruts over and over.  Something about the pace and the adventure… I just get totally wrapped up in it.  I’ve probably read this 5 or 6 times.  It’s one of those books that I recommend to everyone.  So good.  Just now, when I was on Goodreads getting the picture of the cover, I discovered that there is a Cliffs Notes for Into Thin Air.  What?  Someone explain that to me, please.

This is an oddity for me: I saw the movie first and then read the book. I knew what was coming and it didn’t ruin it a bit.  I have read other Fannie Flagg books (and you fans of The Stand will understand why her name is so awesome) and I think part of why I love this book is just how she writes.  It’s gentle and light and flowy.  This, for me, is a comfort book.  It’s like chicken noodle soup.  It’s like a quilt. It’s like a mom-hug.  And I love mom-hugs.  I read this one if everything just seems to “heavy.”  Yum, yum.  Speaking of “yum,” there is a recipe in the back of this book for Ruth’s fried green tomatoes. I’ve made them. They are to die for.

I read this originally when it first came out.  I just thought that the cover was pretty.  The story itself struck me and there were images that just stuck in my head.  Susie showing herself in the sheets, her sister running through the murderer’s house, the hole in the cornfield, and her dad making his ships in a bottle.  I still don’t walk under icicles without thinking of this book.  A couple of years later, the book got really popular and I reread it just because it was in my face all the time and I was thinking about it.  Again when the movie came out, I grabbed it and did a re-read.  It’s really a short little thing and I probably read it in just a couple sittings. Not much commitment and quite a little story. I like that.

So there ya go.  There are other books on my shelf that I’ve re-read, but usually only once or twice. These are ones that I’ve come back to over and over again.  There’s one that I always look at now called The Girls by Lori Larsons about these siamese twins that I remember really liking but have no recollection at all about the plot… I’ve been thinking of rereading that.  I’ve also been thinking of rereading Middlesex for the exact same reason: I remember reading and liking it, but have not the slightest clue why I liked it so much.

So. How about you? Do you re-read or are you a once-and-done reader?

The Book: Where Men Win Glory: The Odyssey of Pat Tillman, by Jon Krakauer

The Story: This was a story that was all over the news a couple of times.  First, Pat Tillman made the news by giving up his easy-peasy life as a pro football player to join the Army after 9/11.  Later, it was all over the news that he died in Afghanistan and he, for a time, became a war hero.  Still later, his family was in the news as they ordered investigations into his death after learning that he was a victim of “friendly fire,” and the government cover-up that went into this story.

Even knowing all of this going into it does not ruin the story.  This book really gets into who Pat Tillman was as a person and what he stood for.  It follows him from being a young kid, growing up in a home where it was encouraged that he think for himself.  So, when there was a call for men to join the military after the world trade center attacks, he did his research and joined the Army.  His younger brother, Kevin, joined right along with him.

Woven in with Tillman’s story, Jon Krakauer spells out what was happening in American politics and the politics in Afghanistan at this time.  I’ve read a lot of books and followed the news in this area, but this really laid it out in an easy-to-follow way that I was really comfortable with.  There was history there that I think most Americans are probably not aware of that is actually really important to know when we look at what is happening over there even today.

Anyway, it’s pretty amazing because through is time in the Army- even up until a few days before he died, Pat Tillman was keeping meticulous journals.  These journals were given to his wife after he died and she shared them with Jon Krakauer as he was writing the book.  They are amazing pieces to read and just watch Pat Tillman’s mind change about if this war was “justified” and watch him explore what his part there was.

Besides Pat Tillman’s life and football and military careers, the biggest focus here seems to be on the blunders and missteps that was made by the military during just the brief time that Tillman was on the ground in Afghanistan.  It is staggering.  The story of Jessica Lynch, another “war hero” that was straight up created by Bush’s posse, several stories of American planes flying over and killing large groups of Americans on the ground… and then the men in Pat Tillman’s own company who gunned him down while he was waving his arms to let them know that he was not “the enemy.”

What I thought: It has been a long time since a book effected me like this one has.  I finished it a couple of days ago and just can’t seem to get it out of my head.

There was a lot of history here that I was vaguely familiar with but didn’t really know.  The parts I didn’t know are what enraged me.  One thing that just blew me away was that when they decided to invade Afghanistan, Bush and his cabinet created a new position with the solitary job of distorting how Americans saw the war.  It was written in the job description that was agreed on and signed that facts, ideas, and pictures could be altered or completely fabricated to give to the press.  After other people heard about this, the position was taken away, but Donald Rumsfeld straight up said, “you can take away the position, but we’re still going to operate this way.” What?! How is that allowed?  Crazy.

I really fell in love with Pat Tillman and his wife.  I just loved reading about their life together and the respect and love that they had for each other.  I was really glad that she was open to Jon Krakauer writing this book and it seems like she was very open with all of the information that she had to give him.

I have read all of Jon Krakauer’s other books and have liked them all, but none of them got me fired up like this one did.  He did a great job of explaining without dumbing stuff down and of providing a fairly balanced view of Pat Tillman.

Conclusion: I wouldn’t read this if you are in a volatile mood. It got me really worked up.  That being said, it really is a great book.  It is current, especially as the new administration is still fighting the same war, and sending more men over every day.  Really good stuff.  This is one I will be recommending for a long time.