Literary circles: Which books have you read more than once?

All of the recent buzz about the "Les Miserables" movie (tremendous, I say!) has made me want to jump back into the source material, Victor Hugo's luminous novel.

I read it -- that is, finished reading it -- about 18 years ago. I checked it out of the university library my first quarter on campus, probably in a burst of idealism that hadn't yet been squashed by cramming study sessions, roommate adjustments, minimal sleep and the need to survive. I actually thought I'd have time for leisure reading! So cute.

Didn't matter. Back in my dorm I realized the weighty book I'd hefted home was Volume 2. The library had no other copies available and I dropped my pursuit as I was swallowed by economics and biology texts instead.

The following summer a church speaker included Les Miserables on her list of great books.  It was the second time I'd heard the book referenced in church; the first was when my Laurel teacher (for ages 16 and 17) told us the story of the thief Jean Valjean and the priest who helped him.

I bought my own copy, dabbling in it here and there. My second summer after college I had three jobs so I could pay upfront for the next year of housing. Was I crazy? Probably. Add to this that I didn't have my own car. Yep, crazy. When I took the bus from one restaurant job to the next a county away, Les Miserables was my companion. I loved it. Passage after passage spoke to me. I was in awe that a translation could remain so poetic.

Still, it's a very long book, and I hadn't completed it before more school, internships, engagement and marriage took over my focus. Finally, on a quiet summer night when Jeff was asleep, I finished. I was well fed.

It's been a treat to reread my well-marked copy, to see what was important to me then, what stands out even more now. I suspect it may take me just as long to read it this time around, (I've already read two different novels in the time I started Les Mis again), but that's OK. I actually look forward to the extended journey and contemplation.

One thing I've really liked in my second read, and which I'd kind of forgotten because the Broadway and new movie adapatations don't dwell enough on it, is the depth of Bishop Digne's character.

Here are just a few passages I love:

• "The most beautiful of altars," he said, "is the soul of an unhappy man who is comforted and thanks God."

• He would not be deterred from traveling far distances to visit those in need, even if meant encountering highway robbers.

"But Monseigneur, the bandits?"
"True enough," said the bishop, "you're right. I may meet them. They too must need someone to tell them of God's goodness."

• And this, which I'm thinking of framing: (yeah, right, how often do my projects get off the ground?)

Sometimes he would dig in his garden, and sometimes he would read and write. He had only one name for these two kinds of work: gardening. "The spirit is a garden," he said.

Maybe after I've finished reading it all the way, I'll write more about how this book has affected me, and do it justice. For now I'd really like to know --  What books are your favorite? In a world of so many options, what books have been so amazing that you've taken the time to read them more than once?



My multiple reads: 

Les Miserables, Victor Hugo

To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee

Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen

Jane Eyre, Charlotte Bronte. I know my friend doesn't like this one (hi, Circe!), but I do. I think it's so much more than a romance.

Peace Like a River, Leif Enger

Rebecca, Daphne du Maurier

The Secret Garden, Frances Hodgson Burnett. I think this is my perennial January read, when I need to be reminded of the transformation of spring. It will come, right?

The Count of Monte Cristo, Alexander Dumas. OK, so I read an abridged version the first time and followed it with the entire tome. Glad I did!



Loved it the first time, but was disappointed the second:

Tess of the d'Urbervilles, Thomas Hardy


Read it all the way, hoping to eventually like it because it's a classic, but just couldn't: 

Phantom of the Opera, Gaston Leroux


Critically acclaimed books I started and dropped midstream: 

Three Cups of Tea, Greg Mortensen. I just could not get into this, and then felt somewhat validated when controversy arose over its truthfulness.

Wuthering Heights, Emily Bronte

The Red Tent, Anita Diamant

Wicked, Gregory Maguire



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