Doesn’t mean that you won’t enjoy it again! As long as it is a good book, of course. If you could barely get through it once, don’t bother trying it again. I’ve mentioned before that a well-loved book can be like curling up in a warm blanket with a cup of cocoa. Comforting, familiar, and lovely. The Mordant’s Need pair of books by Stephen R. Donaldson is really one of those comfort reads for me. The Mirror of Her Dreams was published in 1986, followed by the sequel, A Man Rides Through in 1987. I don’t remember when I first came across these, but they have become an old favourite. The characters are so vivid and real, even if their lives and world are pure fantasy. They are not about the fantastic though-these books are about nobility, strength of character, overcoming your fears against all odds, and eventually learning to be true to your most authentic and power self. Pretty heady stuff for a pair of fantasy novels, isn’t it? These are really great books though. I’ve given them away more than once. They hold all sorts of power, really. I once was totally convinced that a therapist was the right person for me to be talking to before we’d really gotten to know each other, simply because he had well-thumbed copies of these books on his shelf.
I realize that I shouldn’t suggest that you give up on a book after 1 attempt. Sometimes it is the wrong time for that book, or you just might not get it. It took me three tries before I could finish Robert Ludlum’s Bourne Identity. I had to read a bunch of his other work before I understood that a long dullness in the middle of an otherwise action-packed, exciting, roller coaster ride of a book was just his style. In fact, my current bedtime reading is his The Ambler Warning. No mid-book dullness yet…
