What book could you read over and over again?
As an author, I’m used to reading my books over and over again as part of the writing/editing process.
But out in the real world there are a number of books I’ve read and would read multiple times and I’ve listed five of them here.
1 – Open by Andre Agassi
Not just a great sports autobiography, but a great book all round. Growing up, Agassi was my favourite tennis player, and this book is a pull-no-punches chronicle of Agassi’s rise, fall and subsequent pheonix-like resurrection. Highly recommended!
2 – The Magic Cottage by James Herbert
Quintessential British Horror for the master of chiller fiction, The Magic Cottage is a dazzling mix of fantasy and horror, evoking passion, joy, fear and terror in equal measure and finishing with an epic finale.
3 – The Crow Road by Iain Banks
Comprising equal parts Scottish Noir, family drama and existential musings, the Crow Road is Banks at his finest. Spanning multiple timelines each with a separate lead character, but linked by a singular event that drives the whole narrative, The Crow Road is a stunning piece of literary fiction fused with a true punk edge.
4 – Jaws by Peter Benchley
I love the film and the book was one of the first “grown-up” books I ever read (my Grandad was in hospital shortly before he died when I first read it, which meant I was about eight), Jaws captures life in a small coastal community brilliantly, even if the ending pales in comparison to the film.
5 – Legend by David Gemmell.
The first in Gemmell’s Drenai saga, Legend is that rarest a things; a stand-alone, one volume heroic fantasy novel. In tight, muscular prose, Gemmell weaves a tale of a desperate last stand at the gates of a fortress under siege. His later works would get more nuanced, but Legend is where it all began. Inspired by his own brush with suspected cancer, Legend is an epic fantasy in a hard-boiled thriller style.
So there we are. Five epic tales that I’ve read multiple times. Read any of them? Let me know in the comments.
Gary Kruse - Dark Thriller & Horror Author 