Books We’d Love to Read for the First Time Again
The change of seasons has got staff here at Borrow. Read. Repeat. feeling nostalgic. This week, we’re looking back at some of the books we’ll never forget—special books we wish we could go back and read for the first time again.
Check out our picks below.
Rachel’s Pick:
Sharp Objects: A Novel by Gillian Flynn
Rachel Says:
“Nobody does a jaw-dropping twist like Flynn. The whodunit truth at the end of Sharp Objects is one of the most wickedly electric reading experiences I’ve had to date.”
About Sharp Objects:
A young journalist returns home to cover a dark assignment—and to face her own damaged family history—in this haunting, fascinating, addictive read.
“Sharp Objects isn’t one of those scare-and-retreat books; its effect is cumulative. I found myself dreading the last thirty pages or so but was helpless to stop turning them. Then, after the lights were out, the story just stayed there in my head, coiled and hissing, like a snake in a cave. An admirably nasty piece of work, elevated by sharp writing and sharper insights.”—Stephen King
Available in Trade Paperback, eBook, and Audio Editions.
Listen to a Clip from the Audiobook
Miriam’s Pick:
Secondhand Time: The Last of the Soviets by Svetlana Alexievich
Miriam Says:
“Alexievich masterfully captures the sundry details and contours of the everyday Russian life through oral histories.”
About Secondhand Time:
A symphonic oral history about the disintegration of the Soviet Union and the emergence of a new Russia, from Svetlana Alexievich, winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature.
“There are many worthwhile books on the post-Soviet period and Putin’s ascent . . . But the nonfiction volume that has done the most to deepen the emotional understanding of Russia during and after the collapse of the Soviet Union of late is Svetlana Alexievich’s oral history Secondhand Time.”—David Remnick, The New Yorker
Available in Trade Paperback, eBook, and Audio Editions.
Also Available in Spanish: Últimos testigos: Los niños de la segunda guerra mundial
Listen to a Clip from the Audiobook
Sharnell’s Pick:
Intercepted: A Novel by Alexa Martin
Sharnell Says:
“The first time I read this, I was totally hooked—it’s got all the drama and heart of a Real Housewives episode, but set in the high-energy world of pro football. The characters are so real and their second chances make it such a feel-good read!
About Intercepted:
Marlee thought she scored the man of her dreams only to be scorched by a bad breakup. But there’s a new player on the horizon, and he’s in a league of his own.
“Intercepted was so much fun to read! For anyone who has been yearning for a great, hilarious, and thoughtful romantic comedy about a black woman in the world of the NFL, you need this book . . . I finished this book with a big smile on my face and that gooey, good book feeling in my chest.”—Jasmine Guillory, USA Today bestselling author of The Wedding Date
Available in Trade Paperback, eBook, and Audio Editions.
Listen to a Clip from the Audiobook
Check Out More Books in Playbook, The Series
Jen C.’s Pick:
Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine: A Novel by Gail Honeyman
Jen C. Says:
“When I met Eleanor Oliphant for the first time, I was amused and more than a little pitying of her. But, after uncovering all her little quirks and damaged bits one page at a time, she crept into my jaded reader’s heart, until I turned the last page and realized how fiercely I had come to love her.”
About Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine:
Smart, warm, uplifting, the story of an out-of-the-ordinary heroine whose deadpan weirdness and unconscious wit make for an irresistible journey as she realizes the only way to survive is to open her heart.
“Eleanor Oliphant is a truly original literary creation: funny, touching, and unpredictable. Her journey out of dark shadows is expertly woven and absolutely gripping.”—Jojo Moyes, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Me Before You
Available in Hardcover, Trade Paperback, eBook, and Audio Editions.
Listen to a Clip from the Audiobook
Elizabeth’s Pick:
Gone Girl: A Novel by Gillian Flynn
Elizabeth Says:
“Another Gillian Flynn fan here! I consider Amy the original unreliable narrator. I would love to experience all the twists and reveals again for the first time.”
About Gone Girl:
The “mercilessly entertaining” (Vanity Fair) instant classic “about the nature of identity and the terrible secrets that can survive and thrive in even the most intimate relationships” (Lev Grossman, Time “One of the Best Books of the Decade”)—now featuring never-before-published deleted scenes.
“It’s simply fantastic: terrifying, darkly funny and at times moving . . . [Gone Girl is] her most intricately twisted and deliciously sinister story, dangerous for any reader who prefers to savor a novel as opposed to consuming it whole in one sitting.”—Associated Press
Available in Hardcover, Trade Paperback, eBook, and Audio Editions.
Also Available in Spanish: Perdida
Listen to a Clip from the Audiobook
Kelly’s Pick:
Nobody’s Fool: A Novel by Richard Russo
Kelly Says:
“It was my first Richard Russo book and I have been in love with his stories and characters ever since. So in love actually that I just named my new puppy after my favorite of all of his characters, ‘Sully.'”
About Nobody’s Fool:
From the Pulitzer Prize–winning author of Empire Falls, this slyly funny, moving novel about a blue-collar town in upstate New York—and about Sully, one of its unluckiest citizens, who has been doing the wrong thing triumphantly for fifty years—is a classic American story.
“Russo is a master craftsman . . . Nobody’s Fool is a big, rambunctious novel with endless riffs and unstoppable human hopefulness.”—The Boston Globe
Available in Trade Paperback, eBook, and Audio Editions.
Listen to a Clip from the Audiobook
Maureen’s Pick:
The Wolf Road: A Novel by Beth Lewis
Maureen Says:
“I’ll never forget how I felt after reading this book and how many people I immediately recommended it to. During that time of my life, something deep in these pages reached out and grabbed me in a way no other book had before. Oh, to feel that again!”
About The Wolf Road:
An indomitable young woman fights to escape her past and rejoin humanity in an intimate cat-and-mouse tale of revenge and redemption, from the author of The Origin of Iris.
“A white-knuckle trip through a gritty, frightening, and all-too-plausible postapocalypse.”—Paul Tremblay, author of The Pallbearers Club
Available in Trade Paperback and eBook Editions.
Kate’s Pick:
Sweetbitter: A Novel by Stephanie Danler
Kate Says:
“I recently reccomended Sweetbitter to a friend, and getting their page-by-page reviews made me wish I could read it for the first time again!”
About Sweetbitter:
A thrilling novel of the senses and a coming-of-age tale, following a small-town girl into the electrifying world of New York City and the education of a lifetime at one of the most exclusive restaurants in Manhattan.
“Brilliantly written . . . Outstanding.”—The New York Times Book Review
“Outstanding.”—Gabrielle Hamilton, The New York Times Book Review
“Vivid and exquisite.”—NPR
“[A] heady first taste of self-discovery, bitter and salty and sweet.”—Entertainment Weekly
Available in Trade Paperback, eBook, and Audio Editions.
Listen to a Clip from the Audiobook