Title Page

Sometimes, for no clear reason, particular books seem to crawl into my everyday life after I read them and stick around long after they've been put back on the shelf. Whether they were childhood stories I asked my parents to read me over and over again, YA novels I continue to read every year, or fiction I read as an adult that changed the way I though about the world (and myself), some books have become a part of my life. And I'm guessing I'm not alone in this. I have a lot of friends (some literary, many not) who quote books they love, or get comfort from rereading familiar novels on a regular basis. Some families (including my own) have entire rituals devoted to reading and rereading certain books-sometimes as a family and sometimes separately. It's books like these, the ones that get a hold of you from the get-go (or even the not-so-get-go) that I want to write about here. Every week I'll write about one such book (endeavouring to post each Thursday). I'll start with the books that I reread on a regular basis or that have become part of my life-vocabulary, and hopefully I'll be able to intersperse these entries with tidbits from readers about the books you can't live without.

So if you have suggestions, feel free to leave them in the comments or, preferably, e-mail me at booksunderskin@gmail.com and tell me about a book you just can't do without.