Fred’s blog from a few weeks ago persuaded me to reread a favorite book of mine, “Stranger in a Strange Land.” I believe I first read it in college and the themes have stuck with me all these years. In rereading it this week I was struck by how relevant the themes still are today, fifty-five years after it was written. Grok me?

Similarly, right after the last election, I reread another favorite of mine, “The Handmaid’s Tale.”  I first read this book while in law school. For those who don’t know the novel, it’s set in a near-future New England, in an oppressive theocracy which has overthrown the United States government, in which women are relegated to menial roles such as concubines solely for the purposes of conception. I recall how compelling the themes were to me in the mid-1980’s as I was first treading into, then, a male dominated profession.  Sadly, in the year 2016-when I reread the book-the themes were still very gripping.

Next on my list of books to revisit is another dystopian novel “Fahrenheit 451.”  Perhaps, however, I should first take a break from all these oppressive “utopias.” Any suggestions for me? What are the books you can return to again and again?