I read "The Virginian" 3 times, over my lifetime, starting when I was a young teen. I loved it each time, but got such different understandings as I matured. The love story was very poignant at one point. Later I loved the art of exagerating stories and pulling in a sucker. The interplay of the guys and their power struggles was hard for me to relate to. I guess the descriptions of the Western landscape kept me wallowing in the essence of the book.

I read "Gone With the Wind" when I was about 12 and sobbed when Scarlet returned home and found her mother dead.

I read Michener's "The Source" when I had small children, and the descriptions of child sacrifices really upset me.

I've given a lot of thought/remembering to "Zen and the Art of Motorcyle Maintenance." Not only was that a thought-provoking book, it was (for me) a delight to read the descriptive passages.

Speaking of descriptive passages, I love the cadences of "Beach Music" and "Prince of Tides." (very Southern)