I've heard from fellow readers (e.g., at Sounis!) that they find the Christmas holidays are a good time to curl up with books they're already read and want to re-experience. A cup of hot chocolate doesn't hurt!This week I reread A Wrinkle in Time because I'm going to be writing a poem about it for the February blog tour celebrating its new reprinting. I also reread a few books by Sherwood Smith: Court Duel, The Trouble with Kings, and Wren's War. Next I'll rer
ead the other two books in the Wren trilogy, no doubt.I find myself wondering what makes me want to read certain books over again. It's easy to say that they're the best ones, but I've read some marvelous books I have no intention of ever rereading. Books I reread are certainly well written, but I think they have a "comfort food" quality, as well. The sort of story you can sink into as if it were a big, soft armchair (to switch metaphors from food to furniture).
What about you? Are you a rereader, especially during the winter break? What have you been rereading? Let us know in the comments!
11 comments:
I used to be a big rereader, but lately as my to be read list has grown huge and my children continue to be small children, it's been much more difficult to indulge. But much more RECENTLY lately I've found it really hard to get into my reading as is, and I've turned to rereading sometimes COMPLETELY as comfort food-- bits and pieces often, not even straight through. Grabbed Howl's Moving Castle a few weeks ago, most recently.
But right now I'm rereading A Wrinkle in Time, too, with Post-it Notes, in preparation for a whole year's worth of anniversary celebration I'm planning!
I actually just reread The Queen of Attolia yesterday. :) I didn't do a whole lot of rereading this year but hope to do more in 2012. And of course that will involve A Wrinkle in Time and all the books that followed it.
I've always been a big rereader (Tarzan of the Apes and Swallows and Amazons are probably the two books I've reread the most), but this week I'm reading new (or new to my possession, anyway) books I just acquired. I've finished one of the three Mr & Mrs North mysteries I bought at the last library book sale (I may actually have read one or more of the three already, but if I did it was 40 years ago), and am almost 400 pages into The Man with the Iron Heart, which was a Xmas present from my sister-in-law.
(Edgar Rice Burroughs, Arthur Ransome, Frances and Richard Lockridge, and Harry Turtledove are the authors of the above books, by the way....)
I have A Wrinkle In Time on my list to re-read too, but not till January. Time to look again! At Christmas, maybe some of you do this too, but I revisit old Christmas books we have, both picture books and some short story anthologies. When I reread, it's old favorites that are comforting, but there's often something new to discover.
Great rereading, you guys! I've reread Howl's Moving Castle and The Queen of Attolia before; I also have a big stack of Christmas books (mostly picture books) I get out every December. Tarzan of the Apes--I remember reading it when I was young. There's a book to revisit! I remember how compelling it was all those years ago. :)
I found, in recent years, I was turning into almost an exclusive rereader - it seemed I couldn't find any new books that appealed to me at all (that's what happens when most of your favorite writers are dead, I suppose). Thankfully, things have improved this past year, and now it's a nice blend - usually I come home from the library with half old friends, half new prospects.
I just finished re-reading Wrinkle in Time last night! And I also just reread the Wren trilogy due to FINALLY downloading an e-reader app on my computer and buying the fourth Wren book in e-format.
Agatha Christie is one of my favorite winter rereads in general. Somehow, even knowing whodunnit doesn't take away from my enjoyment of her mysteries.
I had been avoiding re-reading for several years because there were SO MANY books I had never read, but this year I finally convinced myself that re-reading favorite books could be a good thing (not just for the pleasure of the reading) because I could pay more attention to what it was that made me love the books in the first place. So I recently re-read DRAGONSONG and DRAGONSINGER (McCaffrey), as well as A COUNTESS BELOW STAIRS (Ibbotson). Right now I'm at the beginning of a re-read of Ellis Peters Brother Cadfael series, which I am also really enjoying! Oh, and I just started a re-read of KING OF ATTOLIA, in preparation for reading the fourth book. I am hoping to do more re-reading in 2012!
E Louise--There's a fourth Wren book? I'll have to look for it. Yes, sometimes I reread because I don't like any of the new stuff!
Deva--Oh, I read all those Ibbotson historical romances last year! I'll confess I've never read the Brother Cadfael books. And King of Attolia is still my favorite of the four. I do find myself thinking, "No, you can't reread. You must read for the blog." Right about then the blog starts acting like IT in A Wrinkle in Time, so I reprimand it and reread to my heart's content. ;)
The holidays are a great time for re-reading, but I've been using them this year to finish off some books I had to set aside to work on Cybils judging. At the moment, I'm in the middle of _Welcome to Bordertown_.
I have always been a passionate re-reader. I think I was 8 or 9 years old when I proudly told my mom I had read Black Beauty 8 times! And I read the Chronicles of Narnia every year until I was well into my twenties. I've re-read almost everything people have mentioned in their comments, and I have to add Jane Austen, Robyn McKinley, Ursula K. LeGuin, Orson Scott Card . . . I think I need to write my own blog post about this: thanks for the idea!
(But I have never read anything by Sherwood Smith; heading to the library now to check her out!)
Kim, you expert rereader, you, thanks for stopping by! If you're going to read Sherwood Smith's stuff, I suggest you start with Crown Duel (originally two books, Crown Duel and Court Duel). Her adult series is also good. It starts with Inda.
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