I hate to part with my books, but with limited space I've chosen to only keep those that I love and intend to read again someday. Whenever I dust my bookcases, I see so many books that I want to re-read, so this year I'm challenging myself to dive into some of the above favorites. I wonder if I'll love them as much the second (or third) time around. I also have several recently read books that I plan to revisit prior to reading their sequels. Do you re-read books?
I definitely re-read books! Not all of them, of course, but some favorites. Looking at your list above, I think I've read or at least tried almost all of them. Good luck with your quest to re-visit them. I think maybe the only one I've been tempted to read again is Colony. I thought about Beach Music, but probably not. Your reading of Winds Of War has tempted me too. I've read that one more than once and also the sequel, War and Remembrance. Enjoy!!
ReplyDeleteKay, I've re-read a lot of books over the years, but I tend to avoid the ones that are 400+ pages. I'm hoping to ignore the page count this year! Wasn't Colony a good book?! I have a mass market copy, so we'll see how that goes. May have to see about borrowing that one from the library, if the font is too small.
DeleteI've read Bel Canto and Tiime Traveler's Wife but none of the rest on your list. Honestly, I think I can count on one hand the number of rereads I have ever done. Pilcher's Shell Seekers comes to mind as well as a Lissa Evans' book. There are just so many books that are new and new-to-me I want to read and time is a ticking as approach the end of my 60's. Yikes.
ReplyDeleteThat said, we all have our reading styles and preferences. Reading is for pleasure.
Tina, I agree that there are so many new books to read, but every once in a while I want to re-visit an old favorite. Sometimes they aren't as good as the first time around, but other times they're even better. We'll see how this goes. I definitely want to re-read The Time Traveler's Wife now that I've learned there's going to be a sequel coming out this year. Whoohoo!
DeleteI am a committed rereader, and like you, I prioritize keeping the books I feel sure I will reread. You have some wonderful books to revisit--I loved Bel Canto (my first Ann Patchett novel), as well as Plainsong and I Know This Much is True. As a Kingsolver fan, I am surprised that I still haven't read The Poisonwood Bible.
ReplyDeleteEnjoy your rereading challenge!
Jane, I've read Plainsong a couple of times, I think. I really want to re-read Eventide, but want to re-visit Plainsong before doing so. I'm still so sad that Haruf is no longer with us. I met him many years ago at a book signing for Plainsong at my local B&N. He was such a nice man.
DeleteYes, you should read The Poisonwood Bible! I loved it, although I know many who did not. I still have The Lacuna to read before I can claim to be a Kingsolver "completist."
I definitely reread books quite a lot, but I do find myself tending to reread books that I found fun and entertaining rather than the books that I found the most impactful or liked the most. Which means I end up rereading more books that I rated around 3.5 stars than 5 stars! I'd really like to get better at rereading the books that I love especially.
ReplyDeleteKeira, I tend to re-read books that aren't too long. This set of books has a lot that are well over 400+, which is why I have ignored them for so long. But so many of my favorite books have been BIG books. We'll see how I do in a few months. :)
DeleteI do not re-read books. Wait. That isn't entirely true. I re-read Barbara Kingsolver's Animal Dreams a number of times, The Harry Potter Books twice, and a few others. But for the most part, I do not.
ReplyDeleteHelen, it will be interesting to see if I follow through on this plan! :)
DeleteI used to never reread, but now, in my old age, I enjoy rereading so much. Honestly, so many new books are disappointing, and rereads are generally a sure thing.
ReplyDeleteDeb, I do too. I've just started re-reading a mystery that I read in 2009 and I've forgotten so much about it. It's fun to revisit an old favorite.
DeleteI reread more last year than ever before and revisiting those books brought me joy. I may not reread quite as much this year, but it's a habit I plan to continue. I've read and loved most of the books pictured here. Beach Music and Bel Canto are near the top of my reread list, but I Know This Much is True and Colony are not far behind. Last year I reread primarily classics and book club selections. This year I'd like to stick to old favorites.
ReplyDeleteJoAnn, I sure hope Beach Music is as good as the first time I read it. I keep meaning to read The Prince of Tides. I saw the movie many years ago, but haven't read the book.
DeleteYou are a great re-reader. I admire that quite a lot. But for whatever reason I am not a big re-reader -- though I should be! I have reread Donna Tartt's novel The Secret History twice ... about 10 years apart. And classics like The Great Gatsby. I have many books pre-blog that I'd like to re-read so that I have the reviews of them written down. But I admit my focus is not geared toward re-reading. And sometimes I think the book on a second read won't be as good ... it'll lose luster or even seem dated over time. And I like thinking or remembering that the old book was good when I read it in the 1990s or whenever it was. Funny how that is. I still need to read The Poisonwood Bible, lol.
ReplyDeleteSusan, I always intend to re-read more than I do, so we'll see how this challenge goes for me. I re-read one in January, and am currently re-reading In The Woods, both of which are not on this list! Lol! There is always the risk that a second reading won't be as enjoyable as the first (Atonement by Ian McEwan is one of those), but so often, that re-read is even better the second time around. I'm finding that with In the Woods. I think the first of my choices will be Bel Canto, although the annotations will be new to me. Yes, you need to read The Poisonwood Bible. I'm not great with buddy reads (shhh, don't tell Tina!), but if and when I get to TPB, I'll let you know. Maybe you can join me.
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