5 responses to “Summer Rereading”

  1. James

    As a kid I re-read incessantly–basically every book I read I read again. I spent one otherwise empty summer day doing nothing but reading John Bellairs’s Face in the Frost over and over until I’d gotten through it nine times.

    As an adult I’ve mostly stopped doing that, since there are so many books I haven’t read that I want to, but there is a book that I’ve picked up at Christmastime three years in a row now: The Mouse and His Child by Russell Hoban. I think I’m making it a tradition.

  2. Amanda MacNaughton

    I also feel pressure as a bookseller to keep reading new books! In the past couple of years, there have been times when I’ve decided “phooey on that pressure–I’m re-reading something, just for myself.” As a kid, I read The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings many, many times over, sometimes back to back. As an adult, I still re-read them in total when I feel I can spare the luxury, but more often, I just read over parts of them. I also do this with other favorites such as the Anne of Green Gables series. I’m always astonished in re-reading childhood favorites (whether they’re children’s books or not) what different things I get out of them now and how many more nuances I pick up. I’m also much more emotional now and find myself crying over things that move me. I never did that as a kid!

  3. Emily

    I reread Jane Eyre, The Secret Garden, The Little Princess, and the Emily of New Moon series at least once every couple of years. Oh, and Robin McKinley! I revisit the Hero and the Crown and the Blue Sword often, because they are, like the best friends or partners, comforting and familiar yet still exciting.

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