Monday, April 29, 2019

My Rereading Project


Hannah at So Obsessed With decided to ignore her TBR for a month and only reread her favorite books, dubbed #FebruaREREAD.  Her post really got me thinking - I love to reread and before I started blogging, I used to do it all the time.  Once I started blogging and building up a pretty big TBR, rereads fell by the wayside.  But, I was so inspired by Hannah that I decided to do a little rereading project of my own.  I was able to get a bunch of future review posts done and scheduled, so I wouldn't fall behind while not reading anything new, and when I ran out of library books near the end of March, I figured that would be the perfect time to start.  My goal was to only reread for at least two weeks.



Here's the great thing about rereads: in addition to being stories I love, they often have specific memories attached to them, which is just another reason for me to keep coming back to them.  I started with I Capture the Castle, by Dodie Smith.  My college roommate bought this book for me many years ago, and I fell in love with this charming story the first time I read it.  The story is told over a few months through the journal entries of a young woman who lives with her family in a dilapidated castle in England.

For our 7th dating anniversary, Tom bought me The Chronicles of Narnia box set.  The first time I read The Last Battle, I actually yelled at him for not warning me about the ending (although there was no way he could have known, he'd never read the book!).  I was just as shattered this time, but I could see some happiness in it.

 

Next, I moved onto The Lake House by Kate Morton.  Although she is a favorite author, I wasn't quite as thrilled by this one as I had been by her previous books the first time I read it.  However, this dual time-line story about a missing child was so much better the second time around!

I read Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver for the first time two years ago and loved it.  This time around, I brought it to read during my lunch hour and flew through it in just a couple days.

 

I brought Me Before You to read during my lunch break after I finished Before I Fall.  One day my coworker saw me reading it, and she and I bonded over how much we sobbed over the story!

Good Morning, Midnight by Lily Brooks-Dalton was one of the first 5-star reads I had on the blog, so I wanted to see if it would hold up after a couple years.  This end-of-the-world story definitely did!


I reread Cinder last year on vacation but never continued with my reread of the series, so this was a perfect time to pick Scarlet back up.  I love the way this series introduces new characters while still keeping up with ones we've already grown to love!

Emily Giffin was one of the first authors I discovered after college when I had way more reading time.  She got me hooked on smart chick lit, and Something Borrowed is one of my favorites.  I listened to this one on audio, and I kind of wish I had just read it instead.  I didn't really care for the narrator's voice - she sounded way older than the character was meant to be, she had a weird accent, and she had a funny way of pronouncing some words.  But, I still enjoyed the story!

Over my two-week rereading project, I was able to revisit 8 beloved stories.  It's a comforting feeling to read a book and know you're going to love it, and I definitely need to make time in the future for more rereading!

Do you reread?  What's one book you could read over and over again?

32 comments:

  1. What a lovely memory you have with the Narnia boxset! (despite being shattered at the ending!)

    ReplyDelete
  2. I was a huge rereader and now I rarely do it. You have inspired me to make some time for it. And yes I totally agree that my books are attached to memories too.

    ReplyDelete
  3. In 2017, I reread at least 1 book a month, and it was great. Some books are even better the second time around.

    Aj @ Read All The Things!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. They really are! And I love finding the little things I missed the first time around.

      Delete
  4. I don't normally do rereads. In fact the only book I have ever reread is Pride and Prejudice. It's my all time favorite book. I don't know why I don't reread. I guess I figure I've heard that story lets hear a new one.

    Mary

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yeah, I think a lot of people feel that way!

      Delete
  5. What a wonderful way to spend a couple of weeks! I mostly stopped rereading when I started blogging, and that's kind of a shame. Maybe I'll spend some time this summer revisiting old favorites.

    ReplyDelete
  6. This is awesome!! I need to get better at rereading! There are so many books I want to revisit!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Right? This was only a small portion of the books I love.

      Delete
  7. I am not a re-reader (or a re-watcher), but you do have some fabulous books on that list. I hope you enjoy them all the 2nd (or 3rd or 4th or ...) time around.

    ReplyDelete
  8. I loved reading these re-read reviews, Angela! I’m not a big re-reader, but your thoughts are enticing me!

    ReplyDelete
  9. Great post and impressive that you were able to re-read so many books in such a short period of time. I used to re-read a lot but haven't done it much since I started blogging. I'm also happy to hear that you loved I Capture the Castle. That one has been sitting on my shelf for a while and I want to read it for the backlist challenge.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I think you'll really enjoy it, Suzanne!

      Delete
  10. Wow you reread a lot!! I never used to reread but I do by audio now here and there. It is so comforting!

    ReplyDelete
  11. It’s nice that you enjoyed your rereads. I can’t think of the last time I reread a book, it was probably before 2010 when I started blogging. I never have time to reread now that I blog.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yeah, I really had to make a point to make time for it!

      Delete
  12. i don't reread ): there are far too many new books that I want to read and cannot get around to without adding books I read to the list. I do eventually plan to reread harry potter with my son though

    ReplyDelete
  13. I love to re-read my favorites! Sometimes I'll listen the audio versions just to squeeze them in. Kissed by an Angel by Elizabeth Chandler is amazing, and one I've read too many times to count. I really want to re-read more books, and I try to make time for at least one every month.

    I love The Lunar Chronicles! It's amazing that every book introduces new characters while building on the old ones (like you said). The last book was HUGE, but it didn't feel long. I listened to the audio for the entire series (Rebecca Soler is awesome), but bought the boxed set from Book Outlet for $35 -- whoop! All hardbacks, too. :)

    Lindsi @ Do You Dog-ear? 💬

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Audio is good, too, because at least if I stop paying attention for a minute, I know I won't get lost! I totally agree that Winter didn't feel like a long read!

      Delete
  14. I love rereading, but I don't do it as often as I want to and that is probably mostly due to blogging. I have reread quite a few books in the last few months and they've all been really great experiences.

    ReplyDelete
  15. I adore rereads and I do it all the time. Last year I even started tracking how many rereads I had vs other reads because I DO still want to read more new books than ones I have read before... But at the same time I won't deprive myself of my old favourites. :)

    So glad you got to go back and enjoy so many old favourites of your own!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I am so glad to hear that I'm not the only one who loves to reread!

      Delete
  16. I've not re-read much since high school, so I stopped shortly before I started blogging and blogging certainly hasn't helped! This sounds like fun though and I am occasionally starting to make time to re-read again.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It was very fun and something I hope to do more of in the future!

      Delete

I'm so glad you stopped by, and I would love to hear your thoughts! Comments are always greatly appreciated!