While cataloging and arranging my home library recently, I ran across several books I haven’t read in a long while. Of course, that’s the majority of them, right? But a few I marked as ones I want to re-read.
But first, why re-read? Because yes, I have sooooo many books waiting to be read for the first time!
1, I re-read for the sake of nostalgia. This happens when I rediscover a book that meant something to me at a specific time and re-reading it recaptures that moment, both the memory of it and the feeling behind it.
2. I re-read to remember the reason I kept it. What books to keep is a very personal thing for me. Often I keep a book when I remember the feeling I had reading it even if I can’t remember the story or why it pierced my heart in that moment. So a re-read will help me remember, and help me decide if it’s still a book that requires space on my shelves.
3. I re-read because I’m in a different season of life. To revisit a work in a different stage of life often feels like reading a whole new book. Did you know that many books read differently in different seasons of life? Maybe I’ve experienced or seen something in the years between reads that causes me to understand characters or aspects of the story in new ways. A book with some substance, some commentary on the human condition, will change for you over time. Sometimes for the better; sometimes for worse.
With all that said, here are a few of the books I’d like to re-read this year and why (note: I wanted to show you my copies of these books, so if you want the buy link, click on the picture!):
…And Ladies of the Club by Helen Hoover Santmyer
Yes, I have it in hardcover and paperback! I originally read the paperback and figured I’d want to eventually re-read and I knew I wouldn’t be able to see the type in the paperback. So when I found the hardcover at a library sale . . .
This will be a commitment, given its length, but I’d really like to re-read it. It’s definitely a “different season of life” read given that it follows two friends from age 18 to their deaths in their 70s or 80s. It’s not only a great friendship read but the magnitude of the history lived is fascinating too.
The Love Letters by Madeleine L’Engle
I remember reading this novel about marriage years ago and finding it impactful. I want to re-read it to see how it feels to me now. Will it be as gripping? As poignant? Will it, perhaps, have different things I relate to all these years later?
Queen Anne’s Lace and The Restless Lady by Frances Parkinson Keyes
These two novels were contemporary when written, and both are set in the Washington DC of the mid-twentieth century. I remember them both as being enlightening. Will they still hit me the same way? Perhaps there are new things to glean from these stories in 2024!
The Reb and the Redcoats by Constance Savery
I remember finding this at a used bookstore and thinking it looked interesting. And remember the story being pure joy! Because I am still interested in writing a novel in this time period myself, I want to experience this one again. It’s a children’s book, and I do love re-reading children’s books. I hope it’s one I will eventually share with my grandchildren.
The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett
Yep, another one I own two different copies. Well, the same editions but hardcover and paperback. To be honest, the hardcover is the one I gave my daughter on her first Christmas, but for some reason it’s still on my shelf, not hers! And since that one is technically hers, years ago I bought the paperback for me and for my future grandchildren. Yes, this edition with the Tasha Tudor illlustrations is my favorite.
And I adore this story so much! I remember a friend in sixth grade recommending it to me, and I fell in love with it. In fact, I am currently re-reading it, but in a new form—an audiobook! I’m listening to the one narrated by Johanna Ward, and she is delightful! I love that her Yorkshire accent for the servants in Misselthwaite Manor sounds exactly like Mrs. Hall in All Creatures Great and Small!
Will I get to all of these in 2024? I have no idea, but I want to try!
Do you ever re-read books? If so, how do you decide which ones warrant a second (or third or tenth!) reading?