When I was younger, I used to reread my favorites over and over. Each time I loved following the same well worn path. It gave me security, and I could visit with beloved characters in their worlds again.
As I've gotten older, I've done that a lot less. A lot. Some of it has to do with just not having the time. Some of it is boredom. As I have matured, I found that there was enough repetition in life, I didn't need to make it worse by rereading books I'd read a million times.
I've watched my kids do that, though. My 14 year old has reread Harry Potter so many times I've lost count. This summer she read them backward, starting with no. 7, just so she could say she'd read them backward and forward. She just started rereading the Fablehaven series because she's finally getting to read no. 5, and wanted to be back in that world before she got to it.
And my 11 year old, when he gets bored, goes to his favorites, the Leven Thumps series. He'll even read them late at night, with only the light of the hall to see. I scold him about this constantly, but really, I can't get too mad. That was me not so long ago. Okay, it was a long time ago, but still, I remember.
So the other day one of my favorites came back to me after I loaned it out. (It was gone for years, but that's another story.) One that I had actually purchased, and reread many times. And I thought, "What the hey. I'll reread it."
I fell in love with it all over again. This particular writer, Robin McKinley, writes very differently from me. Dialogue is much more infrequent, while description and internal thoughts can go on for pages. And her paragraphs are huge. But her ability to weave the reader into a magical world can challenge anyone else out there.
Now that I'm more into the writing thing, I did examine her mechanics a bit, and even though I could see some things that are big no-nos today as I struggle to get published, her lyrical prose swept me away again. And by the end, even though I knew what happened, I was caught up in the story, my mind following the struggles of the heroine, and stayed up late just to finish it. I couldn't put it down.
I have others that I have purchased and refuse to give up because I love them so much. What are your rereadables?
Jane Austen & Willa Cather. Almost anything written by them I can reread. I'm sure there is more, but that is what comes to mind.
ReplyDeleteDefinately Jane Austen, but for me my favorite rereadable is the Wheel Of Time series by Robert Jordan (and now Brandon Sanderson). He crams so much into each book that each time I read them I find a subtle piece to the story that I didn't get before. I just love them. Some people don't like them because he spends so much time in description, but for me it's less about the story and more about being in the world for those moments.
ReplyDeleteI have a lot of rereadables, it seems Jane Austin is a favorite for everyone, including me. I also reread Trudi Canavan and Patrick Rothfuss - pretty much all of their books. I love to reviste worlds that pulled me in so much the first time. If they are good they can pull me in everytime I pick up the book again.
ReplyDeleteI can reread Harry Potter and love them. A Jane Austen story never gets old. There are some Anita Stansfield novels that I have read a few times and loved them each time.
ReplyDeleteSometimes when I get to a scene in my writing that makes me remember another story, I will go grab that off my shelf and end up engrossed and rereading the entire thing.