Wednesday, February 17, 2010

The Great Reread

I think I've mentioned once or twice that I love to read.  Lately I've read a slew of mediocre books that have left me feeling kind of ... well, kind of meh.  Nothing interesting or entertaining about them... actually, that's not totally true.  In the last book I read I created a kind of game where I counted how many similes and grammatical errors I could find.  That's not usually what I do with a book, but when you have errors as blatant as "The children was playing in the clearing" (not a direct quote, but close) then you just have to start paying closer attention.  My grammar isn't perfect, but I also don't have an editor or a slurry of people read everything I write before I "publish" it.
Anyway, I'm tired of these bland and boring books and I've decided to take a couple of months to do some rereading.  I want to read the Percy Jackson books again.  I can't wait to get lost in the Chronicles of Narnia.  Who wouldn't love to walk the halls of Hogwarts with Harry Potter?  I have a stack of books from the library, but I think I'm going to take them all back so that I can revisit some favorites and maybe find myself really enjoying reading again.
Do you ever reread books?  Or are you the type of person to read something once and then be done with it for good?  If you do reread, what are your favorite books to pick up time and time again?

16 comments:

Bonnie the Boss said...

I just re-read Percy Jackson. LOVED every minute of it!!! I HAve re-read a bunch of books. In fact I don't buy them unless I plan to re-read.
I have read Fablehaven several times too!

Yvonne said...

I'm not a re-reader of books.

I'm in the middle of "Fire of the Covenant" by Gerald Lund and LOVING IT.

Christy said...

I check books out at the library, and if they are good enough that I want to read them a second time I will buy them. One I just bought is The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield. I've checked it out from the library 2 times and it's still one I could read again! Others I've read multiple times: Life of Pi, Ella Enchanted, Austenland, Twilight, HP, Artemis Fowl and the Ladies No. 1 Detective Agency Books.

Someday I want to invest the time to re-read all HP books back to back... just like I want to watch every LOST episode back to back once it's all over... sorry, switched to TV... I get distracted so easily!

Kimberly Vanderhorst said...

I'm a chronic rereader and always have been. My personal library is fairly small for a long time bibliophile because of this. =)

My list includes Anne of Green Gables, Enders Game, Good Omens, Chronicles of Narnia, The Host, Uglies, Pretties, and Specials, The Hobbit, The Cosmic Trilogy, Elantris, the Mistborn Series, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, and anything by Terry Pratchett, oh, and Maeve Binchy, oh, and...yeah...I could go on and on.

kailani said...

I re-read books all the time. I always seem to catch things that I missed the first time around.

Rachelle@atticgals.blogspot.com said...

Girl, when you start feeling that way is when you need to revisit the classic great books. They are classic for a reason, because they are GOOD. I have rarely been dissapointed from a classic. Some of them may be a little tough to get through, they are usually worth it! (Plus, the classics have a lot less garbage and nasty stuff in them.) I am always amazed when I read a classic then I suddenly see references to it everywhere, engrained in our culture.

The truth is that most of the stuff that is published today, as in the past, is junk. But the good stuff has endured the test of time. So next time you feel that way pick up something from Dickens, or Austen, or Bronte, or Steinbeck... It just might do the trick!


I wait until other folks (like you) read the new stuff and tell me what is worth reading and what isn't.


(P.S. I am reading The Scarlet Pimpernel right now, by Baroness Orczy - an exciting read!)

Kris said...

I love to re-read books!! It's fun to re-visit a world that you know and love! I like to read Beauty by Robin McKinley at least once a year! If I get excited about a book, I will read it over & over! I'm guilty of reading the Twilight series 8 times in one year... I know... you think I'm insane! :-)

... said...

i don't reread books. my thinking is that there are too many books out there that i want to read and probably will never have enough time to do so.

i do have a handful of favorite books and i may, someday, reread.

Shannan said...

I don't usually re-read things unless I really love the book. But I am totally with you on reading Harry Potter again. I also have yet to read all the Percy Jackson books, so I'd do that with you, too!

Randi said...

I reread, but only because I can't find something new in my bedroom at 9pm - which is when I think about it.

I would love to read the entire Harry Potter series again, only SLOWER. :)

Jean Knee said...

I re-read books a ton. but then it gets to where I don't want to read the untried at all.

I know

tracey.becker1@gmail.com said...

Another "children" series that isn't really childish is the Golden Compass series. LOVED it. Very in depth.

Also, I tend to point out the grammar errors in a book to my kids. "People get PAID to find this stuff! This kind of mistake makes everyone look DUMB! So pay attention to your grammar/capitalization/etc." They mostly ignore me...

TnD said...

I rarely re-read but when I do it is usually a classic. Have you read The Graveyard Book? Is is a teen lit book too. I just started it, but it looks promising and I haven't found any grammar/spelling errors yet. I look for them too.

Kristina P. said...

Hey, Melissa! Just wanted to pop in and see how you're doing!

Heather said...

I'm not a re-reader but I'm reading the Harry Potter Series to Kaden and I'm actually loving it more the second time. So maybe I'll be converted, yet!

Unknown said...

Sigh. I've got nothin' but have enjoyed reading everyone's recommendations. I think my kids may actually be at the age they can play on the playground and I can kick back and read. Fingers are crossed!