Reread in 2012

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Cross-posted from Organized Chaos.


I've been having a bit of a reading crisis this year. In 2011 I read a crap-ton of books--over one hundred. This year, I've read one and a half. Yeah, forty-three days into the new year and I've read one and a half books. Half might not even be accurate; I think I put it down at about a third.

I can put part of the blame on the weather. Winter depresses me, and I don't want to do anything except plop on the couch and be a potato. Cracking open a book feels like too much work; television viewing requires a lot less brain power than reading. Another part of the blame can go to the overwhelming tower that is my To Be Read pile. And it doesn't help that more great books are coming out ALL THE TIME. I can't make any real progress, and I can't seem to choose between them, so I let that intimidate me into just not reading anything.

Yes, bad Kelly.

The other day, I skimmed a review of a book I'd read and loved, and it made me want to read that book again. So I picked up my Nook with the intention of just glancing through a few good scenes, and two hours later I'd reread a good quarter of the book. Oops.

It made me think about the books I've loved and would like to read again. There's something wonderfully comforting about rereading a book--revisiting those characters, reliving their adventures and love and losses. Because of my To Be Read pile, rereads always seemed out of the question. I had too many new books to read, so I couldn't waste time reading something again.

Why, though? Why not? Books gave me a love of reading from a very early age. Certain books made me want to be a writer, so why not go back to those wonderful memories and read a few books again?

So I have decided something: I'm going to allow myself to reread some favorites this year. First I'll finish the two books I have in progress (one new read, one reread). Then I'll reread a few books I love and haven't read in a while, starting with this one:

Photobucket

What books have you read more than once? Are there any books you reread on a regular basis? Anything you want to reread, but don't have the time?

Comments

Kathy Martin said…
I like to re-read but, like you, I feel guilty because my TBR stack is so high. My comfort reads include the whole Vorkosigan saga by Lois McMaster Bujold starting with Shards of Honor and continuing on through Cryoburn. Twelve books there. And I love the Liaden Universe series by Sharon Lee and Steve Miller which is now thirteen books long with a fourteenth coming out this fall. I tend to read each of series once a year. I do have a few one-off favorites too but haven't gotten to them for a couple of years now. Hmmm...I think it is time to read Shards of Honor again.
February 13, 2012 at 10:54 AM
Vicki said…
Some of my re-reads include:
The Mists of Avalon, Marion Zimmer Bradley
The Queen of the Damned, Anne Rice
A Wrinkle in Time, Madeline L'engle
February 13, 2012 at 4:54 PM
Jude E said…
Gail Carriger's Parasol Protectorate series. Just discovered Kevin Hearne's IDC series, these will be re-read in future years too.
March 15, 2012 at 9:09 PM
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