Let’s talk about rereading favorite books! I’m going to ramble on about books for a bit, then ask YOUR opinion on rereading habits…..
I have several books I’d like to reread, but so many NEW books I want to read, too! #bookproblems
SO, I rarely reread a book, though I often enjoy them even more upon a second reading. Knowing certain surprises or twists are coming just makes me pay closer attention to the writing craft with foreshadowing, parallels, etc. I can count my complete rereads of books from the last couple years on 1 hand. They include: The Breath of Dawn by Kristen Heitzmann, Courting Morrow Little by Laura Frantz, The Hesitant Heiress by Dawn Crandall, and the 3 book “Price of Privilege” series by Jessica Dotta.
Sometimes I partially reread a book to refresh my memory. It’s helpful in continuing a series. Many times it starts when I sit down to reread a favorite scene and I end up skimming through a lot of the story again. Ha! This often happens when a Top Ten Tuesday topic needs a little research or quote. Or, when I just need to revisit a sweet moment, quote, or recipe from a fav author. (I’m talking about you all, Hillary Manton Lodge, Dawn Crandall, Pepper Basham, Rachel McMillan, and Katherine Reay.)
This past week, I reread an all-time favorite: The Pursuit of Tamsen Littlejohn by Lori Benton. After her newest novel, Many Sparrows, referenced and provided the backstory for some of the characters in TPOTL, I just had to pick it back up and continue with those characters. I had forgotten more details of that story than I realized, so rereading it was a treat once again! This time, I noticed the writing style and world-building (because as Lori says, historical settings do involve some major world building) in a different way, enjoying the scenery and the growth of Tamsen and Jesse all over again.
The Green Mockingbird 
Reading your post makes me want to go back and read Tamsen & Jesse’s story again! I have re-read a few books, but often there are so many new books, that I don’t go back to reread older favorites. They sit on my bookshelf, awaiting my return.
I have the same problem…. um… if you can call so many wonderful NEW books a problem! 🙂 I hope you do get to reread Tamsen and Jesse’s story at some point. I enjoyed it just as much, if not MORE, the second time around.
I love re-reading my favorites over and over again. Sometimes I will just skim them and sometimes I will do a full re-read. It’s like visiting with old friends. Some books, I’ve re-read so many times that I’ve lost count. These include books by Susan May Warren, Denise Hunter, Laura Frantz, Jenny B Jones and Kristen Heitzmann’s earlier titles. It’s a tough balance to find the time to re-read old books when there are so many great new titles constantly being released.
Ooh those are all wonderful authors!!!! Sometimes I just skim, too, when I need a refresher. Isn’t it neat to rediscover little details that way, too!?
So many *new* books, so little time. 🙂
My favorite book to re-read is Edenbrooke by Julianne Donaldson! There are so many great scenes with characters that I just adore. The romantic tension is off the hook, no matter how many times I read it.
Edenbrooke is sitting pretty on my shelf right now! I STILL haven’t read it, but I will! Hopefully before the year is over. I think it was on my “official” spring TBR!!! I’m anticipating a good story, then! (yay for romantic tension!)
Like you said, it’s hard to find the time to reread when there are so many new books vying for you attention. But a couple I do enjoy rereading (or at least I did this year) are Tale of Two Cities and The Wishing Jar by Penelope J. Stokes.
Yay for getting to reread some favorites! I will have to look up The Wishing Jar!
I love re-reading old favorites!! I’ve read “Pride and Prejudice” several times over, and Lynn Austen’s “Refiner’s Fire” series too. Sometimes I just get in the right mood for a comfortable, predictable, familiar read and I go browse my shelves until I find the right one. Sometimes I do a full re-read, and other times I just browse and skip my way through. Listening to the audio version later after I’ve read a book is fun too. I started doing this when I started listening to audiobooks at work a lot. It’s kinda like re-watching a favorite movie. 🙂
It’s been a while since I read Pride and Prejudice! I need to reread it, too. 🙂 I’ve heard wonderful things about that series of Lynn’s, I also need to add it to my TBR! (Yay for book recommendations!)
I’m (slowly) listening to an audiobook now that I have read before (Joanne Bischof’s The Lady and the Lionheart ), It IS like rewatching a favorite movie! I’m noticing different nuances and details because of the readers, too. It’s such fun!
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