When I'm feeling down, or stressed, or just in a grumpy mood - I re-read some of my favorite books (or series!). You may have noticed something like that in last week's Weekly Reading Update - since I was working my way through the Princess Diaries series.
I guess I like the feeling of returning to a familiar world, seeing some familiar "faces" (or what I imagine them to look like, anyways!), and knowing what kind of ending I'm getting into. And I just figured that was something everyone also enjoyed. But apparently not!
A friend of mine once told me she rarely re-reads books. She already knows what's going to happen, so why bother reading them again? The magic is gone.
But is it? I don't think so. In re-reading a book, I always pick up on things that I missed the first time around. When you're first reading a book, you're picking up clues here and there to the ending, but so much gets lost because you're not sure what you're looking for. A reader is mostly paying attention to the main story, and all the little subtle things fall through the cracks.
But when you re-read... you can finally catch them! It just adds so much to the story. Also, at least for me, it really does feel like coming home. I generally stick with certain authors for re-reads, but every so often I get incredibly nostalgic and go for ones I read years and years ago. Some examples? The Princess Diaries series and the Jessica Darling series. I often toss the Georgia Nicolson books as well, since I read them all around the same time, so they are forever stuck together in my mind.
But what about everyone else? Am I just a crazy person for loving to re-read old favorites? It just always feels so comforting.
Let me know what you think!
