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"If one cannot enjoy reading a book over and over again, there is no use in reading it at all."
~Oscar Wilde
I read the above quote a few weeks ago and I'm not sure what I think. I have two qualifications for what earns a place on my at-home bookshelves.
- Will I read it again?
- Would I loan it out to someone else?
Obviously that means there are books I consider worth a re-read, but with so many, many books on my to-read list, I wonder if it's a waste of time to re-read something I've already taken time for once.
There are exceptions. I've read Keep a Quiet Heart
3 times because it has such depth. I'm currently reading Jacob Have I Loved
because I haven't read it since childhood and it takes place in the county where I currently live and mentions places I recognize. I've also read two of my favorite modern novels twice each (Some Wildflower In My Heart
and Not a Sparrow Falls
).
I'm sure there are others, too. One of my favorite tricks to accomplish a little re-reading is to read aloud to my kids a book I enjoyed in childhood.
3 times because it has such depth. I'm currently reading Jacob Have I Loved because I haven't read it since childhood and it takes place in the county where I currently live and mentions places I recognize. I've also read two of my favorite modern novels twice each (Some Wildflower In My Heart and Not a Sparrow Falls). I'm sure there are others, too. One of my favorite tricks to accomplish a little re-reading is to read aloud to my kids a book I enjoyed in childhood.
So, how do you feel about re-reading books? Do you do it? Any favorites?
For other posts in my Book Talk series, click here.
How do you know if something is worth re-reading if you haven't read it once? And sometimes you read a book that you just can't get into, pick it up again a few years later and think "where has this book been all my life?"
ReplyDeleteHaving said all that, I don't re-read very many books. I struggle to read even once books that I find interesting. My husband, on the other hand, has hundreds of books (science fiction and "cowboy" genre) that he has read repeatedly because he enjoys the act of reading. We have boxes and shelves full of those books. (Oh, how I wish he would get them on Kindle to clear out some clutter!)
I have several books I like to reread. All of the Jan Karon Mitford Series, the Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings Trilogy,Bits and pieces of Max Lucado. We recently weeded out several books and passed them on to the city missions library.
ReplyDeleteRecentlly found your blog enjoy reading about some one else who homeschools. Thank you.