Features | Re-reading.
I have re-read Avalon High by Meg Cabot more times than I can remember. There are other books I've re-read plenty of times too, but Avalon High is definitely the number one most re-read book in my collection.
When I was still in school I used to re-read a lot. Meg Cabot, Jacqueline Wilson, and the Harry Potter books all got a few re-reads over the years. I used to spend my summer holidays sat in the garden day after day re-reading my favourite books from the moment I woke up until the sun went down, only moving back inside to reapply sunscreen or grab another book when I'd finished one. Now that I'm older though, I don't find myself re-reading so much.
It could have something to do with the fact that ever since I got my own bank account I've found it very difficult to stop myself from buying every book I like the look of and now have a TBR list the length of my arm. In fact, let's be honest, it probably has a lot to do with that. When there are 30+ unread books hanging out in my bookcase, it's difficult to convince myself that re-reading old favourites is worth the time that I could otherwise spend on reading those new books I haven't yet experienced.
This kind of thinking is further spurred on, of course, by the fact that there are just so many more books in the world that I do not yet own and I feel as though I can't buy those until I've read the ridiculous amount of books I do own but have yet to read. I'm sure this is a train of thought most readers have experienced at some time or another. Well, I hope it's not just me anyway!
I'm not sure if it's because the sun has finally started to make an appearance after months of awful winter, and this is bringing back memories of those summer days spent re-reading old favourites, but I've started to get an itch to do it again. I do want to read all my unread books but I also desperately want to pull a few old favourites down from the shelf and see what I'll make of them now, if I'll still love them the way I did before or if I'll find something completely new in the story to make the experience totally different.
It may feel a little silly to me to re-read old books instead of reading new ones, but it is also starting to feel a little silly to have all these books I've enjoyed and never read them again. It's all very well having a bookshelf full of books I once loved, but I think they deserve to be loved again!
I'd love to hear what you all think about re-reading in the comments. Is it worth the time to experience a story again? Or do you always prefer to try out something new?