Tuesday, January 19, 2010

Rereading

For a librarian, I read remarkably slowly, especially if the book doesn't jump up and grab me. This may be why I spend so much leisure time on kids' and YA books.

I also love to reread, which significantly limits the number of new books I read at any given time. Still, I think if a good book is a good friend, you need to keep up the relationship! I have favorites from elementary and middle school that I still go back and reread. In the interests of including pictures (because I like them!), here are my GoodReads links to a few:

Many Waters (Time, Book 4) Many Waters by Madeleine L'Engle

My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Possibly my favorite book of all time.




The Witch of Blackbird Pond
The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George Speare
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Wonderful book about a young woman who moves from Barbados to Puritan Connecticut after her Grandfather's death, the adjustments she has to make, the lessons she learns, and the friendships she creates. Includes themes of intolerance and understanding.


Beauty: A Retelling of the Story of Beauty and the Beast
Beauty: A Retelling of the Story of Beauty and the Beast by Robin McKinley

My rating: 4 of 5 stars
LOVED this book growing up and still love to reread it.




I've been doing a fair amount of rereading this fall, including:

Till We Have Faces: A Myth Retold Till We Have Faces: A Myth Retold by C.S. Lewis


My rating: 5 of 5 stars
This was one of my three assigned books for my Jan Term course, junior year of college, called "Fantasy, Myth, and Spirit," about the Inklings. Probably most fun I've had in a college course. Reread several times, most recently December, 2009.



Miles in Love (Vorkosigan Omnibus, #6) Miles in Love by Lois McMaster Bujold


My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Rereading some favs from the Vorkosigan series (Komarr, A Civil Campaign, and a novella). A Civil Campaign was the first one I read, back in June, 2004.

Just as much fun as the first time around!



and the Alice series, by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor--I read many of these as a kid, but never straight through, as I'm trying to do now. The one I most recently finished is:

The Grooming of Alice The Grooming of Alice by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor


My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Over the summer, Alice and her friends try to get in shape, Elizabeth takes losing weight a little too far, Lester gets a new girlfriend, Pamela has more trouble with her parents, and Alice's dad goes to visit Miss Summers in Englad. A bit more issue-packed than some previous, but still very enjoyable.



Do you like to reread (or rewatch movies--that could be another post, including the story of why Lilo and Stitch is now banned from our household), or do prefer something new each time? What type of book do you like to reread?

4 comments:

Beth said...

I can't believe I never read "Beauty" as a kid. Beauty and the Beast has always been one of my favorites--I thought I had read every version out there!

Libby said...

Whoa--you definitely need to get your hands on this! And while you're at it, have you read Rose Daughter or Sunshine, both also by McKinley? Rose Daughter is a completely different retelling of Beauty and the Beast done a couple decades later, and while Sunshine is a vampire novel (done back in the early 2000's, quite awhile before the Twilight craze), she incorporates B & B elements there, too--obviously, it's HER favorite fairy tale, too!

Susan Lindquist said...

Libby... I love to re-read books that my mother shared with me when I was developing as a reader (back in my early teen years). Our family helped to settle the Mohawk Valley in New York State, so one of the books that I've read and re-read over the years is 'Drums Along the Mohawk'. I love historical fiction ... all levels children's YA, and adult. Those are many of my re-reads.

Libby said...

Dear Susan,

Thanks for stopping by! Both Beauty and Witch of Blackbird Pond were favorites of mine because my mom recommended them to me, and I enjoy historical fiction a lot, too. I just read an interesting (grown-up) historical fiction/fantasy/ghost story called Ghostwalk, the historical part is about Isaac Newton and his studies at Cambridge University.