The Perks of Being a Re-Reader

     The first thing I did as soon as I got home from school today was plop down in a chair in the office room and read the very last few pages of Christy, which I've been reading for about a week now. I had meant to finish it this morning, but I ran out of time and I had been waiting all day long for those last ten wonderful pages. So now I've finished it and once again, it was totally awesome (I read Christy once before back in 7th grade and loved it then too). I don't know what it is about that book that really gets to me, but it's gotta be in my top 5 favorite books. I seriously spent my entire weekend shutting out my whole family doing nothing but reading and getting really mad whenever anyone made me come out of my reverie and do something productive. Anyway, so now Christy is back on my bookshelf for another year or two until I get the urge to read it again. I'm a huge re-reader. A lot of people don't like reading books more than once, but it's one of my favorite things in the whole world, especially when the book I'm reading has been adapted in some way into a film or television series. Here are my reasons why re-reading books is the greatest thing ever:

 

Ten Reasons Re-Reading Books Is Totally Awesome

 

 

1. Humans are super forgetful, so there's no way that you remember every detail of what happened in any particular story, so when you read a book a second time, you refresh yourself of events that you totally forgot about.

 

2. Every time you re-read a book, you are a different person. From my 7th grade self to the person I am now, I've changed drastically, so my personal perception and understanding of Christy and any other book I re-read has obviously changed.

 

3. If a book that you enjoyed reading is becoming or has become part of a different media (ex., movie, fanfiction, video/computer game, television show, YouTube series, etc.) then it's really really exciting to re-read that book again while at the same time enjoying the new spin that's being taken on your beloved book.

 

4. When you read a book as a kid, you don't always understand everything that's going on and often write the book off as being dull or boring simply because it was over your head at the time you first read it. As you get older, you tend to still hold these beliefs to be true, even though you've gotten older and a lot smarter! Plenty of times I've re-read something that I hated as a child only to realize it's a really good book, I just didn't really get it! If I hadn't re-read it, I would never have found out how cool it was.

 

5. The last one is also true on the flip side sometimes. Sometimes a childhood favorite, upon being reread, turns out to be really stupid, and re-reading it helps you re-evaluate your reasons for liking it to begin with.

 

6. The more times you read a book, the more it begins to feel like an old friend. I often find that through re-reading books I gain a sense of ownership over the story. Pride and Prejudice became my book, even though I know millions of other people before me have loved that book. But because I've re-read it a few times, I feel like the story and the characters belong to me.

 

7. When I'm in a reading rut and every book in the stores and libraries seems stupid and pointless, re-reading old favorites makes me remember that there are some seriously amazing stories and authors out there.

 

8. Re-reading books provides never ending inspiration. When I'm writing, I often come across a part in the story that I'm not sure how to go about writing, so I'll think "Well, this is similar to the part in Subway Girl when Simon takes Amy to the city, I forget how P.J. Converse wrote about that..." and so I'll re-read that part and then use it as inspiration for my own writing.

 

9. Re-reading is a great way to start a really personal tradition for yourself. I may have mentioned this before on the blog, but I can't remember, so I'll say it again. Every summer, since the summer after 5th grade, I've read the book Absolutely Normal Chaos by Sharon Creech. This book is way below my reading level, and I know the story like the back of my hand after years of reading it over and over again, but every time school lets out I get so excited because I can finally read that gem of a book again. It's just a special little personal tradition I've made for myself that I really enjoy.

 

10. It's super fun being a total expert on certain books. I always get uber-excited when I find out that a friend of mine has read or is reading a book that I've read several times, so I can pester them about it and provide random facts and annoying spoilers about that specific book since I'm so familiar with it. Yes, it's fun to be annoying.

 

      So there you have it. Go and re-read something!!

 

Movie Recommendation: Television Series Recommendation: The Christy series. Duh. I'm so obsessed with this series. My Mom bought me the DVD set for like my 10th Birthday and at the time I thought it seemed really boring and dumb, but then when I finally got around to watching it, I fell head over heels in love with it. It's a lot different than the book in many ways, but that actually makes it even better, because though the book and the TV show have the same characters and the same premise, they are totally separate entities and I can enjoy one without the other, or both at the same time, which is a really cool experience. BUT ONLY THE FIRST SEASON! I CANNOT BELIEVE THEY WOULD TRY TO MAKE MORE SEASONS WITH A DIFFERENT ACTRESS PLAYING CHRISTY!!!!!!!!!!! BLASPHEMY!!!!!!!!!!! DO NOT WATCH THEM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Sorry, I just HATE when they try to continue a show or movie series with a DIFFERENT ACTOR FOR ONE OF THE MAIN CHARACTERS. That doesn't make any sense whatsoever to me. It makes me angry. But the first season is amazing.