Do You Re-Read Books?

I finally broke down and bought another bookshelf. I’ve been trying to organize my books, but all I could really do was make nice straight piles in front of one bookcase, double up books in another, well, you get the picture.

My family had suggested I just get rid of some books, and I really thought about it. I started going through them, just to see if there were any that I could get rid of. That ended up being quite the experience. It was like I was lost in a chocolate box and I had to try the best ones to remember all the flavors. I would flip through books to read all the best parts, re-read scenes that I had loved, and reminisce about characters that had stuck with me. It was really fun, but didn’t help my book problem. (Although in my defense, since I’ve had my Kindle I haven’t really bought any more physical books, it’s just a matter of organizing the ones I already have.)

A lot of it is the fact that I do like to re-read parts of my books. On rainy days I have my go-to favorites that I read again and again. I would like to think that there are people out there that feel the same way about some of my books---memorable characters and scenes you just want to read one more time. I think that’s part of an author’s job, to create stories and people that a reader can love and relate to as if they were real. And if an author doesn’t dig deep enough that won’t happen. Humans are intricate beings. Our world is complicated. Stories that combine the two can be wonderfully engaging.

Do you have books you like to read over and over? What keeps bringing you back to it?