A Year of Rereads

In my early teens, I adopted a reading motto.  C.S. Lewis had said that, "It is a good rule, after you finish a new book, never to allow yourself another new book until you have read an old one in between" — and by golly, if it was good enough for Clive, it was good enough for me.  So, I implemented that practice.  I alternated faithfully between books I'd never read before and books I had read before.  After finishing a new-to-me book, I'd begin a reread; after I finished a reread, I'd begin another new-to-me.  I followed this "rule" fairly religiously for several years, if I recall correctly, balancing old and new in a straight 1:1 ratio.  (As I was already in the habit of rereading quite a bit on a regular basis, it wasn't that difficult; it simply became a strict formula rather than a flexible inclination.)

Now, over time, I've realized how dogmatic that rule is and how silly it is to impose any kind of ironclad restriction upon my leisure reading.  I've also become more invested in working through the unread books I own, since I like to maintain a form of minimalism (or something like it) in most areas of my life.  Thus, I no longer force myself to follow each new read with a reread.  Sometimes I want to focus on racking up the number of new-to-me books I've read instead of revisiting old favorites, and that's okay.

On the other hand, I've had to be careful to not swing too far in the opposite direction.  As someone who does enjoy rereading — as someone who has always enjoyed rereading — I know that I don't want to lose that enjoyment.  Cutting down on one's TBR pile is well and good, and it's definitely something that I want to continue doing.  But I don't want to forget my 'old love' in the process, and I've caught myself drifting in that direction more than once over the past few years.  I've found myself not only rereading less and less, but actually avoiding the practice.  I've noticed a sensation of restlessness, or even guilt, when rereading old favorites.  I've started to feel as though I should be spending that reading time eliminating unread books from my shelves.

Part of this, I know, is due to the fact that, somewhere along the way, I got really weirded out by the idea of reread books being included in my yearly total on Goodreads.  I somehow figured that those shouldn't "count," as though having read a book in the past somehow invalidated the time, effort, and experience of reading it again and ought to make it null and void in the tally of what I read within a given calendar year.  {Which, in hindsight . . . literally why??  That makes no sense.  *shakes head @ self*  (Although, in fairness to said self, that was also before Goodreads began providing a visible record of how many times a book had been read.  I know that a lot of my antsiness stemmed from not wanting people to think that something was a first-time read when it was actually a reread.  I disliked the confusion, you see.)}

The other part of the problem is encapsulated in that devilish little word, "should."  Because really, let's be honest:  How many rules "should" there be when it comes to personal leisure reading?

. . . Few to none, that's correct.  If you don't want to spend a lot of time rereading, then don't.  If you do, then do.  Neither is objectively better or worse.  Your leisure reading is just that — your chance to immerse yourself in whatever literature appeals to you, in whatever way works for you.  Don't hem yourself in with trifling, arbitrary "should's".

Still, exhortations re. self-liberation aside — as I said, I know that I personally do find rereading a valuable, enriching experience.  Thus, I'm happy to be able to report that I've done quite a bit of it in 2021!  Indeed, research indicates that, of the 90+ books I've read so far this year, twenty-three of them have been rereads.  (And a good thing, too — research also indicates that the majority of my 2021 reading garnered 2- or 3-star ratings.  As the youths are saying, "it's not the vibes."  I needed some tried-and-true quality to save me from the mediocrity.)

This is probably the most rereading I've done in several years — though I know it may not be that much in proportion to others' habits — and I have at least a few more rereads up my sleeve which I plan to complete before kicking off the 2022 commencement ceremonies.  So, you may well ask, have I learned anything particularly noteworthy during this "year of rereads"?

Well, for one thing, corny though it sounds, I think I have rediscovered my love for the process.  Most of the books that I reread this year were old favorites, but not all of them — some I just wanted to revisit, for whatever reason.  (And there were several more of that kind that I'd hoped to get to this year and didn't, so will probably prioritize next year.) 

Rereading forced me to slow down and be more intentional about my reading this year.  I like to blow through books quickly, but the whole purpose of rereading is to comb back through already-familiar pages, looking for what you might have missed the first or second or third time around.  The goal is to re-immerse yourself in something you've already experienced, to see if you can glean something new from it.  I had to embrace this concept to truly enjoy the books I reread over the last twelve months.  

This discipline came in especially handy during my Lord of the Rings reread.  It had been a year or two since I'd last read the trilogy — certainly since I'd last read all three installments — and I had a marvelous time with it.  Once again, I was reminded of the maxim that usually holds true for Tolkien's writing:  for best results, savor.  I had to consciously remind myself that I wasn't in a race against time to finish the books.  I was free to take them in bite-sized pieces, reveling in the lyrical mysticism of Tolkien's words and the comforting vibrancy of the worlds they created.  I was free to enjoy the beloved story on my own terms (which happen to be that I love it deeply and forever but don't think it's anywhere near flawless).

It's the same mindset, more or less, that characterized the majority of my rereading this year, especially when it came to two other old favorites:  The Forgotten Beasts of Eld and Till We Have Faces.  As with LOTR, my most recent jaunts through these books hadn't been quite as magical as of yore, and I desperately wanted that to change.  I desperately wanted to be reassured that these stories still meant every bit as much to me as they used to.  

And guess what?  I was.  All three gave me extremely satisfying, enriching rereading experiences this year, and I think a large part of that had to do with my deliberate decision to focus on what I thought and felt about each story/book, instead of considering what I knew others (strangers, friends, or relatives) thought and felt about them.  I had to learn to trust that my own story sense was valid whether it accorded with others' or not.  I had to learn to trust that it was okay if my opinion of a book had changed over the years.  I had to learn to trust that it was okay if my opinion of a book hadn't changed over the years.  I had to learn to trust that it was okay if my feelings on a particular story were mixed or nuanced.  And I had to learn to trust my own ability to responsibly interpret the social, religious, philosophical, and ethical conundrums posed by the literature I read.  

In short, I had to learn to trust my own reading conscience again, which is a whole other topic of conversation involving Many Varied Thoughts & Theories that I've been mulling over lately.  (Speaking of which, perhaps another blog post is in order . . . hmm . . . )  

But enough of that, for the present.  On a lighter note, here are few more highlights from this year's rereading, books which were both A Delight & A Pleasure to revisit:

• Spinning Silver (by Naomi Novik)
• North and South (by Elizabeth Gaskell)
• Greenwillow (by B.J. Chute)
• The Wanderer (by Sharon Creech)
• Mere Christianity (by C.S. Lewis)

There were many more, of course, which I greatly enjoyed as well.  Getting back into the groove of rereading after an extended hiatus gets an 'A' from me.  Definitely recommend.

Ah, the season of wrap-ups and year-end reflections.  These last days of December will see me frantically trying to decide which novels and films deserve a spot on my 'best-of' lists; posting some of those lists here, some on Instagram; and, perhaps, doing a bit of brainstorming for 2022's reading plans. 😉

Also, speaking of Instagram:  I don't think I've yet mentioned that I recently revamped one of my accounts on that platform, turning it into what is essentially a mini extension of this blog.  So, if you're on Instagram and you'd care to see what I'm up to over there, you can find that account here:  @eldmountain. 😊

What will you be doing as 2021 draws to a close?

Are you a fan of rereading?