Hello everyone! :) I hope you've been having a great week! I'm actually kind of sick right now and so am a little behind on visiting blogs (when am I not? there are too many of you awesome people!) but it was a good day of reading, watching TV with my sister and just relaxing. Homework will have to wait for tomorrow ;)
Part of what I did today was re-read The Prisoner of Azkaban. Now I don't know how well known of a fact this is but I re-read the Harry Potter series FREQUENTLY. Like I'm talking at least one of the books a month and often more. I don't always read straight through but if there's a certain passage that's calling my name, I'm there. It's been like this for as long as I can remember; this obsessive re-reading of J.K. Rowling is so standard for me. There's a quality and connection that I have to her world that allows me to re-visit again and again and again without ever getting tired of it.
But, Harry Potter aside, I don't do nearly as much re-reading as I used to. Before I got into blogging, I was a huge re-reader for many books. In grade seven, I checked out Squire by Tamora Pierce from my school library TEN TIMES. And although I don't re-read as much now, the idea still appeals to me. I actually did my first re-read (HP not included) in a loooong while last week (Lola and the Boy Next Door, you're still sparkly and fabulous) and I loved it! There's so much that you forget and re-discover during a re-read, and, for me at least, it makes me fall in love with a book all over again.
So why don't I re-read as much now? Huh? If I love it so much?
Pretty simple, really. I don't have time.
(As in, busy... reading other books. It's a good problem to have, I know)
As much as I love blogging (AND I LOVE IT A GREAT DEAL, TRUST ME) I do feel a bit of pressure to read enough books to be able to review and share and all that great stuff. And seriously, it's not at all a bad thing because I love reading NEW books and trying out new things and reading just the HP series for the rest of my life probably won't get me that. Probably. I don't know if the Sonia that lived on fantasy and mythology would have picked up a book like If I Stay (one of my all-time favourite books) enthusiastically.
So while I do sometimes feel like I shouldn't be re-reading with so many other books to read, it all works out in the end. Because while I spend time re-reading old favourites, I could be missing out on the chance to discover new favourites.
Are you a re-reader? Has blogging changed that at all for you?
(I think I have a serious problem with using GIFs in these random kinds of posts.)
I'm not a huge re-reader but I have revisted a few books this year. After reading Forget You by Jennifer Echols last week, I've been thinking about Going Too Far which I read last year and would love to read again. What's stopping me? The same reason as you: too many new books to read and discover.
ReplyDeleteBlogging has definitely stopped me reading whatever and whenever I want but to be honest, I'm not too strict on myself. If your too strict then blogging becomes a chore, you just have to roll with it.
As much as I love blogging (AND I LOVE IT A GREAT DEAL, TRUST ME) I do feel a bit of pressure to read enough books to be able to review and share and all that great stuff. - Oh my goodness, you took the words right out of my mouth! It can be stressful to read and review enough books so you have new posts releasing often but I think it's very important to not be too hard on yourself.
Awesome, awesome post!
P.S - GIFs FTW. You can never have too many :D
Oh boy, I reaaaally need to read a Jennifer Echols novel!
DeleteIf your too strict then blogging becomes a chore, you just have to roll with it. Oh, completely agree! I think I would be driven crazy if I stuck to a strict schedule (although I can see that it works for other people which is great! I envy that level of organization).
YAY, glad you think so! :D
I wouldn't say I was a HUGE re-reader but now and then I definitely go back and read some of my favourite books in my spare time, particularly Jeaniene Frost and Richelle Mead books. Can't get enough of them. Also I think blogging does restrict me from reading whenever I want to but I always try and go with the flow and I still end up managing to keep up with my to-read pile. I can always find some time to squeeze them in no matter how busy I can get.
ReplyDeleteAnd don't worry about your GIFs. 1) They're awesome. 2) I'm . . . obsessed with gifs. Kind of addicted to them actually.
I remember re-reading VA over and over until it was due back to the library the first time I read it :) I haven't really gone back since though! Maybe a re-read of the series is in order?
DeleteThat's a good point. If I'm being honest with myself, I know that I don't read strictly review books and nor do I want to. It's nice to get a mixture :)
That's TWO votes for the GIFs! Clearly they are here to stay!
I probably reread way too much. Particularly Richelle Mead, Marissa Meyer, and Kiera Cass. I always try to read something new however these amazing books just take me back to how I felt reading them the first time.
ReplyDeleteOooh! I haven't read The Selection yet (such mixed opinions on that book!) but it's awesome to know that it comes so highly recommended from you :) Thanks for the comment!
DeleteHonestly, re-reading is very difficult for me to do as it eats up a lot of time! I need that time to get through NEW books, which is why I hardly ever re-read a book these days, unless, of course, it is a Harry Potter novel. Sometimes, I will have a very quick flick through a book if the sequel is due to be released soon and I have forgotten everything. That's as far as my re-reading goes these days though, even though I always say I will re-read a book. :D
ReplyDeleteObviously exceptions are made for HP! ;) That's me too. If I love a book, I always think to myself that I'll re-read it but normally that just doesn't happen.
DeleteI love re-reading! I have re-read Harry Potter several times and I want to do it again soon! I also tend to re-read books in a series when a new book comes out just to refresh my memory. So yeah I'm a huge fan of re-reading! :)
ReplyDeleteYAY HARRY POTTER! :D
DeleteOh that's a good idea. I wish I had the time to re-read books in a series because I've almost always forgotten a few things. Thanks for sharing, Susan!
I used to re-read a whole lot more too. but just like you, I don't have time now and feel guilty, although there are a few that I want to reread.
ReplyDeleteBrandi from Blkosiner’s Book Blog
Well I hope that you'll manage to find some time for re-reading! Maybe you could better justify it to yourself if you're re-reading a book from a series to better remember for the next? :D
DeleteAaargh I hear you! I used to ALWAYS re-read books but now? I barely get time to read the books I need to read for review! LOL I do re-read books while I eat because I tend to concentrate a little less at that time so I can't really read a book I need to review as I might miss something. :) x You should try it!
ReplyDeleteI will definitely have to try that!! Logic seems pretty sound to me! :)
DeleteYES YES YES YES YES YES YES!
ReplyDeleteI love blogging. I don't want to stop, and I love that I'm able to read new books I'd have otherwise never encountered or even considered. Prior to this year the only contemps I'd ever read were in high school as assigned reading. Since then, Anna and the French Kiss and Saving June have become all time favorites. But now? I haven read Harry Potter in TWO YEARS. It used to be a yearly thing. I mean, I still read passages, and I watch the movies, and I daydream and fangirl ceaselessly, but it's not the same.
There is DEFINITELY pressure to keep up with blogging demands. And it's FINE, but I DO miss the freedom to read what I want WHEN I want. I don't feel as though I can justify picking up a book--even one I've not read before--if I've review copies sitting around waiting to be read.
Bloggin is wonderful, and I love the opportunities it awards. But it DOES cone at the cost of others, at times ;)
To your entire comment: <3 <3 <3 <3 <3
DeleteAt least the trade-off is worth it in the end :)
I used to re-read a lot more than I do now. Before blogging, I re-read almost obsessively - I've read the HP series so many times I've actually lost count, and I think I've read Avalon High by Meg Cabot like...fourteen or fifteen times? But now I blog and have a lot more books to get through, I just don't have the time (though I do try to sneak in a HP re-read at least one every year, though it was longer than that this time). I do miss re-reading, but then it's great to have lots of new books to read too :). (And we all love your gifs, don't ever stop :P.)
ReplyDeleteSoooonia! You're sick too? :( Well, you might be over your sickness now since I'm kinda slow in commenting on this, but I hope you're feeling AMAZING.
ReplyDeleteOh how I miss rereading HP. That is how I USED to be.... rereading at least one every month because I needed to go back to that world. Once, twice, five times, it's NEVER enough and I'm still always surprised and captivated by what I find! But yes, blogging has definitely stopped my rereading.
I have always been a MASSIVE rereader, and not just with HP books. ANY book that I loved required multiple reads. I have managed to reread a few while blogging, like Divergent (I actually think I've squeezed in TWO rereads of that. Score!) and recently I reread the amazingness of Under the Never Sky. But it's not an every-week thing like it used to be for me and I DO miss that, but there's just not enough hours in the day.
I love discovering new reads and new favourites, but sometimes... sometimes I find it a necessity to revisit an old friend to reaffirm your love <3
Before I got into book blogging I used to reread books ALL THE TIME. I used to spend summer rereading all my favorite books growing up, and the school year for newer books, with a few rereads mixed in. But now with so many books in my to-read pile, I feel like if I reread I'll never get through it. But I do miss rereading some of my favorites, and hopefully next summer I'll be able to squeeze a few rereads in.
ReplyDeleteI used to LOVE re-reading books, especially Harry Potter. If I was at work (I used to work in a bookstore), I'd finished my current book during my lunch break, I would grab a copy of HP or Poison Study, open to a random page and start reading. But once BFF (Saz101) picked up reading again we started to swap books all the time, and then I joined GoodReads and they don't count rereads (which I find an OUTRAGE!) and then I started blogging and I felt GUILTY for rereads and that they weren't "counting" for anything.
ReplyDeleteWhen there are SO many books out there to read, I felt, and feel, like a terrible person for not trying them, for not discovering their brilliance. When I started the rereads of Harry Potter for the Potterthonalong, I really discovered how much I missed rereads and how much new knowledge and enjoyment I could get out of them so I've actually got a couple planned for the rest of the year now.