What I Re-Read in 2019
One of the things that I discovered writing my Picky Pledge recap (that posts tomorrow) was that re-reading made up the largest segment of what I read in 2019. Of the 210 books I read, 64 were re-reads. That's approximately 30% of what I read, which is no small number! I remember reading the same beloved books over and over again in childhood, so my love of re-reading has been there from the very beginning. I always make time for it, though some years it's more of a priority than others. 2019 was one of those years, and I loved every minute of it!
I participated in two re-reading challenges in 2019 – one "official" challenge that I co-hosted with Kelly on Instagram, and one "unofficial" one that we both made as a goal. Since I was spending this week on the blog recapping the other reading challenges I participated in, I wanted to take a second to chat about re-reading, too.
#FebruaREREAD
Co-hosted with @xoxokellynina
Near the end of 2018, I told Kelly, “I wish I could ignore my TBR for a month and just re-read old favorites.”
“Why can't you?” she immediately replied.
And so: we decided to spend all of February re-reading our favorite books! We called it our #FebruaREREAD. What better time to do it? The month we were both born in AND the month meant for celebrating love! It was so much fun to dedicate an entire month to old favorites. I was so proud of myself for re-reading 24 books:
You can find reviews of everything that I re-read in a few various blog posts: January Quick Lit (Part Two), February Quick Lit (Part One), February Quick Lit (Part Two), and my Series Speed Date feature. And I still haven't reviewed My Oxford Year by Julia Whelan, but here's what I said about it on Instagram.
Re-Read Twelve Series
A personal challenge for me and Kelly
Around the same time that we started planning #FebruaREREAD, Kelly and I discussed the idea of trying to re-read twelve series in 2019. It sounded like a stretch, but still within our reach since it amounted to one series per month. We both love audiobooks and use the format primarily for re-reading, so we figured that increased the likelihood of our success. We never posted about it anywhere, but we'd chat about our choices each month – and sometimes convince one another to pick up the same books, too. I got off to a strong start early in the year, which kept me from stressing when I hit a reading rut near the end. I'd already finished! Here are the series I re-read:
- Act Like It, Pretty Face, and Making Up by Lucy Parker
- Finnikin of the Rock, Froi of the Exiles, and Quintana of Charyn by Melina Marchetta
- The Winner's Curse, The Winner's Crime, and The Winner's Kiss by Marie Rutkoski
- Grave Mercy, Dark Triumph, and Mortal Heart by Robin LaFevers
- Me Before You and After You by Jojo Moyes
- Saving Francesca and The Piper's Son by Melina Marchetta
- Shadow and Bone, Siege and Storm, and Ruin and Rising by Leigh Bardugo
- Six of Crows and Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo
- Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Harry Potter and Order of the Phoenix, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling
- Hunger Games, Catching Fire, and Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins
- Unspoken, Untold, and Unmade by Sarah Rees Brennan
- A Court of Thorns and Roses, A Court of Mist and Fury, A Court of Wings and Ruin, and A Court of Frost and Starlight by Sarah J. Maas
Miscellaneous Re-Reads
Because I might as well mention them, too!
Finally, I re-read 10 other books throughout the year. Unsurprisingly, all were on audio! Without that format, I wouldn't be able to read nearly as many books as I do. It's how I find the time to read, even when I'm busy. Here are those 10 books (a few links go to first read reviews because I didn't write re-read thoughts):
- Princess of Thorns by Stacey Jay
- Dreams of gods and Monsters by Laini Taylor
- Persuasion by Jane Austen
- Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein
- Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman
- Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery
- Kingdom of Ash by Sarah J. Maas
- Daisy Jones and the Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid
- A Rogue by Any Other Name by Sarah MacLean
- Lovely War by Julie Berry
Did you re-read anything in 2019?
Joining any re-reading challenges in 2020?
I tell myself every year that I will reread the Harry Potter series but never get around to it when I discover all these other books. Maybe 2020 will be the year I reread the series, haha! The only thing I reread back in 2019 was the first and second book of the Narnia series and that brought a lot of nostalgia already.
ReplyDeleteHaha I totally understand that! Audiobooks have definitely helped me balance new books vs. re-reads because listening to a re-read doesn't leave me feeling like I'm missing out on time I could be reading something new. I've only ever read one Narnia book -- one of my goals needs to be to finally read the whole series!
DeleteI reread the first 4 Dragonriders of Pern stories by Anne McCaffrey. Then on a whim, since I had picked up a book I'd never heard of in the series at a used book sale at the library, I read that one also...and loved it! So then I had to go to the library and eventually I read all of the other books in the series, including the ones by her son, Todd McCaffrey. I had NO idea there were so many books in the Pern series! I even had to learn how to use the library's e-book system, to download a book to my Kindle, since one of the books was only available as an ebook. Taught this old dog a new trick!
ReplyDeleteI also reread Cat's Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut, since that's my favorite book of his. And so many times when I read the news, I wish that scientists would indeed ask themselves the question, "Just because I probably CAN do it, SHOULD I do it?" Just because something is scientifically possible, doesn't mean it's a good idea!
I also reread "The Ape Who Spoke," a cultural anthropology book about how humans developed speech, and how memory works. I learn something new every time I read it!
And because I've been depressed about having 9 of my books unavailable due to a publisher closing last year, I reread 7 of them, just to reassure myself they're worth republishing. No new publisher wants to take them on, since Amazon still lists them as "limited availability", just in case someone wants to sell a used copy there. They don't care about me trying to get them published again, and no one wanting to touch them when they're still listed. So my project for the summer, once the school year is out and I'm "only" working my part-time tutoring job, is to take my husband up on his offer to design me some covers, and try to get as many of them up on Smashwords as I can.
I love to reread books I've enjoyed. It's like visiting with an old friend you haven't seen for a while. You walk away from the encounter feeling rejuvenated, remembering how much you enjoyed their company.
You totally reread an impressive amount of books! Honestly, thanks to you and Kel, I've actually started rereading more in the last two years too -- and it's been so much fun!
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