Do You Redux A Favorite Read?

Have you ever re-read a favorite book?

I must admit I have never done this before.  That is, until this week.  

My rationale had always been there are so many good books out there to discover, that I didn't feel like I could spare the time to revisit an old beloved story, even if I thought it was one of the best books I have ever read.  Sure, I have been tempted.  Like with Gone With the Wind.  I originally read that wonderful classic the summer before ninth grade.  I spent hours on end that summer, on the couch in the living room, devouring every page, imagining myself in that era, wanting to kill Scarlett for her behavior.  It has been many, many, many years since that summer but I can still recall the happy feeling I had reading that book. Why won't I return to read it? Because it is soooo long.  I just don't have that much spare time any more to spend reading such an involved book.

Because I substitute teach for High School English classes, I occasionally get to revisit a few other favorites like To Kill A Mockingbird, Lord of the Flies, and Speak.  But usually my tenure does not last for the entire time of reading the novel. In the 16 years I have been subbing, I've only been able to return to bits and pieces of these beloved stories.   

How did I decide to return to an old favorite this week? Well, I've been doing a lot of non-fiction reading lately which can be taxing on my brain.  I'm just finishing my second running book, Train Like A Mother, and wanted to lean towards a fiction book for my next read.  I had a couple in mind to choose from; titles that I have been keeping track with on my account with Good Reads.  I was just about ready to choose my selection when in a phone conversation with my daughter, she happened to mention she had joined a new book club and that their latest selection was, These is my Words.  She told me how much she was loving re-reading this book and how much she forgot how good the writing was and how special the story line was. Her comments tugged at my memory.  That book was one of my all time favorite reads.  It was one of those stories where the characters become part of your family and when you end the book, you really truly miss having them in your daily life.  I even waited a couple of weeks before I started my next book when I finally finished These is my Words because I just wanted the story, the characters, and the writing to linger a little longer.   When my daughter exclaimed how great it was to return to this book, she challenged me to do the same. What the heck? I was looking for a new book, I loved These is my Words the first time around, I might as well go back and read it again.

I'm in the first 50 pages and am totally overtaken once again by the magic of the story.  I'm so glad I broke my personal rule and went back to redux a favorite read.

What book(s) have you enjoyed over again?