My blogging group recently started doing weekly blog prompts to get our (collective) creative juices flowing. This Friday we’re posting about the one book we can read over and over again without getting bored. (Note: For this post, I’m sticking to fiction).
This prompt is a hard one for me because–as my husband well knows–I’m not much of a re-reader. (With my TBR pile as high as it is, I can’t afford to be!). But sometimes I just crave a comfort read, a chance to return to an old friend who I can rely on to entertain, uplift, and transport me into another world. All my favorite re-reads have some things in common: they’re set in locales far removed from my here and now, they bubble over with wit and whimsy, they have sympathetic characters, and they leave me with a smile on my face.
So, without further ado, here are three of my favorite re-reads (no, I couldn’t pick only one):
Howl’s Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones
When self-deprecating oldest sister Sophie is transformed into an old woman, she sets out to seek her fortune as cleaning lady to the horrible wizard, Howl. An all-around funny, touching, and romantic read.
Sylvester by Georgette Heyer
An impending marriage proposal from Sylvester, Duke of Salford, causes Phoebe Marlow to run away from her home into the teeth of a snowstorm. However, circumstances throw them together again, much to the amusement of all. An unusual heroine, comic situations, and a cast of fun characters make this a charming read.
Anything by L. M. Montgomery (yes, I cheated again)
But if I had to pick: Anne of Windy Poplars and The Blue Castle.
Everyone’s familiar with the red-headed Anne, but I love many of the lesser-known Montgomery books. In The Blue Castle, downtrodden 29-year-old Valancy learns that she has only one year left to live. For the first time in her life, she decides to say and do exactly what she wants, and discovers adventure, love, and beauty along the way.
I noticed two other things about my list of re-reads:
1. They all have romantic plots or subplots.
2. They are all books I first read as a teenager (back when, I suspect, I was more open to falling in love with books than I am now).
Updated with links to other participants:
- Cora Ramos: Mistress of Synchronity
- Linda Adams: The Beauty of Omniscient Viewpoint
- Margaret Miller: Reading Books the Second Time Around
- Ellen Gregory: My re-reading book: The Lions of Al-Rassan
- Seth Swanson: It’s been a while
- Tami Clayton: Visiting Old Friends Between the Pages Once Again
- Janice Heck: Tuscany in Mind–Second Time Around
- Kim Griffin: Favorite Novel Reread
This Friday’s selections are all wonderful. A whole new pile of books I will have to read.
I realized some of my favorite re-reads were from my younger years as well. There’s something about a story touching you at that time in your life that sticks with you.
So many good book recommendations… Just not enough time to read them all. The WANA reviews are great. Can’t wait to read more.
My favourite re-reads tend to be books I found when I was younger too. Maybe there’s something in what you say about being more open to LOVE a book back then. Having said that. I still love all those books! And, yes, all my favourites have a wonderful love story at their heart as well.
I love Sylvester — and just about anything Georgette Heyer — too. Her books are high on my re-read list, and it helps they tend to be fairly short. I’ve re-read the Anne books a few times — but Windy Poplars is one I haven’t revisited… It’s interesting that it’s your favourite. And I have never even heard of The Blue Castle!!
I must read Howl’s Moving Castle. I’ve never read any Diana Wynn Jones, and I suspect I’m missing out.
I am compiling a list of must reads and will add these ~ they look great!
Thanks, everyone! Hope these books put as big of a smile on your face as they do on mine. 🙂
I remember the Georgette Heyer era – I think they were the first books my mother showed me on the adult shelves of the library when I’d grown out of the junior section and the YA was full of stuff like “My darling my hamburger”. Delighful, thanks for sharing.