Stuck in the Past

Posted August 11, 2017 by Cristina (Girl in the Pages) in Features / 18 Comments

I’ve hit a weird spot in my blogging/reading life.

I’m at a point where all I feel like doing is rereading old favorites. Like, really old favorites. I suppose it started when I was unpacking old books from my recent move and placing them on my shelves, and have the strong and sudden urge to reread The A-List series. I immediately took to Twitter to see if anyone was interested in reading them along with me, and was met with enthusiastic participation by none other than my bookish and blogger other half, Lauren. As we’ve started rereading the series over the past two weeks, I’ve found that not only do I read rereads faster, but I tend to enjoy them a lot more than I’ve enjoyed reading new-to-me books. There’s no anxiety about if I’ll like the book or not, no pressure to write a full length review of each novel, and no real expectations surrounding the reading experience- I can just read and ENJOY myself. Now I’ve found myself itching to reread constantly (which just isn’t something that I have time to do, truth be told, because in order to stay “relevant” as a blogger you generally need to be aware and consuming and posting content surrounding new releases).

I generally pick 1-2 series a year to reread. It used to be Harry Potter every year (but honestly a lot of my Potter steam has run out lately, ever since the release of Cursed Child) and in recent years it’s been the Shiver Trilogy, The Princess Diaries series, and ACOTAR & ACOMAF. Some of the best parts of doing these annual rereads is the ability to partner with other bloggers and host reread events and share the joy of returning to a familiar and beloved series. Though I always feel the pressure that I’m not keeping up with enough current releases, I’ve been getting so much joy and energy out of rereading lately that I want to continue on with some more series rereads.

Series I Plan to Reread

I can’t even tell you the level of excitement I have when thinking about rereading the above series. I’m flying through these rereads (which does wonders for my Goodreads challenge, let me tell you) but I’m also remembering what the joy of reading felt like in my pre-blogging days (back when I did a LOT of rereading!)

Let’s Discuss!

Do you ever reread, or is it something you’ve had to give up to keep up with your blog? What series do you have on your radar to reread soon? Are their books that you’ve reread lately and you’ve actually ended up NOT liking a second time around? What determines if a book is worthy of a reread to you? Let me know in the comments!

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18 responses to “Stuck in the Past

  1. I love to reread! I probably don’t do it as often now that I’m blogging, but I still try to make time for it. I haven’t reread Harry Potter in awhile, so I may do that. I reread the original Selection trilogy on vacation earlier this year. It’s hard to say what makes a book worthy of a reread for me – it’s just a book I know I love, a story I would never get tired of. Great post!

  2. I’m frustrated by the fact that when it comes to book blogging “relevance” is determined by how often we discuss new releases. :/ Sure, I like new releases, but I also love it when a blogger covers a book that I’ve long forgot about. It get’s me excited to check out some oldies but goodies! SO, I think it’s great you’re taking the time to reread your favorites! I still cannot believe I haven’t ever finished the Mara Dyer series. I LOVED the first book and now with the spin-off series(?) about Noah happening, I think it would be a good time for me to reread the first and dive back in! Happy reading, Cristina!! 🙂

    Em @ Books & Cleverness recently posted: 4 Stories to Binge until the Next Episode of THE BOLD TYPE!
    • YES, I love reading backlist reviews for the same reason! There are soooo many new releases each year in YA (such a change from when I was a teen!) and it’s awesome but also impossible to keep up, so it’s inevitable that some books are going to slip off my radar. It’s helpful when bloggers highlight those, and adds some variety because it can get repeititve when every blogger is posting about the exact same books every month. Also, I’m planning to do a Mara Dyer reread either this fall or over the holidays in December/January if you ever want to join in 🙂

  3. I looove rereading! I used to reread Harry Potter all the time and actually completed a slow reread of the series this year (i.e. all 7 books stretched out over the last two years haha). I do feel guilty sometimes but when I allow myself to reread it makes me so happy so I’m trying to give in more! This year I’ve reread 7 books so far. Usually it’s when I want a comfort read or something cute, like a contemporary. I watch rom coms over and over so why not books? Other times it’s because I love the rich worldbuilding and characters, like The Raven Cycle. There are so many series I want to reread, I have to find the time!

    Morgan @ The Bookish Beagle recently posted: ReRead Review: Simon vs The Homo Sapiens Agenda
    • YES people watch their favorite movies over again all the time, and I feel like rereading books offers that same comfort! Over the past two months I’ve reread about 10 books for a project I am doing with another blogger, and I’ve loved it, but I also feel soooo guilty because I feel like I am really behind on so many new releases! My goal is to try and reread one series a year!

  4. I barely ever reread, but lately I’ve been wanting to revisit some of my fave books to see if they hold up. I do a podcast (WE KNOW WHAT YOU DID ON FEAR STREET) about the Fear Street books– those were my #1 fave as a kid. So I’m reread all of those in preparation for our episodes. But I’d love to do a PLL reread or a Gossip Girl one. Or just a reread of fave standalones. Oh, I also reread 2 Sarah Dessen books this spring and I was SO happy they stood the test of time 🙂

    I don’t think I could reread the Mara Dyer series since that last book pissed me off so much!! I don’t even know if I want to bother with the Noah book 🙁

    • Ooooh a reread podcast would be SO MUCH fun! What a great idea! I’ve dabbled in one about the Babysitter’s Club books (some of my faves as a kid!) I feel like there is just so much 90s nostalgia right now, it’s making me want to go back and revisit. I will admit that the last Mara Dyer book was my least favorite, but I still found the overall plot/mystery of the series so compelling that I know I’ll read Noah’s book!

  5. I think re- reads are great even though I don’t do that many, but as a mood reader I have to go with what I feel like, and if it were a re- read then I guess that would be it! I know what you mean though, you do feel like you’re getting away from what’s current if you step back a bit from new releases. I think you should do whatever is working for you though- and I do think a lot more blogs now are diversifying in the sense that they’re not just all ARC- focused all the time, more and more bloggers say they’re reading more backlist or whatever. At least it seems that way to me?

    I do have a few favorites I wouldn’t mind revisiting, now that you mention it… 🙂

    • Yes, I’ve become a HUGE mood reader in my adult years, and I’ve just really been craving the comfort of rereads lately! I’ve been pushing myself to try and get back into new releases (especially the physical ARCs I currently have) and have been alternating them- I’m reading one new book, one reread, and one manga at a time! I personally really like reading backlist reviews and reading blogs that just aren’t all ARC focused, especially because I feel like readers will be more forth coming with their opinions on an older book than they would be with-form ARC!

  6. It’s been a while since I do re-read and even though I don’t do it often, I always love doing it! There’s a sense of familiarity and just a whole new level of appreciation when you can catch the sneaky foreshadowing or details the author put that you never noticed before. I plan to re-read Days of Blood and Starlight to prepare for Dreams of Gods and Monsters, and I also plan to read Mara Dyer for Noah Shaw trilogy!

    • Yes, I think appreciation is a perfect word for rereads- you’re obviously returning to a book because you enjoyed and appreciated the elements it had to offer! I am especially excited to reread Mara Dyer at some point, because those books were crazy intense and spooky (for me, at least!) and I think I’ll pick up on a lot more subtle details a second time through (hopefully some of the creepiness will have worn off- the second book gave me nightmares lol)

  7. Ally

    As you did, I reread a lot of Harry Potter, however with Harry securely packed away in my storage unit that is not an option at the moment. I’m not rereading anything at the moment but when I was a teenager I was constantly rereading Gone With the Wind. I wonder if this book resonates with the younger audience anymore. I suspect the Boomer Generation is the last to love this book as it is a bit politically incorrect . . .

  8. Oh my goodness! I loved The It Girl series SO much! Both that and Gossip Girl were two of my favorites and I constantly re-read them in high school! I still didn’t love Jenny at her new boarding school. And obviously Sailor Moon is the best<3 VIZ is printing Eternal editions starting in January!

    • As soon as I saw this comment I googled the eternal versions and I NEED them in my life!!! I really hope they’re full cover, if they look like the ones that were printed in Japan they will be GORGEOUS! I’m honestly on SUCH a Sailor Moon kick right now- I binged the first two seasons of Crystal and I am just as obsessed with it as I was back in the 90’s!

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