Books I Want to Reread

“Out in the Waste stood a home, abandoned.”

First line in Our Dark Duet by Victoria Schwab

Hi guys. Today I wanted to talk a bit about what we all wish we had more time for: rereading books. I used to do this a lot more when I was younger. I had 3 or 4 series I just went through over and over and over again. I remember my mom being very confused by this. She never rereads a book *gasp* and would ask me why I wanted to read Harry Potter for the 12^th time when I know what happens. My answer: Because I know what happens. When you read a book for the first time, it’s very hard to pay attention to EVERYTHING. You won’t understand all the hints but it’s so rewarding to read it again and see all of those connections you missed the first time. I also find myself loving characters I might have been indifferent about the first time, because I now know their complete character arc and appreciate their development.

This post was actually inspired by my recent reread of Carry On by Rainbow Rowell. I’ll let you know more about my thoughts about the book in my October wrap up but for now I will reveal that my rating went from 3 to 5 stars. Therefore, this post is also a reminder to reread books you didn’t completely love the first time. With Carry On, I definitely read it at the wrong time in my life.

The unfortunate thing about rereads however is when you read your favorite book… and it’s not your favorite anymore. I recently experienced this when I reread The Maze Runner by James Dashner. That was not like I remembered it.

I have a lot of books I want to reread and now I’m going to tell you which ones. First, a couple of books I want to give a second chance.

Dust Lands by Moira Young

Books in series:

• Blood Red Road – published in 2011. Read in 2013. My rating was 3 stars.
• Rebel Heart – published in 2012. DNF.
• Raging Star – published 2014. Never touched it.

I actually own the first book and I think I only DNF’d Rebel Heart because the library wanted their book back. I just never got around to getting it again. I remember the writing being very difficult because the characters spoke with an accent. That meant I read it super slowly. I think that as an adult it might suit be better. Plus, my English has improved (hopefully). I remember that the story had so much potential and I actually want to know how it ends.

The Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien

Books in series:

• The Fellowship of the Ring – published in 1954. I read this before I was on Goodreads so sometime before 2011. No rating.
• The Two Towers – published in 1954. Same as above.
• The Return of the King – published in 1955. Again, same.

To say that I’ve read these might be a stretch as I skimmed SO many of the descriptions. I did not like the series at all and thought it was oh so boring. I’m not completely convinced that I will feel any different today but I want to give them a second chance at some point. I WAS very young when I read them the first time and I’m assuming that I’ll understand more of the story now so we’ll see.

That’s all I’ll commit to at this point. Not every book deserves a second chance. Of course, I also want to reread some of my favorite books. Some of the ones I know I’ll still love or maybe love even more. I won’t give much of an explanation for these because ‘duh’.

Harry Potter by J. K. Rowling

Books in series (all rated 5 stars):

• Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone – published 1997.
• Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets – published 1998.
• Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban – published 1999
• Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire – published 2000.
• Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix – published 2003.
• Harry Potter and the Half-blood Prince – published 2005.
• Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – published 2007.

I reread those every third year at Christmas. It’s the best tradition. Next time is in 2020.

Shades of Magic by V. E. Schwab

Books in series:

• A Darker Shade of Magic – published 2015. Read in 2018. I rated it 5 stars.
• A Gathering of Shadows – published 2016. Read in 2018. I rated it 4 stars.
• A Conjuring of Light – published 2017. Read in 2018. I rated it 5 stars.

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

Books in series:

• The Hunger Games – published 2008. Read in 2013. I rated it 5 stars
• Catching Fire – published 2009. Read in 2013. I rated it 5 stars.
• Mockingjay – published 2010. Read in 2013. I rated it 4 stars.

The Raven Cycle by Maggie Stiefvater

Books in series:

• The Raven Boys – published 2012. Read in 2018. I rated it 4 stars.
• The Dream Thieves – published 2013. Read in 2018. I rated in 5 stars.
• Blue Lily, Lily Blue – published in 2014. Read in 2018. I rated it 4 stars.
• The Raven King – published 2016. Read in 2018. I rated it 4 stars.

Monsters of Verity by Victoria Schwab

Books in series:

• This Savage Song – published 2016. Read in 2018. I rated it 4 stars.
• Our Dark Duet – published 2017. Read in 2018. I rated it 4 stars.

Thunderhead by Neal Shusterman

Yes, I just want to reread the second book in Arc of a Scythe because that was freaking amazing! Scythe wasn’t bad, but it was just nowhere near the level of Thunderhead.

I hope you enjoyed this and maybe feel inspired to pick up a book you’ve already read. Remember, the new releases will still be there when you’re done. What book do you want to reread? Have you ever changed your mind about a book for the better because of a reread? I feel like I most often experience it the other way around so I’d love to know if that’s just me.