I (Usually) Don’t Do This
I have a confession to make. And that is I'm not much of a re-reader. I don't actually know how controversial this is within the book community, but I've heard of people re-reading the same book every year during a certain season or holiday, or they have that one book they come back to again and again, and that's never been me. My TBR is ever growing and there's SO many gems in there that I just know are waiting their turn to enchant and delight me. My dopamine seeking brain is always craving new experiences and for some reason I just can't fathom re-reading a book I've already read. Been there, done that, ya know? Now there are a couple of exceptions where I will in fact do a re-read and they are as follows.
1.) It's a non-fiction book that I'm looking for a refresher on the topic or I'm looking for a specific piece of advice. Or maybe it's a book that grapples with a pretty big topic and I just didn't get the most out of it on my first read through. I'll usually check it out on Libby again a few months later. Most of these are going to be what you may call “self-help” books. My absolute favorite that I could read multiple times and still gleam helpful tips and tricks from is Financial Feminist by Tori Dunlap. If you're struggling with money and want to set yourself up for financial success and abundance this is the book for you! She gives you a solid step by step plan to grow your confidence and your bank account with none of that finance bro bullshit. Read it, thank me later.
2.) It's on the shorter side AND I absolutely loved it. It's gotta be the combination of those two, because I don't care how much I loved the story. You're gonna be hard pressed to find me re-reading an absolute doorstopper of a book. It goes without saying that I'm definitely NOT re-reading a book that I didn't love. Life is way too short for all that. An example of a book that meets these two requirements is I'm Thinking of Ending Things by Ian Ried. You knew I was going to say it, I knew I was going to say it. I swear, I can't go too long without screaming this title from the rooftops. If you haven't read my blog post about why this is the absolute best thriller I've ever read in my WHOLE LIFE yet, here's the link.
3.) It's for book club and I didn't hate it the first time around. As someone who has intense FOMO and wants to have an informed opinion for the discussion I will do a re-read if it's a title for book club and it's been a minute since I've read it and I need a refresher. This one has a little bit of wiggle room to it because even if the book wasn't one of my absolute favorites or a 5 star read the first time around, I probably will still end up doing a re-read of it before the book club meets. This is because I'm a big believer in the concept of “right book, wrong time.” I think there are some books that we're just not ready for yet, or perhaps they didn't land because of where you were in your life at that particular moment. I look at this situation as the universe is giving us a gentle nudge to pick it up and try again. Honestly this has only ever happened to me once, and the book in question was What You Are Looking for is in The Library by Michiko Aoyama. And I LOVED this book the first time I read it (and it's a pretty short audio book clocking in around 7 hours) so this was an easy re-read to say yes to.
These are really the only circumstances where I'll do a re-read. And this has been consistent across my life as a reader/bookish person. Maybe one day I'll be in a place where a book shakes me to my core and I just HAVE to read it again, but until that day comes you'll find me being a one and done girlie. Let me know what you're favorite book to re-read is!
