Do you ever re-read books? I have found that people absolutely do or absolutely don’t and there really is no middle ground. I myself am a big fan of re-reading, but I can understand where the opposition comes from. The argument I hear most often from people is that there are so many wonderful new books that they don’t want to spend their time reading something that they have already experienced. I get it. It’s logical BUT I’ve never really been one for logic.

There are so many books out there that I want to read and I can’t wait to start them but there really is something so amazing about re-reading. Don’t get me wrong. I don’t re-read every book, just my favourites, and when I re-read I remember how I felt the first time I read the book and add on to that experience.

There are different levels of enjoyment that can be had from re-reading. You will discover new things, perhaps because you have a different mind set the second time round or maybe there has been a few years between reads and your perspective has changed. I find it so exciting when this happens especially with a special book which I have read many times over. I still love the re-reading experience even without any new discoveries. I live vicariously through those stories and love spending more time with my favourite characters. It’s like eating comfort food or wearing that cozy old sweater.

I must confess that there are books that I have read more than twice. Books like The Fionavar Tapestry by Guy Gavriel Kay, Dune by Frank Herbert, Anna Dressed in Blood by Kendare Blake, and The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss – to name just a few. My record for the most re-reads though goes to a series I first read as a child and have re-read every single year since. I have read the Belgariad and the Malloreon series by David Eddings twenty-four (yes, that’s 24!) times and counting. Reading these books is both comforting and comfortable, and feels like coming home.

There are a lot of books that I have never read before and while logic dictates that I read those, my heart says to read what makes me happy. Sometimes that will be a new book but sometimes it will be an old faithful. So go on, go re-read one of your favourite books right now. I guarantee you won’t regret it.

— Ashley T.