Sunday Salon: Re-Reading, and Reading Along (maybe?)

 

Between starting this blog in 2007 and last year, I didn’t re-read anything - the old “not enough time, and too many new books to explore” argument. But the “someday” I’ve had in mind for those books I’ve kept to re-read “someday” grows time-limited too, and I’m starting to think that three to five re-reads over the course of a year may actually be a very good use of time.

Five of my 55 book reviews in 2010 were for re-reads of books I first read before my blogging days. I’ve written five book review so far this year (LibraryThing is up-to-date, the blog is not), and one of them is for a re-read of a novel I first read at least 15 years ago. I’m pleased that the Faith and Fiction Roundtable made Madeleine L’Engle’s 1993 adult novel Certain Women its first pick of 2011; I appreciated it more the second time around, and I’m looking forward to discussing it with the group (we start today).

I’m planning to re-read a book I’m thankful for, Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott, some time this spring - but I’m probably more likely to go through with it if I have company. If you’d be interested in reading “some instructions on writing and life” with me - either again or for the first time - please let me know in the comments, and I’ll follow up with you via e-mail! I’m thinking some time in April for this one, so please check your calendar if you’re considering joining me.

I know I’ve missed at least a couple of group reads of this novel, but I think I’m way overdue for a re-read of Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale, which seems to remain as timely and terrifying as it was over 20 years ago. And if time permits before Part 2 of the movie opens, revisiting Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (even though I’ve already reviewed it) is probably a good idea, just to keep the story straight!

How often do you re-read, and how important is re-reading to your overall reading activity? Are there certain books you make a point of revisiting regularly?

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The winners of the inaugural Independent Literary Awards were announced on Friday!

GLBTQ
Winner: Annabel by Kathleen Winter
Runner Up: Will Grayson, Will Grayson by John Green, David Levithan

Literary Fiction
Winner: Safe From the Sea by Peter Geye
Runner Up: Great House by Nicole Krauss

Non-Fiction
Winner: The Warmth of Other Suns by Isabel Wilkerson
Runner Up: The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot

Speculative Fiction
Winner: Kraken by China Miéville
Runner Up: Monsters of Men by Patrick Ness

The Independent Literary Awards are given to books that have been nominated by independent literary bloggers, with the winners determined by a panel of bloggers who are proficient in the genre they represent. I was pleased to serve on the Non-Fiction panel, and will be posting my reviews of the winner and runner-up in that category this week. If you're interested in being a panelist and/or suggesting a new award category for 2011, visit the ILA website.

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 Due to my current condition, Tall Paul and I are forgoing our annual drive to Santa Barbara this weekend - we got engaged there on Super Bowl Sunday 2006. Since we’re staying in, I’m participating in Jenn’s "The Big Game’s On! Read-a-Thon" today. I’m planning to continue with my e-book, Independent Literary Awards contender At Home: A Short History of Private Life, by Bill Bryson - but if I finish it, or just want a break, I plan to pull something from the YA section of TBR Purgatory, which generally serves me well during read-a-thons.

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