For those of you who have no idea, and that is probably going to be all of you...I own a ton of books. Maybe not a literal ton, but enough to have breached the 300 mark. And whenever I talk to my friends about books in general and the number of books that I own comes up there are a bunch of different questions that they ask me.
"Why not just go to a library?"
"Do you really read those books again?"
"Why would you spend so much money on books?"
And the questions continue onward, those three being the main questions. And to be honest, they are not bad questions at all. Which brings me to the friends of mine who are also big readers, and they have told me that they generally do not re-read the books that they have unless that are extremely out of this world. And so to them it is strange that I have re-read some books a couple times and then when it comes to the Harry Potter series and my books by Tamora Pierce which I have read easily 5-10 times. It seems otherworldly that I would want to read a book again even though I already know what happens and I already know what the ending is.
It is funny because for me, re-reading a book is almost like re-watching a movie. Plenty of people watch certain movies all over again despite knowing how it will end and what the journey is like. And for some people, likening a book to a movie in that sense is enough for them to understand; not so much for others. So when that simple explanation does not work, I find myself in that odd place of trying to explain the passion I have for books. And it is a very strong passion indeed; the characters, the stories, the good things, the bad events, the cliff hangers, revisiting the cover of the books, and even the smell (which will come up again later).
For me the best part about re-reading a book, especially with the amount of books that I own; it is relatively easy for me to find a story that speaks to me and the situation that I currently find myself in in some deep way. The journey of a book is the most magical part of reading, because for me no matter how many times I revisit a book I fall in love with the characters and the world all over again. And every time I re-read a book there is some connection that I missed the previous time around that I find again; making the book still feel new in a sense.
And I feel like the comfort that I get from reading, and the magical feeling of living in another world and seeing it through another person's eyes is enough for me when it comes to answering the last two of the three questions that I mentioned. The first question is a logical one, especially for someone in my financially struggling situation (in between just graduating and trying to find a big kid job). And I will never say a bad thing about a library for the most part, and I feel like they are great things and a wonderful way to introduce yourself to different authors without making a financial investment. A big part of why I do not really go to a library is because when I read something, I will have the urge to go out and buy it. For me, a library would put me further in the hole then not going to one. I will find a book that I love, and I know I will read again, so I must buy it. It is simple as that, I want to be able to have that book at my expense at a moments notice instead of having to trek out to the library and hope it is there or wait forever on a request waiting list.
The other thing that I love about MY books compared to the library books is the smell. There is something amazing about an aged book, and one that you have taken care of in your own way smell a little different than the ones from a library. Those at the library have crossed so many different hands and have gone through so many different situations that they smell a little weird to me. Which is sometimes not a bad thing, but for me there is just something comforting about settling in to a book that has the smell you are used to and it just brings you to a happy place (despite the possibly unhappy contents of the book).
On a side note, one thing I have noticed about the library is that whenever I have gone I am always way more likely to pick out a book that I dislike. And when I make the financial investment at a bookstore I have yet to buy a book that I did not love in some way. That has always been something that interested me; and something I believe that is linked to the idea that I can risk my time on this book because I did not also waste money on it.
I also do not like time limits. I realize that I can recheck a book out, but I do not like feeling as if I need to finish this book in a certain amount of time. There is a big difference between rushing through a book because it is new and exciting and rushing through a book because it needs to be returned by a certain day and there is no way I was going to leave the library with just one book so I also not only have to finish the current book but the other three or four I foolishly checked out because I am a foolish person at times.
Do you guys re-read your books? Or do you have some sort of quirk when it comes to your books or getting books from a library? Why do you re-read books? I would love to hear from any of you who do read my pages :)
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