Books I Need to Reread

As you may or may not know, I'm big into rereading books. Even if I already know what's happened, there's still the delight of rediscovering the story, of finding the hints I missed before, and of reconnecting with the characters. At one point, when I had a more limited to-be-read list, I'd make sure to read my favorite series at least once a year. As the number of new books I had to read increased, however, my time for rereading decreased, so at this point, some of the stories that I loved, I haven't touched in quite a while. I've been trying to remedy this, but there are still several books and series I haven't gotten to. And today, I thought I'd share some of my top need-to-reread series with you.

1. The Lord of the Rings and The Silimarillion by J.R.R. Tolkien
As I mentioned, there was a time when I read The Lord of the Rings at least once a year (rarely more, though- even for the most enthusiastic reader, they're kind of long), but considering how much I love the trilogy, it's been an awfully long time since I've read it. I really do need to fix that soon- particularly now that I have a pretty new matching set. As for The Silimarillion, I've read it exactly once all the way through, and I skimmed a great deal of it. Now that I'm older- and, I hope, have more patience- I want to give it another try.
(Note: The above picture is not my "pretty matched set." My copies are decidedly less fancy, rare, and expensive. Though that doesn't stop them from having super pretty covers and being a very comfortable size for reading. The above image is the product of asking Google Images for a picture of LOTR and The Silimarillion together.)

2. The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett
I used to like this book very much indeed, but after a well-meaning parent used it to turn a book club into a lesson in story structure, I didn't touch it again for, well, longer than I should've. I wish I'd let go of that memory sooner, but better late than never. Admittedly, I did listen to the Focus on the Family radio drama in the car last weekend, but it was so abridged that I felt like all my favorite parts had been cut short, or else left out entirely. All the more reason to reread the book sometime soon!

3. The Circle Trilogy by Ted Dekker
I read this series for the first time about five years ago and obsessed over it for several months- during which I also explored several of Ted Dekker's other books, none of which I liked quite as much and some of which freaked me out a lot. I've read the trilogy once or twice since then, but not recently. I'd like to reread it sometime soon, now that I'm older and have a different, hopefully more mature, perspective on it.

4. Cyrano de Bergerac by Edmond Rostand
Cyrano is my favorite book (well, play) that I've had to read for literature, and it's also one of my favorite classics. I haven't gotten around to reading it since the year I had it in school, since my copy is in the back of that year's literature book. However, my sister is going to be reading it for her literature this year . . . which means I'd better reread it so I can join in her discussions! (I'll join in the discussion whether or not I've read the book, probably, if I get a chance- but at least that way I'll remember better what I'm talking about.)

5. The Wilderking Trilogy by Jonathan Rodgers
This is a short little trio of books, a fantasy version of the Biblical story of David. I read them perhaps four years ago, but haven't reread them more than once or twice since then. I'd love to rediscover them, though; they were some of the more unique books I've read. Unfortunately, my new library only has the first one . . . I am very much not happy. Hopefully, my old library has an online version I can borrow . . .

6. The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis.
I have a confession to make: I haven't read The Chronicles of Narnia all the way through in quite a long time, despite how much I love the series. I've read single books now and then, and listened to some of the audio dramas either on trips or while knitting, but not the whole series. Obviously, that needs to change.

7. The Echoes From the Edge trilogy by Bryan Davis.
At one point, this was my favorite Bryan Davis series- it even beat out Dragons in Our Midst, which was an impressive feat. Is it still my favorite? I'm not sure- which is one reason I need to reread it, so I can find out. Also, it's a pretty awesome trilogy (I'm certain of that), and I haven't read it in a few years.

8. The Space Trilogy by C.S. Lewis.
I read these books the summer after I read The Silimarillion, I think- it's been a while. I'm sorry to say I really didn't appreciate them at the time. Out of the Silent Planet I liked well enough, true, but Perelandra seemed a bit odd, and by the time I got midway through That Hideous Strength, I was struggling. I'm fairly certain the main reason I finished was I thought "It's C.S. Lewis, and therefore I ought to like this." Recently, however, I've met enough people who really like the Space Trilogy that I feel I ought to reread it.

9. The Princess and the Goblin and The Princess and Curdie by George Macdonald.I loved these two books when I was younger, but sadly, they were some of the first to get lost in my new-book flood. Recently, however, I've been seized with occasional urges to reread them . . . which I've utterly failed to act upon. I do want to fix that, though, because they, like Narnia, are the sort of books that are always worth rereading.

Do you like rereading books? If you do, are there any books you need to reread? Please tell me in the comments!
Thanks for reading!
-Sarah (Leilani Sunblade)