Wednesday, June 15, 2011
The Magic of Books
I've been taking a lot of flack over the last few weeks from my fellow Fiction Flurry bloggers about the fact that I'm re-reading the Harry Potter series for the five-thousandth time. The others are getting great amusement by trying to "confiscate" my books at group meetings and teasing me if I say something too British in an email. It's all in good fun, of course. I'm not offended or annoyed by it, not the least because they're not the only ones to pick on me over my nerdiness. But it has gotten me thinking.
I have a collection of books that I can re-read any number of times and never grow tired of them. It's a habit of mine that seems to baffle some people in my life (namely, my parents). I have been asked on numerous occasions how on earth I can read books so many times--doesn't it get boring? I already know what's going to happen. Some of the books, I can practically recite verbatim. When I re-read these books, I'm just as invested and I walk around with my nose stuck in them like it's the first time I'm reading them.
When these questions come up, I always think of a quote from one of these books that I love. It's from The Sweet Far Thing, by Libba Bray: "We sit and listen and are enthralled anew, for good stories, it seems, never lose their magic."
I think there's something magical about any book that holds that kind of intrigue over its readers. There's something to be said for a story that you can read over and over again and it never gets old. When I pick up Harry Potter, I read it like I've never read it before--I still stay up until the early hours of the morning because I can't put it down; I still want to know what will happen. I hope that the books and stories I write will one day hold that same magic over people.
Some of the books that hold this magic over me are:
1. Harry Potter (obviously)
2. Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West by Gregory Maguire
3. The Gemma Doyle Trilogy by Libba Bray
4. The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold
5. The Hunger Games trilogy by Suzanne Collins
6. The Prophecy of the Sisters trilogy by Michelle Zink
7. The Hollow trilogy by Jessica Verday
8. The Dawn Rochelle Novels by Lurlene McDaniel
9. On Writing by Stephen King
10. Grania by Morgan Llywelyn
Are you one of the people who can read the same story over and over again and never get bored? What books hold this magic over you?
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If I were to answer this question ten years ago, I would have answered it differently. I never read a book more than once, but that's no longer the case. I reread great books over now, to see what I found so fabulous to begin with.
ReplyDeleteI am trying to find time to reread more and it is really rewarding. Like you, I could read the Harry Potter books over and over. I would also add the His Dark Materials trilogy, The Bell Jar, The Colour Purple and The Poisonwood Bible.
ReplyDeleteI'm with you, I've always loved to read my favorite books again and again. There is one book that I read something like 25 times. I distinctly remember one time finishing the book and immediately starting it again from the beginning.
ReplyDeleteSo don't worry - even though we...ahem, I mean I, tease you about your Harry Potter crack habit, it's only because I totally understand.