10 reasons to revisit a book

One of my most favorite blogs, The Book Spy, recently came up with a top ten list of reasons why books make us angry. It got me thinking about books that merit a revisit or re-read. Now, I'm not going to pretend I'm as well read as TBS, but there are a few times I've finally gone back and given a book a second chance. This is a RARE occurrence, because my memory is such that I sometimes get bored rereading old favorites. Here, though are ten reasons to give a book a second (or third or fourth or seventh) read.

1. It's your favorite. I love Spindle's End by Robin McKinley. The world she created, the characterization of the animals, the language, the story in general. I love it soo much.

2. You couldn't get through it years ago. I started reading Jane Eyre when I was about twelve and eventually gave up. When I was eighteen I tried again, loved it, and then ended up writing my senior paper about the aspects of Gothic Romance in the book. Describing the purple, bloated figure appearing in Jane's room was quite the crowd pleaser.

3. It made you feel deeply. Any emotion. I read and loved Daughter of the Forest by Juliette Marillier when I was seventeen. So much pain. So much sacrifice. So much beauty. The Six Swans remains one of my favorite folktales (if that says anything about me). Parts of it pretty much make me break down into a blubbering mass of sadness, but it's beautiful. Catia and I differ in our preferences in the trilogy. She likes the second book where the heroine does a lot of disobedience and making her own way, but I prefer the story of one woman's sacrifice for her brothers, at extreme expense to herself. Every now and then, I have the need to just feel those feelings again.

4. You know you liked it but can't remember any of the details. Some of the Chronicles of Narnia books are like this. The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, for example, I can't remember anything about. A lot of the books in that series leave me hazy (Apart from The Horse and His Boy, because it is my favorite). It's a series I return to every few years.

5. Tradition. Every year at Christmas, I read Dickens' A Christmas Carol. I have it spaced out so that I finish one stave every five days, ending on Christmas Day with the final "God Bless us, every one." The cliche is true here, I get something new out of it every year. I love the way Dickens wrote this book.

6. The subtext went over your head when you first read it, but now you are older, wiser, and appreciate the message behind it. I loved A Wrinkle in Time as a child, but I know now that it's about so much more. After I'm finished with Sense and Sensibility (which I'm LOVING) I'll give it another peruse.

7. The library only had the abridged version. I read the abridged version of Les Miserables when I was in high school. Again, loved it. I remember reading it during English class while the rest of the students studied for the final from which I was exempt. The bell rang and my teacher came over and jokingly slammed the book closed. I looked up at her with the saddest eyes and said "But Eponine's dying!" Really it was excellent and the abridged version did give the gist of the story, but I want to try again. I'm also working through Don Quixote, so perhaps I'll just have to give it a glance when I get through it. Or juggle two humongous books at the same time. Yes, I think that's what will happen. This also applies to reading the children's version.

8. You read it, didn't like it, but LOVED everything else you read by that author. Emma falls under this category. I read Pride and Prejudice, Persuasion, and am in the middle of Sense and Sensibility. Love them all. But Emma was a bit of a slog for me back when I was 17 (I read a LOT of books that year, which is funny because I was dancing six days a week, taking a dual credit course, taking an AP course, taking Chemistry, and involved in drama competitions. No wonder I never slept). I know Austen's goal in writing Emma was to create an unlikeable heroine, but I've liked the story (especially in the latest BBC version) and hopefully I'll appreciate it more now!

9. You miss the characters/world/story. Another reason why I re-read Spindle's End so often. I feel like they're my friends.

10. You didn't like it, but people whose taste you trust loved it. This has convinced me to consider giving certain books another try. Perhaps I was in a bad mood or distracted, and that's not the book's fault. They deserve a second chance. Never Bartleby the Scrivener, though. I prefer not to.

What do you think? What different reasons do you have for revisiting a book?

Bye bye, peekaboo buddy.

Yesterday was my last day at work. After a year and a half working with these amazing children, I cleaned out my office, distributed my goodbye letter, and bid farewell to the teachers, and hugged as many of the children as I could goodbye.
My peekaboo buddy gave me such a hug. He hugged me, then he put his knees on mine and before I knew it, he was wrapped around me and refused to let go. I got to do my favorite thing, hugging him and then bending over so his hair ALMOST touched the floor, then bringing him back up and spinning. Toddlers are precious. His mom hugged me (she's not a touchy feely person) and thanked me for everything I'd done for him. I was deeply sincere when I looked her in the eyes and said "It was my pleasure."
My toddlers (well, not MINE, but yes, mine) made a tote bag for me with their hand prints on it. And I got to spend a lot of time with them that day, with them coming up and tapping me on the shoulder, saying "Hi, Kate!" So proud of themselves, some of them, that they could say my name.

Two of the teachers offered to give me references. I got so many hugs. So many words of advice and encouragement. "You'll find your way." "You'll be so successful in whatever you do!" So much love and encouragement.

Goodbyes are the hardest things for me. I am great at moving in, adjusting, becoming happy with my "now," but goodbyes are the hardest. I spent the whole day going in and out of tears. One of the moms saw that as I was leaving and she said "Well, one chapter ends and another begins." I'm not sure if that helped at all...because I started crying again.

The new beginning had better start soon.

Open letter to choreographers

Please please please someone choreograph an artful routine to Songbird by Fleetwood Mac. And then put it on Youtube so I can watch it whenever I want. Little sixteen year olds showing off their technique does not count as art. Do the music justice. (This goes for all dances.)

oooommmmmggggggg

Pray HARD for this application going out if you are a praying person. This job is exactly what I want to do.