Reread: Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen.

“Know your own happiness. You want nothing but patience- or give it a more fascinating name, call it hope.” 

I decided to grab Sense and Sensibility as a last option when I traveled to Florida early in August. I actually wasn't even planning on reading it, but once we were down there, I couldn't resist picking it up and diving in.

I was actually thinking I would read it for Austen in August, and while I did finish in August, I never got this post up in time (I know!). Next year....

It's been a few years since my last Austen. I used to read an Austen every year before Christmas, but with school being so busy the last couple of years, I haven't had the time. But, Austen is always gives me a feeling of home and of comfort. And I needed that last month.

I've read Sense and Sensibility only a couple of times, and next to Northanger Abbey, it's the one I'm the least comfortable with (because I haven't read it as many times as the others). The last time I read it, I really loved it. And this time was no different. 

I still find myself relating more to Elinor than Marianne. I'm sure at one point I WAS Marianne. In fact, I know I was like her in high school. Quick to passion and unafraid of saying what I truly felt. But over the years, I think I've just settled more into myself. And I don't always feel the need to say everything I feel. Sometimes I just let it simmer and boil until I blow. Ha!

But I do feel more for Elinor and her sense of duty. She feels the need to do things in the right way and in the right time. And she tries to please those around her, takes on their heartaches, and waits patiently for her own happiness to come. Yes, she does go through everything with a certain degree of sensibility. 

I think that's why when her happiness does come, I cheer! And I also choked up a bit...

“Elinor could sit still no longer. She almost ran out of the room, and as soon as the door was closed, burst into tears of joy, which at first she thought would never cease.” 

Because it's just so happy and warm and wonderful. I think that's why I love Austen so. I can count on Austen to play with my emotions over and over again, but I always return to her, knowing I'll get that happy ending. 

And every time I reread an Austen, it becomes my new favorite. She just has that gift.

“If a book is well written, I always find it too short.”

I think for this Christmas season I'm going to resurrect my tradition of reading an Austen-what one should I read?

*In finishing Sense and Sensibility, I'm also checking off a title on my "Reread Project." Huzzah!

Reread: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone.

 “The truth." Dumbledore sighed. "It is a beautiful and terrible thing, and should therefore be treated with great caution.”

I was feeling pretty awful last weekend and Thomas Hardy just wasn't going to do it for me. Instead, I decided I wanted some comfort. After staring at my shelves for all of five minutes, I grabbed this one and settled in to read.

It was the perfect choice for an achy and exhausted me. The story is so familiar that it really does feel like visiting an old friend rather than reading something new. And you might think, that after reading this so many times, that I'd be sick of it.

Nope.

The book still felt fresh and innovative, even after all this time-and movies, and theme parks, and everything in between. I was taken back to my first read and all the rereads of this title and felt a great deal of comfort from Rowling's story.

I think that sometimes, we just need to feel comforted by what we read. And revisiting books that we cherish from our youth is a big part of that. It makes it even more special when you love the book just as much on each reread (if not more so).

I'm not sure I have anything more to say about this that I haven't already said somewhere else. I did spend a lot of my attention focusing on the development of friendships between the 3 main characters, as well as any scene Snape was in (because he has always been my favorite character). I don't think I learned anything new, but rather acknowledged the craft it took to write this.

In any case, I'm pretty positive that I'm going to be rereading the rest of the series in the new future-probably not one right after the other-in hopes of gaining a little inspiration and getting that comfort when I need it.

“Fear of a name increases fear of the thing itself.”

Top Ten Tuesday: Top Ten Books I Wish I Could Read Again For The First Time.

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by the wonderful folks over at The Broke and the Bookish. Each Tuesday, they pick a topic and bloggers participate by posting their own responses. I like to participate now and again, most because I am a list person. I like lists. Lists dictate my life.

Anyway, this week's topic is "Top Ten Books I Wish I Could Read Again for the First Time."

Since I have been focusing on the classics, I am reading a lot of books for the first time. And there are many cases where I think to myself, "Wow, I wish I could have saved this." Because as much as I love rereading, there is nothing like the mystery and joy in reading a book for the first time. That feeling of awe, enthrallment, and wonder just simply cannot be beat.

Here are the top ten books I wish I could read again for the first time...

1. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte: This was one of the titles I was saving for later on in my project. But, I finally caved in and read it, knowing nothing about the story before I began. This one grabbed me and absorbed in a way that few books have. That first reading experience was powerful and I would love to have it back!

2. Moby-Dick by Herman Melville: While I enjoyed my first foray into Melville's writing with Typee in college, it was Moby-Dick that left me stunned. I don't think there is a comparison to the power of language in this novel, or of the carefully constructed story. I was continually impressed by the attention to the smallest and most important details. A beautiful story, that I, again, went into without any prior knowledge of the end (the rest of my posts on this one will be going up later this week).

3. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins: What I wouldn't give to go back to the night when I first decided to read this one. It was only a month or two before starting my blog. It was about 11:30 at night, and I had finished my other book. I decided to pick this one up and start it...I didn't set it down until I finished it. I was simply sucked into the story, the adventure, and the horror.

4. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling: I was one of those people who waited to get their book at midnight. I took it home, as did my sister with her copy, and stayed awake until I finished it. I had to know how it would all end, what would become of my beloved Snape, and if it would end the way I hoped it would. But now that the story is over, I am sad and wish it was still ongoing.

5. The House of Mirth by Edith Wharton: I remember the first time I read this I was working for one of our parks. It was a rainy day in the summer, so I was sitting in the booth with uninterrupted reading time. I cried. For sure. And while I still get an emotional punch in the gut every time I read this one, I still wish I could capture that first time feeling.

6. Rebecca by Daphne DuMaurier: While I have only read this one once, I know that nothing will beat that first time through. It was a book that I sailed through-the action intense, the story riveting...and while I know I'll love it just as much the second and third times, nothing can really beat the first read of this!

7. The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien: As any fantasy nerd will tell you, there is nothing like conquering Tolkien's masterpiece. But the reading of this trilogy also has great memories for me. I bought my copies of the trilogy while on vacation in Colorado at some tiny bookshop (I had already run out of things to read), and as we drove through the mountains, I sank deep into Middle-Earth. It was before the movies had come out, before the hype, and I just fell in love with the world.

8. The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas: This is another novel that I have fond memories of reading the first time. It was on the summer reading list before ninth grade, and I began reading it up north on vacation. We were at the beach, the boat anchored in the water, and my family playing on the sand or in the water. I escaped to the boat to lay out and read...I can vividly remember the boat rocking in the waves as I read about the escape...it was just so powerful.

9. The Awakening by Kate Chopin: This was a title I picked up as a senior in high school. I was immediately sucked into the story and desperation. I remember finishing it over a weekend and going in to talk to my teacher about it that Monday morning. I have reread this one numerous times and while it still has a great deal of "magic" about it, it is never as strong as that first time.

10. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen: This was one of the first classics I ever picked up on my own. It was in the middle of the summer, and sick of reading some really bad YA, I decided that for every two "fun" books I read, I also had to read 1 classic. This was the first classic I read that summer and like so many other books, I have fond memories of reading it.

What books do you wish you could read again for the first time?

Top Ten Tuesday: Books I Want to Reread.

I couldn't resist this week's topic for Top Ten Tuesday hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. I don't participate every week, but when I see a topic and get all excited inside, I know I need to participate! If you decide you would like to as well, visit their blog (linked above) and join in on the fun!

I am actually a huge fan of rereading. Well, I was until I started this process. And while I am occasionally rereading a book or two that I've read before, I am not doing it at the rate I used to. Some of my books have been read so many times that they look quite beat up (that is saying something, since I am very nice to my books).

Anyway, here are ten books that I would love to reread. Some are coming up on my list, and some I finished already. There might even be one or two that aren't classics! Surprising, I know!

1. The Hunger Games trilogy by Suzanne Collins: I read these all in a row when Mockingjay came out, but I really want to reread them with the movie coming out in March. I keep eying them on my bookshelf, so maybe I'll cave in later this winter.

2. Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky: This was the second book I completed for my project. I think I got through it on excitement. :) Now that I have read more by him, I think I would appreciate more of the writing and thought with another read. I also have a new translation, so this one I definitely want to try again.

3. Germinal by Emile Zola: I LOVED this book. I thought about it for months after I read it. I have seen a few other reviews since I finished it back in 2009 and every time I see someone mention Zola, I want to reread it.

4. Little Women by Louisa May Alcott: I made the mistake of watching the movie a few weekends ago, and while it was certainly wonderful (young Christian Bale!), it made me want to read the book again.

5. Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell: I also made the mistake of watching this movie (for the first time!) about a month ago and it also made me want to dive back in. The first time I read this, I was so enthralled that I tore through it in record time. I would love to read it a little slower the next time around.

6. The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood: I read this one when I was in college and absolutely loved it. It is on my list, but I have been "saving" it for near the end. But someone out there was hosting a readalong of it, and I had to fight everything within me not to join in.

7. Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling: This is the longest I have gone without reading any of the HP titles. I think a small part of me is dying inside. I used to reread them every year, even as the new ones came out. The last time I read the series was in the summer of 2009, right before I started blogging.

8. The House of Mirth by Edith Wharton: This is another one of my favorite books that I read almost every year, and like HP, I haven't read it since before my project began. This is another title I am saving for near the end, and I really hope I don't break down before then.

9. Villette by Charlotte Bronte: I really, really loved this one. And since I read Jane Eyre back in April, I want to reread this one to make sure it was really as excellent as I remember.

10. War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy: Okay, I know I just read this one in January and February, but I read it so fast that parts are already hazy. I was attempting to reread it again, but I set it aside months ago...and I still want to read it again. Crazy, right?


So what books do you want to reread?