Hello, my name is Jenica and I own too many books to not re-read them. So, in 2018 I have made myself a TBR jar specifically for books that I’m re-reading, which you may know because I’ve already pulled the first one when I made my January TBR. Haven’t started it yet though because I’m trying to finish the sixteen books I was in the middle of when December ended. That feels like it’s only a slight exaggeration, honestly, which is a problem. Anyway, let’s get started!
1-7. Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling
It’s been a shameful amount of time since I last read the Harry Potter series and I’ve since acquired the three illustrated editions that are already out and the Hufflepuff special edition of the first book. For Christmas I also got new copies of Chamber of Secrets and Goblet of Fire because ya girl lost the dust jackets a thousand years ago. I now have new copies of each of the first four. Although, apparently my second copy of Prisoner of Azkaban is still like a decade old. I read that one so many times it literally fell apart. Good job, me.
So anyway, time to re-read! I am a bit nervous because I’m afraid I’m going to pick up on things I won’t like that I didn’t notice as a child, but also, I should probably return to reading the source material. And I haven’t re-read the seventh book since it came out because I felt like it was bad fanfic? I know, I’m the worst. But I read so much fanfic where Draco got a redemption arc that the entire concept of Deathly Hallows was just bound to fail for me, honestly.
8-10. His Dark Materials Trilogy by Philip Pullman
Last year I re-read A Wrinkle in Time and found myself disappointed that it didn’t live up to what I remembered. I’m really hoping I don’t have the same experience with His Dark Materials and it’s first up so that I can finally pick up La Belle Savage. I don’t even own it, honestly, but I’m really excited for it, nonetheless. I haven’t immersed myself in this world for years though and I’m really excited to return to it. This series is one I absolutely adored as a child. I’m not providing a synopsis here so hopefully y’all know what I’m talking about. Also, I never watched The Golden Compass movie and I’ve heard it’s awful, but I would like to watch it this month so I can finally see it for myself.
11. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
Speaking of books I haven’t re-read in ages but have read so many times my copy fell apart (twice), Pride and Prejudice is the eleventh book on this list. I first read Pride and Prejudice in third grade so it’s really no wonder that my idea of love has been completely warped by Mr. Darcy. Anyway, it’s been a while and I miss these characters. I need to stop re-watching the movie and re-read the book.
12. Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen
I loved this book when I was younger, not as much as P&P, but I did love it. However, it turns out, I don’t remember this at all. I watched the movie and it felt like brand new information. (Such a good movie, as an aside.) So, I realized I really need to re-read this and see if I’m still shipping Eleanor and Colonel Brandon, which I’m not supposed to?? Hopefully I got those names right… I’m telling you, I do not remember this book at all, but I know I loved it so… The struggle.
13. Persuasion by Jane Austen
This may or may not be a re-read. I’m not 100% sure that I actually finished this book, but I’m pretttty sure I did? So I put it on this list, but either way, as you can probably guess, I don’t remember anything from this one either. I’m very excited to get to it this year though! Additionally, this book meets the Read Harder Challenge from Book Riot challenge to read a book published posthumously, which is a fact I didn’t actually know about Persuasion.
14-16. All Souls Trilogy by Deborah Harkness
I just found out, thanks to Dani at Dani’s Bookshelf, that Deborah Harkness is giving us more in this world (specifically we’ll be following Marcus) and I’m excited for the television show so… Re-read time! I’m really excited about this because I loved the trilogy, which I just read in 2016.
17. Good in Bed by Jennifer Weiner
This book was one of my first Jennifer Weiner books, if not my very first, and I loved it. Cannie is such a fantastic character and after listening to Hungry Heart in 2017, I think Good in Bed is going to mean even more to me this time around. We’ll see. I had meant to re-read it in 2017 so we’re a little past due for this one, honestly.
18. Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery
It is well past time for a re-read of this childhood classic and it helpfully fulfills another Read Harder Challenge for 2018 so I’m really pleased by that. I loved this series as a kid, but my mom could only find the first one when she was looking through boxes of books so I may have to actually clean out the books at my parents house if I want to continue the series. That sentence just made me want to cry, honestly. I own so many books, y’all. I could start my list of books to re-read for 2019 already (Little Women, Eight Cousins… Idk why I link L.M. Montgomery and Louisa May Alcott in my mind, but they defined my childhood so maybe that’s why?). Anyway, I’m super excited to read this, especially with the first episode of Anne with an E from Netflix in mind. I need to finish watching that series…
19. Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard
I own Glass Sword, but we’re at the point where I don’t remember the plot points well enough of Red Queen to move forward so I’m going to have to pick this one up this year. I would also like to do this for Truthwitch by Susan Dennard (because again, I own the second in the series) and Passenger by Alexandra Bracken. But I put Red Queen on the list because I think it’s the one I remember the least.
20. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
And finally, this one is one I’ve been telling myself to re-read and then Book Riot made one of the challenges to read an assigned book you didn’t like or never finished. Now my list of potential books to pull from for this challenge is extensive. I could have read Romeo and Juliet (but I’d rather die like them), Jude the Obscure by Thomas Hardy (which I don’t remember at all beyond disliking it), The Once and Future King by somebody, Wuthering Heights (which is a book I’ve never made it past page 50 on), etc. So many, honestly. Anyway, I picked Jane Eyre because one of my good friends lists this book as her favorite and I think she’s lost her mind a little bit. So, I decided to re-read it to see what I’m missing (probably nothing). We’ll see how this goes! It’s worth noting that I’ve read this twice in my life. The first time was for fun in middle school and the second was when it was assigned for ninth grade. I didn’t like it either time. Oh well! Let’s try again.
Oh boy. This seemed much more manageable when I made a stack of these books in my room. It seems less manageable now, but we can do this, y’all. Well, I can. You’ll just be along for the ride. Wish me luck!
xx
firewhiskeyreader 