Tuesday, March 13, 2012

(insert book title here) Take 2 (or 3, or 4, or 5...)

 I have a confession to make.  I love to reread books.  That's right.  I said it.  I reread books.  Most people don't understand this compulsion and frequently tell me I'm crazy.  "Why?" I ask.  It's no different than seeing a movie multiple times, right?  I was never able to clearly tell people why I enjoy this so much ... until recently.  After several mind-numbing minutes of searching Pinterest one day, I found a quote that enabled me to finally put this compulsion into words.  The quote said, "I get absolutely and undeniably attached to book characters to the point where I cry and laugh with them, and physically miss them when I finish reading the book."  That is exactly how I feel!  I get extremely emotionally invested in the stories I read and grow to love these characters.  They become my friends and I miss them when they are gone.  So, I reread my books to visit my friends - checkup on them and see how they're doing.  I have to make sure that Bella still ends up with Edward, that the O'Malleys still find their perfect matches and catch the bad guy, that Harry Ron and Hermione still defeat Voldemort, and that Sarah can still overcome her past and live happily with Michael Hosea.  I love the characters in my books and always look forward to visiting them.  It does make it a bit of a problem though when it comes to reading new books and making new friends.  So, I am trying to make sure I do a bit of both.  For instance, I have recently made friends with Ron Hall and Denver Moore (and I look forward to visiting them again too!).  But, I am also looking forward to visiting my Twilight friends again soon.  About every year to year and a half, I reread Harry Potter, Twilight, The O'Malley series, The Shopaholic series, Redeeming Love...and the list goes on (and tends to get bigger each year based on the new books I've read!).  And, even if I'm not currently reading a story, or visiting my book friends, I still find them creeping into my thoughts.  I think about what certain characters would do in a given situation, or just simply randomly reflect on the story I know so well.  So there you have it - my confession.  my deep dark secret.  and my reasons for doing it.  I LOVE TO REREAD BOOKS!