Re-Reading Old Books…

Lately, I’ve been re-reading books I’ve already read.

GONE WITH THE WIND

I started thinking about this a few months ago as I embarked on listening to “Gone with the Wind” on audio. I read it the first time a long, long time ago. Then I read it again after I saw the movie. Now I’ve listened to it as an audio book. The audio of this dramatic book is over 40 hours long and it’s just as  wonderful to hear it as it was to read it. The woman who narrates it does a great job.

I only hope the book and the movie survive what is going on in our society now. I fully expect to never see the movie on TV again.

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HEART OF THE WEST

My next re-read was “Heart of the West” by Penelope Williamson. I’ve now re-read this book at least four times. This is what I call a “big” book. It’s a saga that spans years. The author captured the essence of the three main characters perfectly—one  anti-hero who violates every rule there is, one a foundation-of- American-life hero who built the West and a a starchy Easterner heroine whose true grit makes her a more than worthy heroine. One of the things I often find in romance novels is that the heroines don’t live up to the magnitude of the heroes. Not true with this book. Maybe that’s why I like it. It’s a book to love with characters to root for whether you like Westerns or not.

Penelope Williamson is a great author. She wrote another book that is on my list of keepers, too, “The Outsider.” I haven’t re-read that one this year, but I might yet.

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THE CROSSFIRE SERIES

Now, I’m re-reading the 5-book Crossfire Series by Sylvia Day. Another book has been added since the picture on the left entitled “One with You.”

The hero Gideon and heroine Ava are the ultimate modern, hip, wealthy characters who meet an erotic relationship head-on. Again, Ava is a heroine worthy of the sexy, controlling and dynamic billionaire businessman, Gideon Cross.

This author was not one of my faves until I read this series. This story is sort of an offshoot of the notorious “Fifty Shades” series, but so much better written. I’m surprised a movie hasn’t been made of this story of obsession and lust.

I also re-read a shorter duet by this author. “Afterburn” and “Aftershock.” Good reads. Now that I’ve become a fan, I wish she wrote more in the contemporary genre.

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THE STEPHANIE PLUM SERIES

I’ve gone back and started listening to the audio versions of the Stephanie Plum books by Janet Evanovich. The narrator is perfect for these books. You definitely get the New Jersey flavor from her voice.

The early books were so much better than the later ones, IMHO. I can’t fault Janet Evanovich too much for this though. I  can only imagine the challenge to keep a series that now has grown to more than 20 books fresh and interesting  I have a hard time writing a trilogy.

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 So why re-read books you might ask…

For the same reason I add some books to my keeper shelf and don’t add others. Sometimes, something about a story or the writing  just catches me and I decide it’s worth a second read. If you’re a writer, a clever turn of phrase is like catnip. I always discover new things I passed over before and I sometimes find that I’ve forgotten something about it.

How about you? Do you re-read books? Feel free to add your comments about the books you give a second read and why. I’d love to read your comments.