I am a firm believer in the re-reading of old favorites. I am also a firm believer in read-alouds. This combination has been the beginning of a summer time read-aloud of Swallows and Amazons to my siblings. Yesterday we spread out a quilt and then sat (some of us on the quilt and some of us on the lawn) and read for hours.
First of all, on reading books again that you have already read. You gain something new every time. It doesn't matter if you've read that particular book a dozen times already, there will always be something new to take away from it. Sometimes they surprise you with how good they are, and sometimes they aren't quite as good as you remember them being, but it's still worth a reread. I think the book I've changed my opinion most about over the years is Rose in Bloom. I was so upset the first time I read that book I gave away the brand new copy I had just bought. Then I read it again and my opinion of the characters and their actions had completely changed. Instead of demanding the happy ending for a certain character, like I had done the first time, I was left feeling disappointed in him. Disappointed and disillusioned. I suppose that's why I love that book now. It's that one character. He's real and he breaks my heart. The first time I read that book there was a girlish desire to help him, to try and get him to live up to the potential I knew he was capable of. Of course you can't do that, and it's dangerous to try. You should never approach someone hoping to "fix them." (Even if the word "fix" is used with the context of a loving, caring figure trying to bring about good.) You can be represent good. You can teach in your choices and actions in your own life. You can be there to show love and support for the other person, but that's it. I didn't understand that idea the first time I read Rose in Bloom so I missed the whole point of the story.
On the other end, a book that I've read at least as many times (and probably more) but still haven't changed my opinion about is Jane Eyre. I keep rereading it hoping that it was my childish immaturity that made me hate it before, but no, I still hate it. More rightly I still hate Mr. Rochester, and I probably always will. It's too ingrained in my being now. Every time his name is mentioned I start mumbling and grumbling and things like "that manipulative, no good, lying..." come out of my mouth. Don't get me started. It's not pretty. I can appreciate Jane Eyre for other things, but my hatred of Mr. Rochester burns strong.
Swallows and Amazons as the current reread deserves to be mentioned again in this post. Now that is a book that brings back memories. We're currently still wading our way through the first six chapters (which to be honest are a bit excruciating. I mentioned it to my brother and he said "Oh my gosh. There was that one point where the boy is pretending to be a boat and he keeps tacking back and forth up and down the field. He just keeps going back and forth, back and forth. That field must have gone on for miles. I thought it would never end." and that's exactly how it is. Those excruciating paragraphs as Roger goes left, and then right, left and then right.) The thing is, after those chapters are over it gets good. It gets good because Nancy Blackett shows up and she's one of my favorite fictional characters ever. I loved her to death as a child and I still love her now. She brought all the humor to that series. She brought all the life. I can't wait to get to her because I know she's going to make my brothers laugh, and it will be so much fun. I love listening to them laugh when it gets to a funny bit. You can just see how much they enjoy it.
Which brings me to read-alouds. Read-alouds are wonderful. Not only do you get to enjoy the book yourself, but you get to share that enjoyment with those listening to you. You know that moment when you've lent someone one of your favorite books and you want to ask a hundred questions? WHERE ARE YOU AT? HAS THIS HAPPENED? DID THIS SENTENCE MAKE YOU LAUGH. DID YOU CRY. WHAT WERE YOUR EMOTIONS. TELL ME. It's never quite satisfying enough. You want to hear everything. It's not enough that you shared the book and they read it, you want to make sure that they understood. That's the great thing about reading books aloud. You have your listenings trapped in your greedy clutches, and you get to glory in every laugh, every word, every smile.
It's also awesome because you get to be the voice of all the characters. All I know is if there was ever a character I liked especially well I needed to read their dialogue out loud. It was so much more enjoyable hearing the words spoken. Getting to savor them. So I would read aloud. Even if I were alone. Yes, that's just another of the crazy things I did. I would be sitting alone in my room reading and suddenly I'd be pacing around the room, book in hand, reading the dialogue animatedly. The wonderful thing is, when you read aloud books to your siblings you can do that with the dialogue, but get this! Nobody thinks you're crazy. Novel, am I right? (I just inwardly died at my own sad pun. I think I might hate myself a tiny bit.)
Anyway, enough from me. So get to it! Hunt up an old favorite. Find someone to read aloud to. You won't regret it. In fact, you'll probably thank me. So in advance, you're welcome.
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