Over the
past two or three years, I find myself more and more revisiting books I
encountered in my teens and twenties. Some by choice, others by chance. It’s not
unlike reconnecting with an old friend after two or three decades of living
separate lives. I’ve done this twice in my life, via Facebook friends from the
past, and one time was very nostalgic and fulfilling, while the other was kinda
cringy and uncomfortable.
Anyway, I enjoy
the tension of whether or not I’ll experience the same feelings I had upon the first
read through a work. Or, if the book was something assigned to me in school and
I didn’t get The Message back then, perhaps I would upon a re-read? Either way,
whether a fantastic re-read or a certified dud, I find myself an enthusiastic re-reader.
Off the
top of my head, I’ve re-read at least 24 books since 2023. Most have been
rewarding; few have failed the re-read test. If I had to categorize them, it’d
be something like this:
Great
My Tom
Clancy re-adventure: Without Remorse, Patriot Games, The Hunt
for Red October, The Cardinal of the Kremlin, Clear and Present
Danger, The Sum of All Fears, Debt of Honor, Executive
Orders
Watership
Down (Richard Adams)
Moby
Dick (Herman
Melville)
Half of my
Dean R. Koontz re-reads: The Bad Place, Dragon Tears
Conquerors
from the Darkness
(Robert Silverberg) – childhood nostalgia!
The
Grayspace Beast (Gordon
Eklund) – childhood nostalgia!
Okay …
Just Okay
The War
of the Worlds
(H.G. Wells) – had some great parts, though
The
Once and Future King
(T.H. White) – also had some great parts
Floating
Dragon (Peter
Straub)
The Old
Man and the Sea
(Hemingway) – still didn’t “get it”
The other
half of my Dean R. Koontz re-reads: Cold Fire, Midnight
Disappointing
Altered
States (Paddy
Chayefsky)
The Wolfen (Whitley Strieber)
Jaws (Peter Benchley)
Imajica (Clive Barker)
I mention
all this because a few months back I decided that Stephen King’s It would
be 2025’s Halloween read. Since the book is about 1,150 pages long, I figured
it would be best to start early, September 1st. Problem is, I’m now just shy of
200 pages in. Yep, still a page-turner. I’ll probably get it done – and review
it – in about three weeks or so. Which gives me another pleasant dilemma: Do I
give another Stephen King a go, or move on to the next book waiting patiently in
the On Deck circle. If I do another King, should it be one I haven’t read since
high school (I’m thinking The Shining) or one I’ve never read (Under
the Dome, since I had a lot of fun watching the corny series with my girls when
they were little)? Or pick up The Three Musketeers, staring balefully
down upon me as a write these words?
Well, let’s
just wait for the spirit to move me. Come October 1st, I might be in the thick
of a book I’m currently unaware of at the moment. We’ll see.
Happy Fall
Reading!
