The Rereading Project

I briefly mentioned in my last newsletter that I’m embarking on a personal rereading project. I’m finally ready to share more about it with you today. I’ve been a little nervous to put this out into the world because I know it means I’m opening myself up to a bit of accountability to commit to it and finish.

A Simple 2024 Reading Goal

Introducing The Rereading Project

Last year I toyed around with the idea of rereading some of the books from my childhood and early teen years that made an impact on my life as a reader… and then I discovered

The Books That Made Us

which pretty much solidified the fact that this is indeed an excellent (if not completely original on my part) idea. I don’t plan to do a reading deep dive or pen a whole essay once I finish each title. This is at its core a fun personal project I want to share with you.

I wracked my brain and selected 12 books + 1 published the year I was born with the idea that it would be easy to incorporate into my usual bedtime reading routine. Finishing one book a month feels attainable. I might even read a few of these out loud to my daughter. Despite having read several books about the importance of reading aloud as a family, I’m admittedly not very diligent at keeping the habit. Over the past several years I’ve reread a few classic Roald Dahl stories and started The Vanderbeekers chapter book series. It’s been my experience so far that taking a step back from my preferred genres leaves me feeling refreshed and inspired.

The Books

My rereading project TBR list is below. I’m such a mood reader that I haven’t settled on a set monthly schedule. If you’d like to join me in a buddy read of any of these titles, please leave a comment! I can set up a chat for subscribers. Some of these books feel more like Winter and Spring so I’m going to let that guide me.

• Charlotte’s Web by E. B. White

• The Babysitter’s Club by Ann M. Martin

• Dear Mr. Henshaw by Beverly Cleary

• Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson

• A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle

• Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card

• The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky

• Everything is Illuminated by Jonathan Safran Foer

• Night by Elie Wiesel

• One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez

• Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov

• The Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger

• Good Omens (published 1990) by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman

As always, you can shop the full list through my Bookshop.org shop. Be sure to check your library first. They should have most of these backlist titles in their catalog!

I’ve also set up a Storygraph Challenge if you’d like to read these books with me and track them. I’m not exactly sure what I’m doing but testing out this fun option.

Eek! It was scary to put that all out in the open.

Let’s jump in.