The Rereading Project: Six Months In
In which a Gemini questions her ability to commit
In January, I launched The Rereading Project, a personal project for 2024 where I’m attempting to reread books from my childhood and early teen years that made a meaningful impact on my life as a reader.
In my original newsletter announcing the project goals, I wrote:
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.
Well, friends, that’s what I’m currently struggling with. So far, I’ve managed to finish one book a month on schedule, my “extra credit” book, and read a few of The Babysitters Club books aloud to my daughter. On the surface, you could say it’s going well. Internally, I’m finding it difficult to prioritize reading from a set list of books. It’s the same reason I’ve never committed to a book club. I’m too much of a mood reader and making myself pick a book from a predetermined list feels a bit like punishment at the moment.
Here’s my mid-year status update.
Completed:
Charlotte’s Web by E. B. White
The Babysitters 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
Everything is Illuminated by Jonathan Safran Foer
Still to Read:
Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov
The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky
The Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger
One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
Night by Elie Wiesel
Extra Credit:
Good Omens (published 1990) by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman
I’m a little worried that I stacked the beginning of the year with the “easier” books to read (those at an elementary and middle-grade reading level). At first, I wasn’t going to assign a book to a particular month but they lend themselves to particular seasons and I wanted the overall vibe to match the weather.
Amid this rereading project, I’ve managed to rack up eight eARCs on Netgalley that I need to read and review by the end of October. I’ve totally got this. Everything is completely 100 percent under control!
In all seriousness, I’m proud of myself for the progress I’ve made toward this project and based on my reading pace, I feel confident that I will finish it and all the eARCs I still have left to read.
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!
Just a reminder that I set up a Storygraph Challenge if you’d like to read these books with me and track them.
❓ Have you read any of the books in my TBR list? Do we share any favorites?
Til next time,
Oof. I read Night on a plane - DNR, me ugly sobbing near strangers trapped in a box in the air. This also happened with me reading Bridge to Terabithia on a plane so I don't learn from my mistakes. I'd skip the Salinger, I remember HATING that guy Holden so much when I read the book as a teen but, who knows, maybe it would strike different in my old age! Nabakov is always worth the read (or reread IMO) even if his content can be a little...creep sometimes. Can't wait to see what your take is!
This is such a fun project! I was recently thinking about how excited I am to read certain childhood books to my children when they are older, but for some reason it didn't dawn on me to read them now on my own. Thanks for the inspiration!