Re-Reads

Thanks to all of you who took my survey last month - everyone was up for me mixing things up as we go forward together, so it’s a bit ironic that I’m coming at you with three recommendations along a theme almost exactly a month after my last email (it would have been right on time, but I’m currently in severe sandwich generation mode and pulled in many directions). 

With my teetering TBR pile, you might find it surprising that I often reread books. One of my kids often re-watches her favourite TV series, and I did some research into the benefits of re-watching shows when there is a glut of new TV. It enhances our wellbeing, is comforting, and connects us with our past. Or so says Psychology Today. 

When it comes to re-reading, there are also many benefits. As with TV, there’s comfort in revisiting a favourite book. When you revisit a book at different stages of your life, you also bring a different perspective to it, which can enhance your comprehension and deepen your emotional connection to it. There are lots of articles on the reasons and benefits people reread books, but this was one of my favourites, perhaps because it said that “rereading a book requires patience and discipline.” I like to think I have both those traits, even though I’m not known for my patience. 

As I mentioned a few months ago, I sometimes re-read a book by listening to it, as it’s a very different experience (see above regarding patience). Sometimes, I pick up a childhood favourite as a sort of palate cleanser/reminder of an easier time/way to reconnect with my younger self. And sometimes, when times are a bit tough, challenging, or overwhelming, a comfort read (or re-read) is just what’s called for. 

So, what have I been (re)reading lately?

The Wolves of Willoughby Chase by Joan Aiken
I look back on this book with great fondness for so many reasons. First off, it’s one of my favourite childhood reads, along with Aiken’s Nightbirds on Nantucket. Secondly, I met one of my oldest friends when she came over one night when we were in university, and when she saw Joan Aiken on my bookshelves, we immediately bonded over our shared love of Joan Aiken’s oeuvre. Never underestimate the power of a book to connect people. 

Dido Twite, Aiken’s redoubtable protagonist, goes on many adventures in an alternate England where the Stuart dynasty (specifically James III) survived the revolution and the Hanoverians are plotting against the throne. An orphan in all but name, Dido is resourceful, witty, and self-reliant. In each book in the series, she’s thrown into the midst of events not of her own doing and has to go on quests to save herself, others, and often the King. The Wolves of Willoughby Chase is a great place to start if you’re not familiar with her books. Joan Aiken’s daughter runs a very retro (in a good way) website if you want to plunge into Aiken ephemera. 

The Wolf Wilder by Katherine Rundell
The same friend with whom I bonded over Joan Aiken lo those many years ago recommended Wolf Wilder to me, and since I trust her implicitly when it comes to books, I immediately ordered it from the library. The fact that it took a few months to arrive, despite being published almost 10 years ago, is a testament to its enduring popularity. Admittedly, including it here is a bit of a cheat, as I only just read it for the first time, but given it has wolves, and it’s aimed at the same age range as Joan Aiken’s The Wolves Chronicles, including it didn’t feel like a total cheat. 

Feo lives with her mother in the wilds of Russia, where they work as wolf wilders, rehabilitating wolves discarded by the aristocracy once they become inconvenient—i.e. when they stop behaving like lapdogs and start biting. When her mother is accused of treason and imprisoned (not everyone is a fan of wolf wilding), Feo sets off to rescue her mother, her favourite wolves at her heels and a band of rebellious waifs in tow—together, they might just change the course of Russian history.  Reading books aimed at the Tween set as an adult is both comfort reading and a little nudge towards the things you loved when you were young. 

The Book of Dust Trilogy by Philip Pullman
When news broke that the last novel, The Rose Field, in this trilogy featuring both Lyra’s backstory and what happens to her after the His Dark Materials Trilogy ends, was coming out in October, I was so excited. Not only because The Secret Commonwealth, the second book in the series published almost five years ago, ends on a cliffhanger but also because Pullman is such a great storyteller. We enjoyed watching the His Dark Materials TV series with our kids during the pandemic. But the books are 600+ page tomes, and there’s that teetering TBR pile I mentioned earlier. So I decided to listen to them instead, a decision that was made easier by discovering that Michael Sheen narrates them with addictive verve, drama, and multiple voices. 

It's another tale of a resourceful, independent, unconventional young woman on a quest in a world similar to, but not exactly, our own. I’m sensing a theme here! Also, Pullman was a fan of Aiken, which makes sense in retrospect. True story: I considered the name Lyra for my kids. They are as glad I didn’t go with that, and Dido was in the running, too. 

A little something extra: ATKReads Summer Reading Challenge
Here’s my challenge to you this summer – read whatever you want, whenever you want or can. We all have enough people telling us what we should be doing or why we need goals. So, my summer goal for you is to enjoy your reading. Gold stars optional. 

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