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Requirements for Rainy Day Rereads

Katherine Marciniak

Staff Writer

Katherine is an over-caffeinated avid reader, writer and college student. She was featured in the anthology Once Upon an Apocalypse, and loves to beta read and edit when she has the opportunity. She’ll do more impressive things after she’s finished her tea…and this next chapter.

There’s nothing better in the world than a rainy day, a cup of hot tea, and a good book to reread. Why a reread and not a brand new book? Well, some books out there require a reread. It’s not necessarily because they are the best books in the world. Sometimes, it’s only because the story really speaks to you. Sometimes it’s because that initial sense of awe and wonder that you got when you first picked it up still hasn’t worn off.

I know there are plenty of books that maybe shouldn’t be reread. Maybe there was such a shocking twist that rereading it is a letdown. Maybe you’re afraid it won’t be nearly as good the second time around. And maybe it’s one of those books that doesn’t deserve a reread because there aren’t enough hours in the day to reread all the books in the world.

But you know the books you reach for on a rainy afternoon when you’re all snug up in a hoodie in a comfy chair. The well-worn copies with the covers taped back on, the ones with the broken spines and the ones that smell like adventure. And why keep them around for that reread? For me, those are the books that remind me why I like reading. Isn’t that important? To remember what brought you into this world of paper and ink in the first place?

Requirements of a Rainy Day Reread

So here is what I look for in a rainy day reread:

  1. Books that remind me that you don’t have to be big and powerful to enact change. It’s so important to remember in this culture of superheroes that we don’t need a secret identity in order to make a difference. (Although for the record, secret identities are awesome).
  2. Books that take place in another world. This is especially true if it is ick outside. Why stay in this world when there’s totally a better one to go to?
  3. Books that take place in a foreign land. There are so many place I’ve never been to in real life, but have traveled to in books. I love being able to rediscover landmarks and cultures I’ve never actually seen, especially when I can’t really go there in real life.
  4. Books that change meaning that changes continuously. It doesn’t matter if this is the second reread or if this is the three-hundred-and-thirty-ninth reread. After all, if I’m going to be curling up with something well-thumbed it’s got to have meaning, and as I experience new things in life, that book had better speak to at least some of those experiences.

So those are my requirements. What are yours?