Why I Don’t Reread: A Story in GIFs

One of my favorite things about summer as a kid was the summer reading lists we got for school. Yeah, I was one of those kids (and who of us wasn’t?). via GIPHY One year, we had one of those summer reading assignments where you could choose a few books from a big list of choices. My favorite kind of summer reading! via GIPHY One of the books I chose was Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbitt. via GIPHY It was wonderful! I loved it! via GIPHY And I thought that would be that. A happy book memory forever. via GIPHY But poor naive little me was wrong. via GIPHY A year or two later, in 6th grade English class, I saw Tuck Everlasting on our syllabus. via GIPHY A book I’d already read and enjoyed! I thought it would be great. via GIPHY But when we actually got to that unit, I was in for an unpleasant surprise. via GIPHY I don’t know what did it. Was it because we read it at a snail’s pace? Because we dwelled on every little thing? Because I had to listen to fellow 11-year-olds read it out loud? But suddenly the book was not the loveliness I remembered it to be. via GIPHY We also watched the 2002 movie adaptation. I was so done. via GIPHY Why did this have to happen to a book I loved so much??? via GIPHY It was a low point in my young reading life. via GIPHY I can count the books I’ve reread since then on one hand. via GIPHY For the most part, I refuse. Because the fear is real, y’all. via GIPHY Do you have any traumatic reread experiences? Let’s commiserate in the comments!