Tuesday, September 27, 2011

Books I want to re-read

I'm a bit (a lot) late on this topic but it's still Tuesday so here I am. The question for this week's Tuesday Top Ten, hosted by The Broke and The Bookish, is about books I want to re-read. I felt like I should do this because I re-read a lot. It's not that I don't have plenty of new titles out there I want to explore. It's just that sometimes I want to curl up with something I already know I love versus reading something new that could end up sucking. This blog has cut down my re-reads but they're still there. Since the beginning of the year 21% of my books are still re-reads*. Keeping that in mind, I'm going to actually list my favorite books that I love to re-read.

1. The Thursday Next series by Jasper Fforde - I mention this all the time, I know, but I love the series. Love it. It's a quick read and at this point it's like visiting with old friends.

2. Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling - I'm actually listening to it now on the few and far between cases when I run. But it's been great motivation not only to keep running but to actually get off my butt and run because I want to continue the story.

3. Freakonomics by Steven Levitt and Stephen Dubner - I think I've read it 5 times but I still love it. It's a quick read but very interesting. Especially the chapter on names

4. Fool by Christopher Moore - I was actually thinking about how I wanted to read this again when I realized I've recently re-read it already. At least since I started this blog. I'll push it off a little longer but that may mean I'll need more Moore soon.

5. Neither Here Nor There by Bill Bryson - Bill Bryson is probably the author I've re-read the most. Whenever I'm not sure what I want to read next but I know I want something quick that will make me smile I reach for his stuff. And this is my favorite of his, so it's the one I end up re-reading the most.

6. The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged) by The Reduced Shakespeare Company - I honestly can't even count how many times I've read this one. I used to pick it up about once a month, but it's short so it can be finished in a couple hours.

7. A Midsummer Night's Dream by Shakespeare - I love this play. I won't argue that it is the best Shakespeare play, but it is my favorite. I have 5 copies of it (1 normal, 1 in a complete works, 1 in a complete comedies, 1 in Italian and 1 a copy of the First Folio**) so I have to make use.

8. Too Good to be True: The Colossal Book of Urban Legends by Jan Harold Brunvand and The Complete-As-One-Could-Be Guide to Modern Myths by N.E. Genge - I don't know what it is about urban legends, but I seek them out. I haven't read these two books in awhile but they are well-worn copies.

9. Pride and Prejudice and Zombies by Jane Austen and Seth Grahme-Smith - I'm so close to having a respectable entry in this list and I blow it by adding zombies. But what can I say, I love Austen's language and I like when things start to get dull that zombies show up.

10. To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee - Oh! I thought of a classy entry. There are a few times recently I've thought of picking this up again but I wouldn't know what to say about it on here, so I haven't picked it up again. Yet. But that's coming.

*yes that's the actual percentage because I'm a super nerd and have this tracked in excel.
**Have I made my super nerdiness sufficiently obvious yet?