Worth More than 1 Read

I am on a re-read spree right now. Since the beginning of the month, I have only read one book (out of 7 so far this month) that was new to me. Other than that one, everything else has been a re-read. I have absolutely no problem with re-reading books. Especially if they are ones that I bought and have sitting in my house all the time. If I spent the money and read it once already, I am almost certain to read it again. Part of it is because I know that it's a story that I really like (or absolutely love). Part of it is that sometimes I want to read a story that is familiar and well-known, one that I have parts memorized or etched into my memory. And part of it is convenience. If it's on my shelf I don't have to worry about driving to the store and picking from countless titles to find something that may not be as good or one that I may not love as much. One of the series that I think is totally worth re-reading over and over again and the one that I am currently re-reading is the Harry Potter Series by JK Rowling. And I am so not ashamed to admit that I am loving it just as much now as I did the first time around. I don't really remember when the first time was that I read them all. It was sometime in high school and early college when the movies were all in the process of premiering. My sisters and I all read them one after another and fought over who was going to be the first to read the next one on the list.


I started reading The Sorcerer's Stone on the Tuesday before Christmas and I am now (3 days after Christmas) in the middle of the Order of the Phoenix. I have been reading non-stop and loving every bit of it. We (my husband and I) have been at his parents' house all week for the holidays and so I have had countless hours to read since I don't have shifts to work at the gym, chores and to-dos at the house or meetings and events at the church to worry about. As I have been reading, I am constantly amazed at all of the details that I have forgotten and the pieces of the story that the movies change or just leave out entirely. Seriously, I love the movies, but there are some really great moments in the books that would have been great on screen. Just saying.

One of my favorite things about JK Rowling's writing is that it is easily for anyone of any age. It's a story that may quite possibly become counted among the Classics one day. It's a story that may one day place Harry, Ron and Hermione alongside characters like Alice, Bilbo, Charlie, Charlotte and Oliver. I think one of the things that makes it a story that is loved by so many is that it's full of adventure, relationships, character and lessons. It's a story that pretty much anyone can find something within to connect to, to identify with. JK Rowling spent a few hours on a train just scratching out some rough ideas about a boy with a scar and it became a story that children and adults alike, across the world, came to love and cherish. It is a story that I love.

I have a feeling that this won't be the only re-read of Harry Potter that I do in my lifetime. In fact, it's probably just the first of countless times that I will re-read it. And I have a feeling that I will grow to love it more and more each time. So, here's to re-reading books that are worth more than just one read through. Here's to re-reading books that have become cherished stories. Here's to re-reading books that will one day be considered classics. Here's to Harry Potter.