To Re-Read, or not to Re-Read? - Library Notes
Published on November 22, 2024
What’s new in Juniors – Native Fauna
- Buzzz! Native bugs of Aotearoa by Donovan Bixley
- Miro the little brown Kiwi by Kelly Lynch
- Fur to feathers : The ecological transformation of New Zealand by Clayson Howell
- The proud Pūteketeke by Peter Millet
- The little Kiwi’s new year by Nikki Slade Robinson
- Sleep is for babies by Emily McDowall
- Ten nosey Weka by Kate Preece
- Nanny Rina’s amazing nets by Qiane Matata-Sipu
- Five wee Pūteketeke by Nicola Toki
- Ruru : night hunter by Katie Furze
To Re-Read, or not to Re-Read?
Dariann Sigley, Children’s & Youth Librarian
With the end of the year rapidly chasing me, and with this month’s Page Turner’s theme set to re-read a favourite book, my mind is reeling; what book do I re-read? And, what books have I read?
What makes a book worth re-reading? As someone who struggles to re-read books due to a fear of time constraints, this question is something I struggle to answer. The English Literature student within demands to re-read a book to find all those small tid-bits I may have missed the first time around. To link the hints the author carefully hid with the ones they boldly emphasised and look at how they try to prepare you for that breath-taking hint. Meanwhile, the whimsical Librarian in me demands to re-meet all of those favoured characters again. To marvel at how they grow – or refuse to change despite the dreadful scenarios they find themselves in. To jump back into that world again, to live and breathe its essence with a small secretive smile, because this time you know what’s coming.
For slow readers like me, I heartily recommend audiobooks. While I don’t mind taking my time, working my way through a good book, sometimes it’s nice to get a story finished by the end of the week instead of the month. Otherwise, when issuing a book from the library, you can always ask to issue it for six weeks, instead of the standard three (and still be able to renew it!). The third option is to start with issuing a book from the library, and if you know you’d either like to enjoy it again or that it’s exactly your kind of book, then you can go out and buy it and keep reading from there!
But now we’re left with the very important question, what on earth do I re-read? It’s a harrowing question when you’re the type to only re-read a book in the most dire of circumstances. Websites and apps like GoodReads, Beanstack and Storygraph are great resources to help you keep track of what you’ve been reading over the year, especially if you take advantage of their scoring systems and leave reviews. There’s nothing like finding a loving or scathing review you’ve written to remind yourself why you should or should not pick up that book again. Otherwise, you can always come into the library and ask a friendly librarian to check your account and see what books you have checked out over the year. And of course, we’re always happy to help you with all your reading adventures.