An unexpected response to Book Blogger Hop

Hosted by Ramblings of a Coffee Addicted Writer

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This week's question: When reading a series, do you re-read the previous book/s before reading the newly released book?

Rarely, like maybe twice, have I re-read a series before the latest release. I remember doing it once because there had been several years between books. I can see the book cover in my head, but I can't remember the name of the series or titles. Something about graves, gray, and I think a woman floating in the air?

Alright, just tried to Google this and the name suddenly came to me - Grave Witch! So, it's the Alex Craft series and it turns out that wasn't several years between published books, I must have just lost track of it. Also, no floating woman on the cover. I had mixed up the all gray tone of the Alex Craft series with the cover of Patricia McKillip's Alphabet of Thorn (love!). So there ya go, the only time I had to re-read a series was when I'd finally picked up Grave Memory and had forgotten what had happened in Grave Dance (I very clearly remember the last chapter, but nothing else.)

Well hell, y'all. I just checked my Kindle app and then double checked the actual book, and it seems that I never ended up reading Grave Memory. So maybe that's something I should go back and do. I should probably re-read the first two books as well.

What I had planned on writing, until I went down this rabbit hole of forgotten books, was that typically I enjoy the latest book so much that I then re-read other books in the series. Sometimes I'll pick up my favorite book in the series, but it will remind me of something from another book, so I'll read that book again. Or I'll intend to just read a favorite scene and end up reading the rest of the book. Normally I'll end up bouncing around the series, but I don't think I've ever re-read a series in order.

Ok, so now I'm going to go add the Alex Craft books to my TBR list (as if it wasn't already long enough) and challenge myself to read them this year! Maybe I should write that down in case I forget or am distracted by all of the shiny new books.

2 comments Book Memes, Discussion Post

Sick Days & Comfort Reads

Hello World, it's me again. Sorry I've been MIA, but I've just survived a really rough two weeks. Computer goes down and to the shop, husband has to go out of town, Kid 1 gets strep and refuses fever reducer so I have to check him every hour/ give cold baths/ ice packs in bed, husband comes back but has to immediately go back to work. We just keep telling each other that next week is Spring Break and we can make it. Kid 1 gets better and can go to school on Thursday, that night he had a recital, then we have dinner at dad's. Dad gets really sick over the weekend and we take turns letting out his super old blind and deaf dog. We make it to Monday and take kids to the zoo. Kid 2 has a melt down every few feet. Weird, because she loves the the zoo. She pulls herself together but is totally worn out and I end up carrying her for the last 20 minutes. Fast forward to 1:30 a.m. and I hear Kid 2 crying. Poor pumpkin has grandpa's stomach flu. Over the next two days Kid 1 and I both get sick and my poor husband is taking care of everyone and doing lots of laundry for the kids. Thankfully he never gets sick. I finally went outside for the first time today and felt like a mole man: blinking stupidly at the sunshine, thinking, "So this is the surface world."

During the time that I was staying up late with sick kids or being sick myself, I had a hard time reading. I read Q-Ship Chameleon (the latest sequel to the Castle Federation series) and while I enjoyed it I had difficulty concentrating due to general exhaustion. I didn't want to read new things, so I turned to comfort reads. I read some Jennifer Crusie books because they always make me laugh (even though they are formulaic), Burn For Me by Ilona Andrews because all of her books are great and this one makes me laugh. I would have read Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix but I had to stick to kindle books so I could read in the dark. And the kindle was much lighter, which made a difference once I got sick too. But now I really want to read Order of the Phoenix because it's my favorite.

This got me thinking about Comfort Reads. What makes us re-read a book over and over? I tend to turn to them when I need to rest my brain, need cheering up, or to just get out of a rut. Which is odd because you would think that re-reading a book for the umpteenth time would contribute to the rut, but it always helps me get out of one. I realized while writing this that my comfort reads tend to be action-y mysteries with a strong dose of humor. It seems a strange thing to just now notice after so many years of reading.

So the question is, do you have comfort reads? What books do you turn to and what do they do for you? Have you noticed similarities in your comfort reads like I did? 

10 comments Discussion Post