Do I Still Love These Books? | Reread TBR

[@starshine343]

Mercedes, I’m dying laughing because I was in a very *consumer mindset* about 4 years ago and bought sooo many books from your 2015-2017 Favorite Books of The Year videos. And I decided to make it a point this year to finally read the ones I hadn’t gotten to! Many of your 12 rereads are on my list too this year! 😂

[@MercysBookishMusings]

hahahaa, that's so funny! I'd love to hear your thoughts on them!

[@MarilynMayaMendoza]

The Makayoka Sisters is on my TBR For awhile And I want to get to it this year. I really hope green was my Valley last year and I gave it five stars. Language is so beautiful. Aloha

[@fmarginalia]

White Oleander is on my reread list too! And not the secret history but The Goldfinch

[@SB-sg4em]

I find that as soon as I get rid of a book I develop a visceral desire to reread it, and end up buying it again! So, over the years I’ve developed a bit of a fear of disposing of books that I don’t absolutely loathe.

[@suenicholls5446]

💕😀xx thanks for some great choices. I’m rereading some of my old favourites this year, one a month. At the moment I’m reading one a day through march of my lovely boxed set of the Beatrix Potter Peter rabbit collection. Lots of love 🥰

[@charlottemolloy]

I'm still wanting to read revolutionary road and tidal zone (for the first time!) - this was a needed reminder. Great video Mercedes

[@p_p_p_p_7732]

I'm so excited for when you reread all these books! :)

[@YourTrueShelf]

Lots in common here! I re-read GWO last year and got even more out of it second time around, I loved it. English Animals was a 5* for me, and I can still remember the characters' names etc, which often fade. I read white oleander years ago and loved it, still own it. Revolutionary Road I can't remember loving. I unhauled commonwealth (oops). I've had tidal zone on my tbr for years. Secret history I got irritated with the characters, so maybe I was too old to read it when I did!! Xx

[@katrinaandallthebooks7993]

This made me realise how long I’ve owned and haven’t read White Oleander. I love the idea of rereading the Ship of Magic trilogy, I loved all the Hobb books but struggled with the quartet.

[@KittyAndTheBooks]

I am doing quite good with rereading books in series this year, so I can continue on with series, but now I have also chosen some books I can't remember well anymore but really enjoyed at the time. I just chose 4, I think that will be enough for me. :D Hope your rereading project will be a success!

[@eviebeatricee]

I loved this, I reread quite a lot and really enjoyed your thoughts on this📚

[@Dottiemi]

I don’t reread much as I fear I won’t enjoy them as much, but maybe you have made me reconsider! SH and RR would be top of my pile.

[@anothergreatetcetera]

So many of these books have been on my wishlist forever! I can't wait for you to reread them, so I can decide whether I'll finally get to them or not.

[@tawnyman]

Most of these are either books I would also like to reread or books I’ve added to my tbr through the years from watching your channel. I keep a shelf on goodreads of priority rereads and try to get through a few of those a year. I notice that I manage to reread more books in the first half of the year and then stop as it gets closer to the end of the year, it’s so hard not to get distracted by new books! I’ve been doing a very slow reread of Realm of the Elderlings since 2019. I wish I was able to move through them faster, but it is very hard to fit a reread of 16 books in. I haven’t read The Gift of Rain yet, but Tan Twan Eng has a new book coming out this year called The House of Doors that sounds really good!

[@zehrazaidi4293]

A Place For Us based in the US: the author is now based in the UK - US and married to Riz Ahmed. The last section, or chapter, is one of the best I have ever read

[@jorvikreads]

Revolutionary Road is on my reread list too! I tend to reread 2-3 book a year but I'm making a concerted effort this year to reread 5-10. I've loved watching your reread list 💕

[@kitthereader]

been watching you since 2014 or 2015 and this video was like a journey through your channel. so many books i remember you loving and will be intrigued to hear if you still love them. i've recently reread books i loved in 2013 and 2014 and i didn't love them as much so now i have the reread fear!

[@thebritishbookworm]

Loved this! I love rereading books and would love to see more of it on booktube. So many of these are on my TBR! So pleased you're going to reread A Place for Us although I totally understand what you mean about it reminding you of bad times. It's one of my favourite family sagas. I hope you love it.

[@terese_utan_h]

I'd say that The Secret History is one of my favourite books of all time based on my reading it for the first time in high school and rereading it when I was around 20. Just like you I doubt I'll like it as much now. Part of me wants to read it again and find out, but I think I'd rather preserve my love for it, if that makes sense. I prefer to reread books that I didn't get much out of at the time, but I suspect will appeal more to the reader I am today, Tartt's The Little Friend being a case in point. I found it boring and rambling the first time around, but gave it 4 stars on reread last year. Of the books mentioned in the video I gave The Secret History, How Green Was My Valley and English Animals 5 stars, A Tale for the Time Being and The Tidal Zone 4 stars, and the rest are on my ridiculously unmanageable TBR (with the possible exception of Commonwealth, didn't like Bel Canto).

[@emmyb7613]

I remember these books, I added them to my TBR back in the day when you talked about them.. Ah I feel so nostalgic about those times now (not that I would actually go back but books and booktube-wise, a probably would). :)

[@sharonmorris924]

Great video Mercedes. I don’t generally re read but I keep books that I loved. Like you I kept a Secret History and had planned to re read it this year after reading it originally in 1992 . Tastes change and I think I put it off last year as I didn’t want to be disappointed. The other book I planned to re read was the Poisonwood Bible.

[@nicinca]

Some of them are also my favourite books, the secret history, revolutionary road, white oleander & Girl, woman, other! Definitely want to read Commonwealth, English Animal and Sarah Moss’s books based on your recommendation.😊

[@marja2909]

I picked up White Oliander following your recommendation years ago and it became my favourite book. But I haven't reread it since

[@velmavlogs7693]

I read Commonwealth just last week and it felt so timely. We’ve just had a published novel writer join my workplace, and a colleague and I were discussing what we’d do if we ‘found’ ourselves in one of her novels (we suspect she’s working with us for research). I was reminded of the last place I worked where my closest colleague was the childhood best friend of a novelist who wrote a fairly famous semi-autobiographical novel in which she obviously featured fairly heavily. And then I picked up Commonwealth which covers similar themes! I too love those multi perspective insights and thought this book did that so well.

[@MercysBookishMusings]

That must be so weird to recognise yourself in a novel. I always remember that scene in the book as such a shock!

[@sushma150690]

I read most of the books on this list based on your recommendation actually! I’m adding Commonwealth to my TBR after watching this

[@velmavlogs7693]

I read Commonwealth just last week and I LOVED it.

[@jacquelinemcmenamin8204]

The Garden of Evening Mists is going to be the subject for discussion on Book Club 4pm BBC RADIO4 ( first Sunday in April)

[@traceymills5113]

Revolutionary Road would be one of my favourite books of all time. It mirrored how I felt at that time in my life and I thought it was a heartbreaking masterpiece. I will reread it one day now that I am older but am scared it was the right book at the right time and to reread may change my love of it.

[@vesnastihovic7014]

Thoughts on Franzen and Irving?

[@MercysBookishMusings]

I've read only one book by each of them a long time ago so can't really say. Do you enjoy their books?

[@EveningReader]

Like you, when I was young, I was a chronic re-reader. The last couple years, I've been trying to get back to that. On that note, I've probably read The Secret History more than 20 times (first read it in 1993; nothing like it back then)! I've also read Commonwealth multiple times. White Oleander is on my re-read list for this year. Re: the term hobo, it wasn't always derogatory (in the US), so I suppose it would all depend on context?

[@MercysBookishMusings]

Wow, 20 times is impressive! Well, the book is set in the nineties and she's referencing some homeless people who camp outside the library. If used in that way in the UK it would be derogatory.

[@Ysarra]

Great video Mercedes! I've said before, I reread a LOT. And one of the things I do to keep my physical book collection under control, is every year I reread my four and five star reads from 5 years ago. So this year, along with all my 'on a whim' rereads, I'm rereading my favourite reads from 2018 to see which of them hold up and which don't. I know some of them will, because I have already reread them in the past five years, a few of them a lot more than once. But there are a few that are languishing lazily un-reread on my shelves and I'm always super curious to see how they fare :)

[@MercysBookishMusings]

That is such an interesting way to reread books. Do you often reread one and enjoy it less?

[@Ysarra]

Not often, no. But sometimes for sure. I tend to find the books that I haven't already reread are maybe slightly more likely to not hold up, but that's not always the case either. I DO find it fascinating when I don't enjoy a book as much on a reread, in terms of why. I also change up how I read (physical vs audio) sometimes, and that has a big impact.

[@ChrisDailyReading]

I love rereading, but recent years I’m also doing it a lot less. I’m very curious to see what you’ll think of these books now, some of them I picked up at the time on your recommendation (Revolutionary Road and The Tidal Zone).

[@AnaMoShoshin]

I love to reread! I end up reading the same books a lot, usually my most favorite books or comfort reads. I also only keep books on my read shelf that I could see myself rereading or ones that perhaps had a very strong impact on me but might be too brutal to read again. (and occasionally all book my a certain author or in a series, even if I didn't love all of them). I don't feel any pressure to reread, or that I don't reread enough, bc I know that I will when I want to. I'm Interested to see how some of these go for you the second time around! Do you have any comfort rereads?

[@MercysBookishMusings]

I think it will be interesting to see which ones end up being comfort reads on a reread. I'd guess that Robin Hobb's books will be as I always find fantasy a complete escape. Then I find books by authors like Carys Bray quite comforting although I didn't include any of hers in this tbr. What are some of yours?

[@unboundbookishnotions7373]

Did you watch the movie adaptation of Revolutionary Road? Curious what your thoughts on the movie vs. the book. One of my favorite books is Ocean at the end of the lane by Neil Gaimin. Watching this video, I realized I haven't read it in years now. Time for a reread. 💛

[@jacquelinemcmenamin8204]

Two five star books I’ve finished so far this month for the #irishreadathon that I would recommend to you Mercedes Dinner Party by Sarah Gilmartin My Fourth Time ,We Drowned by Sally Hayden 🍀👋☘️📕📖📚☕️

[@MercysBookishMusings]

Yes, I love the film too :)

[@kimswhims8435]

I need to read Commonwealth, I loved Bel Canto but not The Dutch House so much. I thought The Dutch House was good but bland. I'm interested in English Animals too. I can really understand wanting to reread Girl, Woman, Other. One I reread last year was Love in the Time of Cholera, the relationships are near on criminal, I won't be reading it again.

[@MercysBookishMusings]

I had Love in the Time of Cholera on my tbr but then I realised what the romance was supposed to be I got rid of it straight away!

[@ameliabarlowbooks]

The Tidal Zone was brilliant, I'd love to know what that's like on a re-read. talk about the cringe way men write women, Sarah Moss writes the male character so well in that book doesn't she!

[@Tutankhamun18Reads]

I loved and reread Revolutionary Road and it is a masterpiece in my opinion. However, having lobed thay I tried to read some other novels by Yates and wow he writes women terribly in every other book. He does mention their tits immediately, he does not characterise them like humans.

[@MercysBookishMusings]

I read a few others at the time (The Easter Parade, Young Heart Crying, Liars in Love and Eleven Kinds of Loneliness) and remember not liking them anywhere near as much and disliking most of the men even when you weren't supposed to 😄