Some people read a book once and are done with it, just as they are with movies or television shows. I am not that person. The pleasures of re-reading are manifold for me: the joy of knowing what’s going to happen and to relax when characters are in a tough place; the ability to skip past subplots or characters that don’t interest me, without guilt or fear that I’ll miss something; the chance to find a sudden sunlight sparkling like sea glass on a bit of foreshadowing I’d not seen the first time; the delight in certain characters’ speech and mannerisms. One of the authors I enjoy revisiting is Georgette Heyer, my go-to for romance set in the Regency-era (roughly the same time as the Brontës and Jane Austen). Heyer’s accuracy in language and social mores is unparalleled. Unlike contemporary Regency romance writers, Heyer doesn’t elaborate on sex scenes, but nobody does dialogue better, complete with slang of the early 1800s. (We’ve lost a lot of good words, friends.) I’m currently re-reading Regency Buck and recently dropped back into Cotillion. What's your reading pleasure--reading once and moving on, or re-reading old favorites?
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What I’m ReadingI began working in libraries as a seventh grader, courtesy of scoliosis. My orthopedic surgeon wrote me a pass to miss gym class, so I began working in the school library to feed my love of reading. Even after my surgery to correct the curvature, I kept getting out of gym to work in my high school library and then in my college library (for pay, at last!).
So began my eventual career as a college reference librarian—after a detour into teaching high school English. Later I worked for an educational publisher before going back to libraries.
I have a reading and writing life now. I devour both fiction and nonfiction, and will tell you about some of my favorite reads, both old friends and new discoveries.
Here's some library-themed music to get you in the mood.
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