The Joy of Rereading

While I was making myself french toast this morning, I ruminating over some things. The one that stands out most prominently however is my tendency to reread my favorite books. I have always thought this a sort of weakness, something like a fear of breaking out of what is comfortable. This summer, my thoughts on this tendency changed when I had an interview at the library for my dream job: stocking shelves. Although I didn't get the job (they didn't like that I lived about an hour away), I came home with a new found respect for rereading books.

Within the interview, one of the librarians with whom I was talking asked me what books I like to read. My goodness, she opened the floodgates. We then talked about books for about 5 minutes, and when I mentioned Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte, she told me that she rereads it once or twice a year.

This woman inspired me to not feel shame in my desire to reread books. She is in charge of shelving and sees new books come in and out of the library all the time, and yet, she continues to reread books.

My desire to reread books was then fueled. Though I will read new books, I never again feel like there is anything wrong with rereading a quality book. I feel joy in them and want to experience it again and again. And there is nothing wrong with that.

Here are some of my favorites that I have reread at least once:

The Last Battle by C.S. Lewis (every time I finish this book, I get the feeling that I could never read again and still be happy; and that is significant when you are a reader)

A Wrinkle in Time by Madeline L'Engle

The Harry Potter Series by J.K. Rowling

The Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo

Ella Enchanted by Gail Carlson Levine

The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien

The Lord of the Rings series by J.R.R. Tolkien

Surprised by Joy by C.S. Lewis

East by Edith Pattou

Peter Pan by James M. Barrie

And some I plan on rereading:

Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte

Little Women by Louisa May Alcott

Northlander by Meg Burden

Foundling by D.M. Cornish

Lamplighter by D.M. Cornish

The Princess Bride by William Goldman

These are not all of the books I love, but these are many that have I have either read twice or three times (or more). Hope you can find some here that give you joy like they do for me!

Happy reading and rereading!

Finding Joy Further Up and Further In

I recently finished C.S. Lewis' Surprised by Joy. I attempted to read this book when I was just a mere 19-year-old, fresh out of my first year in college. Now, as a seasoned 21-year-old, I was able to finish it all, and probably appreciate it more. Not saying that I couldn't appreciate it at that time. I did appreciate and adore what I finished, but now I was able to really delve into the depths of Lewis' conversion because I actually reached it. I would recommend this book to anyone. It is absolutely excellent.

Lewis talks about Joy, and what that means. One of my favorite quotes says,

All Joy reminds. It is never a possession, always a desire for something longer ago or further away or still "about to be." (78).

This just gives a little taste of what he means by Joy, but I think that this is significant nonetheless.

Lewis' use of the word "further" echoes a theme in his novel The Last Battle. One of the final chapters is called "Further Up and Further In." The allegory of the Chronicles of Narnia is based heavily in the Bible, but in this final installment, Lewis takes the main characters to their end and the world's end. When they are in heaven, Aslan calls them to come up "further up and further in."

As I was reading my book, How People Change, for my Titus 2 study, a women's mentoring group through Bethlehem Baptist, I came across a section called "Looking In and Looking Back." This further echoed Lewis' theme in my head. In this section, as with "Further Up and Further In," the authors, Paul Tripp and Timothy Lane, discuss heaven. They quote the image of heaven in Revelation 7:9-17. A few pages later they ask, in reference to this passage,

As you listen to the saints in eternity, can you see yourself there? If you are one of God's children, you are in that scene. You actually see your future. This is the end of your story. (42)

The combination of the two images impressed itself on my mind. Now, after reading Surprised by Joy as well, I was able to really connect everything. Joy is something we find in looking forward to the eternal home God has created for us. He asks us to seek it "further up and further in." The image that is presented in Revelation is the end of our story.

Let's seek him further up and further in.