Why I Only Re-Read Books at Christmas | TDOC

I very rarely re-read books. Whether it's been a few hours, a few days, a few weeks or a few years since I read a book, I can on most occasions recall almost everything that happens in a book, why it happens, what characters said or did, and how much I liked it, so the feeling to actually re-read almost never comes around, the only exception being at Christmas. For the last three years, I've gotten the re-reading itch around the Christmas season, and while the Christmas season is the perfect opportunity to read some seasonal reads, I always turn to the same books for some winter comfort. But why?

I only wish I had an answer to that question. It could be because of any number of things:

1. I'm busy planning Christmas, I don't have time to take chances

In the middle of summer, I'm more open to taking chances on books I'm not sure about, and even during the colder, more Autumnal months, I takes chances on scary books, something I only make a point of doing rarely, but on the run up to Christmas, I just don't have it in me. I don't have time to scour my bookshelf for what could be my next favourite read when I know there are seasonal books that I love that I could read instead. I don't have the patience for a new and exciting adventure then I have adventures I know and love, and if there's ever a better time to remind myself of why I love these books, it's Christmas.

2. I can't read a book without reviewing it, and that adds pressure

I find it near enough impossible to read a book and not take notes on it. I'm always noting things like the characters, like the development, the plot, the story, the pacing, and it's hard to shut that part of my mind off, yet when I re-read a book around Christmas, I consider it a comfort read, something I can just fall into and fall in love with again and again. When I re-read, I don't feel the pressure of a review, to get thoughts surrounding my mind out because I've already felt those things before, I don't need to note them, I just get to love them, appreciate them and absorb myself into the story I clearly loved before. The personal freedom of not writing reviews for re-reads makes them so much more appealing.

3. Few seasonal reads are published per year, re-reading makes sense

Every year, I ask my parents or friends for at least one seasonal read, either Christmas or Winter themed, and every year it gets more and more difficult to find them. Last year, I managed to acquire Ex-mas, Wintertown and My True Love Gave To Me, but only one of those was a release from that year, and it was the only young adult seasonal release of that year. I read and really enjoyed Trisha Ashley's Twelve Days of Christmas - go figure - and have made it my aim to seek out more of her seasonal work in the next few years, but if there aren't new seasonal releases each year, my only option is to re-read seasonal reads I already own. It's a shame, because there are a lot of people like me who like reading seasonal reads.

The Christmas season is the only time of year that I re-read books, and it's always surprising to see my reading habits change so dramatically in such a small space of time. As soon as Christmas is over, I jump straight back into a normal reading routine, but between now and the big day, it's not unusual to see me re-reading some old favourites such as Dash and Lily's Book of Dares, Let It Snow, Twelve Days of Christmas and new book to join the ranks such as Ex-mas and My True Love Gave To Me, and I can't wait to reunite myself with them.

Do You Re-Read Books? Are You a Seasonal Re-Reader?