Re-readathon, yay!

I'm so happy Bex at An Armchair By The Sea is hosting another re-readathon- I really enjoyed the last two. I've had a bit of a hectic start to the month so I'm looking forward to getting stuck into some old favourites :)

So here's my provisional to-read pile!

First up we have Oranges are Not the Only Fruit by Jeanette Winterson, which is long overdue for a re-read- I think it's been five years? Re-reading her wonderful memoir Why Be Happy When You Could Be Normal? recently has reminded me of what a travesty this situation is. So, definitely want to get to this one.

Next priority is Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, because I started re-reading the series a while back (I think it was actually during one of these re-readathons) and I've sort of stalled on it. Plus it's Goblet of Fire and we all know it's one of the best in the series.

Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell-  I loved this book and was hoping to re-read it soon anyway, but I recently read Carry On- set in the fictional fantasy universe Fangirl's main character writes fanfiction for- and that's just made me want to read it even more.

The Secret History by Donna Tartt- I've been meaning to re-read this for ages, and I even shortlisted it for the last re-readathon- but I just haven't got around to it. It's one of those books I think will be interesting on a re-read- knowing about the characters what I do now and all that. That's as much as I can say without spoiling it for anyone who hasn't read it yet!

 A Game of Thrones by George R R Martin- I recently started re-watching the TV series and it's really made me want to go back to the books- I've already read them twice but there's so much in them you really do need to read them a few times. I wasn't planning on re-reading them until we had a release date for The Winds of Winter, the sixth book in the series, so that I had a nice new one to read at the end of it- but it seems that could be a while away yet, and I can't wait. I'm not totally sure if I'll read this during the re-readathon- if I do it'll probably take up the whole time- but I might make a start on it, at least.

Sandman: Doll's House by Neil Gaiman- I started re-reading the Sandman series during one of the other re-readathons... and promptly forgot about them. This was actually the first one in the series I ever read, so I'm quite fond of it for that reason. Also, graphic novels are great for boosting your page count ;)

So that's my current book pile! Of course it could all change with bits and pieces on my kindle but we'll see what I feel like on Monday. I can't wait!

Rereadathon!

It's finally here! Bex's Re-Readathon starts tomorrow and I'm super excited. This week is my second last week as an undergraduate and the pressure is seriously on- so it'll be great to escape with some old favourites.

This is my to-read pile:

From top to bottom:

Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone by J K Rowling: 

I don't really need to introduce this, do I? I've read it almost once a year since I was six. I'm surprised I don't have it memorised, to be honest. I've been feeling lately it's time to reread the Harry Potter books once again.

Oranges Are Not The Only Fruit by Jeanette Winterson

 I last read this four odd years ago, and remember loving it- but I don't remember much about it! What I do remember is that it's a surprisingly funny, very autobiographical story about a girl growing up in a deeply religious home who discovers her sexuality- and there's a lot of wonder Winterson-y oddness too. I've been meaning to re-read this since I read Why Be Happy When You Could Be Normal?, Winterson's autobiography- which was itself nearly three years ago... So it's long overdue!

The Secret History by Donna Tartt

Last read December 2012. Since I'm nearly at the end of my university life (as an undergrad, at least) I figure I should reread this. It's a scholarly sort of thriller and there's a murder in it, the circumstances of which I can't quite remember.

Among Others by Jo Walton

Some day I may dedicate a whole post to this book- I read it last January and it hit me hard. You know when sometimes the right book comes along at just the right time? I reread it pretty quickly after that, but haven't looked at it since, though the characters and places have been ticking over in my head ever since. It's about a girl at a horrible boarding school in the 1970s, reading lots of science fiction and using books to escape. And there are fairies.

How To Be A Woman by Caitlin Moran

Last read in 2010, this is a sort of memoir/introduction to feminism that had me laughing so much I had to put it away, struggling to keep a straight face, on the train. I read Moran's other two books- the collection of essays Moranthology and her coming of age novel How to Build a Girl- quite recently and they've made me remember how awesome this book was. So I can't wait to read it again!

Fun Home by Alison Bechdel

Sometimes I feel like this book was written just for me, because it ticks so many of my boxes. About books? Check. Lesbians? Check. Coming of age? Check. Lesbians? Check. Dysfunctional family? Check. That said, I'm a bit shaky on remembering exactly what went down in it. Plus it recently got made into a Broadway musical, which is something I definitely need to check out.

Preludes & Nocturnes (The Sandman #1) by Neil Gaiman

I read The Sandman books at a very young age- probably too young, I think I was between eleven and fourteen... thank my older brother for that. I'm always banging on about how good they are but I haven't read the series all the way through since then (and I actually haven't read The Kindly Ones at all- for some reason it was the only one the library didn't have, and graphic novels were prohibitively expensive when I was a teen...) So, yes, I really, really need to fix that.


On the Kindle:

The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins
I'm kind of torn on this, because I really do want to reread it but it's so long! Like, if I read nothing but this I probably still won't finish it in a week. Oh well, I've added it to the list anyway. This is another book that ticks so many of my personal boxes- Victorian! Family secrets! Mysterious characters! I read it in 2011 so it deserves a reread.

The Magicians by Lev Grossman
It's difficult to know how to describe this book. It tends to get branded 'Harry Potter for grown-ups!' a lot, which is... sort of true, sort of not true. I've also heard it described as if Bret Easton Ellis wrote Harry Potter, which is probably a better description in my mind. Basically, the characters discover that the setting of their childhood favourite books (which is so-totally-not-Narnia) is real and they go to school to learn magic, but to me, it's a lot more about the experience of being an intense fan of fantasy novels than actually being a fantasy novel in itself. Or something. Anyway, I read and loved this and the sequel a while back, and the third book in the trilogy came out recently so I need reread the first two, as I'm a bit sketchy on the details.


As far as goals, I'm hoping to read about 100 pages a day, or read about 2-3 of these. Uni permitting...

Also, it's occurred to me that the books I'm reading for uni at the moment, Persuasion by Jane Austen and Nana by Emile Zola are both rereads, so I can totally count those towards my page total. Huzzah!