{re-reads}
I Capture the Castle
is hilarious and sweet without being saccharine. Very classic. Don't be put off by the new cover, which they designed after the movie came out. (Haven't seen it - is it worth two hours of my life?)C.S. Lewis never gets old. Can you tell how many times I've read these
? Will you be horrified to find out that this is actually the second boxed set I've been through and that the first 30 pages of The Silver Chair fell out years ago and I lost them? My books aren't carefully tended, they are water stained and dog eared and sometimes full of crumbs, but they are thoroughly loved.
My mom always taught us to treat books like friends. If we got mad, we were never allowed to throw a book in anger. This is such a nice reminder of how books really do feel like old friends!
ReplyDeleteI just reread Virgin Suicides. I kind of feel bad when I reread books because I know I can read something new. But then again, reading an old book is like talking to an old friend :).
ReplyDeleteI have a few books that I reread at least once every year or so - despite the huge pile waiting to be read at least once :). In our house, our favorite books are held together with string, because they've been so loved. I'm with you all the way!
ReplyDelete(plus CS Lewis rocks)
That is the best way for books to be, a little battered and worse for the ware of all the love you showed them. Enjoy your reading.
ReplyDeletei worked in a library all through college and a little while after. i know all the things not to do to books which include everything you just mentioned. however, i don't care and i dog ear pages to this day. how else will your books know you love them?
ReplyDeleteI always known which books I've read the most because they are so "loved." I recently reread The Book Thief and remembered why it's so wonderful. Sometimes it's go to revisit those old friends.
ReplyDeletep.s. I have the same set of Narnia books and I can't even count how many times I've read them. They're so good.
I have read Narnia books so many times, I've lost count. I have it several different volumes, including an enormous hardcover book that has all seven books in it (and weighs about ten pounds) that I lugged back from Oxford a few years ago. (I'm dedicated to Narnia, what can I say?)
ReplyDeleteThe better loved a book is, the better it gets. Huzzah for dog ears, coffee stains and missing pages!
Love these ones. I've been re-reading a lot of childhood favorites lately too.
ReplyDeleteFor me, the ones I read over and over again are Garth Nix's Sabriel, Ella Enchanted, and Jane Austen. I just never get tired of hope, and these books all show great challenges being overcome. So wonderful.
ReplyDeleteif it makes you feel any better, i've only read seven of the post-1947 pulitzer winners. (but all of the twilight saga, all of harry potter, all of his dark materials, the lord of the rings, the narnia books...).
ReplyDeletethere are emotional seasons for reading, i think, just as there are seasons for fruits and vegetables. sometimes you know you should be having artichokes but are surrounded by stone fruit, and is that your fault? of course not. cherries it is.
I adore "I Capture the Castle" too! I actually bought the movie, sight unseen, (since it wasn't available for rent and Netflix and I didn't want to watch it on the computer), but it wasn't worth it. The vintage clothing and hand knits are wonderful, though.
ReplyDeleteI love your well loved stack of Narnia books!
@lauren - very well put! I started trying to read Faulkner's Sartoris the other day, but I've been distracted by Gregory Maguire's Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister. Oops.
ReplyDeleteRachel, I *just* bought that same set of Narnia books. I'm a sucker for old editions of anything. Unfortunately, it was missing The Lion, the Witch, & the Wardrobe and I'm now on a hunt for just that book in the same 1970 print.
And I'm also a re-reader. Sometimes I prefer to re-read than start something new.
I LOVE C.S. Lewis books!!
ReplyDeleteI watched "I Capture the Castle" after reading the book. It's not excellent but worth two hours, yes!
ReplyDeletei think that pristine books on a shelf look fake and forced...i love that yours have gotten so much love over the years.
ReplyDeleteOh God oh God I love C.S. Lewis. Just read one to my nieces and they were less than into it. I feel a little bad that I BERATED them for their bad taste. How could they not love my beloved childhood favorites?
ReplyDeleteI have like four boxed sets of them. I collected them at one time. I have the set above (in better condition:) I read them thousands of times as a child. I liked the movie, but I like the old British ones better. Did you ever see them?
ReplyDeleteI am definitely a re-reader. I need to re-read LL&W soon - I have them all in one big collection. That might be my next re-read series actually. Thanks for the inspiration :)
ReplyDeleteoh i need to read the castle book..sounds wonderful and i wonder how i've missed it all these years
ReplyDeleteI am re-reading the Chronicles of Narnia too!! My sixth grade teacher read them to us every morning that year, and I recently ran into her and remembered waiting outside the classroom before class started in secret anticipation of what was going to happen next, and so I decided to read them again!! And how much more I'm picking up this time around!
ReplyDeleteI really loved I Capture the Castle... the movie & the book! I watched the movie for free on You Tube! The imagery in it is lovely... I think you'd like it!
ReplyDeletexo,
Linnea
I loved the book "I Capture the Castle" and the movie is pretty good. The acting is less than stellar by most of the characters, but the clothing, music and imagery is absolutely stunning. I would watch it for that alone.
ReplyDelete@ lauren - definitely! different books serve different needs, too. and i think we have the same reading list, although i haven't yet ventured into the twilight saga.
ReplyDelete@ kristy - this is my favorite set and i am sad it's falling apart! i have a newer, more pristine one somewhere (set #3), but i can't find it at the moment. the first set died a long time ago.
@ Lindsay Road - yes! i love the british movies and actually own some of them (but on vhs, boo). haven't seen the new ones and didn't really feel any desire to.
@ everyone who weighed in on the ICtC movie, thanks! i'll probably stick it in my queue but not expect anything mind blowing.
Rachel - http://tinyurl.com/2dg9f92 in case you need a new set. ;)
ReplyDeleteoh my. narnia. love it so!
ReplyDeleteenjoy it! such a perfect summer series.
The styling and costuming in the movie is really lovely (but I'm a sucker for that era). The movie itself? Nehhh, not so worth it. Unless you love Henry Cavill, and then Stephen is TOTALLY worth it. ;) (I love I Capture the Castle too! I reread it pretty often. Rereads are the best, I think.)
ReplyDeleteThe picture of that edition of Narnia got me so excited! I have the same edition, but it was originally my father's! I've never seen another set as beat up as ours. I saw "Prince Caspian" in an antique store last week and had to resist buying it as I already have one.
ReplyDeleteHave you listened to the audio books put out by Focus on the Family Radio Theater? They are audio dramatizations and I HIGHLY recommend. I grew up with Narnia and they are perfectly accurate. I hope you try them and enjoy!
http://www.amazon.com/Chronicles-Narnia-Never-Magic-Theatre/dp/1589972996/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1279227434&sr=8-2
Is it just me who doesn't like C.S. Lewis? I read the whole set when I was in my early teens, and when I got to the very end of The Last Battle (I think? The last book in the series, anyway) I felt CHEATED that the books had been about Jesus the whole time. I was so angry!
ReplyDeleteI'm a re-reader too, and Narnia is always a good choice :).
ReplyDeleteThis summer I'm reading Harry Potter in my free time.
"My books aren't carefully tended, they are water stained and dog eared and sometimes full of crumbs, but they are thoroughly loved."
ReplyDeleteI LOVE that. I'm a bit anal when it comes to my books, most of them practically look like new! But at the same time, I love how I can SEE how much you have loved, read and ENJOYED your books!
as for re-reading, I haven't quite developed that habit. if I've already read it, it is hard for me to go back... mostly because there are so many unread books on my bookshelf! but I'm think right now of some books I'd like to revisit, because I remember how much I loved them the first time. Tuesdays with Morrie is my fave :)
Currently, I'm reading The Passage by Justin Cronin, but I love rereading some of my absolute favorites. I never get tired of The Book Thief (as said above), Ender's Game, Catcher in the Rye, any Jane Austen or Charles Dickens or Ernest Hemingway, and, admittedly, any Harry Potter book.
ReplyDeleteHow funny! I just posted the other day on my blog that I am rereading The Chronicles of Narnia, too. :)
ReplyDeleteI rather liked the film version of I capture the castle, the characters are suitably quirky and bring the story to life in a wonderful way : )
ReplyDeleteI've not read the narnia books but I remember watching the tv show as a child and enjoying it.
Well, the dog-earred ones are clearly the best and that's why we keep them around. I've been going through my already read books lately, looking for something fun to re-read.
ReplyDeleteAwww, my 11 year old brother just asked to borrow my Narnia box set yesterday! I was so proud:)
ReplyDeleteI just reserved I Capture the Castle at the library, base don your recommendation above!! I haven't read it, but you make it sound so compelling.
ReplyDeleteI too just reserved "I Capture the Castle" from my library and put a hold on the film as well.
ReplyDeleteCS Lewis. The first series I ever read - while in 2nd grade! The Narnia books never get old!
I get so attached to books that when a sister-in-law donated all my books from childhood, it was a difficult time for me to get through. I had to realize they were "just" books and were gone but I was so attached to them. I cried.
PS: I was living in another state and my sister in law was brand new to the family and didn't know of my attachment to books.
ReplyDeleteI Capture the Castle film is ok, but Topaz is completely wrongly cast so beware! For me it's not only I Capture the Castle but also the full set of Anne of Green Gables and Emily of New Moon books by LM Montgomery that I HAVE to re-read each year - currently midway now on Anne's House of Dreams
ReplyDeleteI have the same versions of the Narnia books! Mine are slightly less abused. It's worth seeing I Capture The Castle. However, the book (which I read after seeing the film) was far more interesting.
ReplyDeletelol I am such a re-reader too. I have owned at least 3 copies of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban because huge chunks of pages fell out. We bought two of HP and the Deathly Hallows when it first came out so we could save one as our "non-reading" first edition.
ReplyDeleteI love rereading books... it's like visiting an old friend. I need a new copy of Anne of Green Gables, I've read it so much!
ReplyDeletei live flowers xxxx
ReplyDelete