Friday Favourites: Your Favourite Book To Re-read

Friday Favourites - a chance to rave about a favourite reading/book related topic each week.

Sometimes you just want a chance to rave about some favourite aspect of reading that doesn't really come up during regular blogging posts - that's what this is about. I'm willing to bet that at least some of those will come up one week or another.

I'm asking what your favourite book to re-read is this week. I'd also be curious to know why you like re-reading that book.

My answer is obvious to anyone who knows me: The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien. I've been reading and re-reading it since I was eleven, possibly a bit younger.

Sometimes, it's to return to a world that's become familiar and comfortable to me - although I wouldn't want to live there at all, too many dangers. But, I know the story - there's no surprises there anymore. Even so, re-reading's not boring in any way.

Other times, when I'm re-reading the Lord of the Rings, I find myself noticing some new details about Tolkien's writing and the world of Middle-Earth. Sometimes it's some nuance of his writing style and vocabulary, other times it's something concerning the customs of one of the cultures in Middle-Earth.

I never quite know which it will be each time either, I just know that it's going to be a really good read which will often leave me in tears by the end - especially when I combine it with a reading of Bilbo's Last Song, my favourite of Tolkiens poems. Quite honestly, I'm glad to see that it's being reissued this fall. The poem, for all that it's short is absolutely my favourite, and lavishly illustrated by Pauline Baynes, it works so well with the chapter The Grey Havens in The Lord of the Rings.

What's your favourite book to re-read?