Friday Mood Recs: 22 books I want to reread
All about the early stages of my 2024 rereading project
Hey, readers!
One of the things I’m most excited about in 2024 is tackling a rereading project. I love rereading books but with all of the new releases I have access to and all of the backlist gems I have on my shelves, I rarely make time for it. Unless I’m in desperate need of a comfort read (hello, twenty-somethingth read of Pride and Prejudice) or discussing a book on Novel Pairings, I rarely read a book for a second time. But I know that I have evolved as a reader, and I’m curious about what I’d think of some of my old favorites or books I wanted to appreciate more. Yes, I’m interested to see if they hold up, but I also have more literary skills and knowledge (not to mention life experience) now, and I think there are some books I could appreciate at a new level at this point in my life.
I’m also marking 10 years of FictionMatters in March, which I truly can’t believe! I started the Instagram account as part of a graduate school project back before #Bookstagram was even a term. I shared the books I was reading and teaching for almost three years before publishers started (very occasionally) sending me books and using social media as a marketing platform. From there things grew slowly and steadily, leading to this newsletter, a podcast, and generally being a professional book person.
To mark ten years of FictionMatters and to lean into my desire for more rereading, I’m planning a personal rereading project for 2024. I haven’t formalized what it will entail, but I know that making a project out of it—especially one I can share with you!—will help motivate me. Today, I’m sharing 22 of the books I’m considering for my project. I definitely won’t get to all of these (I’m thinking 10 rereads for the year feels manageable) and it’s very likely that I’ll remember other books I want to prioritize, but I like having a list to serve as a starting point.
I’d also love to hear from you: which of these books are you interested in my updated opinions on and what sorts of content you’d like to see around this project. Reading in Public essays would be an obvious avenue and something I’d really enjoy putting together. But if you have suggestions, let me know! Would you want podcast content on these books? Read-alike reading lists? A threaded discussion for anyone wanting to read along? Tell me what would be interesting and I’ll factor it into my ever evolving plans!