Bang For Your Book

Part of my TBRs

By Peg Brantley
Evocative Characters. Intriguing Crime. Compelling Stories.


I've read thousands of books in my lifetime. Probably tens of thousands. But I have never once—at least not on purpose—read one twice. (Except maybe The Stand by Stephen King, but I could be wrong about that.)

People gush over their favorite books and talk about how many times they've read them. People who do this make me feel unfaithful. Why can't I pick a book and stick with it the same way they do? I'm such a cheater. A hussy who's on to the next best thing. A book-slut.

I have a few all-time favorite books. What if I were to read one of them again and be disappointed in some way? I would then have one less all-time favorite book. I would be sad.

For example, what if the word-paintings Arthur Golden created (just for me I'm sure) in Memoirs of a Geisha disappeared the second time around? Missed the canvas? I'd be in mourning. I'd quit believing in anything good and even chocolate wouldn't be able to console me.

It's a good thing I don't reread books.

My reading preference only becomes a problem when it's my own story. By the time the book hits the shelves, literallly or figuratively, I've read the danged thing a gazillion times. It's part of the job, and I suffer through.

What about you? Are you faithful to a few books that you read over and over again? Or does your fear of loss put you in a constant hunt for a new relationship?

And finally, for those of you who reread books, what draws you?

Peg Brantley's newest release, THE SACRIFICE, takes readers from Aspen Falls, Colorado to Monterrey, Mexico and finally to New Orleans, Louisiana in a desperate bid to save a young girl who doesn't know she's in danger.