by Tony B.

In January, I resolved to try and check Goodreads at least once a day and to write something about most of the books I read. The pandemic was detrimental to my reading habits, and I needed to give my once-voracious appetite for reading a jolt. As far as new year’s resolutions go, this year has been the most successful by far. When I started my resolution by re-reading a novel I enjoyed in high school, I unintentionally kick-started a year of reading nostalgia. This was either literature that I was forced into by the English curriculum or put into my hands by family and librarians. Reading these fondly remembered books reinforced not only that re-reading books is perfectly fine, but also that it can lead to new understandings. 

My last book of 2023, Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros, was a peer-pressure read, and throughout the story I kept thinking, “Wow, these dragon types really remind me of Naomi Novik’s Temeraire series.” I realized I hadn’t read them since high school, so I listened to the first Temeraire novel, His Majesty’s Dragon. (Side note: Simon Vance is an incredible narrator!) I remember being impressed as a teen by the military and historical aspects of introducing a dragon air corps to the Napoleonic wars, but as an adult I have a significantly more nuanced appreciation of the social, political, and ultimately societal ramifications of adding aviators to the early 19^th century. The entire series is an adventure spanning multiple continents and countries, seeing the world through both human and dragon eyes. While it can devolve into a bit of Carmen Sandiego world-hopping, the installments always come back to the big picture and are a joy to experience. 

The other series I have revisited from my teenage years was the Riftwar Saga by Raymond E. Feist. Starting with Magician: Apprentice and Magician: Master, these first works of Feist’s are paragons of sword-and-sorcery high fantasy. Inspired by his own Dungeons and Dragons campaigns in college, Feist writes fast action while maintaining vivid storytelling and comprehensive worldbuilding. It is easy to see how many other fantasy authors point to Feist’s work as early inspiration, because the Riftwar Saga titles are hard to put down. These were some of my favorite books as a teen, though as an adult I can spot the D&D influence and sword & sorcery archetypes much more readily. D&D-inspired content is in the limelight, and I can’t recommend these fun classics enough. 

Re-reading these series as an adult was a reflective experience and made me think about how much of our literary experience is informed by our lived experience. I encourage you to re-read a book from your not-so-recent past and see what new nuances you can find. I am looking forward to continuing this trend, possibly either with Barbara Kingsolver’s The Poisonwood Bible, which was assigned reading in high school, or Tad Williams’ The Dragonbone Chair for more epic fantasy.  

Tony is an Instructor and Research Specialist at HCLS Miller Branch. He has a degree in history and a renewed interest in science fiction and fantasy.