I’ve been thinking a lot lately about rereading books. I have had a regular practice of annual returns to favorites, such as all the Dorothy L. Sayers Lord Peter Wimsey novels in order. And every time there’s a presidential election I read J. B. Priestley’s The Image Men.

In August my husband and I are going to the UK and will attend a Tolkien conference in Birmingham. So I’ll start rereading The Lord of the Rings very soon.

Other books on my mental reread list are all the Barbara Pym novels, the hilarious Angela Thirkell books, and perhaps Susan Howatch. Friends had been in London and saw a play called “Jude” that’s loosely based on Thomas Hardy’s Jude the Obscure. That put in mind that rereading Hardy would be a lovely thing.

Rereading can be comforting when we need to escape into something familiar and loved. Rereading reminds us why we like certain genres and certain characters. Rereading makes good use of our physical and digital libraries and refreshes our literary senses.

Summer is a great time to reread something. What’s on your list?