Suneé le Roux's Blog, page 3

Release Day: Myth Keeper (Mythical Menagerie Book 2)

Today is a book birthday – hooray!

Myth Keeper, the much-anticipated sequel to Myth Hunter (Mythical Menagerie Book 1), is finally available for purchase!

If you’ve been wondering what happened to Ambrose, or the creatures he and Amari acquired during the events of the blood moon market in Rome, then the wait is finally over.

I thought I could leave the mythical world behind, but now it’s hunting me instead…

Following the events of the blood moon market in Rome, Ambrose Davids is ready to put the mythical world behind him and return to a normal life. Until a creature who had escaped from the Colosseum comes after him, leaving a trail of bodies in its wake.

Does Ambrose have what it takes to save himself, and those he cares for?

Meanwhile, the Keeper of Exotic Animals has her own battles to fight. Amid the greatest influx of new residents the Repository has seen in decades, Amari also has to contend with an obnoxious rival intent on thwarting her every move and a new apprentice with very different ideas on how to care for the creatures in their custody.

Amari will do whatever it takes to keep her charges safe from the outside world, but can she protect them from machinations inside the Repository itself?

Wow – I am totally bowled over by this latest book in the Mythical Menagerie series. It’s AMAAAAZING!

Goodreads reviewer

This is soooo my perfect read… Unmissable.

Goodreads reviewer

Grab your copy from your favourite e-book retailer today!

Am I Writing Contemporary or Urban Fantasy?

With the imminent release of Myth Keeper, the second book in my Mythical Menagerie fantasy series, I found myself once again wondering in which subgenre the series falls. Up until now I’ve been marketing it as urban fantasy, but if I look at other popular titles in the genre, it just doesn’t feel like the same type of story – think The Dresden Files by Jim Butcher, the Anita Blake series by Laurell K. Hamilton, and the Kate Daniels series by Ilona Andrews. At points, they’re all very gritty and have some explicit content, and don’t really have the same whimsical vibe that my books have.

Are my books contemporary fantasy then? What even is the difference between urban and contemporary fantasy?

So, since it’s all the rage lately, I turned to ChatGPT for some answers…

Based on that response, it seems like the urban setting is obviously very important for an urban fantasy. In Myth Hunter (book 1) and Myth Keeper (book 2), Ambrose’s adventures take place in London, Paris, Cardiff, Rome and Dubrovnik, but they are not exclusively set in these cities. He also travels to more remote locations in Ireland and Scotland, and the third book in the series will see him go even further afield into the woodland regions of Europe. What’s more, a large part of the story is set within the Repository, a hidden mountain fortress somewhere in the Alps. So, it seems like, although there are urban locations in the Mythical Menagerie series, it’s not exclusively based in a city, or even one specific city, for that matter.

While both urban and contemporary fantasy feature a modern world with magical and supernatural elements, ChatGPT notes that “urban fantasy stories typically have a darker tone than contemporary fantasy and may include themes such as crime, violence, or romance.” While Myth Keeper does open with a murder scene and there are some elements of violence and tad of romance, the overall feel of the books (to me at least) is much more lighthearted and mainly centered around the wonder and adventure of the mythical world. And I don’t think anyone would describe my books as gritty or noir, although they do have that snarky first person POV characteristic of urban fantasy and noir fiction.

Which made me wonder: If a fantasy story is set in a city, but it’s not gritty or noir, can it still be considered urban fantasy?

And now I’m baffled again, because I can’t quite decide if the Mythical Menagerie falls into either category. So, I ask ChatGPT to define the characteristics of each subgenre for me.

Clear as mud, right?

At this point in the conversation, I tried to pivot and asked ChatGPT if there is a fantasy subgenre for adventure. The response? That most fantasy stories have adventure as a key component. When asked which subgenres focus specifically focus on adventure, the response was high fantasy, sword and sorcery, quest fantasy, and heroic fantasy (some examples include The Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter, The Earthsea Cycle, and The Wheel of Time). I think we can all agree that my Mythical Menagerie series does not fall into any of those categories.

Taking everything into consideration, my conclusion is that Myth Hunter and Myth Keeper, although they have elements of urban fantasy in them, probably align closer to the contemporary fantasy genre:

They have both urban and rural settings in the real worldThey are genre blending with some elements of action, mystery, and romanceThey focus more on a good adventure than gritty or explicit contentThey have a witty everyman main character who is suddenly drawn into the magical world, but also feature supporting characters with magical powersThey explore the consequences of a mundane world colliding with the supernatural world

“But why does it matter?” I hear you ask. Well, knowing which genre the books fall into helps me pinpoint the types of readers who might appreciate them. Although I wrote the story I want to read, I would really love it for others to read and enjoy it too. And that’s what writing is all about.

Have you read Myth Hunter yet? Which genre do you think it falls into?

My 2023 Reading Challenge

I don’t really understand why someone would challenge themselves to read x amount of books every year. Unless you don’t read at all and you’d like to get into the habit, why put pressure on yourself or limit yourself to a number? Reading is fun. Do it because you like it, and read what you want and as many of it as you have time for.

However, I do understand challenges aimed at improving yourself. I see many challenges online aimed at getting people to read books by authors from certain demographics, or a book by an author from each country in the world, or a genre’s canonical greats. Although I fully support people reading whatever they like for the love of it, I can’t find fault with stepping a little bit out of your comfort zone and broadening your reading horizons.

For the past few years I’ve challenged myself to read one non-fiction book per month. The reasoning for that was that I often get story sparks from things I read for my flash fiction, and (ahem) I have a habit of buying interesting non-fiction books by the basket load at book sales, so it was a great way to “force” myself to actually read those books, instead of just proudly displaying them on my bookshelf.

This worked very well and I’ve learned so much in the last few years. I have a particular interest in ancient history, so I’ve read about Tutankhamen and Egyptian temples, tombs and hieroglyphics, I’ve travelled vicariously to ancient Babylon, followed in the footsteps of Casanova and learned about who the Mona Lisa might have been. I’ve read about whales and trees and discovered the world through the eyes of the great explorers and scientists.

It’s been quite a journey, I can tell you. And although there are still many, many unread books on my non-fiction shelf, it’s now time for a new challenge.

My classics bookshelf!

I studied English Literature at university and although I loathed some of the books my lecturers made me read (I’m looking at you, James Joyce!), they did manage to instill in me an appreciation for the great classics. (Although, to be fair, I read and enjoyed Jules Verne long before my tenth birthday.) And although I’ve read more of the canonical classics than most people, there are still so many that I haven’t read, embarrassingly enough – especially the ones ingrained into pop culture!

So in 2023, I’m challenging myself to read 12 classic novels (or novelettes, whatever) that I haven’t read before. I haven’t set any specific plans or order yet, but in my sights I have such well-known stories as Dracula, Frankenstein, The Wizard of Oz, The Secret Garden, and The Scarlet Letter.

How do I define and determine which books are classics? Meh, I won’t be too pedantic about it. If it’s famous and older than I am, then it counts!

(PS: This post contains affiliate links. If you click on them to buy books it won’t cost you any extra, but I will get a small commission to fuel my book-reading habit. Thanks!)

Do you set yourself reading challenges? What are you reading this year?

Looking Ahead to 2023

As always, the new year fills me with hope and anticipation. I make my todo lists diligently, and I cross off everything I accomplished during the past year with a sense of achievement (while trying not to feel too bad about the things that didn’t get done). This year is no different, but what I’ve learned during 2022 is to be kind to myself. I still have the drive to get things done, but if they don’t – or if I have to move them out a month or two or three – then that’s also fine. The important things will get done on time, and the rest will get their turn when I have the bandwidth for them.

Janus, Roman god of doorways | Adolphe Giraldon, Wikimedia Commons

So, let’s see how things went with the writerly goals I set for myself for 2022. I divided them into primary and secondary goals, just to give myself some breathing room.

2022 Primary GoalsComplete Mythical Menagerie Series 2 and publish by June 2022 (or as close to as possible)

Yes! But also no! I finished the last instalment to go into Book 2 in mid-December (phew) and it’s currently with the beta readers. Having a June 2022 release would have meant compromising on the quality of the story, and I wasn’t willing to do that.

Continue writing a monthly flash fiction piece

Yes! My newsletter subscribers received a very short story every month this year (with one exception – the month in which the new collection was published).

2022 Secondary GoalsComplete 1 standalone short story / novella

No! I tried – sort of – by attempting NaNoWriMo (again!) and failing miserably at it (again!), but I decided the most important thing this year was to finish MM Book 2. Now that that’s done, I can revisit this goal.

Publish a second Reverie Spark flash fiction collection

Yes! The second book in my flash fiction series, A Flight of Reverie, was published at the end of October!

Publish one product for my PIP project

Nope. This goal fell away to make headspace for getting MM Book 2 done.

Continue blogging on my author website (when I have something interesting to say)

Not even a little bit! I was too busy working on MM Book 2 to worry about writing blog posts!

Revive blogging on my travel website (and bring the fun back)

Sort of. I did write a few blog posts in an attempt to document our Balkan Camping 2019 trip, but those posts have been few and far between, unfortunately. I also found it very hard to remember the trip – it’s been 3.5 years already! – and I had even less inspiration to write about travel when I didn’t have any travel prospects in sight.

Continue consuming non-fiction for inspiration (not limited to books)

Yes! I read 12 non-fiction books this year (and countless magazines). I’ll be changing this goal for 2023, though. Although I do enjoy reading non-fiction, I’ve realised that most of my story sparks come from shorter pieces, such as articles in the National Geographic or NG History magazines that I’m subscribed to. Therefore, I’m setting myself a different writerly reading goal for 2023.

All in all, I don’t think it went too badly this year. My primary goals were accomplished, and I even achieved some of my secondary goals. Additionally, I also did the following in 2022:

My Facebook following grew from 100 to 137 followersMy Instagram following grew from 198 to 282 followersI completed a Social Media Marketing course on LinkedIn LearningI took a year of beginner French classesI created 4 travel photo books and we went on 8 local South African family vacation tripsI read 48 books

I mixed some pleasure with the business of writing there, but it all goes towards filling the creative well and helps to keep me sane and influences my writing.

So these are my primary writerly goals for 2023:

Publish Mythical Menagerie Book 2Write and edit 2 instalments for Mythical Menagerie Book 3Create a Mythical Menagerie story bibleWrite a monthly flash fiction piece

As secondary goals, I have the following:

Write and publish 1 standalone short story / novellaGrow my email (263), Facebook (137) and Instagram (282) followingComplete the Balkan Camping 2019 posts on my travel blogComplete the Maggie Stiefvater writing courseRead John Truby’s Anatomy of Story (affiliate link)Read John Truby’s Anatomy of Genre (affiliate link)Read 12 classics

I’m ready for 2023! Let’s make our dreams reality!

How did you do with the goals you set for yourself for 2022? What is the one thing you HAVE to achieve in 2023?

My 2022 in Books

Before writers ever put pen to paper, they fall in love with stories by reading. Although I definitely think of myself as a writer, I’m a reader first and foremost. And everything I read shape the stories I write. So let’s have a look at what I filled my head with this year.

(PS: If any of these books interest you, please consider using my affiliate links. They won’t cost you any extra, but I will get a small commission to fuel my book-reading habit. Thanks!)

Books on Writing and Marketing

I’ll always try and up my writing skills, but I’ve made a deliberate decision to read less about writing and to write more instead. Intuitive Editing turned out to be a fantastic read, and I would highly recommend it to any writers out there, no matter where you’re at in your writing journey. The Negative Trait Thesaurus is also a pretty handy resource. I was incredibly excited to learn more about writing short stories, but unfortunately Taking the Short Tack, although great if you’re fresh into writing, didn’t teach me anything new.

Other Non-Fiction BooksRemasterDirector_V0

This year, I challenged myself again to read 12 non-fiction books. Some of them were fairly disappointing, while others were absolutely fantastic.

I loved Jane Austen’s World, a gorgeous coffee table book that managed to give just enough information about the Regency period to entertain rather than bore. Likewise, The Great-Scientists in Bite-Sized Chunks was a short and succinct overview of the most important scientific minds since people had time to think about things (and it even sparked one of my favourite flash fiction stories this year) and if classic world exploration is more your thing, The Book of Marvels was just as delightful. If you’re a tree hugger like me, then you should definitely get your hands on a copy of Into the Forest as well! For Tolkien fans, The Song of Middle-Earth gives some great insights into the themes of his beloved tales. And lastly, Simon Reeve’s memoir, Step by Step, was just riveting.

Books that were Okay

Meh. Most of these books were fine, but just not enough to get me excited. I liked the short stories in the Sticky Fingers 2 collection, but the endings of most of them fell flat for me and left me unsatisfied, unfortunately. And although I really like Neil Gaiman the writer, I just don’t care much for his stories. Likewise, all the other books in this group fell short of my expectations in one way or another. I’m sure there are people who loved them, but they just weren’t for me.

Books that I Liked

If you enjoy literary Gothic or atmospheric books then Pandora and The Mermaid and Mrs Hancock won’t disappoint. I actually also quite enjoyed The Great Gatsby (although I think the movie was better – I know, sacrilege!). However, my favourites in this category are hands-down A Darker Shade of Magic and Rivers of London, both of which are series starters but can be read as standalones. One day I might take them up on that promise.

Books that I Loved

It’s not often that this category contains the most books! I discovered JA Andrews this year and went on a little reading binge: I actually started with her epic fantasy prequel series, The Keeper Origins, and was hooked from the start. Then I moved on to her first fantasy series, The Keeper Chronicles, and I loved them just as much, and then I ended off the year with her Christmassy short story, The Candlelight Gifts.

After many years of them moving up my TBR pile, I finally also read The Winternight Trilogy, fantasy based on Russian mythology. It started off very slow for me, and I nearly put the first book down after an arranged marriage, but I’m so glad I persevered! The series as a whole was amazing, and I really want my own Solovey!

But my absolute favourite books this year were The Witch’s Heart (a feminist retelling of Norse mythology from a lesser known character), The Keeper of Lost Things (so cosy and feel-good), and Ninth House (gritty and dark and delicious!), with book of the year going to The House in the Cerulean Sea (cosy and feel-good, but with fantasy and myths – what more could a girl want?!). You should read all of them!

You can also have a look at 2021’s books here.

Have you read any of these books? What did you think of them? What was your favourite book of 2022? Do you have any recommendations for books I should read in 2023?

What I’m Currently Working On: Drinking a Celebratory Milkshake

Wow, it’s been a while since I wrote one of these posts! The last time I was busy plotting Book 2 of my Mythical Menagerie series, and a year or so later I was feeling overwhelmed and decided to hone everything down to just the most important bare bones.

And today, I’m drinking a celebratory milkshake (well, technically a celebratory chocolate Steri Stumpie, because I happened to have one in the fridge!). Because, dear friends, today I finally finished the second draft of the last instalment going into Book 2!

I won’t lie, it’s been a slog. In my previous post I’d said I wanted to have six instalments for Book 2, but then plot things happened and cliffhanger endings presented themselves and one thing led to another and the last instalment grew to a monstrous 43k plus word count – and now we have a book!

(And I apologise profusely upfront for the cliffhangers, but it will al be worth it in the end, I promise!)

Technically, I’m not 100% finished. I want to take this last story through another round of edits, just to make sure the pacing is fine and I have all my facts straight and there aren’t any awkward phrases lurking about. Then, I’ll send it off to my betas (two of which happen to be editors as well) for feedback, which I’ll work into the final edits. And then I’ll work through all everything going into Book 2 to make sure it’s all coherent.

And then! Then the publishing phase starts. Exciting!

So, if all goes well, we’re looking at a publication date early March 2023 (cue fanfare!).

I’ll start with Draft 3 tomorrow, but for now, I’m just savouring this victory. And this chocolate milkshake!

I think celebrating the victories, no matter how small, is incredibly important. What do you do to celebrate your achievements?

Release Day: A Flight of Reverie

As it turns out, if you write a monthly flash fiction story for your email subscribers, sooner or later you’ll have enough stories for a new collection. That new collection is called A Flight of Reverie and is now available in e-book format from all your favourite online retailers!

This collection contains twenty deliciously dark and dreamy micro fiction stories just long enough to read while you’re waiting for the kettle to boil or the microwave to ping. Ranging from around 500 to 1000 words each, these very short tales are brief but satisfying, and will sweep you away for just a moment at a time.

Will Flavian, paparazzi to the gods, finally do the right thing in Flavian’s Redemption?Meet the most ferociously adorable predator in Jodi’s Cat.A hunter corners a blood witch in Hunted¸ but should he show her mercy? In Don’t Touch My Cheese, John confronts a stranger rummaging through his fridge.See what happens when an agoraphobic genie is summoned in Careful What You Wish For.Christmas will never be the same when Nic’s New Year’s Resolution changes everything.

Follow along on these and many more flights of fancy and buy this fantasy flash fiction collection NOW!

Looking Ahead to 2022

Naively, I thought 2021 was going to be the year in which I made up for 2020… but that didn’t happen. I was fairly on track during the first half of the year, until I got a case of the plague (over my birthday, no less!) and since then, not a lot as happened (and we won’t talk about the train-wreck December has been!) Thinking about it now, I probably still have post-Covid fatigue, six months later, and I should probably be a little easier on myself. It’s been a tough year, in many ways much worse than 2020 ever was, and I think we all deserve to cut ourselves some slack.

Janus, Roman god of doorways | Adolphe Giraldon, Wikimedia Commons

But, as ever, I am optimistic about 2022. Once the sun rises on that first January morning, the air will be fresh with possibilities again, and we can once again aim for the stars.

But first, let’s have a look at the writerly goals I had set for myself for 2021, and how many of them, if any, I managed to achieve.

Primary Goals for 2021Complete and edit the rest of the Mythical Menagerie Series 2

Nope. I’m about 50% through, and with a self-imposed publication deadline of June 2022, I’d better pull my socks up.

Write and publish at least 1 standalone short story / novella

Nope. I planned three short stories, wrote the first draft of one of them, and realised that all this was doing was just distracting me from my main goal, which is getting MM2 out.

Create at least 1 product for my (super-secret) PIP project

Nope. PIP1 is stuck at around 70% at the moment, just needing some creative flourishes and final touches before it’s ready to get published.

Continue writing a monthly flash fiction piece

Yes! I didn’t write a piece every month, but some months I wrote more than one, so it all evened out.

Read 12 non-fiction books

Yes! I read 15 non-fiction books, and 4 on writing and marketing.

Secondary Goals for 2021Grow my email (380), Facebook (100) and Instagram (198) following

Kinda. I culled my email list to remove some people who never opened anything I sent them, and decided not to put too much effort into growing it again until I have more to offer to potential readers. So my email list is down to 288 subscribers at the moment, but my Facebook followers stand at 111 people, and Instagram at 227 followers.

Continue blogging on my author website

Nope. I wrote a piece here and there, but my aim with this goal was to write something on a weekly basis, and I definitely didn’t do that.

Continue blogging on my travel website

Nope. It’s hard to be enthusiastic about travel when you’re stuck at home.

Additionally:

I completed a Udemy course on Content Marketing.I completed a Udemy course on Affinity Publisher for Beginners.I read 66 books.

So, all in all not a great year for achieving goals.

Unsurprisingly, this year’s goals therefore look much the same. My primary writerly goals are:

Complete Mythical Menagerie Series 2 and publish by June 2022 (or as close to as possible)Write a monthly flash fiction piece

And that’s it! If I can get those two things done, I’ll be happy.

But if time and energy allows, here are my secondary goals:

Complete 1 standalone short story / novellaPublish a second Reverie Spark flash fiction collectionPublish one product for my PIP projectContinue blogging on my author website (when I have something interesting to say)Revive blogging on my travel website (and bring the fun back)Continue consuming non-fiction for inspiration (not limited to books)

I’m confident 2022 will be a better, more productive, happier year. Of course, I say this every year and every year there are still many nopes on my to-do list. But I believe we have to set ourselves goals or the year (years, your life!) flies by with absolutely nothing to show for it. And nobody wants that.

Do you set yourself goals for the new year? Did you achieve your goals for 2021? What are your goals for 2022?

My 2021 in Books

You know the old adage “you are what you eat?”, right? Well, books are food for the mind, so they shape the way you think. They allow you to live vicariously through the good and bad experiences of the characters, they present you with places and ideas new to you, and they broaden your horizons. This year, my thoughts were shaped by 66 books, most of which I thoroughly enjoyed.

(PS: If any of these books interest you, please consider using my affiliate links. They won’t cost you any extra, but I will get a small commission to fuel my book-reading habit. Thanks!)

Books on Writing and Marketing

This year I decided I needed to read less about writing and actually write more instead, so there aren’t many books in this category. The two craft books were tremendously insightful: Fight Write is a great resource for anyone writing fight scenes, and I cannot recommend Creating Character Arcs enough for any budding writers out there.

Other Non-Fiction Books

I set myself the challenge to read 12 non-fiction books again this year, and I managed to squeeze 15 in. The idea behind this challenge is that non-fiction inspires me and broadens my mind. Unfortunately, I fell into a bit of a self-help trench which, although interesting and useful, didn’t really do much for kick-starting story ideas. Nevertheless, there were some fantastic reads this year.

I read Always Italy during the week after my birthday, when I was stuck in a room on my own isolating after a bout of Covid-19, and it was just the most wonderful way of escaping (read my review here). I also really enjoyed Walking the Nile for its insights into the history of the more war-torn parts of my home continent. In the self-help section, honourable mention goes to both Atomic Habits and Twelve Rules for Life, the one tremendously applicable and the other thought-provoking.

Books I read for Nostalgia

The Lennet series of books were childhood favourites of mine and I have been buying their first (and only) editions from bidding websites as they become available. These two are pretty rare, so I was very chuffed to find them. Only one more to go to have the complete collection!

Books that were Okay

I’m a huge fan of Joanna Penn, but I am not her target audience. I keep reading her books because I like to support her, and because she loves to travel as much as I do, and her books are all deeply inspired by archaeological relics that fascinate me, but I am just not in love with her characters or writing style, sad to say. The other books in this list all fell short of my expectations in one way or another. I’m sure there are people who loved them, but they just weren’t for me.

Books that I Liked

Unsurprisingly, this category has the most entries and they are all books that I would recommend one way or another. Firm favourites were the King of Scars duology, as well as The Language of Thorns by Leigh Bardugo, and Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik. If you enjoy gaslamp urban fantasy then you’ll love Suzannah Rowntree’s Miss Sharp’s Monsters series, or if you prefer historically accurate drama with a dash of the supernatural, then her Watchers of Outremer books will also delight. Surprisingly enjoyable indie author contributions include Nils Odlund’s Emma’s Story, Once Upon a Short Story by AG Marshall and the Mapweaver Chronicles by Kaitlin Bellamy.

Books that I Loved

I recommend every book in this list! Lore was a fabulously fun take on the Greek myths, The Once and Future Witches is a feminist triumph, and The Ten Thousand Doors of January a delightfully unusual portal fantasy. I devoured P Djeli Clark’s urban fantasy detective series set in 1920s Cairo, starting with the short story A Dead Djinn in Cairo and culminating in the full-length novel, A Master of Djinn. But my absolute favourite series this year was Neal Shusterman’s Arc of a Scythe series – go read it!

You can also have a look at 2020’s books here.

Which book did you enjoy the most in 2021? Which of the books I’ve read have you also read – and what did you think of them? Do you have any recommendations that I have to add to my TBR pile for 2022?

To Reread or Not to Reread

There was a time when I read nothing new. I had a few favourite books that I would systematically reread each year, and I was quite content with that. I was wrapped in a warm bubble of comfort reads, blissfully ignorant of anything new being published while I stuck with my familiar favourites.

Book love | © Kate Ter Haar / Flickr

But people kept on asking me if I’d read X or what I thought of Y and, I won’t lie, I started suffering from a serious case of FOMO. It was time for me to let Frodo go and embark on a new adventure, one that might sadly not live up to my expectations, but that might just surprise me.

And as I started reading some of these recommended books, albeit years later than their release dates in most cases, I realised that life’s too short to be rereading the same books over and over again. Over 2 million new books were published in 2020 alone (including mine!), and although only a few those appeal to me, and an even smaller number of them are so good that they mess with my sleeping patterns, I just can’t see myself falling back into that habit of rereading books I’ve read before.

But last month, I reread Dune (because I wanted a refresher before I saw the movie at the cinema). I remember liking it as a teenager – and I have paperback copies of the first four books on my bookshelf to prove it – but this time around? I feel kind of meh about it. The world has evolved since this novel rocked the sci-fi scene in 1965. I’m sure it was groundbreaking then, and there is an element of the timeless classic to it, but as a modern reader, I found it problematic and, even worse, boring.

The same happened a few years ago when I reread The Belgariad series by David Eddings, one of my all-time favourites. These books were the reason I started writing in the first place, but now I see so many issues with them and I don’t think they’ve aged well at all. I didn’t even go on to reread The Mallorean. Some books, it seems, are only meant to be remembered fondly.

It’s not all bad, though. The Lord of the Rings still holds up for me, and although I despised To Kill a Mockingbird when they made me read it in school, I loved it as an adult. And of course, you can never go wrong with Jane Austen!

So, here’s my question to you, dear reader: do you reread books? If you do, which ones have disappointed you later in life, and which ones have stood the test of time? What do you think makes a timeless classic? Please let me know in the comments below!

PS: This post contains affiliate links. They don’t cost you any extra, but they’ll fund my reading addiction if you choose to buy something with them.