Tam Lin

[gilana]

Just re-read Pamela Dean's Tam Lin for the umpteenth time. I dearly love that book, and I find something new every time I read it. It's been a few years, I think, so I was surprised to find how many more of the Shakespearean references I caught, having done some of the shows myself now. And I've seen a movie of The Revenger's Tragedy, which I hated, but which did make that bit of the book much easier to follow, and of course there's The Lady's Not for Burning; they reference that a few times, but don't go into much detail, so having seen the T@F production and knowing the whole story added a lot more depth to some of the places where it was mentioned. Sadly, the Annotated Tam Lin, where someone lovingly went through and noted all of the references in the book, is no longer active online, but thanks to the Internet Archive Wayback Machine, you can still see it here.

So now I'm at loose ends for something marvelous to read.  What's your favorite re-read?  What do you find more in every time you go back to it, or just enjoy picking up for comfort?

Comments

[magid.livejournal.com]

Robin McKinley's Sunshine; Guy Gavriel Kay's novels, almost all of them, depending on my mood; Barbara Kingsolver's Prodigal Summer; Penelope Lively's Moon Tiger

[gilana]

Thanks! I like Sunshine, although The Blue Sword is always my favorite McKinley, but I've never read the rest of those. Wonder if I can find any of them before the 2-day yom tov? :)

Guy Gavriel Kay

[kellyjmf.livejournal.com]

I have these if you'd like to borrow.

[muchabstracted.livejournal.com]

Oooh! You should read the Elizabeth Bear series with Shakespeare and Marlow! :D :D :D

[muchabstracted.livejournal.com]

Names are Ink & Steel followed by Hell & Earth.

[muchabstracted.livejournal.com]

Uh, to answer your question, Tam Lin is definitely one I reread. I had that experience with Mrs Dalloway, but haven't read it since college. The Power of One by Bryce Courtenay. Phantom Tollbooth. Anything by Robin McKinley, except for Sunshine.

[lillibet.livejournal.com]

Pride and Prejudice or any of Austen's other works, really.

The Sun, the Moon and the Stars by Steven Brust.

The Earthsea Trilogy by Ursula K. LeGuin.

Possession by A.S. Byatt.

The Robber Bride by Margaret Atwood.

[ayelle.livejournal.com]

That movie was pretty bad. I recommend reading the play instead.

Thanks for the link to the Annotated Tam Lin on the wayback machine! I couldn't help but notice that for some reason the line "Without gold and women, there would be no damnation" is missing its annotation. That's from Revenger's Tragedy! I played the Duchess in college... I was excited to audition for the play because I knew of it from Tam Lin. ;)

This might be a good time to read Fire & Hemlock if you haven't already. I know a ton of DWJ fans for whom that's exactly the kind of book you describe, something they find something new in every time they read it. And it's a Tam Lin/Thomas the Rhymer retelling! It keeps getting mentioned in DWJ tributes and I feel like I should pick it up again myself.

Books I love to reread -- Gullstruck Island by Hardinge (in the US it's The Lost Conspiracy), the Hunger Games Series, and The Book Thief are three that I was compelled to return to and suspect I will be again. But really it's more authors I love to reread, choosing whichever text I'm in the mood for; DWJ, Lloyd Alexander, Bujold, Austen, Dickens. For all, they have the pleasure of familiarity when I reread them, yet I also discover something new in them every time.

[ayelle.livejournal.com]

Also fairy tales. I reread fairy tales (and my favorite retellings) a *lot.*

[houseboatonstyx.livejournal.com]

For finding new allusions every time, Angela Thirkell. And she wrote dozens of books!

For ... a world woven of poetry, L. M. Montgomery.

[pale-chartreuse.livejournal.com]

I don't know if Neil Gaiman is usually on your list, but "Neverwhere" and "American Gods" are on my list. My husband has a romantic preference for "Stardust".

[greenlily.livejournal.com]

Tam Lin is my favorite book in all the world. (And I had a similar Revenger's Tragedy experience to yours, although I liked some of the actors in the movie.) Fire And Hemlock is my second favorite book in all the world.

When I've read both of them too recently and I want something else, here are some of my other must-re-reads:

--Diana Wynne Jones: Deep Secret and The Merlin Conspiracy, as well as Year Of The Dragon. Dark Lord Of Derkholm, although I love it, doesn't have quite the same effect of a comfort re-read.
--Barbara Hambly: the Witches of Wenshar trilogy, and the Windrose Chronicles plus Stranger At The Wedding which goes with the Chronicles
--Guy Gavriel Kay: Tigana, A Song For Arbonne, The Lions Of Al-Rassan. I still love the Fionavar Tapestry trilogy, but I read it so many times in college, and it summons up such vivid memories of the times and places on campus where I re-read it, that I can't look at it very often any more.
--Glen Cook: All the Garrett P.I. novels
--Emma Bull: Finder and War For The Oaks. I struggle a lot with these, because of the RaceFail connection, but in the end I can't give up WFTO or my B-Town books.

--(don't laugh at me!) The Doyle-MacDonald Mageworlds series. Sometimes, you just need some cheezy space opera, you know?

[archiveninja.livejournal.com]

Oh my gosh, I thought I was the only person who's read that book. You are motivating me to read it again. :)

[eclecticavatar.livejournal.com]

Perhaps try "The Book of Flying" by Keith Miller? I haven't re-read it, yet, but I'm always recommending it to people. It's a little bit like travelogue, fantasy and philosophy rolled into one.

[irisbleufic.livejournal.com]

Oh, gosh, I haven't read Tam Lin in ages, but I'm far overdue! Are you the Gilana I know from Twitter, perchance, or have I got the wrong person? In any case, Tam Lin is an amazing novel. I approve!

[gilana]

Well, I am gilana on twitter, although I don't use it much. But I'm glad you approve! :)

[irisbleufic.livejournal.com]

Ah - the Gilana I know is gilanac on Twitter, so I've clearly made a mix-up! But, yes: Tam Lin is a treasure of a book and it deserves to be recommended often.

[omaha.livejournal.com]

Sadly, the Annotated Tam Lin, where someone lovingly went through and noted all of the references in the book, is no longer active online...

Back online, now; and slightly updated. :-)

http://strangepuppy.net/annotated-dean/

[gilana]

w00t!