Groundhog Day: Books You Can Read Over and Over Again

Ah, Groundhog Day. I grew up in Pennsylvania, not far from the home of the notorious Punxsutawney Phil and his yearly weather prediction on February 2. This is a ritual that derives from the Pennsylvania Dutch superstition that if a groundhog can see its shadow on February 2, it will retreat back into its burrow and spring won’t arrive for six more weeks. This was a relatively small, obscure rural tradition until the 1993 Bill Murrary movie Groundhog Day, which brought prominence to the event (and party that happens in Phil’s hometown).

The film also forever tied the idea of Groundhog Day to time loops, and getting stuck repeating the same day over and over again. (For those who haven’t seen this classic, it tells the story of a man doomed to relive Groundhog Day seemingly without a chance to escape.) There’s something poetic about this. While the movie is science fiction, the origins of Groundhog Day are ritualistic in nature. Ritual can be comforting. It gives us benchmarks, anchors us to a sense of tradition, and helps mark the passing of time in a meaningful way.

This can be hard to remember over the past few years, which have many of us feeling like we’re caught in a kind of pandemic Groundhog Day time loop. If the pandemic has you feeling like you’re in a time loop of your own with the endless quarantines, lockdowns, risk management, and sense of isolation, let me assure you—you are not alone. But as Bill Murray’s character comes to realize in Groundhog Day, ritual can be a valuable thing. Though it may be frustrating to feel like we’re returning to the same places (whether it be traditions or books or just feeling stuck in one day), these returns show us how we’ve grown. With each time loop or ritual, we can progress a little further, learn a little more, and get it a little more right the next time. With that, I present you with a list of books that you can return to over and over again. These books reward the ritual of re-reading. Some of them are comfort books that we return to because of the magic within their pages. Some of them reveal deeper and more complex truths with every read. One of them is a ritual of trying, where the value lies in the attempt and not the result.

I wrote this list in collaboration with another BPL staff member, Jennifer Proffitt, and I’ve indicated which of us chose each book.

Jenn: The Viscount Who Loved Me by Julia Quinn:

This book may be the second in the series, but it's the very first romance novel I ever read. With the Netflix series, Bridgerton, now in full swing (and its second season, which will follow the events of this book, on the way), I still find myself rereading this book regularly. It's been almost two decades since I first read this book, but I still get enchanted by the swirling ball gowns, luxurious house parties, and will-they-won't-they tension of this book.

Jess: Middlegame by Seanan McGuire:

This is a meta-pick, as the book itself deals with time loops and characters who are literally (though unbeknownst to them) reliving their story. It is a bit confusing at first, but once you start to realize the way the narrative is twisting back on itself, it becomes a lot of fun. With every re-read, I find new and surprising details that add to the complexity of the book.

Jenn: To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee:

This book is required reading for many students, and it was in my middle school English class that I first read it—and it claimed the title of the only required reading I ever enjoyed. A few years ago, I decided to pick up a copy again to see if it still held the same claim on me as it did then, and I found myself picking up on even more as an adult. It's always a gamble when you decide to reread books you loved as a child, but in the case of this classic story, and adult perspective adds even more nuance... but I did skip the sequel.

Jess: The Fifth Season by N.K. Jemisin:

Any book that weaves multiple storylines together rewards re-reading, in my opinion. This is a dark and difficult book that deals with the end of the world, but the world-building is beautiful and the characters are unforgettable. Read it once to figure out what’s going on, read it again once the ending throws out everything you thought you knew about what’s going on, then read it again to appreciate a true master of the craft.

Jenn: Fellowship of the Ring by JRR Tolkien:

The first book in the Lord of the Rings series is, for me, more like the part of Groundhog Day before he gets out of his loop. I'm a huge fan of the movies--and find myself rewatching them monthly--but I have never been able to get into the books. While most people would think I should just give up, there's a part of me that thinks "this time I'll get all the way through" and so I'll pick up a copy from the library and try to read it again and congratulate myself every time I get a little further.

Jess: The Archive of Alternate Endings by Lindsey Drager:

The Archive of Alternate Endings is broken into different narratives, each of which coincides with the return of Haley’s Comet to our sky. In this way, the story is inherently ritualistic in nature. Ultimately, it is a book about stories and storytelling and storytellers. It asks what stories get told and who gets to tell them. It makes the reader consider what would drive people to darkness and what brings us out of it. It has become my personal ritual to return to this book, and different parts of the story speak to me each time.