Drislane Posted May 28, 2013 Share Posted May 28, 2013 As a rule, I don’t make a habit of re-reading a book until an amount of time has passed. They also have to be good enough to draw me back, of course. I would be interested to know how you all are with re-reading works. Is it something you do a lot? Have you returned more than once to read a work in its entirety? And what have you re-read the most from your own collection? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Janet Posted May 28, 2013 Share Posted May 28, 2013 I seldom reread books. I've read Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier and Beyond this Place by A J Cronin a few times - and I've reread books that I read as a child - or maybe something that I've read before which has been chosen for book club - but generally I don't reread books because I have so many 'fresh' ones waiting that it would feel wrong to read something when I've already read it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ben Posted May 28, 2013 Share Posted May 28, 2013 I don't often re-read books, because like Janet said, there's so many unread ones waiting on my shelves. I have, however, re-read certain favourites - notably F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby which I've read more times than I can remember. I've also got a soft spot for re-reading 'easy' reads when I'm stuck in a bit of a slump. Anthony Horowitz, Jonathan Stroud and Darren Shan are my go-to authors for that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Athena Posted May 28, 2013 Share Posted May 28, 2013 (edited) I don't often re-read books for the same reason, I have many unread ones on my shelf, however there are quite a few books in my collection I've reread many times (especially at a younger age). Most of these are books I bought and read for the first time, when I was a child or a teenager. Examples include some Ann M. Martin's BabySitter's Club series, some of Roald Dahl's books, some Thea Beckman's books, some R. L. Stein's books, David B. Coe - The Lontobyn Chronicles.. I plan to do more re-reading in the future, some books are just brilliant, I really want to read them again. Edited May 28, 2013 by Athena Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chesilbeach Posted May 28, 2013 Share Posted May 28, 2013 (edited) Like most people have said, I'm not a bit re-reader, although I occasionally re-read the Jane Austen books (probably every 5 years or so), and I've re-read all the Jasper Fforde Thursday Next novels before each of the last two books have been published just so I could remind myself of all that had happened afresh before starting the latest book! There are a few others that I've re-read, and like Athena, a lot of them are books I originally read as a child, but on the whole, I tend to read books once and never again. Edited May 28, 2013 by chesilbeach Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drislane Posted May 29, 2013 Author Share Posted May 29, 2013 Thanks to each of you for taking the time to reply. The question was prompted by a recent re-read of Ghost Riders: Travels with American Nomads. I do agree that with so much out there to read, it does have to be something that resonates with the reader long after the final cover is closed. Of what I re-read, the majority happens to be non-fiction and of those that are fiction, it does tend to be older ‘classics’ such as Silas Marner, for example. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willoyd Posted May 29, 2013 Share Posted May 29, 2013 (edited) I re-read a fair bit - three or four books most years. Most of them are classics and/or books I first read as a teenager (or even younger!). I must have read most of the Jane Austens three or four times now: other recent rereads include Mrs Dalloway, Barchester Towers/The Warden, Pickwick Papers, War and Peace, Lord of the Rings, Sherlock Holmes stories, a couple of volumes of Arthur Ransome, The Jungle Book, Puck of Pook's Hill, I certainly intend to re-read a lot more in the future (a) because some books improve with reading (I don't read a lot of thrillers or mystery books!) and (b) because in my middle age I'm increasingly forgetting much about books I've read except what I felt about them! This is particularly scary when I consider some of the history/science books I've read even quite recently. I know there's plenty of other books that remain unread, but if a book is outstanding, then it deserves a revisit rather more than some books warrant even one visit. Edited May 29, 2013 by willoyd Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
emelee Posted May 29, 2013 Share Posted May 29, 2013 I usually don't re-read books. But if a long period of time has passed and I recall that the book was great and I can't remember everything, I can do a re-read. Most recent re-read was Agatha Christie's Murder of Roger Ackroyd. I am also thinking of re-reading Tom Sharpe's Riotous assembly Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chesilbeach Posted May 29, 2013 Share Posted May 29, 2013 As I was searching through my bookshelves for a book this afternoon, I came across a book I must have read at least a dozen times as a child, and it made me realise that when I was very young, I would guess upto the age of 13, I would re-read books all the time. My mum never made me get rid of books unless I wanted to, so I still have the majority of my books from upto that age, and looking down the bookshelves, all of them were read multiple times. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dex Posted May 29, 2013 Share Posted May 29, 2013 I never buy a book that I only intend to read once, Before I joined the site I always reread. Now having a shelf full of books I haven't read yet has made me concious of the fact I Reread. Michael c most, not last 5 or so. Quintin j, Piers a, Raymond f. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Catydid Posted June 2, 2013 Share Posted June 2, 2013 I only re-read the books that I loved so much I can't get them out of my mind or I can't stand to say goodbye to the characters. It is just a few a year, not many. Books that I have loved and reread immediately are The Book Thief by Markus Zusak, The Dog Stars by Peter Heller (audio best), The Book of Ebenezer le Page by G. B. Edwards (must be audio, the narration is awesome), and The Martian by Andy Weir (on my Kindle). I am planning on re-listening to The River of Doubt: Theodore Roosevelt's Darkest Journey by Candice Millard. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nursenblack Posted June 2, 2013 Share Posted June 2, 2013 I rarely re-read. Too many other books to be read for the first time. I've only reread, speaking of novels only, Wuthering Heights (my favorite book), To Kill A Mockingbird, Dandelion Wine, Jane Eyre, and some of the Little House series. I think that's all. I may eventually re-read the Harry Potter series and Anne of Green Gables series. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eleonora Posted June 3, 2013 Share Posted June 3, 2013 I don't mind re-reading books, because I can see different shadows every time I read a story. For example, I read Wuthering Heights when I was only 14 and then again last month and I have to admit I found out a different level of literature and I was able to appreciate the sub-plot much more. What is more, everytime I have to go to the hospital, I take with me Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.. so relaxing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rekha333 Posted June 4, 2013 Share Posted June 4, 2013 Re reading ? for me it would be bhagawadgita as it is... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
karen.d Posted June 4, 2013 Share Posted June 4, 2013 I don't often re-read books, as there are so many new books I want to read. However, I have re-read 'The Art of Racing In the rain' by Garth Stein, 'Memoirs of a Geisha' by Arthur Golden and 'Little Women' by Louisa May Alcott and 'The Elegance of the Hedgehog' by Muriel Barbery. All of which, I think get better the more that you read them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ian Posted June 5, 2013 Share Posted June 5, 2013 Re-reading was something I used to do a lot as a teenager, but rarely do now. I think a combination of an adult library ticket, charity shops and disposable income put paid to that! Having said all that, some book call me back - LOTR i must have read 10 times by now, plus all the early Stephen King Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robin_Cambs Posted June 11, 2013 Share Posted June 11, 2013 The classics I find will stand up to repeated readings. I've read Middlemarch twice, Jane Eyre at least three times, Wuthering Heights a few times, Pride and Prejudice twice. They're like favourite holiday spots I can go back to over and over. I'm also a huge - HUGE - fan of Iris Murdoch, and I'm currently on my second go-round of all her books. I've now re-read The Book and the Brotherhood, The Black Prince, and The Sacred and Profane Love Machine, and I'm halfway through An Accidental Man for the second time. I find now that I'm less absorbed in the plot (and all those disastrous love affairs) I can see more of the incredible philosophical thought behind the stories. And the writing itself is just so beautiful. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Will Posted June 21, 2013 Share Posted June 21, 2013 There's a couple of books that I usually end up reading at least once every few years and a couple more that I'll return to specific chapters of. Sometimes I want to read again something I know and enjoy rather than pick up something new. I know someone who is militant about not reading the same book twice, I'm pretty sure she does the same thing with films too. It seems to me that it's a fairly futile stab at coming to terms with the countless texts that one could read but inevitably never will. Still, each to their own. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wordsgood Posted June 23, 2013 Share Posted June 23, 2013 I frequently re-read favourites. I generally leave a few years between reads, but I always go back to them. Of course with memory issues the last couple years, sometimes it's like they are brand new reads! Wordsgood Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kittytn1 Posted July 5, 2013 Share Posted July 5, 2013 I often re-read books. I've read all of the Harry Potter books countless times, Anne of Green Gables, Jane Eyre, Little Women, Pride and Predjudice, Karin Slaughter's Atlanta series and hundreds of others. I find that I often enjoy a book more the second time around. I would find it very, very difficult if I was told I could never read any of these books again. In fact, if I could choose between only reading old books again and getting to read new books I think I would have to go with my old favourites. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kell Posted July 5, 2013 Share Posted July 5, 2013 I've read almost all my Discworld novels more than once, and have kept series' by various authors that I feel I will likely read again (Stuart McBride, Simon Scarrow and Christopher Brookmyre to name just a few), but the book I've re-read most often is The Stand by Stephen King. I must have read it at least a dozen times by now and I always find something new in there. It's like visiting old friends as the character appear. I haven't read it in at least 5or 6 years now though, so it's probably due for a re-read some time soon! I don't keep very many books these days though (if I kept everything I read or even everything I even rmotely enjoyed, I'd have ot room to move for books!). Instead, I donate them to a local library which doesn't have an acquisitions budget (and hasn't had for about 5 or 6 years now, which is shocking!). Over the years I must have donated anywhere between 600 and 1000 books to that library (mostly 2nd hand, but many have been brand new too), including some I've never even read as I changed my mind about reading them - sometimes I just go off the idea of reading a book - LOL! It makes me feel good that others can enjoy them after me and that I'm helping out a library which really helped me in my youth. (It's the public library as well as being my old school library - they rebuilt the school a few years back, but it's still "my old school" so I like to help that particular library.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alexander the Great Posted July 5, 2013 Share Posted July 5, 2013 As a kid, I used to re-read a book every year around the time St Nicholas was coming. Ever since, there aren't many books I've reread. I can only think of the Harry Potter series, and then a few books I liked when I was a teenager - to see how I liked them now. It's not something I don't do consciously. There are just so many books out there that I still want to read that I feel like I don't have the time to re-read books. When I do, there are always a couple of years between them at least. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
asfaloth12 Posted July 15, 2013 Share Posted July 15, 2013 I've re-read the Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings, as well as the Harry Potter series. Each time is just as good as the last Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anisia Posted July 16, 2013 Share Posted July 16, 2013 I don't re-read a lot. The only books I go back to are Harry Potter and a Romanian series I love. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dex Posted July 16, 2013 Share Posted July 16, 2013 If you can't read a book Twice, then you must be excellent at deciding what it's about and how you feel about it immediately. Not all books catch first time and there can be other points second time around that help you understand the plot better. Some action books can be overpowering in the expert marksman approach, that they are simplistic, but if you read slower you can find a good story in a simple plot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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