For the simple reason that I know I'd never enjoy it as much as in the first time

The second and later times are always better, once the work of plowing through all the words is done and turning them into the images and ideas the book is meant to convey. Once I've gotten that part out of the way I can focus on story and character development and all the stuff that matters.

Some books really strike different chords on later re-reads. Some are mood dependent, others have more to do with reading or life experience. It depends on how close to home or complex the book is.

For instance, Creatures of Light and Darkness was an experimental piece in many ways. It leaves a lot to the reader's imagination & certain pieces tend to jump out or wrap me up more than others each time. The Einstein Intersection is another one like that. Both wrap myth into SF & are purposefully vague in many ways.

Not all re-reads need to be like that for me, though. Some are just fun worlds to revisit. Steven Brust's Vlad Taltos series or Robert E. Howard's Conan series fall into that group.

I don't reread often, but some books are so rich in detail the full range cannot possibly be assimilated in one take. Other books take on a different contour, even become a whole new experience, at a different stage in life.

Other books are comfort reads - times when life holds too much rattle and shake, and I want to revisit to rest.

A few books fall apart completely - they were magical the first time, but feel ridiculously thin, seen from a more matured standpoint. You had to be just the right age to appreciate them.

Other books emerge with time - I could not read them the first try, but five or more years later - wow!

I have far less reading time than I have unread books - sadly. Those moments I can snatch, usually I reach for a new title. But if I hit a string of six or eight disappointments (yes, I finish them) I'm apt to spring for a favorite just to reacquaint myself with what makes a story I can appreciate the most.

Janny wrote: "A few books fall apart completely - they were magical the first time, but feel ridiculously thin, seen from a more matured standpoint. You had to be just the right age to appreciate them."

You're right about that! I loved a couple of books by Christopher Stasheff. I reread a couple & it was just not the same. I don't think his writing is very good, something that I didn't mind when I was younger, but is grating now. As much as I'd like to, I'm NOT rereading The Warlock in Spite of Himself simply because I have such fond memories.

I rarely reread, but incidentally I've already reread two books this year, and already rereading a third. The reason I very rarely do it however is because I always have too many books that I haven't read yet, so I want to get to them first. Maybe if I stopped my book buying addiction, then I would reread more, and I know my memory sucks, but oh well.

Until I found GoodReads, it seemed like all I did was re-read. Now, I have more books to read than I could possibly finish in ten years or more.

I do plan to re-read a couple in the next few weeks - The Hobbit Or There and Back Again and Mordant's Need Omnibus. Otherwise, I will keep forging through my ever growing to-be-read stack.

I'm like most of you - I think I've only reread a couple of books but since I've joined goodreads my to read list and my wish list has grown - I buy 10 books a month from my wish list but every time it seems like I get the numbers down on my wish list, I gain 10 to 20 more to add to my wish list. I guess I should be happy to know that I will have books on my shelf to read to last me for several years - LOL

I have to say this is a great site especially meeting several people who like the same type of books I like to read - thanks everyone for your recommendations.

Jon wrote: "Until I found GoodReads, it seemed like all I did was re-read. Now, I have more books to read than I could possibly finish in ten years or more.

I do plan to re-read a couple in the next few we..."

Oh my gosh, Jon, Mordant's Need is now an OMNIBUS? That would be beyond a fantasy brick - it must be a cinderblock! I loved that duology, but cannot imagine the size under one cover.

Reading as Good Exercise - kill two birds/(books) with one stone. Wow.

I reread the ones I liked best -- which are usually the ones I remember! I figure if I can't remember the book it must not have been that great ;-)

Hello All! I am new to the group. My husband got me hooked on Fantasy years ago after forcing me to read LOTR and then George R.R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire. I am always looking for some good suggestions. Anyway, thanks for having me here! Cheers!

Hi Elena - you have a cool husband with great taste in books!

Janny wrote: Melissa - that is a great list. Based on those names you may wish to check out Carol Berg, Barbara Hambly, and Sarah Zettel.

Thanks Janny. I've read some of Hambly (Sisters of the Raven?) and also one by Carol Berg so far. Zettel is a new author for me. Thanks for the recommendation.

Melissa wrote: "Janny wrote: Melissa - that is a great list. Based on those names you may wish to check out Carol Berg, Barbara Hambly, and Sarah Zettel.

Thanks Janny. I've read some of Hambly (Sisters of the..."

I liked Hambly's Suncross duology and her Time of the Dark trilogy a lot better than the Raven books - which were interesting but the story didn't seem nearly as explosively dynamic.

I really liked Hambly's Silicon Mage, although it might seem dated now (lots of 1980s computer stuff).
If you like vampires her Those Who Hunt the Night is excellent -- she's really good at doing historical settings.

Welcome ot the group, Jakob. That's a pretty impressive reading streak :-). I'm lucky if I can read two books a month...

Welcome to all the new people. I've been slacking on the greetings lately, but luckily others have been taking the slack some.

At any rate, hope you enjoy our group...

John wrote: "Welcome ot the group, Jakob. That's a pretty impressive reading streak :-). I'm lucky if I can read two books a month..."

I usually end up reading a book in a day or two. I read the entire LOTR trilogy in 4 days, back when I first got it. It's a kind of focus that's almost painful, and usually annoying.

Hi everyone! I'm Maura. I'm 19 and I haven't managed to find myself any really good, new fantasy novels to read in literally years. Lucky for me, I'm a huge rereader anyway. (I'm currently in the process of rereading basically every YA fantasy/SF novel I loved as a kid, and by 'loved as a kid' I mean 'still love even though I can almost buy myself beer'.) Anyway, I have no idea how many novels I've read this month, but the number is getting truly exorbitant. I hope I can get some more awesome reads here!

Maura wrote: "Hi everyone! I'm Maura. I'm 19 and I haven't managed to find myself any really good, new fantasy novels to read in literally years. Lucky for me, I'm a huge rereader anyway. (I'm currently in t..."

Then I hope you'll take a chance on my fantasy novels.
The Flame in the Bowl Unbinding the Stone
A Warrior Made

and I have a few short stories out and about. You can read all about them here:

http://www.marcvunkannon.com

and thanks for looking!

Hi Maura, welcome to the group. There are a lot of YA fantasy fans here, so you're in good company :-).

Maura, I am a grandmother and I still read "YA" books sometimes, because some authors are just so good that I like their YA titles as well as their adult books. Do you know Terry Pratchett's Tiffany Aching books? I think the first one is "A Hatful of Sky." He writes very convincingly about a girl's concerns and her discovery of her wild talents. Another writer who has done grreat YA books is Robert Westall, who writes about boys growing up in Scotland. Some of these are period pieces from WWII and some have supernatural overtones.

Talking with my daughter in law here who recommends Clive Barker's Weaveworld.

Barbm1020 wrote: "Talking with my daughter in law here who recommends Clive Barker's Weaveworld."

Weaveworld: what to expect.

Exquisitely vivid prose, incredible magical concept, often eerily strange events and imagery - no other book like this one to bend the imagination. It will immerse you if you have the time to sink into it.

Hello everybody, my name is Christy and I've been on Goodreads for a few months. While searching for some new fantasy options I came across this group. Upon seeing that your group read for November is "The Hobbit" I knew this match was meant to be :D

I'm excited to join in and looking forward to getting recommendations from people who know and love fantasy.

I'm Alex, an English major and fantasy nerd at the University of Kansas. I'm also a sports columnist for the University Daily Kansan.

Welcome to the group, Christy and Alex. Glad to have you here.

John wrote: "Welcome to the group, Christy and Alex. Glad to have you here."

And very glad to be here. It's not that school doesn't provide me with enough reading; because it certainly does. But I've always had a passion for fantasy literature, and a passion for discussion. The combination of the two strikes me as a can't fail opportunity.

Hi, I'm 57 and love reading fantasy whenever I can. I just completed reading a Warhammer 40k Omnibus by William King. It's a mix of sci-fi and fantasy. My favorite fantasy books are the EverQuest game series.

Hi all :D

I'm Maria and apparently I'm going to be leading the upcoming discussion of 'The Hobbit'. Awesome!!!

When JJ mentioned Goodreads during one of our tutorials, I was very interested to hear what he was involved in as I am a believer in the benefits of reading and the power of words. I didn't realise, however, that I would soon be revisiting a classic novel from my teen years :)

Okay, so JJ suggested I give a bit of an overview of myself - yah!! :s so here goes... I'm a published author, with a second manuscript with my publisher, a third manuscript in production (and two other ideas up my sleeve - better do something about those coz they're getting uncomfortable :p)

I also teach creative writing at our local uni - where JJ and I became aquainted :) - and in various schools around the Sunny Coast. And, just to make sure I stay outta trouble, I recently started a mentoring and editing business, La Vie Creativity.

More interesting than any of that stuff,perhaps,is what I like to read, which is, in short, anything... except maybe romance (unless I have to :s or it's a classic like Jane Eyre). Though I tend to write realist or horror fiction, I love anything that's well written and leaves me thinking :)

Okay, that's enough - I look forward to our discussion on 'The Hobbit'; until then, Happy Reading :D

Welcome to the group, Maria. I'm definitely looking forward to the discussion on The Hobbit. Just ask if you need any assistance or anything with that. It's a pretty friendly group though, most of the time...

Welcome Christy, Alex, Jim, Maura, Jakob and anyone else I've missed giving a greeting to..

Welcome to the group Maria. Am looking forward to your discussion of the Hobbit during December, it should be very interesting.

Welcome also to Jim and hope you find our group enjoyable.

Hi all.

I'm Josh and I hail from southern Michigan. I like various fantasy and sci fi, all ways for my brain to escape to an alternate reality. Was searching for a group of people who like to read and discuss literature, and found this group. Looking forward to the discussions.

Torn for favorites between three:
1) Study series by Maria Snyder
2) The Legend of Huma by Richard Knaak
3) The Belgariad saga by David Eddings

Hello
I just joined goodreads recently mostly due to the fact that i havent been reading a lot lately and wanted to get a few reccomendations.Fantasy is my favourite genre.
My first read was Stephen Donaldsons Thomas the Unbeliever chronicles and i have been hooked since then.
I have allready started a to read list from this group,seems i have a lot of catching up to do :)

Hi, I'm Amelia. I've loved fantasy for as long as I can remember. I try to read as much as I can and try all sorts of new things. I'm from Utah and just recently had my birthday where I turned 30. I graduation from college a while ago and miss the intelltual discussions I'd participate in class. I am an English major, so we were usually discussing classics, but my true love is fantasy.

Currently I'm reading the Bayern Series by Shannon Hale. I'm on the second book, Enna Burning. I recently finished The Gathering Storm in the Wheel of Time of series and thought it was great! I've loved Mercedes Lackey's Valdemar series, Robin Mckinley's books, Lord of the Rings, David Eddings, The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss. I could go on and on. I'm always looking for something new to read. I have an extremely long list of books I'd like to read in my wishlist on Amazon.com. (That's been my to-read or to-buy list a long time before I found Goodreads.)

I'm excited to take part in discussions about my favorite books and the books I will discover from the others in this group!

Welcome to the group Josh, John and Amelia.

Josh i did visit Michigan about 8 years ago and stayed in Petoskey. Really enjoyed my stay there at this very old hotel on Little Traverse Bay. I did go and look at Hemingway's old holiday house, where he was inspired to write his Nick Adams stories.

John, I remember when Stephen Donaldsons Thomas the Unbeliever was first released. Nearly every backpacker travelling around Australia seemed to be reading it, which is why it caught my attention.

Amelia good to hear you have an English major and like Intellectual discussions. So maybe you will be interested in Maria's discussion of the Hobbit next month, as she is a Lecturer in Creative Writing.
Happy 30th Birthday too !

I'm Sierra, I'm from Utah. I am the president of my school's Fantasy Writers Club. I am also a member of the American Fork High School Marching Band. I like to read a LOT. My favorite subject is English, and I have a cat named Stubby. I enjoy laying in my backyard with a good book. I have read the Twilight series, but I am not obsessed, I only finished because my pet peeve is starting a series and not finishing.

I forgot, my favorite books are The Hollow Kingdom Trilogy, the Hobbit, and most manga. I love anime and manga, so you'll probably hear about them a lot from me.

Hello All,

I'm Donna from Maryland. I guess I am what you would call a closet fantasy reader. I am a Trekie from way back and that was my start in SF and fantasy reading. My brother and sister would laugh at me and my mother would say I had my head in the clouds again. If she only knew...lol!

I've just recently got back into the fantasy reading and currently I am reading a book by Terry Brooks. I'm hooked and will have to find the other to books to the series. Because it is part of a long time series I will have to go out to collect them as well. Don't you just love series books?

DCMerkle

Wow...a bunch more already...

Welcome John, Josh, Amelia, Sierra, and Donna.

We should be having some great discussions coming up as fast as this group is growing.....

Welcome Sierra, great to hear that your school has a Fantasy Writers Club and that your the President. It's a fantastic idea to have school writing groups for the writers of the future.

Hi Donna, series can become a addiction. Terry Brooks has a long series so expect you will be reading them for awhile. Great to have you with us.

And they just keep pouring in... :-).

Welcome to Donna, Sierra, Amelia, John, Josh, Maria and Jim!

Wow. Great to know there are so many fantasy readers out there. Before GR I was starting to think we were a dying breed.

Hi everyone,
I'm Wendy Gillissen, I live in the Netherlands and fantasy has been my favourite genre since I first read Lord of The Rings and The Hobbit at age 15. I thought the book was far, far superior to the movie by the way... though I really enjoyed the scene with King Theoden rallying the troops. Brought tears to my eyes;)

I don't read much new fantasy, these days, especially since I began writing my own;)
My debut novel, Curse of the Tahiéra was released in May this year.

Some of my favorite authors, series and books:
Tolkien of course,
the early Tanith Lee (The Flat Earth series were among the finest fiction I've ever read),
Patricia Mckillip,
Robin Hobb's Farseer series,
Jack Vance,
Pat O'Sea's The Hounds of the Morrigan,
Marion Bradley's Mists of Avalon,
Ursula leGuin's Earthsea,
Peter S. Beagle's The Last Unicorn,

there must be more but I'm terrible with lists!
I'm the woman standing in the library in a daze wondering what it was she came for.

I hope you have fun reading The Hobbit! It has been years since I read it but I enjoyed immensely.
Wendy

Great to have you with us Wendy. I am glad you posted to the 'Introductions' and 'Group Authors' section. It is always a pleasure to see new Authors joining us. Since you have read the Hobbit, i do hope you participate in the book discussion of the Hobbit this coming month.
Best regards, your friend
JJ

JJ wrote: "Great to have you with us Wendy. I am glad you posted to the 'Introductions' and 'Group Authors' section. It is always a pleasure to see new Authors joining us. Since you have read the Hobbit, i do..."
Thanks JJ, I will!
I'll dig deep in my memory or see if I can re-read The Hobbit really fast this weekend;-)
Wendy

Hello! My name is Jules, and I come from Romania. My favourite Fantasy authors for the time being are J.R.R. Tolkien, G.R.R. Martin, Robert Jordan, P. Pullman, Jacqueline Carey, and M.Z. Bradley. I also enjoy Raymond E. Feist's works.

Welcome to the group Wendy and Jules. Nice to have you both with us.

John wrote: "Welcome to the group Wendy and Jules. Nice to have you both with us."

Thanks John! Looking forward to joining in on the 'Hobbit' discussion!

Hello, my name is Amelia. I am a self confessed book adicit and read way too much. I love urban fantasy but read just about everything.

Welcome, Wendy, Jules, and Amelia....

Welcome to the group, Amelia :-).