What Do You Re-read And Why? (11/18/18)

[Marc]

This topic pretty much came up on its own during last week's discussion, so it seemed like it might be a great thread of its own. Most of you non-re-readers have pointed to wanting to get to too many unread books to be slowed down by re-reading--so, for you, tell us what might make you re-read something when you're usually not given to that sort of thing. For re-readers, let us know what inspires you to re-read. Are there titles (21st century or earlier) you frequently re-read? What's the book you've read the most times?

[Lark]

I re-read The Iliad and Inferno at least every time there is a new translation and sometimes more often.

I re-read Shakespeare whenever I'm going to see a performance.

I re-read all of Austen's and Hardy's novels regularly, sometimes more frequently than once a year, because it feels like re-visiting familiar places with old friends. It's possible that I might read Persuasion as often as 3x a year.

Same for Middlemarch and Adam Bede, The Magic Mountain, The Wind in the Willows, and, ulp, The Devil Wears Prada!

[Marcus]

I don't re-read often, but when I do it is usually because I have certain books that have been firm favourites for many years, (in the pre-Goodreads wilderness when reading went unreviewed), and I am no longer sure exactly why I loved them so much.
My examples would be A Month in the Country and The Garden of Eden, both of which I have read again over the last couple of years and reminded myself why I loved them so much. Narziss and Goldmund was an all time favourite which was so much better twenty-five years after the first reading.
In The Wind in the Willows the Mole is passing close to his old home, and it calls to him, drawing him back to familiar things. I am like that with certain books, they call me back. Remind me of something precious.
One that is calling at the moment is Le Grand Meaulnes, which has lingered in my mind for thirty years. Most books, however, are not going to get a second chance.

[David]

I will re-read some of the books I love most. I have fewer than 10 books on the list of ones I have re-read and would expect to re-read again. I have also re-read books when I know I liked it, but it was so long ago I barely remember the book at all. And then there is Leonard Cohen's Beautiful Losers. I read it and at the end was really perplexed by it, so I went back to the start just moments after I finished it to see if re-reading a bit of it from the beginning might help. I ended up doing an entire re-read of the book. I was still somewhat perplexed, but enjoyed the re-read regardless.

[Doug]

I don't often re-read books, but there are a few I return to again and again, most notably The Alexandria Quartet, which I've read at least three times now - and am over due to re-read once again.

When I've read a book and nominated it for a group read, I feel obligated to re-read it along with the group I'm moderating, so I don't say something foolish about it! So have reread a few that way this year.

I had to re-read the first two books in Cusk's trilogy, as by the time Kudos came out I had largely forgotten the first two volumes. I've been meaning to reread another favorite book A Suitable Boy in anticipation of the sequel... but that keeps getting delayed... and delayed... and now isn't due till late 2020. :-(

I don't often do this, but I re-read Eileen after it got Booker nommed, as I had loathed it so much the first time I wanted to see if I had missed something (spoiler: I hadn't - it was just as bad the SECOND time!).

Finally, I am anticipating re-reading The Maze at Windermere before the end of the year, as it was by far the very best book I read this year - so want to end the year with a book I KNOW I'll love! :-)

[Neil]

About a fifth of my reading is re-reads. I would like it to be more, but there are too many books out that I want to read. There aren’t any books I return to again and again, but I am planning to re-read everything Richard Powers has written just as soon as a gap appears (not one after the other: it will be spread over at least a year).

[Hugh]

The last book I can remember rereading was Cry, the Beloved Country, and that was my O level set book! There are plenty I would like to reread and plan to when I retire (all of Dosteyevsky's late novels, War and Peace, Virginia Woolf, Byatt's Frederica quartet etc), but most of these are pre-21st century. I do reread Wainwright's guides to the Lake District fells, and other walking guides, but not sequentially...

[Ellen]

I reread A Wrinkle in Time almost every year because I find it a comfort--I've been reading it since I was a child and it holds up for me (it's also a quick read when I'm in a slump). I reread Rebecca because of similar reasons--takes me back to my romantic adolescent self and I love it.

I reread Middlemarch because I think it's brilliant. I reread much of Trollope (too many books to list) because I love the writing--I find it very soothing--and it's fun to lose myself in that Victorian world. Also I reread all of Austen. I never get tired of her, especially Emma which makes me laugh and which I find still insightful.

That being said, I don't spend as much time rereading as I wish. So many of the newer books I read would really benefit from a second read. But then there's the factor of time.

[Marc]

I think the only 21st century book I've re-read is Dept. of Speculation by Jenny Offill (I just really like the voice in that book and it has that literary/philosophical/memoir-ish combination I seem to find energizing these days).

The book I've re-read the most is either If on a Winter's Night a Traveler (Calvino) or Candide (Voltaire). I like to read the latter every couple of years (it's short and I find it very amusing). Two other favorite re-reads: Geek Love (Katherine Dunn) and Tao Te Ching (Lao Tzu).

It would seem the choice to re-read fiction is almost exclusively tied to reading those titles with others (either here on GR or with my wife). There are more than a handful of short stories I like to re-read, too, as well as poetry (Rilke, Szymborska, Bukowski).

[Robert]

I like rereading - one can discover new things every time.
Due to my massive TBR, the unread novels are given first priority and generally I need a book club in order to reread a novel.
Saying that I am going to dedicate October and November to binge reading a single author(just the novels and novellas). This year it's Jonathan Coe (12 novels and a children's novella) and next year Margarte atwood (17 novels) That way I can slip in some rereads.

[Lark]

Robert wrote: "Saying that I am going to dedicate October and November to binge reading a single author(just the novels and novellas). This year it's Jonathan Coe (12 novels and a children's novella) and next year Margarte atwood (17 novels) That way I can slip in some rereads. ..."
Robert I'm also intrigued, by the idea at least, of reading through one author's oeuvre all at once. The authors I've thought seriously about doing that for are J.G. Ballard and Muriel Spark, maybe because their lists of novels seems long enough to be a challenge but not so long to be impossible.

[Drew]

Doug wrote: "I don't often re-read books, but there are a few I return to again and again, most notably The Alexandria Quartet, which I've read at least three times now - and am over due to re-read..."

I don't often re-read books either but The Alexandria Quartet has been an exception for me too. Otherwise, most of the books I read a second time are books that have been highly praised that I didn't enjoy. Sometimes I find that they greatly improve on the second reading (A Visit from the Goon Squad); other times, not so much although I can't think of an example off the top of my head.

[Marcus]

It is interesting that two people have mentioned The Alexandria Quartet. I have been shipping a copy of this around the world with me since the 1990s and still not read even one of the parts. Perhaps now is the right time to make a start...before my ownership stretches into its fourth decade!

[Lark]

Marcus wrote: "It is interesting that two people have mentioned The Alexandria Quartet. I have been shipping a copy of this around the world with me since the 1990s and still not read even one of th..."

yes, Marcus, you need to get to it right away, so you can re-read it!

[Robert]

Lark wrote: "Robert wrote: "Saying that I am going to dedicate October and November to binge reading a single author(just the novels and novellas). This year it's Jonathan Coe (12 novels and a children's novell..."

Try it! You'll discover entwining themes and a development of style. Loads of fun

[Kathleen]

I re-read less as I get older (so many books and so little time), and I miss it. Re-reading is like hanging out with old friends. You know all their stories--the joke they'll tell and the part they'll emphasize--but there's comfort in hearing their voice and in the familiarness of it all.

I'll never re-read as much as I used to. but hope to re-read childhood favorites like Dandelion Wine and The Once and Future King and find time to re-read newer favorites like Their Eyes Were Watching God and All the Dogs of My Life.

[Marc]

I love how passionate you dedicated re-readers are. Reading all these comments is inspiring!

[Lark]

a lot of my re-reads are audiobooks that I 'read' when I find my hands too busy with other work to be able to read a book-book. I'd add E.M. Forster novels to the list of my frequent re-reads, especially A Room with a View and A Passage to India, as well as Virginia Woolf, especially The Voyage Out and Mrs. Dalloway. I'll listen to anything read by the late Frederick Davidson, or Juliet Stevenson.

[Nadine in California]

Lark wrote: "a lot of my re-reads are audiobooks that I 'read' when I find my hands too busy with other work to be able to read a book-book. I'd add E.M. Forster novels to the list of my frequent re-reads, espe..."

Ah! Why didn't I think of this - re-reading through audio! My life is revolutionized! This may be as big as my discovery of science fiction! I'm going to start by listening to Juliet Stevenson read Virginia Woolf. I haven't read Woolf since I was a first year college student! What a great way to end the year!

[Lark]

Nadine wrote: "Lark wrote: "a lot of my re-reads are audiobooks that I 'read' when I find my hands too busy with other work to be able to read a book-book. I'd add E.M. Forster novels to the list of my frequent r..."

Nadine, try The Voyage Out narrated by Juliet Stevenson.

[Lark]

I'm pretty sure most people I know outside of this group would answer Dune or The Lord of the Rings. Maybe because I live in silicon valley these are much-beloved tomes.

[Whitney]

Lark wrote: "I'm pretty sure most people I know outside of this group would answer Dune or The Lord of the Rings. Maybe because I live in silicon valley these are much-beloved tomes."

As someone originally from Silicon Valley, I can attest that Dune is a worthwhile reread. The full cast Dune is a great choice for rereading on audiobook, as well.

[Marc]

Where are all the legions of The Fountainhead rereaders?!!

[Doug]

Last seen, Paul Ryan was attempting to take away health care and Social Security from poor people... before retiring on his cushy government pension!

[Lark]

Whitney wrote: "Lark wrote: "I'm pretty sure most people I know outside of this group would answer Dune or The Lord of the Rings. Maybe because I live in silicon valley these are much-belov..."

ok Whitney now that we have begun outing ourselves as re-readers of books that aren't necessarily going to win a Nobel for their authors, I can finally admit that the BBC audio production of Lord of the Rings is fantastic, and it's clear (to me at least) that Peter Jackson more or less wrote his own screenplay by stealing scenes wholesale from that production, and I listen to it only slightly less frequently than once a year...Frodo is played by Ian Holm (who played Bilbo in the Jackson films):

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Lor...

[Whitney]

Lark wrote: "Whitney wrote: "Lark wrote: "I'm pretty sure most people I know outside of this group would answer Dune or The Lord of the Rings. Maybe because I live in silicon valley thes..."

Now THAT I can get behind!

[Bernadette]

I love to re-read Barbara Pym’s novels. They brilliantly capture the 1950s atmosphere, an interesting era, are quintessential English and full of quirky, strong independent women. Her books give you are warm feeling.

[Pam]

Robert wrote: "I like rereading - one can discover new things every time.... I am going to dedicate October and November to binge reading a single author(just the novels and novellas). This year it's Jonathan Coe (12 novels and a children's novella)..."

Robert- I also like Jonathan Coe but have only read 2 of his books. My library only carries a few of them. Do you have 1 or 2 favorites? I like your idea of re-reading all of them. I would like to start with reading all of them once!

I rarely re-read books. I have too many other books that I want to read first! The only books I remember re-reading are Atlas Shrugged, Of Human Bondage, Murder on the Nile, The Alchemist, and The Surrender Tree: Poems of Cuba's Struggle for Freedom. The first 3 I read back in the 70s so there was a LOT of time between re-readings! The first 2 I only re-read because my husband was reading them for the first time. This way we could discuss them. I really enjoy reading The Surrender Tree since it is written in verse. I have the bilingual edition and I like reading the Spanish side out loud and comparing it with the English, since I'm not fluent in Spanish.

A few books I would like to re-read are The Mists of Avalon, Dune (audio sounds interesting), Following Atticus: Forty-Eight High Peaks, One Little Dog, and an Extraordinary Friendship, Angela's Ashes, and The Stand. I remember really enjoying them and would like to recapture that feeling and remember details that I have long forgotten (not so long for Dune).

[Drew]

Bernadette wrote: "I love to re-read Barbara Pym’s novels. They brilliantly capture the 1950s atmosphere, an interesting era, are quintessential English and full of quirky, strong independent women. H..."

Oh, yes, Barbara Pym's novels never get old for me! At some point, I want to reread Angela Thirkell's books. I bought many of them when they were republished in the '90s but would like to go back and read them in chronological order.

[Robert]

Ah re jonathan coe what a carve up is his masterpiece. Others i recommend are the rotters club, the rain before it falls. Expo 58 is a fun novel

[Ellen]

I've just been rereading Pym's novels: such a delight. I also want to go back to Thirkell as well; I remember really enjoying them.

[James E.]

Had a disappointing reread of Alexandria Quartet a few years ago but a wonderful reread of Proust in new translation, both after about 40 years.

[LindaJ^]

I am not much of a re-reader but lately I have been re-reading some of my favorites in audio and, as Lark said, it has been enjoyable. True Grit in particular was fantastic in audio.