What do you think about re-reading books?

[Lorraine]

I'm so happy to have found this group so we can talk about books. :)

I'm wondering what people think about re-reading books. I belong to another message board (unrelated to Goodreads) and have asked there and get such differing answers. Some people say "ABSOLUTELY NOT! There are too many other good books to read!" And others say "OH YES! I love re-reading books!" lol

For me, I love rereading my favorites. I've read all the Harry Potter books several times, the Narnia books, Lord of the Rings, Agatha Christie's Miss Marple books, some old childhood favorites (Secret Garden, A Little Princess, Tripod trilogy, others), and others I'm not thinking of at the moment. To me it's like meeting an old friend and getting to know them again.

Yes, there are a lot of books out there. But I'm never going to read them all anyway, even if I gave up ever re-reading a book. lol

[Zaz, Mood Minion]

I believe in re-reading :D
But only for the books I love so much :) I think some characters could count as friends as I'm really happy every time I meet them again.

My top re-reads are Ronia, the Robber's Daughter and The Death Gate cycle by Margaret Weis (this one is funny for me because the 1st time I read it, I was younger than my fav character and now I'm older than him). Just after, Lord of the Rings by Tolkien and The Dark Tower cycle by King.
I think Peter Pan, Alice in Wonderland and the Wizard of Oz could fit in my re-read list but I try not to read the same book each time (change the format or the language, keep only the theme...), so it's not really a re-read for me :D

[misplacedselchie]

I love rereading too :). I do it before a new book in a series comes out so I can refresh and when a lot of time has passed since I first read it. I love what new things I learn when rereading because you don't pick up everything the first time!

[Ashleigh]

I re-read a lot last year. There is a lot of comfort to be found in re-reading a favourite book. Also, I find with age sometimes you find new things and nuances that maybe you missed when you were a few years younger.

My favourites to re-read are definitely children's classics. Wizard of Oz, The Secret Garden, Alice in Wonderland, Ballet Shoes. I just find a lot of warmth and happiness in them. I've also re-read Rebecca about 5 times since I was 16. Jane Eyre has been read a couple of times and, of course, I've read Harry Potter to the point my books have fallen apart!

I find that re-reads are good when you're under stress because you don't need to pay as much attention to them. You already know the outline of the story, you know the characters and you're reading it to just enjoy it. There's a lot less pressure involved and when there are exams and things looming, you want a book with no pressure!

[✩Anna✩]

I'm definitely a rereader! Sometimes picking up a book that you know from start to finish is just really comforting, especially if you're having a bad day or even just going through a bit of a reading slump.

As has already been said, I like rereading books on a series when a new one comes out too. That way, I'm not thrown out of the story trying to remember all the tiny details. "Who was that minor character again? Where did they say they were going?"

Right now I'm working on slowly rereading the Discworld series again. Some of those books I haven't picked up in ten years or more, so it'll be nice to revisit them. :)

[Cait]

Ditto on the loving rereads. It's like going back to places you went on holiday as a child; it's all familiar but you'll notice things you weren't aware of before.

I reread The Lord of the Rings annually and other books regularly (like Harry Potter). I've just finished studying two literature courses so I had to reread those books to make sure I was taking everything in.

I don't have any hard and fast rules for when I reread books. Usually I try not to read a book I read the previous year but if I'm in the mood for it I'll pick it up again.

[Sheila]

I love to re-read books. Especially Macomber, Kleypas, Roberts who write to a woman's heart.

[.•*¨`*•✿ ✿•*¨`*•. Christine .•*¨`*•✿ ✿•*¨`*•]

I love to reread books as well. I have found that when a new book in a series comes out, I will reread all the earlier ones before opening the new one.

I will also reread ones I love when the mood for that type of books strikes.

[Jessica]

I'm not a fan of re-reading unless it's something I read 5+ years ago and I can't remember it. (and my memory sucks so it's like reading something new!)

I guess my answer is "it just depends".

[Jenni]

Typically I don't re-read. I tend to only read a few select books I absolutely love. There's certain books that every time I read that can really make me feel something. Those are the ones I re-read.

[Britteny - , Mod Assistant]

With the exception of a few select books I love, I don't generally re-read (or re-watch movies/TV shows). The few times I've tried, I get frustrated because I start to remember what's gonna happen and it takes the excitement out. :-(
I re-read Matilda, Gulliver's Travels...that's about it at the moment. Both I believe might even be on my list for the year! LOL!

[Marina]

I don't really re-read books, but mostly because I don't feel I have the time. My list of books to read is always growing, so I usually prioritize those books instead of books I already know.
But it makes good sense that you can find a lot of comfort when re-reading a book you really love!

[Nargiz]

I reread often. Everytime I reread the book, I look at it in different prospective. As we grow old, our view to life changes, so the view to the book changes. There has been some books I haen't liked when first I read it, but after rereading them after couple years, I absolutely loved the book.

[Marina]

Nargiz wrote: "I reread often. Everytime I reread the book, I look at it in different prospective. As we grow old, our view to life changes, so the view to the book changes. There has been some books I haen't lik..."

That's a good point! I think I'll consider re-reading some of the books I've read a long time ago.

[Sanja]

I don't re-read books often, but when I do, I definitely see them in a different way. While re-reading a book, I notice some details that I haven't noticed before and that just adds another meaning to the book and the way I understand it. :)

[Adriana]

Well, I haven't re-read many books so far, just one or two, but there are a good number of books I want to re read (many I've included in this challenge). There are always books that as soon as I finished them I want to read them again. I think it's like listen when you listen to a song you like and you want to keep playing it!

There are also books I want to read again because I either don't remember them very well or because I feel I didn't quite understood them.

I've thought a lot of times that I won't read all the books I want to read before I die (specially when I find a new one everyday!!), which I can say it makes me freak out a bit but it doesn't affect my reading speed or the fact that I want to re-read books!

[Cheryl]

I did not re-read any books last year, but I have on my bookshelf books that I want to read still and books that I keep because I want to re-read them at some stage.

Once I have finished a book I categorise it into a book that I will not reread and a book that I would make the time to reread.

[Kreete]

I like to re-read my favourite books!

[Erika]

I typically don't reread. I have a couple rereads on my list this year, but they're books I read as a kid that I've wanted to read as an adult to look at them in another perspective (especially Brave New World, I was 12 or 13 when I read it, no way I totally understood it then like I will now)

[Anastasia]

I only buy books that I am going to re-read. So yes I do re-read books. It is like talking to a good friend when going through a rough patch, very comforting.
With good books there is always something new to learn from them, a new facet to examine.

[Ashleigh]

Anastasia wrote: "It is like talking to a good friend when going through a rough patch, very comforting.
With good books there is always something new to learn from them, a new facet to examine. "

That is such a perfect way of describing it! :D

& I find that; there is so much you pick up on with a second or a third read with a book you love. Little things that seemed insignificant or weren't even noticed the first time around you suddenly notice and it's just a nice warm, fuzzy feeling! xD

[Busy]

I like to re-read books, especially Harry Potter, Scott Sigler, The Phantom Tollbooth, Fablehaven, Kurt Vonnegut- but only once every few years, and I only re-read the ones I truly love. I feel like if I read a book too soon, or too much, I can't enjoy it because I remember too much. I love to be surprised- I often don't read reviews or summaries of books and just go on buzz or short, glowing reviews. I do the same thing with movies and tv- I watch so many shows based on Tumblr gifs alone and it rarely steers me wrong. In this challenge I am re-reading roughly 9/52 books (3 are LOTR)

[Busy]

Lora wrote: "I love rereading too :). I do it before a new book in a series comes out so I can refresh and when a lot of time has passed since I first read it. I love what new things I learn when rereading bec..."
Very good point about re-reading being good for high-stress times. I did re-read a lot during school, haha. Although I was really surprised when I re-read The Order of the Phoenix and it completely bummed me out when it didn't bother me before.

[Megan]

I like to think of my books in the manner that books are described in the Inkheart series. Once the reader picks it up it's no longer just the written story. Trapped in it's pages are the reader's story too. What were you going through when you curled up and read Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire for the first time? That is the whole reason I keep my books - to reread them. To add to their stories and their yellowing pages every time I pick it up. To take in the written story and the ones trapped in the pages, I love re-reading and finding those details long forgotten and those memories. I don't reread all of them, but I certainly re-read the ones that hold the most stories with them. Maybe I'm the only one who thinks like this... I just think that series describes books best.

[Abhishek]

I've reread books before. I had a ritual of rereading the entire Harry Potter series in the days leading up to a new Potter book release. I've reread the Lord of the Rings a couple of times too. I will probably do the same with the A Song of Ice and Fire series once GRR Martin gets off his butt and releases the remaining installments.

Apart from that, I only reread books that I didn't totally get in the first read. I remember being very "meh" about The Great Gatsby the first time I read it, and then went on to reread it after arguing about it with some stranger on the internet. The same holds for Catcher in the Rye.

Except for the cases outlined above, I don't really do rereads. I'm more in agreement with the school of thought that goes "There are too many good books to read!"

[Cait]

Megan wrote: "I like to think of my books in the manner that books are described in the Inkheart series. Once the reader picks it up it's no longer just the written story. Trapped in it's pages are the reader's ..."

I agree with this so much. I have a weird memory and so when I'm rereading books I often remember things that were going on when I first read them.

The first four Harry Potter books make me think of Steps music and the smell of paint, since I was reading them when I'd just moved into a new house (and was obsessed with Steps and a CD which had just come out). During a certain chapter of Half-Blood Prince I can remember bagpipe music playing as I sat at work reading. And I've avoided rereading Wicked because when I read it several years ago something bad happened and I'm scared to revisit that place.

Rereading books can be as much about things that happened to you in the past, as what happened to the characters. :-)

[Maria]

Megan wrote: "I like to think of my books in the manner that books are described in the Inkheart series. Once the reader picks it up it's no longer just the written story. Trapped in it's pages are the reader's ..."

I love Inkheart series:) I re-read all my my favourite books. I re-read Harry Potter series at least three times lol

[Marah]

I reread books all the time. Not every book, but my favorites I tend to read at least once a year.

[Anja]

I do a lot of re-reading, some books (my favourites/favourite series) I have read ten times or more. It's like visiting old friends that live far away and whom you don't see often - they are still the same and yet a tiny bit different with every new visit

[Sonya]

I re-read books. My philosophy is this: If it was good the first time, it will be better the second time when I pick up on all the stuff I missed in the first reading. I always miss things the first time I read them, but if I come back and read it again later, then often it will make more sense when I find things I missed the first time through. Some books I have had to read many times over to get everything that's going on in them.

[Steven]

Re-reading books is the same as re-watching a movie, or re-playing a game or board game... if it is a story you love, liked, or made you so curious you couldn't help but read it again, that's fantastic! It keeps the story alive for you, reminds you of past times, and keeps thoughts unburied for the future. It's hard though to commit more and more time to certain things, but all I have to say is use your time as wisely as you can, and enjoy the things you enjoy again and again. WEAR THAT BOOK OUT! (seriously, take care of your books)

[Zaz, Mood Minion]

I think some books want to be re-read. They are whispering in my ears: "Reaaad us again, we were so awesome" :p

Never go against what a book wants :D

[Inkedreader]

I reread certain books. I have a trilogy saved on my mp3 player to listen to whenever I'm not in the mood to listen to any other books or music but need something to block out the people and sounds around me while I'm working. I've listened to them so many times and physically read that I've started having certain parts memorized and can say them in my head. I also have a few that I've read then listened to just to have their voice make the pictures in my head clearer.
I definitely will reread a book or series if it's one that I flew through because I couldn't put it down or got sucked into. one series that did that was the night huntress and night huntress world by Jeaniene Frost. I love all her books and am always ready for more.

[Kelsey]

I don't usually reread books unless it's one of my favorites. Once I know what is going to happen in a book, most of the time it doesn't keep my attention enough to read it again.