The Sword and Laser discussion
Do you re-read your books?
I would guess that my unread pile of books physically at hand to be around 70-100. With that many I simply do not have time to go back and reread. Just to many books and to little time :) Having said that, I have read Lord of the Rings more than once.
I reread a lot of stuff I read in College or shortly thereafter, mostly because one day I realized for years I'd been naming Neuromancer and Count Zero as two of my favorite books of all time, but I actually remembered nothing about them beyond vague impressions and some rastas in space. Did the same with Islands in the Net, and intend to go on with the rest of Gibson's back catalog. Generally, rereading stuff I enjoyed years ago is a rewarding experience, and most of them are pretty short.
I'm currently re-reading two, but that's an unusual amount for me. In one of them, Le Guin's The Word for World is Forest, I'm wondering if she revisits these themes again in a later book of her, The Telling, so I pulled that one off the shelf to look at again.I figure if I read a new book there's maybe a 30% chance it's good (vs average or mediocre), but the re-reads are 90% good. So the math works out for me, despite my huge TBR pile.
And Mark @36, if you're still inflicting Piers Anthony books, please go back and try his books again, he is notorious for not aging well, ie past adolescence. Apologies to any of his fans (of whom I used to be one).
Yes, now that I am in middle age, I find revisiting certain books to be a pleasure, especially those books that I haven't touched since my youth. It is amazing to me how different a book may "read" after the accumulation of a few years of experience. There are books that I've read in the past that I once dismissed as junk that I now find to be brilliant(What was I thinking back then?) And there are those books that have ripened over the years and have grown with me like a treasured friendship.
I usually re-read series, particularly epic fantasy. I always find something new on each subsequent reading. Other books, like historical fiction or regular fiction, I tend to read once and move on. Although, as I get older, I find that I can't remember stuff! For my book club, I wait until the end of the month, right before our discussion to read the book. I will say, especially for fantasy, it helps to have people to discuss the book with... It encourages me to re-read as well.
I don't re-read a lot of books. Only if I I need to refresh my memory because the next book in the series took so long. This is what happened with The Name of the Wind.
I definitely reread certain favorite books. Lord of the Rings, Narnia, Hitchhiker's Guide, The Dark Tower, The Stand... and I'm sure others that slip my mind right now I have read many times over. For me, its usually just because I miss living in that world or story, or miss the characters so much I need to spend time with them again. So back I inevitably go. My to read list is currently over 100 books (through an Amazon wish list not on Good reads yet) and that has made me think more carefully about rereading stuff. But, when I read Wheel of Time before, I stopped after Winter's Heart because it just didn't seem there was an end in sight. Now that the final book is just around the corner, I picked it up again from the beginning and just finished Lord of Chaos. And, I have found it so far to be better than I remembered it, which is always nice.
I have a friend that thinks that once you've read a book you should sell it or throw it away. of course he's not much of a reader which may explain his odd opinion. He thinks I'm crazy for reading something again. To that I say don't you ever watch a movie more than once, or listen to a song? How is that different?
I do have a question for all those who said they do not reread books: do you keep the books you read?
I have a bad habit of re-reading all the time. I made the book pledge for 50 this year and had to clarify 50 NEW BOOKS for me, otherwise I'll just re-read 5 books 10 times each.I think I've re-read "The Eye of the World" about 5 times, and "Good Omens" 4 or 5 as well. I don't think there's anything odd about it. People rewatch movies that they enjoy, so why not re-read a book that you enjoyed? Especially since if you let years lapse between reads, the book can be completely different the 2nd time around!
I have two crazy bad habits: One is never re-reading (I figure there is already too many books too little time in my life) and second is reading the first book in about a million different series and keep saying I am gonna go back and read the series. This has been going on for about 1o years! Finally this year is the first year where I am making true on the second promise to myself, but of course I don't remember what happened in the first books!!! So this year, after almost never ever re-reading a book, I have re-read 5!!!! I have re-read:
His Majesties Dragon- Naomi Novik
Throne of Jade- Naomi Novik (Currently reading)
Storm Front- Jim Butcher
Eye of the World- Robert Jordan
One for the Money by Janet Evanovich (although I am not re-reading this series, I read it for a bookgroup.)
Luckily I found this great website that has each o the books from Song of Ice and Fire nicely summarized so I don't have to re-read Game of Thrones and A Clash of Kings! Whew! That would have just been too much for me! Here is that website if anyone is interested, it's a great reference tool not only for the books but to keep track of characters and places and even family histories as well!
http://towerofthehand.com/
Jeane, you are a godsend for that website!
I re-read books all the time. Only if I remember really liking them, which happens a lot.
Mod
I keep text files for all ongoing series that I am reading.
I make it as detailed as I can. Plot, synopsis, characters & locations etc (Wikipedia is a good "cut and paste" source).
Then I can read this just before the next book comes out.
My file for "A Song of Ice and Fire" is 40+ pages long.
I just haven't got time or room in my reading schedule to re-read all my favourite series again before their next book is released.
Like others I re-read series all the time. GRRM's for sure. I've been reading it since before the 3rd book was released (a decade now? jeebus). Harry Potter as well. Also, I'm surprised only Bill mentioned Lord of the Rings. Every year or two I get a hankering to re-read them. Especially after they started airing the movies on TV. I get worried that if I don't read them my brain may start forgetting the way things really happened (no elves at Helm's Deep!... except one).
I will say that since I joined S&L I haven't re-read much. Between work and a recent addition to the family, I have enough trouble keeping up with the selections.
Actually the "re-readability" of books is one of my criteria for rating books. Some books I can read over and over. For example, "Dune" I have to have read at least 12 times - and every time I find something new or surprising in it. On the other hand, I have read and enjoyed the "Dragonriders of Pern" novels - but I cannot re-read them. They just aren't engaging enough.
I think I've only read Lord of the Rings once or twice, listened to the audiobooks several times. If I feel the desire to enjoy the story again I just watch the movies, all 11+hrs, blue-ray, surround sound. 8-)They were never my must read books. The series i've re-read the most is Bernard Cornwall's Warlord Chronicles. It's his re-telling of the Arthur legend. Anyone who likes GRRM or Abercrombie should give them a try.
I love rereading. Old books are like old friends, you know? LotR, H2G2, the Vorkosigan saga are all on my constant replay list. (And then there are things like, every summer when we go to the cabin, I have to read The Princess Bride. Mainly because every summer when we go to the cabin, I try to read Ulysses again and when I'm about 100 pages in I decide I need a mental break, which means I pick up The Princess Bride.)And of course, rereading ASOIAF every 5 years when the next book comes out and I've lost track of who's still alive.
Jess wrote: "And of course, rereading ASOIAF every 5 years when the next book comes out and I've lost track of who's still alive. "I'm telling you, this is a great website so you don't have to (unless you really want to of course) read all the ASOIAF over again everytime a new book comes out:
http://towerofthehand.com/
I always reread the books i get, if I like them. I've probably read the Belgariad and Mallorean series by David Eddings a dozen times. I guess for me, if the story was good the first time, it's just as good the second or third time.
Barry wrote: "I always reread the books i get, if I like them. I've probably read the Belgariad and Mallorean series by David Eddings a dozen times. I guess for me, if the story was good the first time, it's jus..."If you like the Eddings series you should try one of his last 1 off books called
The Redemption of Althalus. If you haven't already that is. It was great and I re-read it periodically too.
Boots wrote: "I used to reread the Hobbit all the time when I was a kid until I lent it to someone and they never gave it back and I didn't realize it until years later when I went to pick it up to read again an..."I'm re-reading The Annotated Hobbit: The Hobbit, Or, There and Back Again to my son, leaving out the side notes for his sake. If you haven't read the annotated edition, you might want to check it out. It's awesome.
Re-reading is one of my favorite things to do. One of the first things I typically think of when finishing a book is whether it's worthy of a future re-read and how long to wait. 2 of the 6 audiobooks I've listened to this year are re-reads, along with The Hobbit I'm currently reading and Sixth Column I'm listening to.
@Jeanne, thanks for that. Bookmarked.
Like many others, I re-read certain books: The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings and Dune series to name a few. I like to re-read The Lord of the Rings every 2 to 3 years. Re-reading The Lord of the Rings gives me comfortable/happy feelings/memories. I guess it takes me back to when I first read it at about 14 or 15. If I had the time I would like to re-read a lot more books! I have great memories attached to reading some books and when I re-read them the memories/feelings come flooding back. Good times!
Philip wrote: "I'm re-reading The Annotated Hobbit: The Hobbit, Or, There and Back Again to my son, leaving out the side notes for his sake. If you haven't read the annotated edition, you might want to check it out. It's awesome."Thanks Philip, I will check that out, hopefully before the movie comes out.
Philip wrote: "Boots wrote: "I used to reread the Hobbit all the time when I was a kid until I lent it to someone and they never gave it back and I didn't realize it until years later when I went to pick it up to..."Which version are reading to your song? The second edition I'm guessing. I read both of those, and found the facts in there interesting, especially the Rune alphabet. It was fun to write in rune, I felt I had my own secret language that nobody else knew about.
Quite welcome, Boots. It's the second edition, Kevin, which I recommend anyone getting since it's got updated notes in it.
Funny that on this particular subject there's a related epigraph in The Annotated Hobbit: The Hobbit, Or, There and Back Again:
"What we read with pleasure we read again with pleasure." - Horace
Yes, I re-read books after a time. For some books it might be a very long time between reads, while for other books it might be a bit sooner. Of course there are many books I never read again. But favourite books, like favourite films, are old friends. I like to spend my time with the familiar characters again. And sometimes you get more out of it the second or third time around.
AndrewP wrote: "I would guess that my unread pile of books physically at hand to be around 70-100. With that many I simply do not have time to go back and reread. Just to many books and to little time :) Having sa..."This pretty much sums it up for me as well. I think I've only reread 2 books ever. If I read faster I might reread more but as it is I never catch up on the to-read list.
I don't think I've ever re-read an entire book.I do re-read my favorites parts/passages of novels from time to time (Eddard's dream from A Game of Thrones, opening of Underworld, ending of Blood Meridian etc. etc.)
I have been thinking about re-reading Underworld though. I read it in college and feel like I could get more out of it 10 years on.
I return to certain books again and again. Sometimes this is a professional pitfall (I teach the Hobbit every few years and so have to re-read it with the class) but there are others that are just old friends whose voices I need to hear once in a while :)
Adrienne wrote: "Speaking of old friends, the Hobbit, and re-reading:http://yourmometer.com/comic.php?comi..."
exactly....
For the most part, it's not that I deliberately set out to reread a book -- it's more a question of what am I in the mood for right now, and whether I've read it before or not is more of a secondary consideration.
Soo wrote: " I read all the latest additions to Card's Ender series and I really like the new books. I like them enough to try to read Xenocide & Speaker for the Dead again. I didn't care for them too much before but mostly due to the change in focus of those books"I liked the Shadow series much better than those following Ender after he leaves. Still I think it would be awesome to have Jane in my ear.
I absolutely re-read books. I am currently on
God Emperor of Dune and as happens to me sometimes on a 2nd read, I find it almost as a 1st read in the amount I don't remember, thus why I re-read! (10 years later)
Been retreading much less since I got a kindle. So much easier to discover new books these days. Still reread books that are part of a series if I need to remember what the last book was about.
I haven re-reading my Terry Pratchett books again and again. As a non-native english speaker, I usually find something new or some missed word or meaning from the books and it usually brings laughter x3 when I finally understand properly what the author really meant :)Also Hitchhikers guide to galaxy is always on my to-be read list
Only after I've forgotten how they end...and that could take weeks
Re-reading The Stand via Audible and it's so cool to rediscover characters that I had completely forgotten about. It's my 3rd time through this book and still awesome. M-o-o-n, that spells awesome.
Neat seeing all these different reading habits. I definitely re-read, I may have 20+ books in my collection that I picked up on a lark and have never opened, but still tend to reread my favourites every 4-5 years... Oddly, I think there are very few books I own and have already read that I haven't read twice?@kvon, I'm still a very big Piers fan, but he has so many books...some age very well, and others do not. There is the output that feels like his 3-4 main archetypes going through the same puzzles (still fun, but I understand why peeps don't care for them), but some of his earlier grommet & nozzle Sci-fi, one-offs, and shorter series can be atmospheric and thought provoking. I only recommend him if I have a specific book in mind for the person.
Oh.. just wanted to add something.Before I joined Goodreads I occasionally had trouble remembering what books I had read and even bought, so on more than one occasion I bought a new book and when I started to read it I got these deja-vu sensations; "this sounds very familiar..."
So I was an unintentional re-reader... at least until I remembered how the book ended, then it was no fun to go on reading. TG that doesn't happen anymore. :-)
Books with a serious twist I only read once e.g. 'Sixth Sense', but books like 'Enders Game' I can reread. 'Wind in the Willows' is a book I received back in the 70's and still have it, having re-read it quite a few times. Sometimes re-reading a good book will allow additional elements previously unnoticed to be discovered.
Occasionally, and only after I've read it the first time.
I have to leave a gap of 8-10 years before re-reading books. Otherwise I remember too much of the plot detail and don't enjoy the reread. The only except to that is comedy. I guess a good joke is still funny even the second or third time you hear it.
If I really enjoy the book I'll usually reread it years later. I have read the Alex Rider books almost all the time in high-school and I have read the Dilbert future many times just to name a couple
I always re-read my favorites, and I'll re-read in preparation for the next book in a series. It does seem to be quite prevalent in the SciFi fantasy community. My friends who don't read genre don't seem to do it.
Paul wrote: "I guess a good joke is still funny even the second or third time you hear it."Or the quadrillionth according to my pre-school aged kids. :)
Yep re-read books all the time... Use to have a policy of not buying books until I had read them at least once (back when I was a poor student & the library was my most frequented place). Most of the time it was because I enjoyed the experience of being immersed in the world, and usually they were long series. But also re-reading the series before the next one came out...
I reread my favorite books because I have a terrible memory. Which is sometimes good because I can reread a book and still be surprised with plot twists.
Christine wrote: "I reread my favorite books because I have a terrible memory. Which is sometimes ghost because I can reread a book and still be surprised with plot twists."Made me laugh. I am so bad at seeing plot twists that I forget about them on the second go around too. Makes life a lot of fun though!
It's funny, last year when I moved I had to ask myself how many of my books had I really reread of late. I think as time passes less. There are just too many interesting new books waiting to be read. That said like others there are those that I love coming back to, that are just layered with the memories of all those previous reads that provide the same feelings as and old song still well loved. Then there are others like pratchett's books that are like comfort food that i enjoy everytime or those never ending series that take me back again and again as I read and reread many of them along the way.
Christine wrote: "I reread my favorite books because I have a terrible memory. Which is sometimes good because I can reread a book and still be surprised with plot twists."This is probably why I enjoy re-reading so much myself. The less I retain, the more I like to experience the story again. I crack myself up a bit with how much I don't recall and can experience new again.
The Sword and Laser
Books mentioned in this topic
The Stand (other topics)God Emperor of Dune (other topics)
Blood Meridian, or, the Evening Redness in the West (other topics)
Underworld (other topics)
A Game of Thrones (other topics)
More...
Authors mentioned in this topic
Horatius (other topics)Christopher Paolini (other topics)
Brandon Sanderson (other topics)
David Weber (other topics)
I often find that in my first read of a book I rush it a bit because I want to find out what happens. So on a second read (even if its a few years later) you know broadly what happens so you can take your time and savour the language and the detail.
I usually reread LOTR, Dune and other real classics every 2 or 3 years. Just reread the Hyperion saga a few weeks ago - has that been a pick on S&L before? if not it should be at some stage, really fantastic books.