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Largely because of my never-ending TBR list (and not-so-infinite allotted time), I don’t re-read quite as much as I used to. And yet, I’ve recently met some people who frequently re-read novels five or six times (sometimes in a row!) and it got me thinking about why we re-read and re-watch and re-consume our favorite media.
I mean, from an outsider perspective, one might think it’d be a little boring to re-read something—after all, don’t you already know what’s going to happen? But as anyone who’s ever re-read a favorite book can tell you, you come out of every reading with something a little different. You notice things on the second and third and fourth readings that you hadn’t picked up on the first time. The nuances become more clear, the foreshadowing obvious, the character development easier to understand.
That, and re-living a favorite book, quite frankly, can be a lot of fun.
Nowadays, the main reason I re-read books is to remember what happened before I dive into the sequel, so I can pick up on the nuances and references from the previous book without pausing to try to wrack my brain to remember what happened. This, of course, really only applies to when there’s been a decent amount of time between the reading of book one and book two, but I find that it really does help me fully understand the sequel.
That being said, I don’t re-read every book before picking up the sequel, especially if it’s a particularly long book (City of Lost Souls, for example? Probably not going to get a re-read before I pick up City of Heavenly Fire, even if I did enjoy it. Which I did). Mostly because of the aforementioned time constraints and mountainous TBR list.
But I’m curious. Do you re-read books? Often? Sometimes? Three or five times?
Twitter-sized bite:
Do you re-read books? Often? At all? Several times over? Join the discussion on @Ava_Jae's blog. (Click to tweet)
26 comments:
Absolutely a re-reader! I'm currently diving into LOTR again, which is always an adventure. I totally agree with all the reasons you mentioned, but there's also the simple fact that beautiful writing is always a pleasure to read, no matter how many times over.
And I can't even begin to count how many times I've read Harry Potter!
Harry Potter is a big one! I've actually re-read those books the most—the first four I read four times and the others I've each read...at least twice.
But wow! LOTR is a big one to tackle for a re-read. Major kudos to you. And I also agree on your point about beautiful (or good in general, really) writing is always always wonderful to read. :)
Thanks for sharing, Cassie!
I generally do at least one Harry Potter re-read every year. They're my comfort books, so those readings tend to happen around exam time!
I (tragically) lost most of my HP books during a move. REALLY need to buy new copies so I can do this!
Oh noo that's awful! I've actually got around 40 HP books, so got plenty of choice when it comes to reading them :D
40! Wow. That's impressive. Definitely gives you plenty of choice! Ha ha. :D
I used to re-read more. Now, I rarely do because I don't have enough time and there are so many great books out there waiting to be read the first time. If I do re-read, here are the reasons:
1. I'm totally swooning over some book boyfriend, and I can't get enough.
2. I'm reading something to my children that I loved. Right now, it's Little House on the Prairie. Previously, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. I'm trying to get them to agree to Harry Potter, but they say "Why? We already saw the movie!" *sobs uncontrollably*
Completely agree with the re-reading idea - I've reread game of thrones like 5 times and see something new from the book every time I read it.
I actually keep a reading log of books I've finished, and one of the criteria I usually write down is whether or not I'd read it again—in many ways, I feel like rereading a book is high praise, because it's worth that time to spend again.
I'm getting through my TBR list at the moment, partially consisting of books I don't remember reading though I know I have, so there's not a lot of time to reread a lot, but I usually try to reread my favorite series once a year or so.
Granted, I am definitely not as bad as I used to be. I think the number of times I've read Harry Potter #1 comes to 18 times. By contrast, I've read #7 only three times... Which I think is wiser.
I have been this year. So far I've reread 3 books, and yeah, totally get something different each time. Which is nice!
Yeah, the time issue is one I absolutely understand (especially because the first-time TBR list never ends!).
As for the Harry Potter thing... *sobs with you*
Wow! That's incredibly impressive, especially considering how long those books are. Awesome! :)
That's so interesting! I never thought of keeping a reading log (though I guess I sort of do with Goodreads? Just...not that detailed). I do agree, however, that re-reading a book is pretty high praise—we're paying with our time to dive back into a world we loved, which is pretty awesome.
18 times!!! Wow. That blows my measly four times out of the water. (Though to be fair, Harry Potter is AH-MAY-ZING. So).
I agree! It is nice. I like being able to look through it again and think wow! I totally didn't notice that last time!.
I re-read all the time. I'm kind of picky about what I read so when I find a GOOD book I'll treat it like gold and keep coming back to gloat over it. I fall in love with books the same way I fall in love with TV shows or movies. If i love it enough I can relive it indefinitely. I think I've read Johnny Tremain a total of twenty four times and Gone With The Wind has received a total of three revists this year.
Yes I am obsessive about books, no I don't want to change ;)
I intended to re-read all of Game of Thrones before reading A Dance With Dragons, but I just couldn't do it. I do reread books, some of them regularly. Like Daphne DuMaurier's Rebecca, and Shirley Jackson's The Haunting of Hill House.
Guilty of re-reading. Some people find it weird but for me it's just like watching your favorite film again and again. If you like something so much you'll never get tire of it.
I don't reread as much as I used to, but I'm in the habit of rereading the other books in a series when a new book comes out. And I have to reread Harry Potter at least once a year! I've also recently started rereading as a writer, as I like analysing what makes a book "work" for readers. :)
I like my reading log on my computer more than Goodreads, mostly because I like having the numbers data so I can graph quantities and genres for future reference. And, indeed, to decide what's worth the reread!
Yeah, 16 of those times were before 6th grade, so I've only read it 3 times since I became a teen. I have no idea what I was doing with my life...
A few books I re-read every year or two; a few authors I re-read continually.
That's so interesting! I can say I've definitely re-watched movies or TV shows more than I've re-read, but I suspect that's more because it takes significantly less time to re-watch a movie or episode than re-read a book. (At least, it does for me).
Yeah, I haven't read GoT, but if I did, I suspect I wouldn't re-read those either...they're...so very long. >.<
I agree! Reliving a wonderful reading experience never really gets old. :)
Yes! Your re-reading habits sound very similar to mine, except I haven't been able to re-read Harry Potter in a while because I lost most of the series during a move. :(
That's a great idea about re-reading as a writer, though. Very smart.
That's great! Sounds like you've found a couple books and authors that really resonate with you. :)
VERY long!
Additionally, you really hate the bad guys. I mean, really. Really. And the situations that occur sometimes...nope, not going to reread. Once was enough.
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