re-reading books

[miss fortune]

I have the habit of rereading books that I like over and over from time to time (not back to back, because that would be a bit tedious, but after a few months or years)... I enjoy a book just as much or more on rereads as I do the first time I read it.

My man finds the idea of rereading a book to be horrifying... he rarely rewatches movies as well. His thoughts are that one should read it well enough the first time that reading it again is unnecissary... he blames my tendancy to have a very short attention span for the fact that I'm just as into the same book again as the first time

What are you guys' thoughts on rereading books? Am I the weirdo or is the man the oddball?

 

[Phantonym]

I love to re-read books. And I usually do it from back to back, after a few years. It's great to notice some details that I have missed or compare my thoughts and feelings that arise during reading with what they were during the previous time I read the book.

 

[Chris_in_Orbit]

I think your husband's comment is pretty funny .

I love to reread books that were really good. And, same as you, it might be because of my short attention span...

Or maybe something else.. It's like walking down a path you've gone once before and you can appreciate it more because you have some idea of what to expect. I feel the same about movies.

The authors I like the most are the ones that have little tidbits of information scattered in the book that seem unimportant but light up if you read them again after finishing the book. It really gets me every time, I love it.

It's also crazy to see how much more of a book I can digest the older I get. I remember when I read Harry Potter the first time, when I was much younger...like single digits. I must have just muddled through it because after reading many of those books again, there was a lot that I missed!

 

[miss fortune]

yeah, he thinks that it's a waste of time to reread something when there are so many more books out there that he HASN'T read yet

I reread and always notice things that are now... little comments that play a big part later in the book, or little personal quirks of characters that I hadn't picked up on the first time!

of course I am not a careful reader and he is

 

[kelric]

I absolutely reread books. Not all of them, but if I like it (I'm thinking primarily about fiction, but not completely), I'll re-read it after a year, two, ten, etc. Not so much on movies, but as I'm always reading a book of one sort or another on the train, at lunch, before bed, etc. rereading is pretty much a staple. There are some I've read quite a few times (over 5 times, easily).

 

[The_Liquid_Laser]

I put "other" and since I don't want whatever to do something evil to me, I'll explain what I mean. Generally I only read non-fiction books that I can learn something from. So after I've read a book I might look something up again as a reference.

I can't remember the last time I've read something resembling a novel though. I personally prefer entertainment from other types of media.

 

[Lark]

What are you guys' thoughts on rereading books? Am I the weirdo or is the man the oddball?

I keep thinking of you as a sort of Amazon Warrior Queen when you talk like that Whatever, I imagine a poor wretch labelled "man" living in a small bamboo cage obedient to your every whim!

I have in the past read and re-read books, most of the time non-fiction but sometimes fiction too, more rarely with fiction though, although I dont really anymore. At the moment I've got a huge TBR pile and lots of books that I've started and read a bit and left it to one side and have a couple that I'm reading all together.

There are many of my books which arent keepers, any which is kept could be because I want to display or reference it but there is a chance that if any qualifies as a keeper there's a chance it could be reread. I dont think its attention span or skimming or anything which determines if a book will be reread, its enjoyment value, I relisten to music, podcasts, news stories, I rewatch films I like, sometimes really regularly.

If you've got a good novel, with good characterisation of a number of different characters I think you can reread it and be more attuned to one character one time around than another.

 

[cafe]

I don't re-read a lot unless I am unable to access new reading material for some reason (ie too broke to buy new books), but I don't think it's weird to reread. The first time I read something, I'm kind of in a rush to see what happens. Reading it again allows me to pick up on details and subtler stuff I missed the first time. Also, if I find out I've been reading a series out of sequence, I might go back and read it in sequence so that I can feel like I've got a more cohesive picture of the story. I've got a series going now that I might do that with, especially since I'm waiting for the most recent book to come out in paperback before I buy it.

I didn't grow up in a reading family, so when I was a teenager, I reread my small book collection over and over. I read LOTR three times in middle school, I believe and I've read Chronicles of Narnia an unknown number of times.

I don't read a lot of non-fiction.

 

[Gloriana]

I don't re-read every single book I like, but if a book really transports me somewhere or brings me into an environment I enjoy being in, I will always go back. For me it's a lot like visiting friends, as hippie-ish as that might sound.

 

[Fidelia]

I would never own a book that I wouldn't re-read many times. The others would be ones I get from the library or skim in a bookstore or borrow from a friend. My ESTJ felt quite sorry for me when he saw me reading my Jane Austen books for the 4th or 5th times and went out and bought me more reading material when he went to the city the next time! I generally tend to like historical fiction, biographies of people from the past that I would like to emulate, and history.

 

[highlander]

I have done this on occasion but not often. What a good idea! Think I'll read the Mistborn series again.

 

[Lux]

I love to re-read books I adored with the first reading. I find I can get into the characters more, notice something deeper, or see something from a different perspective with numerous readings. However, I had to fall in love with the book the first time, often it happens within the first few pages.

 

[human101]

i do this with kurt vonnegut books

 

[Unkindloving]

I really only re-read books if i've enjoyed them, but completely forgot their basis. I just re-read Illusions: Adventures of a Reluctant Messiah last night for that reasoning.

I'm sure i'll be re-reading in the near future based on a desire to absorb information better. Not quite my forte.

 

[Kasper]

I can love a book, have it change my perception on something in an awesome way, want to own it forever and ever... but I'll never read it again.

I'd rather go in search of a new book to give me that kinda high.

You guys are weird!

 

[ReflecTcelfeR]

Yeah, I'm with Trinity here, I can love a book, but I won't read it again. I may look back to it for a reference if I mention it to others, but I get too bored with a book I've read before, because I may not remember it exactly, but I know what's going to happen once a memory is triggered and then I just go "Why am I reading this when I know what happens?" and then I stop.

 

[Atomic Fiend]

I just voted so whatever would do something evil to me.

 

[mmhmm]

i reread gabriel garcia marquez's books a lot.
a lot a lot. and some of kundera's works.

the more worn the book gets
i more i love it. i don't know why.

 

[nolla]

I re-read. I don't see why I would buy a book that wasn't worth of a re-read.

 

[Kasper]

I just voted so whatever would do something evil to me.

I love it when she does evil things to people, they're always sexytasty things!

I wanna change my vote