What factors are needed for you to re-read?

[Montero]

What is it about a book that makes you want to re-read it?
What is it about a book that you've enjoyed and finished, that means you wouldn't re-read it?

I'm asking because a friend of mine read the first quarter of my latest manuscript recently, (sf adventure), enjoyed it, said it really shifted along, they'd be happy to finish it. Then said, "but don't think I'd want to re-read it and I can't work out why"

 

[HareBrain]

Excellent question. I don't reread books now anywhere near as much as I used to, but when I did reread fiction, I think it was the intensity of the emotional response that drew me back for another go. This could be a response to characters and their relationships, or a real sense of awe or wonder at something else in the book, like a setting, or an idea that affected how I saw my own life. When I think about the books I have reread, what drew me back were particular scenes which had a power to them, and I was happy to read the rest of the book again as part of the journey back to those particular scenes.

Some examples: what got me to reread The Illearth War by Donaldson was the climactic awesomeness of the journey beneath the mountain Melenkurion Skyweir. Susan Cooper's The Grey King remains one of my most reread books because of the OMG scene in the cottage on the moor, where we realise, along with Will, who Bran Davies is, and the whole story is thrown into focus. With Lord of the Rings, it's probably the description of the Shire that resonates particularly with me, then the Barrow Wights, the battle in Moria, and the scenes with the Witch King: all of them very powerful but for different reasons.

 

[Rodders]

A very nice response Harebrain. I couldn't have put it better, even if i was eloquent enough to do so.

I agree, there has to be some kind of emotional connection, either to the event the the book is depicting or the characters involved.

It may or may not be connected, but I often find myself re-reading books that have a twist that i didn't see coming.

 

[Fried Egg]

Time if the factor I need but don't have...thus I rarely re-read anything.

 

[Interference]

To learn.

 

[chrispenycate]

Poverty? After all, here I am in a country where English language books cost a medium fortune, with a set of book shelves dribbling excess volumes onto the bed…

Actually, I find I'm doing quite a bit of rereading recently, but it's because I'm attempting to get different information out of them. I've always had an analytic reading style, but I never expected to be writing; now I'm trying to work out the tricks for making prose do what I want it to. Instead of scribbling "split infinitive" in the margin, I'm making notes about elegant or effective ways to introduce ideas, to sketch in characters.

In all probability I will still never produce anything publishable, but it won't be for lack of reading.

 

[j d worthington]

Well, to be succinct:

A) Interest.

B) Time.

(Yeah, I know. To quote Buffy: "Gee, could you vague that up for me?")

Nonfiction, it can be any number of factors, from simply a fascination with the subject (and its handling in that particular book or set of books) to a genuine admiration for and connection to the writer's style and approach.

For fiction, I would agree that there has to be some sort of connection to the characters or situation -- you don't necessarily have to like them, but you must be able to identify with them in some fashion; there has to be an honest expression of a human experience there, at least emotionally. No matter how entertaining a piece is, if it doesn't have that level of honesty in its handling, then it isn't likely to get people to reread it (generally speaking).

Note: I am not talking about an honest presentation of what it is like to actually, say, explore other worlds or have an encounter with a supernatural being, etc., but that the emotional responses -- not only of the characters, but those implied by the very word choice of the writing -- must convey a conviction and verisimilitude, an honesty about the sorts of emotions a reasonably intelligent adult human being (or child, should that be the case) would likely have feel in response to such a situation. In other words, an understanding of and empathy for people allowing the writer to present genuine, rather than false, stereotyped emotional responses to any given situation.

Aside from that... I have to feel that the book enriched me in some way; it caused me to reexamine my ideas on an aspect of life, or taught me something about the human condition, or deeply touched me in some manner. It goes beyond just entertainment and becomes art on some level. Again, this requires an emotional honesty and integrity on the part of the writer which is not always notable in fiction -- genre fiction especially.

And, I suppose, it has to, in some way, convey something about that writer's worldview; all the more so if it is taken in conjunction with other writings by that author. It has to say something about what he or she has learned about the human experience and our place in the world or cosmos. This does not have to be overt, but it does have to be present to give the work substance. The writer has to give something of him- or herself that transcends simple storytelling. One can see this sort of thing even in fairy tales or satires and parodies, let alone anything of a more "mature" manner.....

These, at least, are some of the things which draw me back to a book over time....

 

[rai]

IMO, new-read or re-read both have their points. I find new books can be hit or miss.

Some first time books I can't get into or I dislike and so I 'waste' time reading and often, I will get so fed up with a book that I have to abort, which is very frustrating it's really a waste of time, I would estimate about 20% of books i do not finish (usually after I get in 100+ pages).

But with a re-read, I know what I am getting into and will most likely enjoy it and most likley get more out of it than I did the first time.

Also, since I am older (44 years old) if I read a book 20 years ago, the re-read could be almost like new. I could remember some things about the book but 80% would be new.

I find some books I didn't like first time, may be I was too young or whatever, or I liked them half-and-half but the second time around with my life experience, I may love the book the second time around.

For example, "The Catcher in the Rye" first time was just 'OK', but now that I am older and can see things from a different angle, I like it a whole lot better.

I like to re-read a book especially if it's one of my favorites like LOTR, I will read it every 5 years and like it better every time.

To answer the question what makes a book worth or re-reading? It has to be something that I really like, or something which I like but I need to get my head around and I think maybe the second time will open up another layer.

 

[Ursa major]

And, to add to JD's list, the book has to have enough depth for the reader to be confident that there's plenty more enjoyment (in the very widest sense) to be found during further readings.

 

[dask]

Answering your question without checking the other responses first I'd say, for me, I need to have a memory of really liking the book but not being able to recall very much about it. I loved Edmond Hamilton's THE STAR KINGS but only have a vague recollection what went on. I'm due to re-read it any year now.

 

[Interference]

Probably easier to say why I won't re-read some books.

 

[Boneman]

For me, there's a level of intensity that exists within a book, that has me believing in the characters to such a degree that I want to revisit them, to see them acting out their stories again, and still finding something I've missed. Often it's something I have forgotten, but it's also the speed at which I read 2nd, 3rd, 4th time, and so on. I read Shogun every year or so, and I've read Name of the Wind at least 6 times since it came out and I'm looking forward to reading it again.

I re-read the whole of the Dark Tower series when the last 3 books came out, purely because I was so taken with the Hero. I didn't particularly enjoy some sections, but he was such a 'believable' character that I was cheering him on, even though I didn't like what Steven King was doing with the story at times.

So, for me, it's the central character(s), I guess, the more I know about them, the more I want to see them. Consequently, I'll revisit them if they won't revisit me (in a sequel).

 

[Cayleb]

This is an intriguing question and one that has made me think about my reading habits. It would be facile to say simply “I enjoyed it the first time so I’ll read it again”, but that is to ignore areas of reading pleasure which perhaps we don’t often consider.

One fairly straightforward reason for me to re-read is actually the simple “I enjoyed it” without going into why I did, but to look deeper I think the book must have intrigued me enough to make me want to see if there was more than I saw the first time (or the second or third times for that matter). This reason probably applies more to a single book than to a series although a series can also raise this question in my mind. What sort of things I am looking for in this context will vary depending on the type of book it is of course, but they may range from simple knowledge to a greater understanding of the minds of the characters or even something frighteningly deep like wondering what the author had in mind when he wrote it.

After all, reading a book is a sort of correspondence or conversation with the author. All right, he has said everything he has to say already but now you can say what you wish and although you won’t get a live response, you may discover something in the form of a response in later pages. So to re-read a book may start the discussion again as fresh thought come into your mind and you wish to measure them against the author’s arguments.

Over the many years during which I have been an avid reader (I have just entered my seventieth year) there have been books to which I have returned time and time again because I enjoyed them so much that I want to revisit the pleasure, the joy and wonderment that I felt as I read them for the first time. Some of Arthur Ransome’s books for children fall into this category and on my shelves just a few feet from where I sit at this moment is a complete set of them that I visit on occasion when I am feeling too lazy to work at reading something new, just to experience again the simple, childish pleasures they brought me sixty years ago. I read them, several times, as a youngster and then took great pleasure in reading them aloud to my children (and this is, I suppose, another reason to re-read – for the benefit of others).

With the advancing years comes another reason to re-read, I simply cannot remember what went before as I take up the next in a series. Some of you may laugh at this (and I don’t mind if you do) but the memory plays silly tricks as I grow older and I have now read the ‘Safehold’ series, for instance, three times and will read the first three books again before I tackle the fourth volume.

Of course, with non-fiction books the main reason is likely to be to gain knowledge which may not have been apparent for the first reading because my understanding of the subject simply wasn’t great enough to glean all I could. But the enjoyment reason comes into it as well if the author is particularly gifted and authors like Anthony Beevor come to mind here as he has spun wonderful narratives in ‘Stalingrad’ and ‘Berlin’.

But after thinking about this question for a while I am drawn to a relatively simple answer if I must boil down the above to such a thing – I re-read a book because it pleases me to do so.


Cayleb

 

[Warlocker]

Cayleb is in his 70th year and posting a very well thought out reply here in Cyberspace.
Good to see!
A lot of seniors won't take advantage of the internet, I think that's a shame.
More power to Cayleb and others like him.

I re-read books because if I liked it the first time I know I'll enjoy it a second time. I normally leave a few months, to years sometimes, between re-reads.

 

[Teresa Edgerton]

I think it was the intensity of the emotional response that drew me back for another go.

An intense emotional response is the biggest factor for me, too. If there are scenes that really move me, or inspire me, or pack some sort of emotional wallop, those are books I am likely to reread many times. And then there are the books I have otherwise outgrown, but if there are character interactions that I enjoy, I'll go back and reread my favorite scenes if nothing else.

Romance, in a subtle Jane Austen sort of way, that will bring me back. Well-written sexual tension that goes on and on without the actual sex, in a Lord Peter Wimsey and Harriet Vane sort of way, that's worth revisiting when I'm in a particular mood.

There are books so wildly imaginative that they blow a hole in my mind through which I can see vistas previously inconceivable to me -- gorgeous, grotesque, whimsical, sometimes even maddening -- those are books I will read many times.

There are books I will reread because the prose is so beautiful, the language so evocative, that I just want to revel in the words and images.

And if a book has more than one of these virtues, then that is a book I can reread any number of times.

These are the things that draw me back to a book, and once the book has pulled me back in again, there is the additional pleasure of discovering and exploring layers of meaning that I missed before. But if I am perfectly honest, I don't go back for the purpose of uncovering those layers. There has to be one of those other factors to make me pick up the book again. That added richness and that deeper understanding is an extra reward, one that I to expect if it is a good book, but it's the chance to revisit the pleasures I've already experienced that is the real lure -- the opportunity to relive some specific sort of enchantment that I hunger for at that particular moment.

 

[Diggler]

Cayleb is in his 70th year and posting a very well thought out reply here in Cyberspace.
Good to see!
A lot of seniors won't take advantage of the internet, I think that's a shame.
More power to Cayleb and others like him.

A lot of seniors find computers themselves daunting, though would find the internet very entertaining. My wife's father (he lives with us) is going on 80 this year, and has been on the net for around 3 years now. At first he was not interested due to the complexities of computing in general. Lucky for him, the whole family is into computing, so it was quite easy to teach him, and also keep his computer maintained once filled with viruses, spyware and system destroying software he insists on downloading and installing

As for re-reading, if I really liked a book I will re-read it, but this will be many years down the track. One example would be The Running Man. I had read it around 15 years ago, and only re-read it last year.

Though there are so many damn books to read that I rarely get a chance or have the inclination to re-read 99% of novels.

 

[Omphalos]

There's so much out there that I try to limit my re-reads to books where I a) loved the book the first time around, and b) am pretty certain that I will get something new out of it the next time I read it. I write a lot of reviews too, and if I am unsatisfied with the review I wrote, I will reread the book in a few years and try it again. Just did that with The Road a few weeks ago.

Some books, like Dune, World War Z, and the graphic novel series The Walking Dead I reread all the time anyway. I just love those books so much.

 

[littlemissattitude]

I've never really thought about this before.

I don't really re-read much now, but when I was younger I did so quite frequently.

I've read Gone With The Wind five or six times, I'd guess, and am thinking about reading it again. I think the thing I like about it is that it is an interesting, intricate story told well. It also evokes its period vividly.

I've read The Agony and the Ecstasy several times, as well. It is a biographical novel about Michelangelo, and I've probably read it so many times because Michelangelo is my favorite artist and, again, because of the way the writer makes the time, place and characters come so vividly alive.

I first read both of those books when I was in my early teens, and they still interest me today.

More recently, the books I re-read most commonly are mystery/police procedural series or science fiction or fantasy series with continuing characters. I think I go back to them because it is very much like visiting with old friends. It has a lot to do, I think, with the concept that there are comfort books, like comfort food and that serve pretty much the same function.

 

[Rodders]

When you do re-read a book, do you guys find that your get more out of each reading? Perhaps a better understanding of a particular facet of the story? Or perhaps you're able to take more of the books in on a second reading?

 

[GOLLUM]

Certainly that's the case for several writers. e.g. with Gene Wolfe you need to read several times to understand what he's saying on different levels.