What factors are needed for you to re-read?

[rai]

it's a hard call

on the one hand, there are lets say 1000+ books I'd like to read, but I only read ~20 books a year that's 50 years (the rest of my life) to read all those books. Each re-read would take the place of a first time read.

But then, there will be books I start to read and dislike and that's a waste of time. With a re-read I know it's going to be good.

when I retire, I will be able to read more, so instead of reading a book every 3 weeks I will be able to read a book a week. That would be the plan. But with other activities taking up 90% of my day it's hard to read more than I am now.

 

[Dale_M]

The only time I ever re-read is when I've left a book behind some time ago, and carried about with me a nagging feeling that I should have got much more out of it than I did if only I'd been a bit more careful reading it the first time through.

In many ways I blame myself for this -- for wasting time by trying to save time -- but sometimes it is wonderful complexity within a book that gets me; I love it when this happens! -- something to really bite into. The most memorable occurrence of this for me was Banks' Use of Weapons.

 

[TheDustyZebra]

I would say it is almost exclusively because of the characters that I reread books over and over again. I do have a lousy memory, which also helps--after I've read a book half a dozen times, I generally remember most of it, but there are still bits that hit me as "oh yeah" on the way through. Even when I can remember what happened all the way through a book, though, I will still go back to visit the characters again.

It also helps the rereading if it's a series--when a new book in a series comes out, I'll go back and start at the beginning and read through to refresh my memory for the new one. This was time-consuming enough for, say, Harry Potter, but it starts getting time-prohibitive for things like Honor Harrington.

Sometimes it's just something about life that leads me back to a book or series again--something going on that makes me want to visit those particular characters and/or events right at that moment.

I had to laugh at this one:

With a re-read I know it's going to be good.

I always said that as a kid, when my mom would ask why I kept checking out the same books over and over at the library--"because I know I like these books--I don't know if I like the ones I haven't read!" But I do have that feeling lately, too, that I don't have enough time to get through all the books I haven't read yet and if I reread something it just takes the place of something new that I might like just as much. Ahh, midlife book crisis.

 

[Teresa Edgerton]

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.

Good point, LMA. That would definitely apply to a number of the books I mentioned before, particularly the ones that I read just because I enjoy the way the characters interact together, whether the writing is particularly powerful or not -- they are indeed comfort books. If I am feeling sick, or depressed, or I can't sleep at night, out come those books.

They make good bedtime reading, or so I tell myself, because I can put them down as soon as I get sleepy, rather than read on until all hours because I want to know what is going to happen. Not that I always do put them down instead of reading on to get to the good parts I know are coming up, but I have slightly more self-control that way, and might put them down.

People who say they don't reread because there are so many good books they haven't read yet, sound like they either have less reading time than I do, or more access to books. Weeks and months will go by when I am reading several books a week, and I just can't get my hands on enough new books that I want to read (through the library or a bookstore) as fast I can read them. That's when I go back and reread. Sure, if I had unlimited funds to order every new book that sounds good to me as soon as I hear of it, there would be less re-reads.* I don't, so thank goodness for all the books that I love enough to read them again and again.


*Although there would still be the comfort books. There would always be times when I would want to reread those.

 

[Fried Egg]

Ok, let me eloborate.

When I was young, I re-read a lot more. But then, unlike now, I didn't have nearly 50 books on my to-read shelf and some six times that on my wish list (mainly I think because I just didn't know what was out there). Now, working and having a family, I have less time to read but so much more that I want to read.

There are books that I would like to go back and re-read though. Books I've read over the last five years or so (during which time I've done virtually no re-reading). What makes me want to go back and re-read a book these days is not because I enjoyed it or engaged with the characters but because, as someone else mentioned, it had several layers of meaning and depth that I feel I did not fully appreciate the first time around. Basically, I feel that I would get something new from it a second time around than I didn't the first. I would not re-read a book just to get the same pleasure I got from it the first time. Not unless I suddenly found myself with a lot more time on my hands, with fewer new books calling for my attention.

 

[Werewoman]

I've re-read a lot of books, all for basically the same reasons. There's a combination of factors at work, but mostly because I can relate to the main character. However, no matter what that characters trials and tribulations are, the scenery and background has to be rich, or I get bored quickly. When an author creates authentic surroundings with rich prose and imagination, I can't get enough of it.

Some examples are of course, LOTR as Tolkien is the master when it comes to layers upon layers of characters and places that wow the imagination, but for me, LOTR is all about Frodo. I can really relate to the little guy and his quest to destroy the ring. I've experience a similar task, even if, for me, the ring is merely symbolic for a particular challenge I've dealt with my whole life. Beyond that, all the other races - I'm especially fond of the Ents - represent different facets of humanity for me, though I don't know if that was Tolkien's intent, I'd like to think so, anyway. Another is the Clan of the Cave Bear series by Jean Auel, Ayla of course being the central character whom again, I can relate to on a deep emotional level, but also the beautiful descriptions of her ancient world and her resourcefulness in it.

Less well known examples are In Country by Bobbie Ann Mason. I relate very well to Emmett Smith and his troubles trying to return to the world after Vietnam, and in the end, accepting life on life's terms because that's really all he can do, and I think he does it with grace and courage like no other character I've ever read. Ms. Mason paints the American south in the 1980's very realistically, I think.

Also, there's a whole series of books by "The Gears" as I call them. They are anthropologists who wrote (and still may be writing new ones, I'm not sure) a dozen or so books on Native American peoples which are novels, but are based on actual anthropological finds here in the US. People of the Lightning is my personal favorite because it was set in the same area of Florida I lived in for almost 12 years and it described the area perfectly. The research that goes into writing their books must be enormous, which makes me appreciate them that much more. Not only that, but they are again, well written with lots of descriptions of the setting in which the main characters live.

So, I guess for me, I re-read for a variety of reasons, but I think it boils to down to the main character and whether or not I can relate to their struggles. Books with main characters that are flouncy and shallow don't interest me in the least bit. There has to be a major challenge to overcome, or I get bored very fast. When the main character not only overcomes that challenge, or even better, challenges, but becomes a better person to boot, well, that's heaven for me and I find myself wanting to return to their world again and again - and do, relishing the experience.

 

[Xelah]

Very seldom do I re-read a novel. Once I've finished it, I'm pretty much done with it. I don't get much out of subsequent reads no matter how much I liked the book (this includes Harry Potter; it didn't get a re-read either). The only times I've re-read something have been if I'm reading a series and the sixth or tenth book references something from the first that has fallen into the trivial details section of my brain.

 

[Dave]

This is an excellent question, and as other have said already, it really makes you think about why you read at all. I think I agree with 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 have found that there are so many books that I haven't read, that there is scarcely time to re-read those that I have read already.

But there are some that I have have re-read several times, so why did I re-read them?

Well, to be succinct:

A) Interest.

B) Time.

Certainly, but I found others interesting yet I don't read those. Why?

Poverty?

But I own some of them; I have them on bookshelves, so why not read them again?

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.

I agree, but even so, some of that "emotional response" can only be found on the first reading, after that it is lost.

I think two things make me re-read a book:

A) Something I read as a child or teenager and gave me that "emotional response" and I want to see if it still does.

B) Something that is so deep, with so many levels that you need to read it more than once to understand them all.

There is a third category which comes only with age:

C) Something that I have actually read before, but I have forgotten that I have until I'm a few chapters into it.

 

[Connavar]

People who say they don't reread because there are so many good books they haven't read yet, sound like they either have less reading time than I do, or more access to books. Weeks and months will go by when I am reading several books a week, and I just can't get my hands on enough new books that I want to read (through the library or a bookstore) as fast I can read them. That's when I go back and reread. Sure, if I had unlimited funds to order every new book that sounds good to me as soon as I hear of it, there would be less re-reads.* I don't, so thank goodness for all the books that I love enough to read them again and again.


*Although there would still be the comfort books. There would always be times when I would want to reread those.

I'll have to disagree with that i read almost two books in a week and i still think re-reading is almost pointless. First i think there is always another book i havent read to enjoy. Books by authors you love reading. Books that are by authors you dont know,might be a hidden gem.

Maybe 1 book in a 100 i feel the urge to read, those are the all-time fav,the ones you have most emotional connection. Otherwise i dont see the point in re-reading. Even those i plan to read only when the memories of them get dimmer.

A book isnt like a film who takes 1,30-2 hours and you can re watch 10 times. Book take days reading,that's lot of time you could be reading other books.

The books you need read again to understand better i just re-read in my mind while the memory is fresh. The best books of that type are the ones i think about for days.

The biggest reasons i dont re-read is my fav authors, i have 50+ Lord Dunsany to read, a 100s of Jack Vance and other prolific favs. I dont want save those for the future, you never know what happens.

I work with dementia patients, old age can rob you the joy of reading....

 

[Teresa Edgerton]

I'll have to disagree with that i read almost two books in a week and i still think re-reading is almost pointless. First i think there is always another book i havent read to enjoy. Books by authors you love reading. Books that are by authors you dont know,might be a hidden gem.

But when I am not swamped with other obligations (which is rare) I can read three or four in a week, and some of them only take me a day. I can't afford to buy that many in a week on a regular basis, and I've just about sucked our local library dry in terms of books that even conceivably look interesting. It's nice for people who can buy as many new books as they want to read. It must be nice for people who can buy enough books that they stack them up into TBR piles they never seem to get around to reading. If I buy a book, it's with the idea that it will be read within a few days. So, yes, there are always other books I would like to read, but if I can't get my hands on them, rereading something else isn't spoiling any opportunities.

And going by my experience, with a really good book, you haven't really read it until you've read it at least twice.

Also, I'm sixty, and by now I've discovered that if you can make enough time to read (I know that not everybody has this luxury, any more than I have the luxury of buying books I don't intend to read yet), you can reread your favorites and still read a vast number of very good books.

We all fit books into our lives the best way we can and according to our means.

 

[Fried Egg]

Teresa Edgerton

It's nice for people who can buy as many new books as they want to read. It must be nice for people who can buy enough books that they stack them up into TBR piles they never seem to get around to reading.

The only reason why my TBR pile is so large is because 80% of the books I buy are second hand. If I only bought new, that would be a different matter....

 

[Jayaprakash Satyamurthy]

Teresa, it's often a case of 'wear the old coat, buy the new book', I think.

 

[Hypnos164]

I used to re-read when I was younger ... that was in part down to not having either the cash or the knowedge of what was out there (pre-internet - so my main source of information would have been Dave Langfords reviews in White Dwarf).

In those cases the books to re-read tended to be based on either emotional connection with the characters or pure awesomeness of "vision". The books I re-read most were probably Lord of Light, Neuromancer, Enders Game / Speaker for the Dead

Now I have the cash for all the books that grab my interest; but not the time to get through them all.

So pretty much the only "re-reads" I do are via audio book editions - having already read it helps me keep up when i'm distracted while listening (mostly in the car, train, plane, walking or at the gym).

 

[Teresa Edgerton]

I have to wear the old coat (bought for me by my mother six or seven years ago because she thought I should have a new one after about twenty years) just to afford the old books sometimes, JP. But I do try to limit the used books I buy to books that are OP or by long-dead authors, because I would rather buy books new if I can and support the people who write them. This means going without things, but it only works when there are things I could otherwise afford that I can go without.

Fried Egg, if people want to have big piles of books they aren't reading, because they want to be sure and have them there when they can read them, I think that's fine. Obviously, for you, there are more books than time.

If there were still jobs and I went out and found one that paid more than dawdling about writing, I could undoubtedly buy more books -- and have less time to read them. We probably end up reading about the same number of new books (or books that are new to us): I just have time to reread the old ones, too. I prefer poverty and time to reread.

As I said, we all have different circumstances and different priorities. What we have in common is our love of books.

 

[Werewoman]

Well, I can't say that I prefer poverty, though it doesn't suck as much as one might think. There's always the public library and the half-price book store, or even yard sales. I've found great books in yard sales, like my Complete Works of Edgar Allen Poe, which includes some previously (to the publishing of the book - sometime in the 1920's, I think) unpublished works, including a play he wrote.

When I had money - and good credit, I bought almost all my books, new and used, on Amazon. Now I actually have to do something to obtain them, like get on a bus and go to the library or book store. The advantage is that the buses only run every hour, so I have lots of time to browse. The disadvantage is that I can only do that on my days off, and when my meager budget allows, which isn't often, but I'm not complaining, so long as I can still buy an occasional book. A few months ago, I couldn't even afford the bus pass, much less the books. Things are looking up!

 

[Fried Egg]

Fried Egg, if people want to have big piles of books they aren't reading, because they want to be sure and have them there when they can read them, I think that's fine. Obviously, for you, there are more books than time.

It's not that I want to have big piles of books sitting around waiting to be read, it's just that I struggle to force myself to curtail by book aquisition rate to the rate that I can actually read them.

I think the ideal size of a TBR pile is no more than ten books, giving you some choice as to what to read next but not being excessive.

 

[Connavar]

But when I am not swamped with other obligations (which is rare) I can read three or four in a week, and some of them only take me a day. I can't afford to buy that many in a week on a regular basis, and I've just about sucked our local library dry in terms of books that even conceivably look interesting. It's nice for people who can buy as many new books as they want to read. It must be nice for people who can buy enough books that they stack them up into TBR piles they never seem to get around to reading. If I buy a book, it's with the idea that it will be read within a few days. So, yes, there are always other books I would like to read, but if I can't get my hands on them, rereading something else isn't spoiling any opportunities.

And going by my experience, with a really good book, you haven't really read it until you've read it at least twice.

Also, I'm sixty, and by now I've discovered that if you can make enough time to read (I know that not everybody has this luxury, any more than I have the luxury of buying books I don't intend to read yet), you can reread your favorites and still read a vast number of very good books.

We all fit books into our lives the best way we can and according to our means.

I understand what you mean and i would feel the same of reading my fav books twice if i had half book reading experience. My personal history of reading books is not even 5 years old so i feel like i have wasted the early years,my teens i could have been reading.

Havent read enough to look backward on of my fav books.

I cant understand people who have a 1000 books they wont read. I have only books i plan to read. My TBR pile is 50-60 books. I buy new books only when the pile gets to 50 or under or fav authors i must read. I have one bookshelf and boxes.

I cant find good second hand books in english cause of where i live so i can only afford to buy authors i know i will read.

 

[Fried Egg]

I understand what you mean and i would feel the same of reading my fav books twice if i had half book reading experience. My personal history of reading books is not even 5 years old so i feel like i have wasted the early years,my teens i could have been reading.

Havent read enough to look backward on of my fav books.

I cant understand people who have a 1000 books they wont read. I have only books i plan to read. My TBR pile is 50-60 books. I buy new books only when the pile gets to 50 or under or fav authors i must read. I have one bookshelf and boxes.

I cant find good second hand books in english cause of where i live so i can only afford to buy authors i know i will read.

Have you ever been over here (the UK)? We have good second hand book stores all over the place. The best one where I live I could spend hours browsing their extensive SF, fantasy and horror sections. Sometimes I pickup real gems, including old editions of books in the masterworks series, for as little as 90p. You would be like a kid in a sweet shop.

That's why my TBR pile has got out of hand...

 

[Connavar]

Have you ever been over here (the UK)? We have good second hand book stores all over the place. The best one where I live I could spend hours browsing their extensive SF, fantasy and horror sections. Sometimes I pickup real gems, including old editions of books in the masterworks series, for as little as 90p. You would be like a kid in a sweet shop.

That's why my TBR pile has got out of hand...

I was in London 10 years ago and i have alot of relatives in England. I can make up excuse to visit family again and browse the stores next time i'm there

 

[chrispenycate]

You don't have any family in Wales, do you? Only there's this little town called Hay on Wye…

If you've not been there, you can't imagine it.