Do you reread books?

Do you reread books or are you done with them once you’ve read them?

I like to reread books sometimes! Rereading is especially good if I’ve just finished something heavy or intense; I can follow that up with something that I’ve enjoyed before so it doesn’t take too much effort and I can have a bit of a break. I also don’t have the greatest retention for what I read, so even if I’ve read something before there’s no way I’ll remember everything. And there are certain books that are comforting and cozy and those are great to reread when I want that kind of mood.

Dee_Imaginarium,
@Dee_Imaginarium@beehaw.org avatar

I typically re-read the LOTR, The Hobbit, and The Silmarillion once a year. Well, The Silmarillion is once every two years because, whew, it is a dense one.

luz,
luz avatar

Wow, that's a lot of rereading. Me and some friends do a LOTR watch party every year, making food and eating food as they eat it in the movies. But reading the books every year, that's quite a feat!

Dee_Imaginarium,
@Dee_Imaginarium@beehaw.org avatar

It's just evokes a feeling of deep comfort for me. The Hobbit was the first novel I read by myself as a kid, was so proud to finish it haha

Ever since, returning to The Shire and Arda brings out that same feeling of a warm childhood home.

Makes it easy to go back for a visit every year 😄

TimTheEnchanter,

I’ll get around to The Silmarillion eventually; I have to psyche myself up for it, ha ha!

plactagonic,

Sometimes - Dune before the release of film.

But usually rereading books in en when I read translated version before.

I had to reread Good omens because teacher said that it is necessary to read translated version.

ffmike,
@ffmike@beehaw.org avatar

I re-read books frequently. But then, I am a fast and voracious reader. I've recently been trimming down my library from around 7000 books due to an upcoming move, and there's a hardcore of about 2000 I'm unwilling to get rid of because they're either reference materials or old friends I expect to re-read before I die. There are some things (LOTR, much Heinlein, Oz books, Alice in Wonderland...) that I've read a dozen times or more.

I do re-read some non-fiction, mainly history. But most of my well-worn books are fiction.

_I_,
_I_ avatar

Alright, I like you.

altz3r0,

There are a few books I like to relive every now and then. For me, it's a guilty pleasure, to be honest. Wish I could do it more often, and for more books.

The ones that come to mind are Little Brother, by mr. Doctorow, Sandman by mr. Gaiman (mostly the Death chapters) and... Let's see... Ah, yes, Neuromancer, because I'm a sucker for mainstream books, and that's the one that got me through life.

cherryzombs,
cherryzombs avatar

I like to reread a loved series/book between reading other things. It helps keep me from getting in a reading slump.

liminis,

I reference books more than reread them, unless I'm actively writing something about a piece of literature. I would love to reread more books, but being reminded how few books one can ultimately read in a lifetime makes me want to read new things instead.

schroedingerskoala,

Pretty much every single Disc World novel by the late and great Sir Terry Pratchett, Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit, Barry Hughart's 3 Master Li novels, Detective Dee/Judge Dee by Robert van Gulik, Martha Wells excellent Murderbot novels, Marie Andreas fun Lost Ancients series, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes and more.
Some of these give me great comfort (Terry Pratchett) and some are just amazingly well written.

gingerrich,

I've only reread a couple. Ghost Story by Peter Straub and I am re reading the Malazan series so I can finish the last three books without being too lost.

Generally I enjoy the experience of reading a new story and rereading I end up a bit bored.

Nyoelle,

Honestly, I Have yet to try such thing. Partially, because I have always something new to read, but hmm... Maybe I will try doing so later. Who knows, might be fun :D

zalack, (edited )
zalack avatar

I definitely reread my favorite series. The thing about re-reading a book is that you don't actually ever get the full experience the first time around. Well-written books are full of foreshadowing, not just of plot points, but themes. The first time you read a book, you don't really know what it's about yet, what the book will eventually decide is it's overall thesis, and where the characters' journeys will take them. Critical moments that shift the trajectory of a story may happen quietly, only important in retrospect.

When you read a book a second or a third time you get to do so with all of the context of where the story is going, and it lets you catch so much more.

This example is from television, but The Good Place is my favorite show, and (spoilers) one of its central theses ends up being the modern world makes unethical choices unavoidable.

Very early on in the show we get a scene of Eleanor making fun of her boyfriend when he says they should find a new coffee shop, after the owner of their current one is outed as a sexist pig. She lists a bunch of other products they buy like smartphones and sports games and says that bad stuff is unavoidable so why bother?

At that point in the show, the scene is just a way to show you what a dirt bag Eleanor was on earth. But on a seconds viewing, with foresight, you can clock it laying early groundwork for one of the main arguments that the show wants to make.

This is one of the reasons I don't mind getting spoiled on stuff, and in some cases will spoil myself on purpose. When you know how the story ends, you get to pick up all the little things it does to get there, without reading or watching it twice. I went to film school and am a bit of a story nerd so for me that's the most enjoyable part of watching someone else tell their story.

TimTheEnchanter,

The Good Place is one of my favorite shows, too! I need to rewatch it, again, soon.

carbotect,

I only reread, when reading a book to a child. Otherwise rereading is very rare for me.

I do like to read some very generic fantasy genres, like for example Isekais/Portal Fantasies or fan fictions. Novels in that area are so similar to each other, you may as well count that as reading the same thing over and over again. Each novel has its own twists and strengths though, so it always feels fresh.

LostCause,

I reread if I really liked something and once such a long time has passed that I forgot 90% of it. My memory isn‘t great, so I think at least 7 years maybe is when that happens.

ag_roberston_author,
@ag_roberston_author@beehaw.org avatar

No. I've probably got a little over 1000 books left in my lifetime given my rate of reading, age and average lifespan.

There are so many books in the world I want to experience. Re-reading a book is a new book I won't read.

Thalestr,
@Thalestr@beehaw.org avatar

Sometimes! My favourite series I've reread twice. Which at nearly 50 books (at the time) was quite the endeavour.

TThor,

I never understood rereading books. There is so much content in the world, so many books, and reading is time consuming; why reread when you can read something new? I don't get much from rereading because I already have most of the plotpoints at the tip of my tongue so nothing really wows me anymore about, as much as I wish I could relive my first time with them.

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