How many of you reread books? I know people who do and people who don't.
I do. Sometimes.I used to reread more. Now, it seems my list is too long and my time too short.
I have often had people ask why I reread books. The question used to bother me. Now, I just ask them if they've ever watched a movie or TV show more than once. I've never had anyone answer no. So I ask why they re-watch movies. The answer is usually one I can apply to books too.
The truth of it is, some books are just good friends. Friends you want to visit from time to time. Friends you can learn things from, about life, or about writing.
I don't have specific requirements for comforting rereads. They just have to be books I connect with. There is a wide variety, depending on my mood and why I'm rereading. I have books that are easy reads for when I'm sick and my head feels stuffed with corn husks. At that time want something entertaining but something I don't have to think too hard about. There are times I'm worried or depressed, then I might pull out something with hope, something that helps me see the good in myself. I might be bored or dissatisfied with life and something will just stick in my head until I read it.
I have a degree in comparative literature so I've read a lot of classics. I have a weak spot for Russian authors such as Tolstoy, Valentine Rasputin, and Chekhov. I've enjoyed Harry Potter several times and many books by authors Thomas Costain, Diana Gabaldon, Robin McKinley, Megan Whalen Turner, Juliet Marillier, Deanna Raybourne Jane Austen, and Anne Tyler. JANE EYRE, ANNA KARENINA, THE FAMILY NOBODY WANTED, I CAPTURE THE CASTLE, PAVILION OF WOMEN, KETURAH AND LORD DEATH, and Terry Pratchet's THE WEE FREE MEN series. (I'm finishing my first reread of them now. Actually I'm listening on audio book and that may make the difference.)
Not all of these are the best written books in the world. Many of them are books from my youth or college years and maybe that's why I go back to them. To remember a bit of the past, a bit of me that I've lost. Or to remember how I felt and dreamed back then. I don't know. I just know that sometimes I need something comforting and that means visiting an old friend.
Do you reread? Why? What books?
Yes, I reread, but not as often as I used to do when I was younger. I would fall in love with a book, and would reread it again leisurely to recapture the wonderful feelings that book invoked in me. And some books are so "deep" with meaning, a single reading simply won't do; there's more to gain from it with each new pass.
ReplyDeleteNow, I do more reading than I did when I was younger, (I didn't even think that was possible!) but most of it is new reading. There are soooooo many books I want to read before I die, and I know I don't have enough years left to read 'em all, so I have to settle for doing the best I can. (It's a tough job, but somebody has to do it. HA!)
I absolutely reread books!!!! When I find a book that touches me, I want to experience it again and again.
ReplyDeleteYes, I reread books from my keeper shelves!
ReplyDeleteAll the time. I used to re-read the "Myth" series (by Robert Aspirin) as well as the "Wild Cards" series (by George R.R. Martin) ALL the time. I still re-read the first Wild Cards book at least once a year.
ReplyDeleteGlad I'm not the only one who does this sort of thing :)
I've reread about 10 books in my life, and most of those were for academic reasons. (I'm not counting the kids books my children begged to have read to them every night.) My problem is that those stories and characters store quite permanently in my brain. I don't need to reread to revisit them, and when I do pick up a book again, I'm annoyed by how little I've forgotten. We all work different ways, eh?
ReplyDeleteYou are so right-on! I read books for the same reason. And then when I'm down creativity, I read old standbys that seem to rejuvenate me within the first chapter. Heaven's Prisoner and First Deadly Sin fall into that category. Not to mention Bleeding Heart.
ReplyDeleteThere's only a handful of books I've re-read. . and interestingly enough, it's not even my favorite ones. This will sound horrible, but I use a couple 'easy read, no real plot but entertaining' ones over and over again to help me go to sleep sometimes. They always work ;)
ReplyDeleteThe only book I have reread is Outlander. Not the series, just book one. I may reread the rest in time but, like you, I find there are so many books just waiting to be opened. My favourite author from my teen years was Mary Stewart. I plan on rereading her books. Of course, since it's been thirty-five years, I think it may very well feel like a first round reading. :0)
ReplyDeleteOh, yes! I reread and I'm currently rereading DG's The Fiery Cross for the umpteenth time. ;-) After reading 4 or 5 new books, I'll reread Diana G., Lois McMaster Bujold, James Clavell, to name a few.
ReplyDeleteI've always reread. Part of it is a comfort thing (Agatha Christie; most of the MG and YA I've loved over the years), part of it is a love-of-language thing (Tolkien and the other Inklings), part of it is both (Tolkien). I read too quickly and have a memory like a sieve so I always discover new things on every reread. I think of all the new-to-me books I've read in the last decade or so though, Diana Gabaldon's are the only ones I've reread. It takes a lot for me to fall hard for a series but it's so exciting when books like that come along!
ReplyDeleteOh, and speaking of Harry Potter - it was so thrilling and yet sad the first time I reread them knowing all about Snape...
ReplyDeleteI do reread some. I think Ender's Game is what I've reread the most. Plus The Giver. Lately I've been too busy reading new books to read old ones. :)
ReplyDeleteI do reread books, just not as often as I used to before I starting writing, Whenever I get a chance, I love to cuddle up with an familiar friend who I know won't let me down. Plus, it's nice to reread a book and remember a past gone by.
ReplyDeleteI very rarely re-read, since I can remember pretty much everything I've ever read. Not exactly, though, so usually if I do re-read, it's because I'm looking for something very specific (like... say a character's voice).
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