[Closed] Re-reading books

Once only for me

Several times here, re-reading Hannibal at the moment for the umpteenth time.

some books - many times.

other books, one is too much.

Many times if they are good. I forget what they are about after a year or so.

There are too many books I haven't read to spend time re-reading the ones that I have already read.

Having said that, I can image re-reading one or two before I die (Hemmingway springs to mind)

I had a steak once, I really, really enjoyed it, Never bothered to have one again.

When I was young I thought I'd never re-read books.

Now I'm old I realise that I can.

I read Dune as a kid and now, 30yrs later I'm looking forward to reading it again. I've re-read several books and really enjoyed them coz I knew they were gonna be good in advance.

Prior to "being old" the only book I'd read several times was Catch 22 - because you can.

I re-read lots of books, mainly because my memory's so bad I forgot what it was about anyway..

Yes. I have 30 or 40 I read again most year. Lots of films I'll watch again too. I also listen to the same CD more than once.

I usually buy books to read (I'm too lazy to get sorted with a library - stupid, eh?), so I keep those I like for future re-reading. Some I've read masses of times (eg Michal Marshall Smith, Terry Pratchett) because they're just so enjoyable. Others I've kept hold of but not re-read for a while because of time constraints. Others I feel I should re-read (eg House of Leaves) because they're pretty epic.

So, yes. But then I also have 'too many books, not enough time (especially with Xbox)' fear.

Visual memory is much stronger than aural memory.

That's why you can listen to a CD loads of times but only watch a DVD once a year (or longer).

Dunno how books fit into that but it seems to be at least 20yrs between books for me.

I must have read the books of David Lodge, Bill Bryson & Irvine Welsh 15+ times...I like the familiar feeling when you start building up to a favourite bit.

I often re-read books.

My first read is just a rush through to find out what happens.

Later on I read it again. Taking my time and enjoying the scenery.

Iain M Banks is a favourite. I often read them many times.

I never tire of Discworld novels.

I do it lots. Have read Less Than Zero and Catcher In The Rye countless times. Helps that they're both short books.

I do- tbh I couldn't keep myself in books if I didn't. It does depend on the book, and I don't just mean whether I enjoyed it or not, frinstance I have no idea how many times I've read Jeff Noon's Vurt but it's a couple of times a year since it came out. On the other hand there are books I loved that I just don't see much point in rereading because they were dependant on revelation rather than pure storytelling quality, frinstance CJ Sansom.

schroedingerscat - Member

"I had a steak once, I really, really enjoyed it, Never bothered to have one again. "

I ate a steak earlier. Don't think I'll be eating that one again

I find I either really enjoy a book and will re-read it many times, or I find it so uninspiring I give up part way through. No middle ground.

Not a re-reader in general.
An exception is Cugel's Saga by Jack Vance which I'd read yearly until some bollox failed to return my copy.

I'm a big fan of the SF writer Gene Wolfe and always mean to sit down and closely re-read his masterpiece [i]The Book of the New Sun[/i], but haven't got round to it yet. There's layers and layers of hidden meaning that gets discussed endlessly online - I must have missed most of it on the first read through.

what sockpuppet said

I'm kinda with Flaperon.

I buy a book and if I like it I'll keep it (and re-read it at some point). If not I'll stick it in oxfam or somewhere. Otherwise why keep it, to make it look that your an intellectual or something?

Some books need to be read more than once (Crytonomicon and Gravity's Rainbow come to mind) as there is just too much in there you miss some of it the first time around.

Aye and there's books (like Sunset Song) that I've re-read countless times because its a damn good book.

Also I buy a reasonable amount of non-fiction. This stuff definitely needs to be re-read (albeit not cover to cover).

Reread loads here. Currently on 3 men in a boat again, not read it for a decade or so. Recently got out the Wilfred Thesiger travel books again and then a BBC prog and slideshow popped up, worth looking them up while they're on the website. 1996 MBUK Buyers guide fun too.

I reread books and I rewatch films too, if they're good enough. If a book or film has any depth it will repay being looked at again and again. I think that one-time readers may need more demanding viewing/reading matter...

I'm currently rereading Kim Stanley Robinson's Mars trilogy which I last read about twenty years ago, and it's far better than I remembered, but then last time I read them I knew nothing about geology, politics or economics.

I've got books that are thirty or more years old that I've read many, many times, and will continue to read as I've enjoyed them so much, Roger Zelazney being one such author, William Gibson another. Zelazney has such a way with language that I just keep going back to them. Other books have a quality to the story that takes me back time and time again. In fact, I've managed to replace a number of very dog-eared paperbacks with hardbacks, Zelazney's [i]Today We Choose Faces[/i] and [i]The Doors Of His Face, The Lamps Of His Mouth and Other Stories[/i] Arthur C Clarke's [i]The City And The Stars/The Lion Of Comarre[/i] and Tanith Lee's [i]When The Lights Go Out[/i]. There are others I've read that I wouldn't bother reading again for one reason or another, and there have been a couple that left such an impression that I couldn't read again them for many years, no matter how hard I tried. One, [i]The Wizard Of The Pigeons[/i], about a damaged Vietnam vet in Seattle battling real and imagined demons was so downbeat it was twenty years before I read it a second time. I fail to see why you wouldn't re-read a book if you enjoyed it, same as music, or a whisky, or a curry. Makes no sense to me.

metalheart - Member

Some books need to be read more than once (Crytonomicon ...

Agreed. I've read Stephenson's Baroque Cycle and Cryptonomicon about three times each.

Seriously on the Baroque cycle? You must murder the books.

I was in Waterstones at the weekend and v nearly bought the second one of the Baroque cycle. I love Stephenson, think he's exceptional, but Quicksilver was unforgivably turgid IMHO. So BC parts II and III are the only ones of his I've not read.

So BC parts II and III are the only ones of his I've not read.

There were times during BC that I was relying on stamina. But they are worth persevering with.

Matthew - The BC three times? Wow. Only re-read Crypto once (so far). Ditto Anathem. Would need to, er, limber up for the repeat of the BC though.

Hell yes. Some books are like old friends that need re-visiting.