In support of re-reading! (book club, best, fantasy, authors)

[tilli]

Not too long ago I read a post in one of the threads in the books forum where the poster said he or she wished that they could re-read books, but felt pressured to always read new books since there are so many out there. I think the gist was that re-reading books one has already read feels like a waste of time. I used to share this sentiment, but no more.

First, let me say that I am a voracious reader and always have been. I felt similar pressure to try to absorb ALL the books, to race through the one I was reading to get to the next. I would check out the max amount of books at the library and they would all be finished before the two week due date. But when I was in college, I re-read a favorite title - because I was stuck at home with only my personal collection and nothing new. I found that rather than being bored because I already knew how it ended, I was able to read it without that feeling of pressure to finish it. I stopped to admire well-constructed phrases, to note the foreshadowing, to contemplate the subtext, to consider how the points made within the fictional setting of the book also applied to the real world we live in. I started to re-read other books and found that the same thing was true generally - that the first go round feeds my insatiable need for plot, and the second go-round reveals the more subtle (and more rewarding) virtues of the material. The very best books are the ones that I finish, but immediately flip back to the beginning to start again without even reading something else in between.

Not every book is worth the time spent on reading it again (sadly some aren't even worth the time spent on the first reading), but I have found that every book I really enjoyed was even more interesting the second time through and that my understanding deepens with each subsequent re-read. Plus, it saves money! You'll never be able to read every book out there, so why not take a little more time to thoroughly explore one that you truly enjoyed? Give it a try sometime! Happy reading!

[DawnMTL]

That was me! That was me!

I'll give your words some thought, though, because there about half a dozen books that I've read that keep tempting me, luring me to skim their pages, so... maybe I'll give in.

[QuilterChick]

I just had The Thornbirds (by Colleen McCullouch) put on my Kindle. Can't wait to re-read it after reading it years ago when it first came out. An epic love story.

[AnneWest]

I have a few favorite authors coming out with new titles later in the summer and fall. Sooo...being in a fantasy phase atm, I've re-read Deed of Paksenarrion by Elizabeth Moon, and am about halfway through The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss.
Paks is an old old favorite, brought back to life by Moon recently with a new follow-up trilogy which will have a new release next March. The story of Kvothe by Rothfuss is a newer favorite and this is my first re-read because I'm dying for the third book and it won't be out til sometime in 2013.

As Tilli said, it's all about taking my time to admire a favorite scene, catching something glossed over in the first read which explained part of the later story, small things that I may have missed the significance of and forgotten. The second time usually affirms my enthrallment of the story and guarantees it's space on my shelves where, in time, my kids will usually spot it...something that will happen less and less with e-readers. But that's another whole subject to argue over.

[TRosa]

I've re-read several books in the past and sure I will do so in the future,a few that stick out in my mind:

I Know This Much Is True, Wally Lamb, one of those books, I may end up reading a third time, its been more than five years since I visited it.

Auto-biography of Malcolm X, in my youth, can't remember the author since it was more than 30 years when I first read it re-read it.

Will be re-reading Glass Castle, by, Jeanette Walls. This book, in so many ways, resonated with me. I likely will re-read, Angela's Ashes, not sure it might be my third time if I do. .

[Cida]

Do you know the Susan Sontag quote?

"No book is worth reading once if it is not worth reading twice, or three times."

I re-read all the time. Jane Austen, for instance.

[ReturningWest]

I re-read all the time, in fact I'm re-reading the Douglas Preston & Lincoln Child series right now. I do it in part because if I have a good book I love to savoir it again and again and in part I'm pretty poor and live out in the country and I can wait months for books at the library.

Once I get back on my feet my first purchase will be an e-reader...I love the idea.

[DaddySpice]

Originally Posted by Cida

Do you know the Susan Sontag quote?
"No book is worth reading once if it is not worth reading twice, or three times."

But, of course, you don't know if it's worth reading twice until after you've read it once.

[tulani]

I re-read all the time. I always say that re-reading is like visiting with an old friend.
I just spent most of last year and part of this year reading all eight books in The Kent Family Chronicles by John Jakes. (Had vision problems so reading was slow going for a while.) I have read this series over and over again. Each time I seem to learn another little bit of American history (something that actually sinks in and stays!) and that is always a plus.
I agree, there is so much to 'find' when re-reading. Little things do get missed the first time around and are fun to find the second time.
Again, I have to agree about there being no rush to finish a book already read. Second, third, etc. are times to savor the written word.

I have never been a fan of speed reading. A writer takes the time to write all those words, the least a reader can do is read all of them.

Matter of fact, I am currently re-reading a book I have not read since I was young. The book is called Seven Steps To the Sun by Fred Hoyle & Geoffrey Hoyle. I bought it new when I was 12. It has the honor of being the very first book I ever bought for myself. It's a science fiction time - travel story that originates in 1969.
This book started my love for time-travel stories.

[Mooseketeer]

I always re-read books I loved, you always get something new out of it, and often also of course the mind forgets many things which striked you the first time. I just re-read "South" by Ernest Shackleton for the third time ( it was my book club's selection for last week's session) and I just got even more out of it than the first and second time and I cannot believe how much I had forgotten of that amazing story.

Re-reading for me is not only to freshen up your perspective on that book but also to revisit what you loved so much about it in the first place. Because you already know the book you feel comfortable and at ease with it and you are able to savour it even better. There is something comforting about re-reading, it truly is like an old friend you are paying a visit to when you haven't seen him/her for years.

In fact I wish I had not wasted so much time of my life reading worthless books and re-read those who were worthy of a little more attention.