The Next Best Book Club discussion

I do, even when I'm already reading something. It's usually when I've lost patience with a new book I'm reading... but sometimes I just drift off to the bookshelf.

I had to edit this. Me and my word choice issues. D:

The library at my high school was extremely small and didn't have a lot of books or a great selection. But there were some books that I picked up from there that I loved like Anne Frank and Me, A Heart Divided, Staying Fat for Sarah Byrnes, etc. And I must have reread those about 20 times each in a four year span.

I don't mind rereading if it's a book I loved because chances are that I'll love them even more the second and third times. This happened to me with the Harry Potter series and the Sisterhood of Traveling Pants series. I re-read these books at least once a year and it truly is like visiting old friends. It also takes me back to the first time I read the book and my experiences during that time period.

Now, since my book collection is bigger than it was in high school, I don't re-read as much because I have too many that haven't been read yet. But there are still some that I've only read once, but plan to reread this year like The Lovely Bones (need to reread before the movie comes out), My Sister's Keeper (ditto for this also), Lucky, and The Spellman Files.

So, I'm definitely a re-reader.

I'm definitely a rereader--when I was a kid I LOVED Matilda and Harriet the Spy. I read those books every time and to me, Matilda is still magical every time I open it.
I read more than the same two books now--I actually own tons of unread books and the list I want to buy is sooo long but sometimes I like to reread a book to see how much I can get out of it the second time around...there was some beautiful imagery in Virginia Woolf's To the Ligthouse that I didn't notice as much until my second reading of it. This said, I'm in English major, and sometimes books I've read in high school pop up in my curriculum--Great Expectations, Twelfth Night, Dubliners, Gulliver's Travels, A Midsummer Night's Dream.
So, I am guilty of rereading, and it's usuallly because I really enjoyed the book, want to get more out of it, or need to for a class.

As a teacher, I had to re-read books multiple times a year, several years in a row! Sometimes that was a wonderful experience, such as Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry, and sometimes it was heartbreaking, like with Night.

For me, I re-read a lot as a teen. In middle school I read The Amityville Horror at least five times. I was fascinated with it. I would often re-read titles in series fiction if I couldn't get the newest book I just wanted to be immersed in that particular world. The Girls of Canby Hall and Sweet Valley High are two examples that spring easily to mind.

Books that I have re-read that have shown me new insights or have simply given me renewed enjoyment of the story include:

Gone with the Wind
Pride and Prejudice
Anne of Green Gables
The Bean Trees
To Kill a Mockingbird
Harry Potter series
Little Women
A Ring of Endless Light

I don't think that I've ever re-read a book. Can't say that I won't either. It may just take years before that would ever happen (long enough for me to forget the book). Makes me feel bad for having all those books sitting on their shelves, read only once. I rationalize keeping them by saying "my boys will want to read them one day" or "my mom or grandmother or whoever gave that to me, I can't part with a good gift".

very very rarely. I feel like there are so many books in the world I want to read that i don't have time for too many re-reads.

No, I don't re-read. After Ive enjoyed a book once, I usually keep it on my shelf or pass it on to people who haven't read it.

I used to reread a lot as a kid, still do occasionally in my role as a teacher. I like to do 'Night' with my students every year. But now my TBR list is so long that I feel like I am missing out if I reread.

The only books that I have reread are the Harry Potter series and The Giver. I reread Harry Potter because it was interesting to see how everything fit together when the series was done. As for The Giver, I read it in school, and then reread it as an adult later on.

I don't reread nearly as much as some people I know but I do it. I'm not against it although I do believe in the 'so many books, so little time'.
I actually haven't reread anything in years but I do own and have recently bought books I read years ago and plan on rereading them...someday.
I hardly ever keep a book- I give them all away or list them on a swapping site, or they go to my library sale or Goodwill but I have kept a few like Elie Wiesel's trilogy, Memoirs of a Geisha and Not Without My Daughter. Along with some books I want to keep for when my daughter gets older and some childrens classics.
I hope I get the time to reread some of them someday.
I almost forgot! I've kept every single Jodi Picoult book so far and that's all of them. I definitely will take the time to reread those. I have one chic-lit that I've kept also- Pen Pals. :)

I re-read, but it has to be at least a few years before I do.

I wonder what it would be like to remember what I read for an extended period of time...

I'm looking at my read list, and I could probably go back and re-read some of the books I read in January or February and not remember most of what happens in the book. Hmmm...

As of right now, the only books I have re-read is books I have taught and a few books I read in high school, like the Great Gatsby. I am torn with this right now, because while I have so many waiting to be read, I also have many that I feel if I read it a second time, it would be an even richer experience. So I would, but right now, I am aiming to make enough room that all my books can at least fit on my bookshelf.

Sara wrote: "I wonder what it would be like to remember what I read for an extended period of time...

I'm looking at my read list, and I could probably go back and re-read some of the books I read in January..."


Wow- you just made me feel a little better Sara. It seems like everyone remembers books from way back and I can't remember them from last week. (Another reason I love GR!) I do read fairly fast I guess but my memory is so crappy anyway- I wouldn't remember any better if I did read slower.
I definitely thought I was alone there though! Someone mentioned
Pieces of My Sister's Life in the challenge thread and I *thought* I'd read it but wasn't really sure so I had to look and I'd given it four stars! When i read my review and looked at the description and cover I remembered but I wish I could have it a little easier!

I'm not a big fan of re-reading, unless so much time has passed that I can't remember key or important scenes. A few exceptions are The Shining and Harriet the Spy, both of which have a permanent place on my bedside table. They serve different purposes (talk about being a mood-reader here) and I will pick up one or the other when I need to clean my literary palate (as I like to say) after reading something particularly heavy or overwhelming. I don't often read either one all the way through each time, but I like to pick up where I last left off.

Otherwise I feel like re-reading is sort of backtracking. There are so many books I am dying to read that I feel it's only fair to myself to move forward.

Me too I don't re-read . But will do that once I have read a lot of books

♡ Eva ♡ wrote: "Wow- you just made me feel a little better Sara. It seems like everyone remembers books from way back and I can't remember them from last week. (Another reason I love GR!) I do read fairly fast I guess but my memory is so crappy anyway- I wouldn't remember any better if I did read slower.
I definitely thought I was alone there though!"

I'm here for you, Eva! :) I read really fast, too. My mom and husband say I'm a "skimmer"--that I don't actually read every word (which is VERY true). Maybe if I spent more time in a book, I'd be forced to commit more to memory... Like if I actually put a book down in the middle instead of reading it straight through, I'd have to remember what happened at the beginning so I could continue on.

*shrugs* I like re-reading, so it doesn't bother me too much. I spent about an hour yesterday re-reading my favorite parts of The Goose Girl, which I just read for the first time on April 3rd. It was just so cute, I had to read the ending again! :)

I'm definitely a re-reader! If I re-read it though, it has to be a book I absolutely loved. It's just like seeing your favorite movie again and again.

Wow- now that's something I can't do and I don't mean I don't do it- I literally can't do it. I can't even skip so much as a sentence, much less skim a book! LOL
It's my OCD kicking up but I've never been able to do that.
Do you mean putting a book down before you're finished for a day or two or a lot of days and reading something else in between? I can read a few books at a time but usually no more than four and usually what happens then is the best gets finished first and then so on. Or maybe not the best but whatever I'm in the mood for really.
I couldn't put a book down right in the middle and go back weeks later- I'd have to start over! LOL

♡ Eva ♡ wrote: "Wow- now that's something I can't do and I don't mean I don't do it- I literally can't do it. I can't even skip so much as a sentence, much less skim a book! LOL
It's my OCD kicking up but I've ne..."

Haha, I'm with you - I can't skim. Even while reading Moby Dick and with everyone telling me to just skim the boring parts about whaling history, I couldn't do it! I can't read an abridged novel either, for the same OCD reason. :)

♡ Eva ♡ wrote: "Wow- now that's something I can't do and I don't mean I don't do it- I literally can't do it. I can't even skip so much as a sentence, much less skim a book! LOL
It's my OCD kicking up but I've never been able to do that.
Do you mean putting a book down before you're finished for a day or two or a lot of days and reading something else in between? I can read a few books at a time but usually no more than four and usually what happens then is the best gets finished first and then so on. Or maybe not the best but whatever I'm in the mood for really.
I couldn't put a book down right in the middle and go back weeks later- I'd have to start over! LOL "

I don't SKIM skim. Well--very rarely, and always on purpose. I just don't read every single word all the time. Maybe my eyes just move to fast for my brain to pick it all up, or something. But the funny thing is, I'm REALLY not that fast a reader, because I end up doing that, then going, "Say WHAT?" and have to read it again, more carefully. If I would just read slower to begin with, I'd probably be a faster reader overall.

If I were reading Moby Dick.... Oye... I would probably REALLY skim the boring parts, unless I thought they were going to be pertinent to the story later...

About putting a book down... I just meant like... reading part of it one night, then, instead of staying up until 3:00 AM finishing, putting the book down for the night and picking it back up the next day. If I put a book down for weeks, I'd have to start over again, too!

As for reading multiple books at a time... I generally have two that I'm actively working on: one book-book that I carry around with me and read wherever I am, and one audiobook that I listen to in the car as I drive. Right now, I'm listening to Anne of Green Gables.

I can't skim either. I am always afraid I will miss something important. The one exception for me, is the J.D. Robb In Death series. I always skip ove rthe sex scenes. You can easily tell when they start and stop, but I still feel a twinge of guilt! (not enough to read them, though!)

Sara wrote: "♡ Eva ♡ wrote: "Wow- now that's something I can't do and I don't mean I don't do it- I literally can't do it. I can't even skip so much as a sentence, much less skim a book! LOL
It's my OCD kicki..."

I understand better now- my eyes don't do that but I can imagine it. I guess it has happened before, just not on a regular basis. I do know what you mean.
You guys have me wondering about Moby Dick. LOL I never had the urge to read it but I'm dying to know if I would end up skimming. It sounds like I would!

Kandice wrote: "I can't skim either. I am always afraid I will miss something important. The one exception for me, is the J.D. Robb In Death series. I always skip ove rthe sex scenes. You can easily tell when they..."

I force myself through those! LOL If it's a sex scene that really has a place in the story I can hang but if it's just there for filler than it bugs me something awful. I read some urban fiction books and a lot of the authors in that genre are real big on the useless sex scenes and I hate it. I do make myself read them 9 times out of 10 though- for fear of missing something and the OCD. LOL

I think I am the only one that read Moby Dick, did not skim, and LOVED it. Oh Well...

Kandice wrote: "I think I am the only one that read Moby Dick, did not skim, and LOVED it. Oh Well..."

The only person I know of! lol I've heard a lot of people say they liked it but all of them also say it was really long winded with some of it actually boring.
You can't be the only, only one though!

Kandice wrote: "I think I am the only one that read Moby Dick, did not skim, and LOVED it. Oh Well..."

Yeah, I've had people tell me it's the Great American Novel. I disagree - I didn't hate it by any stretch of the imagination, but I don't think it's the greatest piece of American literature ever written either. :)

I haven't read Moby Dick--I was just presuming that, if I ever DID try to conquer that beast (heehee), I would skim.

That would be fun: polling an English department with the question, "What is the great American novel?"

I bet To Kill a Mockingbird would win... Speaking of TKaM and seeing as this is the "Do you re-read?" thread, I need to reread that book.

Just asked my mother (a professor of English) what her vote would be.

She said she'd have to choose between Huck Finn, The Great Gatsby, or Absalom Absalom.

To Kill A Mockingbird is one I have and will reread again...for sure. The Catcher In The Rye also.

I didn't say it was the great American novel guys!!!! I just said I really enjoyed it. It took a long time, but it was written beautifully. I guess I kind of like long windedness...

In regards to skimming - very often I'll be reading the left hand page, and my eyes will just...wander... over to the right hand page where I'll see something exciting or a big twist, and I'll read that, then have to backtrack and read all the bits in between! I have to slap myself to not get distracted like that! ('Josie, you will finish this page before you start on the next.')

Josie wrote: " In regards to skimming - very often I'll be reading the left hand page, and my eyes will just...wander... over to the right hand page where I'll see something exciting or a big twist, and I'll read that, then have to backtrack and read all the bits in between! I have to slap myself to not get distracted like that! ('Josie, you will finish this page before you start on the next.') "

ME TOO!! It's so terrible! When I get near the end of a book, sometimes I will have to cover up the lines below where I'm reading and the right page with a piece of paper, and only uncover one line at a time so that I won't skip ahead...

Josie wrote: "In regards to skimming - very often I'll be reading the left hand page, and my eyes will just...wander... over to the right hand page where I'll see something exciting or a big twist, and I'll read..."

Oh- I do THAT too! That's more like you said, a distraction though, because you do go back to read what you passed by the first time. I actually 'distracted' myself for three pages last night reading As The World Dies Fighting to Survive A Zombie Trilogy.
I'm SO not a fiction reader- what I do read of fiction is very little. I'm way more into non-fiction. I do read a lot of urban fiction but that's it really. Once in awhile I like some contempory fiction but when I needed a sci-fi book for the spring challenge I didn't know what to do. I asked a friend and she suggested a zombie book- As The World Dies - The First Days-A Zombie Trilogy.
I LOVED it. It was amazing. As seen, I'm already reading the sequel even though I can't fit it in the challenge! LOL

Sara wrote: "Josie wrote: " In regards to skimming - very often I'll be reading the left hand page, and my eyes will just...wander... over to the right hand page where I'll see something exciting or a big twist..."

THAT is hilarious Sara! :D I have done the same although it's not something I have to do all the time thankfully!

I've known people who will read the end of a book BEFORE they even start it...or read the end if they haven't finished a book before they go to bed - now that is some serious 'skimming'! I don't know how they can do it - surely they ruin the story for themselves?! Anyone here do this?

Josie wrote: "I've known people who will read the end of a book BEFORE they even start it...or read the end if they haven't finished a book before they go to bed - now that is some serious 'skimming'! I don't kn..."

Haha, I would rather give myself papercuts all over my hands before I would want to read the end - I like to be surprised!

This reminded me of the movie When Harry Met Sally though... Harry would read the end first in case he died before he finished the book, he would at least know how the book ended. :)

Josie wrote: "I've known people who will read the end of a book BEFORE they even start it...or read the end if they haven't finished a book before they go to bed - now that is some serious 'skimming'! I don't kn..."

Yeah- THAT is skimming. Wow- I have a weird little thing I do though guys. I always read the last sentence. Only the very last one, even if it's a paragraph. You'd think it would give stuff away but it doesn't. Well, it almost never does anyway. It's just something I started a long time ago and now do every time.
I also fold the page in half at the halfway point in the book. I think I do that because I start thinking about my next book when I get to the folded page. LOL It's weird though because I don't even check my books but I'll fold an entire page down!

Josie wrote: "I've known people who will read the end of a book BEFORE they even start it...or read the end if they haven't finished a book before they go to bed - now that is some serious 'skimming'! I don't know how they can do it - surely they ruin the story for themselves?! Anyone here do this? "

Oh my gosh! I have a friend who reads the last page before checking a book out from the library... supposedly it is to make sure the book "ends well" (which, in her opinion means a happy ending). She doesn't want to waste her time reading a book if it doesn't have a happy ending.

Personally, I'm a little surprised that I DON'T do this. I love love love happy endings. But since I joined TNBBC, I've started reading different kinds of books, and I quite like the surprise of finding out how authors of different genres end their stories. It's been fun!

I'm not a big re-reader, but I've reread a bunch of my favorites.. or books I own but haven't read since middle school.

Sara wrote: "Josie wrote: "I've known people who will read the end of a book BEFORE they even start it...or read the end if they haven't finished a book before they go to bed - now that is some serious 'skimmin..."

Here's something even more strange- that's not why I do it. I mean, it sounds like the reason why anyone would do it right? I like unhappy endings sometimes- I don't want all my endings to be happy because it's so unrealistic you know? The perfect happy ending would be few and far between in a perfect book world IMO. LOL
But, somehow I just started it and can't seem to stop. I've even tried to stop, admittedly not very hard though. I can't figure it out at all. My friends think it's the weirdest thing they've ever heard!

♡ Eva ♡ wrote: "Here's something even more strange- that's not why I do it. ... But, somehow I just started it and can't seem to stop. I've even tried to stop, admittedly not very hard though. I can't figure it out at all. My friends think it's the weirdest thing they've ever heard!"

So... why DO you read the end first??

Sara wrote: "♡ Eva ♡ wrote: "Here's something even more strange- that's not why I do it. ... But, somehow I just started it and can't seem to stop. I've even tried to stop, admittedly not very hard though. I ca..."

I don't know Sara!!!! I haven't been able to figure it out and I really have thought on it sometimes. I don't remember when or why or with what book I first did it, nothing. I'd love to know though! LOL
And I, for some reason, can't do the second to last or third to last sentence, it HAS to be the very LAST sentence and that's it. Is that not one of the weirdest things ever?!

I think the last time I read the end before I was finished with the book was after I had read a few chapters and wasn't thrilled with it. I wanted to see if it got any better. (It didn't, alas.)

Susanna wrote: "I think the last time I read the end before I was finished with the book was after I had read a few chapters and wasn't thrilled with it. I wanted to see if it got any better. (It didn't, alas.)"

You just jogged my memory!!!! I think that may be the reason I first did it! I can't believe I've been racking my brain trying to figure it out and then it came to me when I read your comment. I could be wrong but I don't think I'd get this strong of a memory if that wasn't it. I still have to wonder why I kept doing it though! I do it with books I KNOW I'll love!

If it's a good book I'll reread it again. There are some books I've reread a lot and some I haven't. Sometimes you find things that you miss the first time around because of hurrying, being distracted, etc. I'm glad to see other people do, too. Everyone around here (not that there's many readers) but the ones that do think I'm nuts for rereading a book.

Crimsonbutterfly wrote: "If it's a good book I'll reread it again. There are some books I've reread a lot and some I haven't. Sometimes you find things that you miss the first time around because of hurrying, being distrac..."

I don't even have any friends that read except for my on-line friends! My immediate family reads- my two sisters and my Mom are all big readers but none of my friends read more than a darn magazine. It's horrible. I try not to pressure them because I feel like if watching t.v. is their thing then so what- reading is my thing. But to never, ever sit down with a book?! I can't even picture it!

There are some books that rereading enhances your appreciation of. For huge ones like Count of Monte Cristo, which has lots of plot twists and so many characters to keep track of, I find that re-reading makes the book more enjoyable. Once over to get basic plot and characters, and a second time to really just enjoy what you're reading.

Also, books that are deeply meaningful to you can be reread any number of times. I have read I Never Promised You A Rose Garden more times than I can remember and I have a friend who has to buy a new copy of The Last Unicorn at least once every 6 months cause she reads it as comfort food.

Rereading also helps when you read alot. There are things I read 7 years ago that I just don't remember all of. So yes, I definitely reread.