The Sword and Laser discussion

Guy Gavriel Kay wrote a post for io9 about rereading books on Monday (3.25.13) http://guygavrielkay.kinja.com/on-rer....

What books have you reread that you loved even more? Each time I reread Atonement I find that I love it even more. Same with the Harry Potter series. When I first read The Hobbit, I didn't care for it but rereading it with S&L made me fall in love with it.

What about you guys? Books you loved then didn't like rereading them?

Recently I reread His Dark Materials as I read them when I was younger. I enjoyed reading it again so much that I even convinced my boyfriend to read it for the first time although it's not his genre.

But I've never reread a book I didn't like.

I liked American Gods way more the second time around than I did the first time. It was really good the first time, but I spent most of the book wondering what the heck was going on. The second time, I could see the massive amounts of foreshadowing that Gaiman did to set up the ending. Later, I listened to the audiobook, and liked that even more than the two times I read it.

I can't think of any examples of a book I really liked the first time, but then didn't like as much the second time. I suspect that some books that I really enjoyed as a teenager I might not like as much now.

First read the Discworld books when I was too young to get a lot of the references and jokes so it is always good to go back to those.

I used to re-read all the time when I was younger. Some books were "comfort food" that I'd go back to knowing I'd get a reliably enjoyable experience.

I think two things changed:

1) I probably re-read the "comfort food" books too often and so they had less of a charge when I re-read them.

2) I have easy access (I'm better off and ebooks!) to so many more books and it feels like a "waste" of time to re-read when I could be reading a new book.

I do plan to re-read books but I'd like to catch up on a couple of series first.

LatePaul wrote: "I used to re-read all the time when I was younger. Some books were "comfort food" that I'd go back to knowing I'd get a reliably enjoyable experience.

I think two things changed:

1) I probably re..."

I'm the same way now. Especially after joining S&L, my to-read list has grown so long that I feel like re-reading stuff is wasting time I could be using to catch up.

I've re-read David Eddings and Leigh Eddings Belgariad, Mallorean, their prequels, Elenium and Tamuli series over a dozen times each. I like what LatePaul said above about "comfort-food" books and these series are my "comfort-food."

I've re-read R. Scott Bakker's trilogy The Prince of Nothing a few times now. This is a series where each time I re-read one of the novels, I pick up on something new and I find that to be quite rewarding.

I try to re-read books often, I re-read A Scanner Darkly at the new year and got a lot more out of it than first time around, still loved it but noticed a lot more. I plan to re-read my Philip K Dick books.

I plan to re-read all my Arthur C. Clarke books as these were among the first i bought and i can barely remember them.

Books ive read the most are:

A Scanner Darkly & Perdido Street Station

My re-read rule was mostly about books that I read on my native language then going for english version. But since lately I read only in english, I kind of use my reading time for new books. That is about to change too since Sanderson's work is so good that I wanna read it over and over again.

Dark Tower, Harry Potter, and Dresden Files. Since I have too many books to read I've been doing the audio books instead.

I've always been a rereader, mostly of the "comfort food" variety (say, reread five books of a favorite series, then move on).

Lately, I've also noticed that I grok a book much better if I reread it right away. If I wasn't crazy about it, I'm unlikely to bother, but it's worth it to me to sort of set it in my bones.

Plus I generally spot read a lot, always including the ending, on my first read.

It feels like it's just the right neurological choice.

Dara wrote: "Guy Gavriel Kay wrote a post for io9 about rereading books on Monday (3.25.13) http://guygavrielkay.kinja.com/on-rer....

What books have you reread that you loved even..."

Zelazny's Lord of Light, was sort of a reference point for me through four of five readings; Homer, both the Illiad and the Odyssey, my alternative to the Bible.

I've re-read or relistened to the Wheel of Time about five times now and I enjoy it every time as I pick up on some of the massive foreshadowing Jordan did early in the series for things that don't happen until many books later. I know for some that was offputting but I loved it.

On Kay:

At my desk here at work I've got a trade of The Lions of al-Rassan; at least my third copy of that. That and A Song for Arbonne are my absolute favourites, of his, and I have re-read both many times. Planning to re-read The Last Light of the Sun this year, as part of my Year of the Viking read. It will be the first book of his I will re-read which I didn't enjoy, the first time around. Put it down unfinished, actually.

I've been regrading classic x-men. Does that count?

Rereading but the grading happens by instinct now. (stupid autocorrect)

I don't do as much rereading as I used to (just because I don't do as much any-kind-of-reading as I used to, what with Netflix and Dragon Age and Dishonored and whatnot ...). But I do go back to things from time to time, sometimes because there's a new book in a series, and sometimes just to revisit an old friend -- this year I reread Lord of the Rings for the first time in probably eight or nine years (and it was even better than I remembered) and some C.J. Cherryh (Downbelow Station and the Morgaine books, primarily) for the first time in probably 15 years (again, even better than I remembered).

Jim wrote: "Rereading but the grading happens by instinct now. (stupid autocorrect)"

I've always wondered about this with autocorrect. Can you not, you know, turn it off?

I was unaware that my iPad had any autocorrect on it at all, until I typed in OMW (for Old Man's War) and it was changed to On my way!

It was the only thing that was set, and I've turned it off. Is autocorrect actually useful? Anyone know?

Good to know there is an off for if I ever purchase an ipad or similar. I cant imagine autocorrect being useful for anyone, but I habitually disable similar things in word processors because a) it annoys me when the 'mistakes' are purposeful, and b) how am I ever going to learn how to spell things correctly if I am corrected without my even noticing it?

...erm, apologies for hijacking this thread.

If you go to Settings > General > Keyboards you can view the shortcuts. OMW is automatically there and it corrects to On my way! You can delete it though and add others. You can also turn autocorrect off in the Keyboard settings too, so Ruth, if you get an iPad you can disable it.

I used to never reread..... But now pick two or three each year to revisit. The second read is more laid back, less "holy cow what happens next," so I can settle in and enjoy the craft. I have tried to slow down as a reader, but have come to accept that I read as I read.... Acceptance has been liberating. I'm choosy about what gets a second stay on the "to-read shelf," though.

Some of the books I've reread recently:

The Yiddish Policemen's Union
Kraken
American Gods
Anansi Boys
The Man Who Folded Himself
A Confederacy of Dunces
Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?
John Dies at the End

I enjoyed them all more on the second reading. I like to reread, mostly because it's fun and educational to see the author at work. That's a lot more apparent on rereading than on the first reading, I think.

The Man Who Folded Himself is an interesting exception. I didn't enjoy it as much on the reread, but that's mostly because what made it so special when I first read it -- its treatment of gay themes -- is now so commonplace. But at the time I read it in the 70s, I could tell this was a Big Deal. Kind of neat for an SF novel's "wow" factor to derive from something other than the science. (Although no one exhausted time travel paradoxes quite the way Gerrold did.)

Dharmakirti wrote: "I've re-read David Eddings and Leigh Eddings Belgariad, Mallorean, their prequels, Elenium and Tamuli series over a dozen times each. I like what LatePaul said above about "comfort-food" books and these series are my "comfort-food." "

Seconded except for the prequels. Still love The Belgariad and The Malloreon.

Have to add Patrick Rothfuss The Name of the Wind and The Wise Man's Fear. I read those each year now and still find something new to ponder until book 3 comes out.

Dune and The Lord of the Rings
I have been re-reading for close to 30 years now and have no plans on stopping.

The first fantasy series I ever read and still go back to every once in a while was Riddle-Master: The Complete Trilogy. Still lots of fun.

And of course A Song of Ice and Fire So much packed into each book I could keep reading these for a long time.

That's enough for now. Probably more but... you know.

Some SF/F novels that I have read multiple times:

Dune
Lord of Light
Downbelow Station
Cherryh's "Compact Space" series
Wasp (Eric Frank Russell)
Team Yankee (It has become alternate history.)
Dragon's Egg
Janet Morris's "Kerrion Empire" series
Dragonflight
Toolmaker Koan
Courtship Rite

Edit: How could I forget? The Lord of the Rings

Doubtless there are others (and some non-fiction too).

The whole Dune series (the original novels, up to Chapterhouse: Dune).

I re-listen to comfort food books more than reread. I go through Terry Pratchett's Discworld books, Jasper Fforde's Tuesday Next/Nursery Crimes and Jim Butcher's Dresden Files books for some of my favorite readers.

I had been working my way through the Dune texts again but I Lemmmed on Dune Messiah about where I usually do.

Roger Zelazny's Chronicles of Amber, ever four or five years. Great stuff.The Great Book of Amber

I'm much like the white rabbit
I'm late no time to stop im late im late im late
No time to reread!

Jim wrote: "I've been regrading classic x-men. Does that count?"

I think it counts.

Rodrigo wrote: "The whole Dune series (the original novels, up to Chapterhouse: Dune)."

Me too.

Thane wrote: "Roger Zelazny's Chronicles of Amber, ever four or five years."

Me too.

I reread the most recent Song of Ice and Fire text when the new one is coming out in a month or two....

I've read The Hobbit probably five times. I'd be happy to pick it up again.

I've read the Narnia Chronicles about 3-4 times. Equally happy to pick them up again.

I try to read Hamlet and/or MacBeth once a year or so (not that that's particularly sword or laser, but still... kinda swordy.)

I tried to reread the Thomas Covenant series about two years ago. I don't know what I saw in those books the first time around....

I re-read books that I love a lot especially the Harry Potter and Discworld books

I also read the Hobbit and LOTR once a year without fail.

Books I,be reread include: LOTR, The Hobbit, the Ender's series, the Harry Potter series, Asimov's Foundation books. And I reread Dickens' A Christmas Carol every Christmas.

I don't reread a ton books for all the reasons some have pointed out already, but I occasionally reread classics and/or something really fun.

Back in junior high and high school, before I could afford many books, I would read, re-read, re-re-read and so on many of my books.
Over the past decade or so I've kind of adopted a Scarlett O'hara mentality towards re-reading. As God as my witness, I shall never go book hungry again.
There are so many books that I know I will never live to read them all, so I really keep the re-reading to a minimum. I think the only time I do it these days it to catch up on a series before the new installment comes out.

I'm the same as a lot of people on here, when I was a teenager I used to re-read a lot of books. Partly because I couldn't afford to buy lots of books, but also because I was quite picky - I had my favourites and looked for similar books. I re-read David Eddings & Raymond E. Feist, many, many times. I think Feist's Magician I must have read 10+ times.

My reading tastes are now much, much wider. There are so many books I want to read, there won't be time to read them all, so re-reading is a bit of a waste. That said, I occasionally re-read books that I read a long time ago and have all but forgotten. There's a bit of a nostalgia kick there. I sometimes listen to the audiobook version of an old favourite for a bit of comfort food reading too.

old man's war and the exorcist are the only books i've read more than one time. OMW is my favorite book of all time and the exorcist introduced me to good fiction outside of the genre SFF (of course that depends on what you call fantasy).

I consistently go back and re-read just a few books and find that I love them more each time:

Dune
A Fall of Moondust
The Mists of Avalon
The Princess Bride
The War of the Worlds
Rendezvous With Rama
Come, Hunt an Earthman

and, inevitably

The Lord of the RingsThe Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

It has been interesting re-reading Dragonflight because I never went back to that and I don't think I will again.