Play Book Tag discussion

Do you reread?
Are there any books you could read over and over again and never get bored of?
What prompts you to reread a book?

I almost never reread. But I did reread shadow of the wind, but I did that so I could read the entire series in order. I also did that for the Phillipa Gregory series. I started from the beginning and wanted to read them in order thereby rereading some of them. So unless I’m doing something for a series I don’t reread. Which is of course not true for Harry Potter. As I am now in book 6 for the fourth time, with my third son. How I have loved re-reading this series over and over. So generally I am not a rereader. It’s got to be a special case.

I rarely re-read, yet right now I am in the midst of 2 re-reads-one here and one in another group. The only time I normally re-read is when I am reading a series, and it is been too long for even a re-cap of the prior book to spark my brain.

I've only ever re-read three books in my life: Atlas Shrugged, The Old Man and the Sea and The Holy Bible: King James Version. Each of these are books that spoke to me earlier in my life. I have not re-read anything in the last 25 years. Too many (unread) books, too little time.

Agree Charlie!

I do some rereading, not a lot.

Certain favorite books: there are a few Christmas cozy mysteries, historical romances, essays, classics and such I reread from time to time. Also a few comfort reads I dip back into like Frederica right now. I may not fully reread them though, more my favorite parts.

Series where you need to refamiliarize yourself either because it has been too long between books (GRRM), or the movie or series adaptation has overwhelmed the books, or it has been so long, I don't remember enough.

Lots of classics I read young or in French I will reread. There were a lot of books I read at too young an age to truly appreciate. Rebecca was one of those, and I have Lolita lined up.

New translations. The Master and Margarita translation differences practically require multiple readings.

I can't think of a single instance where re-reading a book or series felt like reading time poorly spent. I am currently rereading all of Harry Potter and cannot believe how much I have forgotten or overlooked. HP is an instance where I want the books to supplant the movie interpretation. I am doing a slow reread of A Song of Ice and Fire because the time to next in series is long and I need to move away from HBO adaptation. I have reread LOTR at least 3 times and each time it is a whole new experience, almost like reading for first time. Someday I will reread Dorothy Dunnett's Lymond series - so complex - and I know I will dip into Proust again.

The Great Gatsby benefited from my rereading it 40 years after the first time. Ditto Frankenstein.

There are lots of excellent reasons to reread some books and series. Just having a 'never reread' rule seems as limiting as a 'reread all books' rule.

Of course most books don't merit or stand-up to rereading.

I reread more when I was young, Lord of the Rings, The Three Musketeers, Little Women, and Sherlock Holmes were some of my favorites. Partly this was because my family owned few books and the rural library was small (no interlibrary loan back then.)

I have sometimes reread books because a book group has chosen them. In recent years, some of my classics groups on GR have read books that I know I read in high school or college, such as The Return of the Native. I found that all I remembered was an early scene with people celebrating a nature festival by jumping over fires. Everything else had disappeared, which made the book quite interesting, as I didn't know what would happen.

That is the good side to forgetting books. I read the fantasy epic Tigana in 1993. (I remember the date because I took it on a trip in the days before ebooks since it was long enough to last.) I always thought that author's books would be wonderful read aloud so recently I listened to the audiobook. I remembered the very basic parts of the plot, but had forgotten many incidents and characters, so it was like a new book by a favorite author! I would also like to reread both of Dorothy Dunnett's series, but it's a big commitment.

Another aspect is that I read a lot of classics before the age of 22, and I had very little experience with love, death, or even adult life. Reading them later in life is a whole different thing because I am in a different place.

I rarely re-read, but only because there are so many books I want to read in my lifetime, and I will never get through them all.

Instances where I have re-read:
- I have re-read a few books because I didn't remember I had already read them until part-way through!

- I will occasionally re-read for a book-group if they select something I have read and enjoyed.

- I will read different translations of the same book. Last year, I read two versions of The Nose by Gogol and they were significantly different - this seems to be true of those written in Cyrillic (agree with Theresa about The Master and the Margarita - I may re-read a different translation).

- Recently I've been considering re-reading the classics that I read when I was in high school. I certainly did not appreciate them as much then as I would now that I have more life experience (but I liked them even then - I know it's unusual but I've always loved the classics). These books have stood the test of time.

- Another case where I would consider re-reading is where I truly loved the book, just for the pleasure of it (Lord of the Rings or the Harry Potter books would fall into this category).

Since I am not a series reader, I don't have to worry about refreshing my memory for the author's next book. In the rare cases where I am reading the next book in a series, I go back and re-read my review, which usually does the trick.

Robin P wrote: " Another aspect is that I read a lot of classics before the age of 22, and I had very little experience with love, death, or even adult life. Reading them later in life is a whole different thing because I am in a different place ..."

That is exactly it. I had a conversation yesterday with a friend who just reread Theodore Dreiser's Sister Carrie, which she last read in high school, and she talked about how little she grasped back then or even knew to look for while reading. She now read it after 50 years of forging an independent life as a woman.

I'm another one who rarely rereads. The past "few" (5? More?) years, though, I've been enjoying rereading childhood favourites. (Charlotte's Web, Black Beauty, Little House series + probably more not coming to my mind... I want to reread Anne of Green Gables).

The only other time I can think that I've reread is for a book club. Only if I remember liking the book the first time around, though.

I did reread more when I was younger, though. Well, into high school, even.

I used to reread- I found some comfort in the familiar, and my trips to the bookstore were usually used for buying books for my kids.

In the last 15 years or so, I've given up the rereads, for the most part, but I have saved some of my favorites for rereading someday.

I do plan to reread Toni Morrison's novels in order of publishing this year.

I've re-read To Kill a Mockingbird more than a dozen times. I always find something new in it that I hadn't noticed before.

I also have read Truman Capote's A Christmas Memory multiple times ... it's a fast holiday read that I frequently enjoy on my birthday.

I've re-read some classics - Crime and Punishment , Tess of the D'Urbervilles , and Jane Austen.

I might go back to an earlier series book - if I haven't already written a review that I've saved on Goodreads. Otherwise, I just continue the series, even if it's been years since I last picked one up.

If a book club picks a book that I've previously read, I might skim it to refresh my memory, but usually I just print out my review and that's enough to allow me to participate in the discussion. If I'm the one leading the discussion, I will at least skim it, though.

I am becoming a fan of rereading good books. I am a different person than I was 40, 20, or even 5 years ago. so when I reread a great book, it is different too. The original pleasure often comes back to me, plus I almost always find something new, either in the book, or in how I relate it to the world.

Sometimes the first read is for the story, and the second read is for everything else. If the writing is particularly good, it's like listening to favorite music.

If I really liked a book, I don't mind rereading it a year later for a book club. Especially with book clubs that like to discuss themes or psychology. Since 2016, memory issues allow me to enjoy some books almost as if they were new.

Some books contain so many delightful details, they are a pleasure to read over and over again. I have reread To Kill a Mockingbird, Harry Potter, and Jane Austen books, and I'm sure I will want to reread Margaret Atwood's Maddaddam books in the future.

I often reread. Most times I just go for favorite chapters, even favorite paragraphs. Sometimes that leads me to rereading the entire book from beginning to end. I also read a lot of poetry which is absolutely meant to be reread. My favorite books make me want to reread from the beginning as soon as I finish the last page. Those 'thought provoking' books reveal more every time I read them.

That said, I easily fall into a rut of rereading so much that I neglect all of the books on that mammoth TBR pile.

I have also been inspired to reread a particular book because a book I am reading references it in some way, or is a retelling, or reflects it, or even just reminds me of something I have read. For example books like Circe and The Penelopiad have me wanting to read The Odyssey again...which is when some new translation pops up wanting attention.

I recently read an historical mystery Edgar nominee that referenced 2 Sherlock Holmes stories, and I am now hunting for my complete works to reread The Sign of the Four and A Study in Scarlet.

Theresa wrote: "I have also been inspired to reread a particular book because a book I am reading references it in some way, or is a retelling, or reflects it, or even just reminds me of something I have read. For..."

I agree. I also reread when another book makes a connection. And a new book from a known author can give me thoughts about an earlier book so I’ll go back and read again.

Well, I just had my monthly IRL Feminerdy Book Club where we discussed A Psalm for the Wild-Built. I think that we are all going to reread it after some of the discussion points! But will likely wait until the second, A Prayer for the Crown-Shy, is published. Just before the virtual meeting I did some research and discovered this was commissioned to be written to fit into a newly emerging subgenre called solarpunk; less dark more utopian dystopia.

So here is another reason rereading happens in my life - I feel I missed something when I read it, or approached it wrong.

I used to reread more than I currently do. My last book reread was Jane Eyre, I think though it could have been Wuthering Heights as I reread both.

With Wuthering Heights, I will admit to having a completely different take then when I read it in high school, so I can see the point of rereading.

I can see the point of rereading to revisit a favorite and the comfort it provides and the discovery of new insights, but I fall more on the side of there are way too many books, I want to read.