English Mysteries Club discussion

LOL! I do have a sh*t memory, which means I can reread mysteries, and I do, sometimes - especially Lord Peter and Julian Kestrel, Albert Campion and Rory Alleyn and Alan Grant. And as you say, even in the unlikely event I remember the mystery's solution these are books I can simply enjoy for the writing and characters.

The beauty of rereading a mystery where you KNOW whodunnit is just that--you can look for all the clues the author has strewn along the way that you missed the first time around. You kind of see the man behind the green curtain, but you feel like an insider. It's fun.

I re-read Sayers regularly and it matters not one bit that I know whodunnit. I read them for the wonderful writing and characters rather than for the mystery. Her books are like old friends. I tend not to re-read other mysteries that much, although I have re-read writers such as PD James and Val McDermid from time to time.

I'll re-read the first in a series if I have finally found some of the others. And I'll always re-read Sayers, and Durrell (Gerry, not Larry), and Stephen Jay Gould, and Laurie King. And I'm sure there are lots more, but those are the main ones. I love re-reading things I love.

I'm rereading Agatha Christie's books (one a month) for a GR group. I read them the first time so long ago, that I don't even remember "whodunit" so it's almost like reading them for the 1st time anyway. I probably wouldn't reread any other mysteries, though.

I was wondering why I almost automatically five-star all the Wimsey books (except Five Red Herrings) because objectively, as novels, they have some flaws. But then I realized that I (and evidently everyone else!) reread them with pleasure, and they are standing the test of time remarkably well. Any book that can do that deserves 5 stars.

Which means, strictly speaking, I should rate anything I reread 5 stars. Hmmm...

Elizabeth wrote: "I'm rereading Agatha Christie's books (one a month) for a GR group. I read them the first time so long ago, that I don't even remember "whodunit" so it's almost like reading them for the 1st time anyway. I probably wouldn't reread any other mysteries, though. ..."

Elizabeth, I could have written this word for word! There are so many mysteries to be read, I'm not likely to re-read books of any genre.

I did re-read And Then There Were None probably 30 years after I read it the first time, it's my favorite mystery, and I did not remember whodunnit. Now I do, of course, but I'd re-read it again just to see how Christie got us there. I started rereading the rest of the list but haven't gotten very far, mostly because new books keep calling to me. I also decided to reread the Travis McGee series by John D. MacDonald, but stalled after the second book because it seemed to dated. I'll get back to it.

Hayes wrote: "I'll re-read the first in a series if I have finally found some of the others. And I'll always re-read Sayers, and Durrell (Gerry, not Larry), and Stephen Jay Gould..."

I have reread the Hobbit & LotR so many times! Also Durrell (Gerry, not Larry). I read SJG, but generally don't reread him. I reread the Inspector Jury series every time a new one comes out; ditto the Hamish MacBeth series. I love rereading series in order!

If I am really enjoying a book of any genre on the first read, over the years I have realized that I tend to read it too quickly simply to find out how it evolves. In a recent first read of a Billy Boyle a character seemingly popped in out of nowhere yet was being spoken of as if we should have known him. Going back about 25 pages I found him introduced in a short conversation, almost an aside. So yes, I re-read:) And as others have mentioned, I too re-read series when a new one comes out.

Helen wrote: "If I am really enjoying a book of any genre on the first read, over the years I have realized that I tend to read it too quickly simply to find out how it evolves. In a recent first read of a Billy..."

I usually do that too. Both - unintentionally skim and miss things, and reread when a new series installment comes out. Which can be awkward with a big series of chunksters like Diana Gabaldon's or (heaven help us) The Eye of the World.

I love rereading. I haven't been doing as much of it lately because I've taken on commitments to read for review; this year I've only reread *counts* eleven books, and four of those were for review. But with books like I mentioned above and with - like you, Kate - Lord of the Rings and the Anne books and quite a few more, it's wonderful to visit old friends. And sometimes I just need to turn to a "comfort book", one I know I can trust to be wonderful.

I can't find the jpeg I'm looking for, but this will do:
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Tracey wrote: "Helen wrote: "If I am really enjoying a book of any genre on the first read, over the years I have realized that I tend to read it too quickly simply to find out how it evolves. In a recent first r..."

I may 'lift' the jpeg if you don't mind:) .. "comfort books" .. ah, Lord of the Rings & The Hobbit .. The Stand :) I was reminded in an episode of Big Bang in which the guys extol the virtues/faults of Mr Lucas'additions to his film ~ of myself when the 'longer' edition of The Stand was issued. I often re-read a childhood favourite (& now politically incorrect) The Water Babies. etc ♥

Lift away! I lifted it from somewhere myself. :)

I'm sure I will reread The Stand at least once; last year was my first time, and it blew me away.

I have certain books I refer to as "touchstone" books, which have made such a powerful impression that they've gone some way toward forming my own thinking. One day I'll make a list of them; I would put Sayers on it, definitely, as well as A.S. Byatt. On some level I'm not re-reading them for the story any more, but for certain scenes or moments that really mean something to me. Anyone else have this experience?

Tracey wrote: "Lift away! I lifted it from somewhere myself. :)

I'm sure I will reread The Stand at least once; last year was my first time, and it blew me away."

King has several books that I re-read - Under the Dome & Lisey's Story being two - 11/22/63 is definitely going to be on the list - there is of course an element of mystery to his works, wondering what is causing the current strangeness :)..

Jane wrote: "I have certain books I refer to as "touchstone" books, which have made such a powerful impression that they've gone some way toward forming my own thinking. One day I'll make a list of them; I woul..."

Although there are particular books that fit this description I would have to say that a genre, for me at least, was/is important and that would be fantasy - vampires excluded. My childhood included Tolkien, Blyton, Kingsley and Nesbit to name a few - not to mention a Gran who told me about the faeries who lived at the bottom of our garden. I love the unexplained and in another life I might have been an archaeologist or some such.

Jane wrote: "I was wondering why I almost automatically five-star all the Wimsey books (except Five Red Herrings) because objectively, as novels, they have some flaws. But then I realized that I (and evidently ..."

Hi Jane, I reread Wimsey all the time. Curious why you don't give 5 red herrings 5 stars. I have my own thoughts about it but would like to hear yours.

Rereading a well written mystery is enjoyable because there is always something new to pick up on - whether it is a clue u missed or a characters development, etc. Having a bad memory just means the ending is new each time.

So i am a proponent of rereading mysteries. I use DLS and Aird as bedtime novels. Don't have to pay too close of attention so easy to fall alseep to

Well my review's here... I would say it's a combination of too many accents and the way DLS handles the solution. It's the only one I never really want to re-read.

Helen wrote: "My childhood included Tolkien, Blyton, Kingsley and Nesbit to name a few..."

Except for it being wildly OT, we could have another variation on the thread's theme: Re-reading Hobbits... :)

I keep most of my books, so I can re-read them as desired...not withstanding the fact that I like having books on my bookshelves..

Agatha Christie I re-read quite often, even if I remember the solution, they are such great fun and so enjoyable in any case!

I re-read Dorothy Sayers....someone mentioned the Albert Campion books...not so much, but I keep them anyway. I think the John Dickson Carr and Carter Dickson novels will be worht rereadign at some point, same with the Patricia Wentworth MIss Silver mysteries...hmmm, I Notice all my examples are vintage and rom a certain 'Golden Age of Detection'.

There are others I wil re-read, but those are the ones I believe I have rer-read at least some.

I re-read quite a few books, including mysteries. I find that I pick up more on a second reading, and since I usually wait years between readings, I've often forgotten some of the plot twists, so I still enjoy the book. I've re-read quite a few books by Agatha Christie and P D James.

Found it!

Every book has an element of mystery, in the sense that you don't know what is going to happen/how things will turn out in the end. So if a book has all the elements for an amazing, beloved story, it can be reread even if it is a mystery. I like the first quote Tracey posted, the orange one. The fun of reading a book the first time is that you don't know what will happen. But if it turns out to be a favorite, then you start to look forward to reliving what was so exciting the first time around! That's how it works for me and my favorite books anyway. Sometimes I prefer a re-read than to read a new book.

I've recently re-read almost all of P.D. James "Adam Dalgleish" series. Devices And Desires and The Lighthouse are my favourites but they're all good. I find I don't remember how they end, but remember certain scenes and characters, so it's fun to re-read.

I rarely will reread a mystery, Agatha Christy being the exception. There are a some other genres I will read over and over usually funny ones if they can make laugh when I already read them once then they are winners.

We must distinguish between the first reading, when you are being driven to find out Who Done It, versus all later readings, when (assuming you have not forgotten completely) you sort of know everything that is going to occur. I think it's C.S. Lewis who speaks in favor of those later re-readings. Once that raw appetite to know how it all turns out is satisfied, you can enjoy the work in a more leisurely way. It is like driving fast because you have to get to the hospital, versus taking your time, maybe stopping for lunch along the way.

I can happily re-read Sayers. I also enjoy rereading THE WOMAN IN WHITE, by Wilkie Collins and other similar works.

Tracey wrote: "Found it!
(missing Wilde quote)
"

LOL!! :)

Christine wrote: "I keep most of my books, so I can re-read them as desired...not withstanding the fact that I like having books on my bookshelves..

Agatha Christie I re-read quite often, even if I remember the solution, they are such great fun and so enjoyable in any case!

I re-read Dorothy Sayers....someone mentioned the Albert Campion books...not so much, but I keep them anyway. I think the John Dickson Carr and Carter Dickson novels will be worht rereadign at some point, same with the Patricia Wentworth MIss Silver mysteries...hmmm, I Notice all my examples are vintage and rom a certain 'Golden Age of Detection'. "

This is me to a T...

I like to go back and revisit old favorites periodically. I don't usually re-read an entire series when a new book comes out, but I will if I've gotten off track and missed several in a row. There's usually such a lag between books being published that I forget some of the storyline, so I'll go on a reading binge of one book after another until I hit the new entries.

Judy wrote: "I like to go back and revisit old favorites periodically. I don't usually re-read an entire series when a new book comes out, but I will if I've gotten off track and missed several in a row ..."

I love the excuse for re-reading the entire series before reading a new one, when it's a series I really like. Some which spring to mind are C.S. Harris Sebastian St Cyr, Clare Fergusson/Russ Van Alstyne Mysteries by Julia Spencer-Fleming and Lady Julia Grey Mysteries by Deanna Raybourn.

I agree with many of the posts in this thread as to why I like re-reading older books like Lord Peter Wimsey, especially Jane @ no 14, Amy @ no 24 and Brenda @ no 27. And like Kimberley, I find that having a bad memory really helps when it comes to enjoying the re-read even more...

I never re read mysteries as I do remember who did it and there are so many more books to read!!

I do re read other books from time to time especially if I am reading them out loud to the children.

I re read old faves all the time. Like visiting old friends. I have about 3 books I re read almost every year because they are so good they can take me away even if I know the ending.

Cheryl S. wrote: "I re read old faves all the time. Like visiting old friends. I have about 3 books I re read almost every year because they are so good they can take me away even if I know the ending."

Which three?

Hj wrote: "Clare Fergusson/Russ Van Alstyne Mysteries by Julia Spencer-Fleming ..."

I just discovered these books a couple of years ago - won the most recent (at the time) from LibraryThing, and even though I hate starting a series anywhere but the beginning I plunged in - and loved it. I've been working my way through the rest of the series - and I can see myself rereading these. The characters are terrific.

Tracey wrote: "Hj wrote: "Clare Fergusson/Russ Van Alstyne Mysteries by Julia Spencer-Fleming ..."

I just discovered these books a couple of years ago - won the most recent (at the time) from LibraryThing, and e..."

I only discovered them 18 months ago, but with my OCD about series I read the first one (rather than the the book I saw reviewed). I then HAD to get all the rest and read them all. It seems a very long time since One Was a Soldier came out, and I did the re-read just before then. I want more! Now!

Does anyone know of anything similar?

Just for fun I did a Literature Map:
http://www.literature-map.com/julia+s...

I'm a little surprised at the spelling errors (Diana Galbadon? Marcia Mueller?), and I'm not too sure about Ms. Gabaldon being on there... or Katherine Hall Page, really, either; she writes cozies. But there 'tis, for what it's worth!

Tracey wrote: "Just for fun I did a Literature Map:
http://www.literature-map.com/julia+s...

I'm a little surprised at the spelling errors (Diana Galbadon? Marcia Mueller?), and I'm not too su..."

Thanks, Tracey - I haven't had much luck with these Literature Maps before and I don't think this is much better: of the names I recognise, I don't think they're much like Julia Spencer-Fleming.

For fun, I re-centred it on C.S. Harris and in the process discovered that Diana G is on the map twice, one spelt correctly and almost on the edge... I wonder what characteristics the mis-spelled DG has which put her in a completely different place from the correctly spelled one?! Perhaps one is the author of Lord John and the other is the author of Outlander sans Lord John??

Hj wrote: "Cheryl S. wrote: "I re read old faves all the time. Like visiting old friends. I have about 3 books I re read almost every year because they are so good they can take me away even if I know the e..."

To Kill A Mockingbird, The Wheel of Fortune, and Forever France.

Cheryl S. wrote: "Hj wrote: "Cheryl S. wrote: "I re read old faves all the time. Like visiting old friends. I have about 3 books I re read almost every year because they are so good they can take me away even if I...

To Kill A Mockingbird, The Wheel of Fortune, and Forever France"

(I think you might mean Forever Amber?) I haven't read any of these, although I've read quite a bit about To Kill a Mockingbird and Forever Amber.

But I do know what you mean when you say they "can take me away even if I know the ending". Finding out the ending is only part of reading a book. Seeing how the author gets you there and enjoying the journey is just as important.

I know some books so well I remember that certain phrases are about to come up as I re-read, but I get something different from reading them now. Increasingly I'm more interested in the interaction between the characters, and what is revealed about them as people, how their relationships grow and change. I think that the best mysteries revolve around these aspects, appreciating that people do things - especially murder - because of how they feel about other people and what other people have done to them, rather than as the result of an intellectual or cold-blooded assessment of pros and cons.

Hj wrote: "Cheryl S. wrote: "Hj wrote: "Cheryl S. wrote: "I re read old faves all the time. Like visiting old friends. I have about 3 books I re read almost every year because they are so good they can take..."

Sorry, the title I really meant is "Farewell to France" by Noel Barber first published in the early 80s. I've read "Forever Amber", but just once!

Cheryl - I don't know that one either, I'm afraid!

If I really really enjoy a book, I expect to reread it. This means that I usually acquire a copy. If after some years I don't reread it, I usually get rid of it. This means however that I have quite a number of books that I am pretty certain I will enjoy. (And this is completely putting aside all the books I pick up planning to read them for the first time.)

Brenda wrote: "If I really really enjoy a book, I expect to reread it. This means that I usually acquire a copy. If after some years I don't reread it, I usually get rid of it. This means however that I have q..."

I realise that the first two sentences describe my approach too. The third one, not - partly because of inertia but mostly because I tend to think (as I look at a book): "oh yes, that was good: I will re-read that one day".

But it makes me wonder - do those who never re-read books also never keep them, and so only own books which they haven't read yet? And if not, why do they keep them?

Hj wrote: "Tracey wrote: "Hj wrote: "Clare Fergusson/Russ Van Alstyne Mysteries by Julia Spencer-Fleming ..."

I just discovered these books a couple of years ago - won the most recent (at the time) from Libr..."

I think I read these because you mentioned them a while back Tracey - they are one of the few series that sit on my Kobo, simply because I was in a rush to read them:>) They are in the back of my mind whenever I visit a 'used' book store. Enjoyed them thoroughly & would love to see a new one!

I have a horror of getting rid of books. At the moment I am considering the two (overflowing) bookcases in the room, the two baskets of books on the floor, the pile of recent reads on top of a cabinet & the so far unread (4) on my coffee table (I cannot even think of the ones in the bedroom). Rule of thumb- when the two baskets on the floor no longer hold the overflow, it is time to *ahem* purge *shudder*. There are a couple of older fantasy series that could go. My son's significant other has similar tastes but should she not want them there is an unofficial book exchange in the laundry room downstairs ... guess it is rearrange the books day.

Heh. When I moved into this house I brought 14 steel floor-to-ceiling bookcases into it; the house was selected because the distance between the floor and the ceiling would accommodate these bookcases. That was 25 years ago, and I have not quit buying books in that time, no sir. Or bookcases either. It is now clear that if we ever move out of this house we have to go to one that is BIGGER than this house (and has the same measurement between floor and ceiling), unless we downsize our books somewhat. Books that I have not reread in the past 20 years seem like a good candidate for the high jump.

Brenda wrote: "Heh. When I moved into this house I brought 14 steel floor-to-ceiling bookcases into it; the house was selected because the distance between the floor and the ceiling would accommodate these bookc..."

I have just been looking at options for fully lining a room with bookshelves, Brenda. Do you remember what make of shelves these were? Have you found any other good ones since? Thanks!

I have started buying books I love, especially series books, because the library may have it now, but not later. My husband thinks I'm crazy (nothing new there), but my book bills are getting up there. I also find that the longer you wait the higher the price. I suppose Kindle-type purchases would be better; I just don't like not being able to store them on my computer. It's a dilemma. Note to Oscar Wilde: If you don't read a book in the first place, how do you know you want to reread it? Or am I taking him too literally?

I acquired these bookcases from a law office which was redecorating -- a fantabulous bargain at $1.00 each!! I doubt if anyone can match this. Book mavens I know swear by the Billy bookcases at Ikea, which are cheap, sturdy, exactly the same (so that you can keep on adding to them), come in several basic colors, and have various customizing options (doors, etc.). If you really want to maximize books in a room, remember that you could string a line of shelves up near the ceiling, above the doors and windows, to hold less-accessible volumes.

Brenda wrote: "I acquired these bookcases from a law office which was redecorating -- a fantabulous bargain at $1.00 each!! I doubt if anyone can match this. Book mavens I know swear by the Billy bookcases at Ike..."

Thanks for your response. My problem with Billy (and most bookshelves) is their depth - I think that they're too deep for paperbacks, which disappear to the back leaving a useless gap of shelf in front of them. (I don't like obscuring the books with other dust-traps in front of them.) And the distance between the shelves is also too big (more wasted space) and even when shelf width is adjustable one cannot usually buy extra shelves to slot in. (I know you can buy extra Billy shelves.)

I do also have some hardbacks and larger books, of course, but what I'd like is shelving which is more adjustable - and which comes in a shallower version so I can shelve paperbacks without intruding into the room more than is necessary, and also see and reach the books easily.

Bookshelves seem to built for things other than real-life books, generally...