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If you are a re-reader

74 replies

Parisbanana · 03/09/2013 19:16

Can u ask why? What makes you return to the same book over again, possibly several times? And what are those books?

Just interested as I will watch certain films repeatedly but have only ever reread one book. I do read avidly though not particularly quickly so think life is too short to reread.

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Parisbanana · 03/09/2013 19:21

Can I not u

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valiumredhead · 03/09/2013 19:22

Books I re read are Rebecca and other DDM books the poison wood Bible, Maeve Binchy books-I find them comfortingSmile

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TurnOffTheTv · 03/09/2013 19:24

I speed read, so can miss things first time round. It's mainly a comfort thing, going back to characters who I love, or books I've read as a child. Some books I've read at least 10 times!

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TurnOffTheTv · 03/09/2013 19:25

Rebecca is one of my comfort reads :-) it took me a few reads to realise you never find out the narrators name. It made me really sad.

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cq · 03/09/2013 19:25

Used to re-read much more when I was young. Still re-read some of those old familiar friends like The Thornbirds, The Red Tent, Riders. Not literary giants but like a warm old blanket when my brain does not need a challenge.

Some books which I have absolutely LOVED, I have no desire to read again as they will not have the same gasping impact as the first time around.

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Jewelledkaleidoscope · 03/09/2013 19:27

I read really quickly, so I miss stuff. I like to go back and re read things because I always get a different perspective on it later on

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JustBecauseICan · 03/09/2013 19:28

Comfort food thing.

If I'm feeling a bit low, I'll reach for Bridget Jones or Marian Keyes.

Or I'll work my way through Harry Potter or Patricia Cornwell.

I agree with cq, some were amazing and will stay with me forever, but take too much out of me emotionally to want to do it again. (Angela's Ashes (even though apparently he made half of it up!) We Need to Talk about Kevin (the marmite book!) etc.

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JollyHappyGiant · 03/09/2013 19:28

Discworld. I have re-read about 10 times. And the Narnia books about 30 times. Also Robin Hobb, Trudi Canavan, Robert Rankin.

I read to relax. I don't have as much free time as I'd like. I don't want anything taxing and I do want something I know I'll enjoy. So re-reading is a good option.

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neontetra · 03/09/2013 19:28

I reread sometimes. William Golding stands out to me as an author who rewards rereading. His prose is just so rich, and sort of dense with meaning, if that makes sense?

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FetchezLaVache · 03/09/2013 19:30

I am a total re-reader. I have certain books I return to over and over again, such as:

P&P (well, pretty much all JA)
I Capture the Castle (I've been known to finish this and turn back to page 1, I love it so much)
Cold Comfort Farm
Various Aga sagas/chick lit (Judy Astley, Lisa Jewell, Kathleen Rowntree, etc)

However, there are other books I have loved but would never read again: The Bell Jar, The Picture of Dorian Gray, The Trumpet Major. So I think for me it comes down to books that are beautifully written with an interesting story and a happy ending, but basically emotionally unchallenging.

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jimijack · 03/09/2013 19:33

're read Angela's ashes by Frank McCourt over and over to savour its misery, brilliance, descriptive words, shocking parts that make me gasp despite knowing what's coming.

I'm 're reading Bill Bryson for the 20th time for the laugh out loud aspects.
Familiar, fantastic books.

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valiumredhead · 03/09/2013 19:35

Oh that's another one I re read, the bell jar, so beautifully written.

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FiveExclamations · 03/09/2013 19:35

It's like listening to the same song over and over again, sometimes a book has something clever or novel that gets me thinking (sometimes in different ways every time I re-read it), sometimes the characters feel like friends I'm revisiting, sometimes I can loose myself in the drama again.

There are a lot of books I re-read but the ones that spring to mind immediately are:

Woman in the Mists - Farley Mowat
Such a Strange Lady - Janet Hitchman
A Civil Contract - Georgette Heyer
Gaudy Night - Dorothy L Sayers (currently being re-read)
Last Chance to See - Douglas Adams
Night Watch - Terry Pratchett
Flying Dutch - Tom Holt
A Maidens Grave - Jeffrey Deaver
Fox Evil - Minette Walters

Nothing hugely deep and meaningful.

I'm a fast reader and usually have two or three books on the go at any one time, one new one and a couple of re-reads.

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JustBecauseICan · 03/09/2013 19:36

Oh yes, Bill Bryson- another comfort food reread. So funny.

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LauraChant · 03/09/2013 19:37

Another speed reader who misses stuff. But also I re-read some books because I want to revisit the plot or because I love the characters or because I want to feel a certain way or because I love the language. Also with some books it is a different experience reading at a different age.

My most re-read books are The Secret History, Gaudy Nights, Busman's Honeymoon and The Dark is Rising.

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LalyRawr · 03/09/2013 19:43

I re-read books constantly, but with a couple of exceptions (Rocky Horror Picture Show & Lucky Number Slevin) I will never re-watch a film.

I read 1984 at least once at every two months. The Five People you Meet in Heaven, Ballet Shoes, any Harry Potter book, The Hobbit, Wheel of Time series any Jaspar Fforde book and strangely a book my International Criminal lecturer recommended; Nuremberg, Evil on Trial.

I've never thought about why I re read books, but in reading other posts, I agree there is something strangely comforting about it. It's like reading a hug. For me, it makes me feel safe. & I do realise how insane that makes me sound!

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MinesAPintOfTea · 03/09/2013 19:49

Its comforting and low on intellectual challenge. Usually I read about 3 new books for every old favourite. Atm I'm finishing a post grad degree and haven't touched a new book (except academic types) in months. I take an old favourite into the bath so I will stop fretting about my dissertation and relax knowing what will happen and who the characters are.

Tamora pierce is my favourite author for re-reads.

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MinesAPintOfTea · 03/09/2013 19:50

It helps that I read fast though: I will finish a standard paperback in the bath and a film would take more of my time.

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FruOla · 03/09/2013 19:55

Various reasons.

I read quickly - I hope I don't miss anything, but a re-read sometimes brings something 'new'.

'Comfort' reading.

Or re-reading something I last read years ago to reacquaint myself with the book.

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ThursdayLast · 03/09/2013 20:02

I too read fast and can miss out on things...sometimes after a long enough gap it can feel like reading a whole new book again.

I keep books I like too, I find a full large bookshelf only improves a room so I like to justify having all my favourites still!

Sometimes I get a little jealous of the familiarity some people have with books ( I think I read too many to always remember them) especially classics. I then feel like a dunce and reread to boost my literary credentials Wink!

But mostly I keep and reread my favourite stories because I love them.

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KatieScarlett2833 · 03/09/2013 20:04

All the ones I keep. I must have read Gone With The Wind about seventy squillion times. It's a comfort thing.

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runningonwillpower · 03/09/2013 20:06

I have re-read many books (sometimes accidentally cos I'm thick) but in order of most re-read:

Pride and Prejudice
Lord of the Rings
White Fang

Eclectic or what?

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sparkle12mar08 · 03/09/2013 20:08

As everyone else has said, it's a comfort thing. I've re-read most Discworld novels 50+ times. I first picked one up when I was at sixth form 20 years ago, and I re-read one almost every week. My most favourites I've probably read 100+ times.

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LadyintheRadiator · 03/09/2013 20:09

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

RemusLupinsBiggestGroupie · 03/09/2013 20:11
  1. Some books (eg a new Stephen King, when new Harry Potter books came out) I devour too quickly and greedily, so with those kinds of books I'll do a fast read for plot and then an immediate re-read to savour it a bit more.

  2. Some books don't demand an immediate re-read (in fact King and HP are the only ones so far) but do need me to go back to them and read them more slowly later, to see if I missed anything and to think more about their construction.

  3. Some books are so good that they have layers and layers of ideas and therefore need to be read many times (imho) for their full benefit, especially in the case of more 'literary' stuff.

  4. Some books I re-read for comfort value, especially old childhood favourites and Jane Austen.. plus Bill Bryson.

  5. I am very, very fussy about what I read/like. Sometimes I'd rather re-read something I know I like, than start/persevere with something that's inevitably (or almost certainly) not going to be as enjoyable. I get tired of wasting time on crap - and there is far too much crap published these days. Re-reading Austen is almost certainly going to be more rewarding than the latest Ian McEwan or Richard and Judy abomination, for example.
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