To re-read books?

[Clary]

Not a terrifically serious AIBU but still...

Just from a throwaway comment on another thread, do other peopel re-read books or not then?

I mentioned sthg about it at my book group and was met with horror at the idea.

I could give you a list of at least 30 books I have read many times (Austen, Sayers, Fitzgerald, Mrs Miniver), and others I have casually re-read. Eg I read Time Traveller's Wife 3 times (2nd time for book club; third time before I saw film); or Agatha Christies; or Anne Tyler books etc etc.

Not sure why I do it - is it a comfort thing maybe?

Am I a bit weird?

[chickbean]

Love "Clover", not so keen on "In the High Valley" but it does sort the rest of the family out.

My favourite children's books are the Elizabeth Enright books about the Melendys - has anyone else read them? I'm hoping DC3 is a girl so I can share them with her. Just wish there were more than four of them.

[thumbwitch]

I have had the whole AoGG set for years [smug] - I managed to get Rilla and Rainbow Valley from a library sale ! Obviously not enough people knew about them to read them often enough.
What was really interesting to me, was discovering that LMMontogomery apparently finished Anne of Ingleside and Rainbow Valley after Rilla of Ingleside - according to the website all about her anyway. Very odd.

Am I the only AoGG fan who misses out Anne of Windy Willows sometimes when re-reading? I can't be doing with it sometimes (but I'm there with Cheerful Yank on the weeping, except mine is when she is sitting up overnight while Gilbert is fighting typhoid or whatever it is and realises that she really did love him and she could lose him) [not-quite-as-geeky-cos-can't-remember-it-exactly emoticon]

[LadyGlencoraPalliser]

I got Rilla secondhand a couple of years ago - I didn't even know it existed until then. DD1 is so lucky, I had only the first three of the series when I was her age, and I would have loved the others then, but have picked them up here and there over the years - and still enjoyed them just as much probably.
Haven't read Clover - I quite liked Katy but not nearly so much as Anne. I'll look out for them.

[Tinuviel]

LGP, I stood and read some of it in the shop before I asked for it as I am quite wary of that type of book but the author obviously loves Anne as a character and has read all the other books thoroughly to ensure that she is accurate.

I also managed to get a copy of the last book, Rilla of Ingleside, while I was in the States in the summer. It's quite hard to get here, cheap anyway!

Has anyone read the follow-ons to the 3 Katy books? 'Clover' and 'In the High Valley'. I think Clover is a more interesting character anyway and think these are better.

[LadyGlencoraPalliser]

Cheerful Yank - Before Green Gables
I was a bit dubious, but she has done an amazing job. It came out two years ago for the centenery of AOGG. DD1 and I are big fans of the whole series and we both think it's terrific.

[CheerfulYank]

What is Before Green Gables? Have never heard of this and must get instanter! (Also, I obviously reread most of the Jeeves books on a regular basis!)

Does anyone else have books that make them cry even though they've read that same part a million times? In AOGG, when Anne sprains her ankle after walking the ridgepole and Mr Pye brings her home, Marilla thinks she's seriously hurt and the book says something like, "She knew that she liked Anne, nay, that she was very fond of Anne. But as she (something something, ran to her) she knew that Anne was dearer to her than anything on Earth." I well up EVERY TIME! Something in that passage just gets me.

Well, now that I have confirmed myself and the Anne geek of the universe, I'll take my trophy and go.

[hmc]

"AM I being unreasonable to visit the same holiday destination more than once."

I don't do that either.... unless I am going to live until the ripe old age of 516 it seems somehow wasteful

[hmc]

No, YANBU

But I tend not to re-read books - because of the opportunity cost in terms of less time then available to read 'fresh' books

[thumbwitch]

oooh, Before Green Gables? Haven't heard of that, must go find it...

I re-read my Georgette Heyer books over and over; ditto Terry Pratchett books and Pride & Prejudice at least once every 3 years. My memory isn't great at retaining what it has read for too long, so I can "forget" most of what happens for the first few re-reads at least.

In answer to whoever asked about re-watching films - yep, do that too. Only ones I really like though - I have an annual re-visit of Practical Magic, we watch Finding Nemo and the Incredibles at least once a year, usually more; The Back to The Future trilogy is a favourite re-watch here too. Plenty of others too - like books, no point owning them on DVD if you're not going to watch them again!

[Tinuviel]

Wuglet, another Chalet school reader. They are just so 'comforting'! Incredibly predictable and unrealistically full of adventure but fun nevertheless.

Good to see that Anne of Green Gables series are so popular with so many! Anne's House of Dreams still makes me cry! I even asked for "Before Green Gables" last Christmas and my OH bought it for me! It's a prequel and picks up on all the little bits she talks about in the series. I was really impressed with it.

Piprabbit - my DS2 (9) has just read Swallows and Amazons and loved it. DS1 has already read quite a lot of his books.

[halia]

YANBU I agree that rereading is like listening to music again - completly normal. I reread most books about once a year. For books like Anne of green gables and lord of the rings that I've had since I was 12 that ALOT of rereading!

[wuglet]

I have re-read (usually 5+ sometimes 20+ times) the vast majority of my books.
I tend to have "sprees" where I will read all of a particular author in one go.

I even did that with all the Chalet School books (62 ) during the evening cluster feeding marathons last year.

[Ronaldinhio]

I have only re read about 5 books in my life...
Read them move on
Sorry

(except Jilly Cooper's rider's trilogy)

[scaryteacher]

Clary - £5.49 on Amazon - enjoy!

[cakeywakeywhizzbangmakey]

YANBU, I love re-reading books. You pick up little nuances that you've missed and can concentrate on one particular theme or motif. I love, love, love going back to old favourites. Do it all the time.

[Clary]

oooh oooooooh scaryteacher A presumtpion of Death???

Noooo not read that

Read Thrones, Dominations when in early labour with DS1 (I was re-reading it, of course) so I won't forget that one.

[YanknCock]

I re-read just about every book I own, otherwise what's the point of owning it? If I don't like them enough to re-read, I sell them or give to a charity shop. But being skint most of the time, I tend to borrow from the library more than buying.

[snigger]

I re-read Three Men In A Boat almost annually, mainly because it pees DH off when I read the Uncle Podger segment aloud while he's DIY-ing.

[purepurple]

I have read the Stand lots. It is my favourite King book. I have read probably read it once a year since it was published. i love it.

[CheerfulYank]

I'm glad someone else has read the Stand 5 billion times, Ali!

"None of them ever saw Stu Redman again."

Tears, tears every time!

[stickylittlefingers]

funwithfondue - exactly! That's why I hardly ever lend a book out - I have to buy a second book to give it away instead.

But - I'm not a re-reader. Some bloke (whose name escapes me) once worked out how many books you could hope to read in an average life, and it's still fewer than all the good books out there. So - Austen I do go back to every so often, and Dickens I re-read as an adult because I was only a young teenage when I first read them and didn't get as much out as I could. But generally no - I need to work my way through all the Viragos, if nothing else!

[NaccetyMac]

I read Lord Of The Rings at least once a year, and often dip in and out of it. I have read all of Iain M Banks' stuff countless times, plus various crappy sci-fi nonsense. All of Asimov I read over and over again...

I don't read just for new experiences. Some books are old friends. Plus, I read very quickly, so generally re-read 3 for every new one, otherwise I get poor very fast.

I haven't read Georgette Heyer in years, but I feel like I should now!
DO other re-readers also watch films over and over?

[MedusaHead]

Another vote for Georgette Heyer here. Due to lack of space in the house and DH and I having boxes of books we had to stash most of them in the attic. So only books which were likely to be re-read or used as reference ended up in our 2 small bookcases. My Georgette Heyers though got stashed under the bed as I couldn't bear them to go in the attic. If I am feeling stressed I re-read a favourite and it makes me feel better.

My mother re-reads 'the shell seekers' all the time. She will read a new book and then read 'the shell seekers' again.

[elkiedee]

Nothing wrong with rereading, I just wish I had time to read more books for the 1st or 10th time, especially as I own so many of them. I found an old diary from 1992 last night and couldn't believe how many books I had read that year. Some I remember enjoying, some I've reread since, some I remember nothing about (many would have been library books).

[scaryteacher]

theyoungvisiter - you can get the Lymonds on Abe books and sometimes on Amazon preloved. Some of mine are faling apart (bought in 1985 and reread each year since), so I am slowly but surely tracking the newer editions down.

For all you Sayers fans, I am assuming you have read the two written by Jill Paton Walsh, Thrones, Dominations and A Presumption of Death? JPW was asked by the Sayers Society to write these from fragments of novels left by Sayers, and they are both brilliant. Thrones, Dominations follows on from Busmans Honeymoon, and A Presumption of Death follows all the characters during the beginning of WW2. Fab, and seamless.