Reading and rereading

I have some fond favourites (The Hitch-Hiker’s Guide books, anything by Frederick Forsyth but especially The Dogs of War and The Day Of The Jackal, anything by Bill Bryson, amongst others) that I’ll re-read from time to time for the same reason I re-watch movies or tv shows; I enjoyed them the first time and want to enjoy them again.

The last “New” book I purchased (as in, not a “Classic” that I hadn’t gotten around to reading yet) was Austin Grossman’s Soon I Will Be Invincible, which I absolutely loved. For the most part, though, I content myself with Penguin Classics and things I find in remainder bookshops, since my tastes in books are too eclectic to trust recommendations from friends, especially since most of the other people I know IRL who read are women and tend to read “Chick Lit”, which I have less than zero interest in except as a source of material for parody and satire.

I’m not re-reading as much now as I used to, mainly because most of the books I’d be re-reading are packed away until I can get more bookcases set up, and because I’m trying to catch up on all the unread books that are overflowing th shelves in my bedroom. Among the books I re-read are my older SF, especially Heinlein, Asimov, and Spider Robinson, and several mystery authors (Dorothy Sayers Agatha Christie, and Rex Stout come to mind). I’ve read through my Travis McGee collection several times.

If something is worth reading in the first place, it’s probably worth rereading. Yeah, there’s an almost infinite amount of reading material out there, but how much of it is worth reading even once? My daughter left a lot of books here when she visited over the holidays (and she took some of my old books with her), and about half aren’t worth reading once.

So, I’m firmly in the rereading camp. I especially like to reread books that I read as a child or young adult, to pick up on stuff that I missed the first time around.

I read all the damn time, and since I’m not Rockefeller, I re-read constantly. (I don’t like the library.)

My at least once a year book list is something like:

Gone with the Wind
The Stand
Terms of Endearment
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
A Time to Kill
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas
Freakanomics
The Biggest Secrets series

And then, I go through reading phases, like re-reading all of my Stephen King, John Grisham, Dave Barry, Chuck Klosterman, Hunter Thompson, John Irving. I remember losing a big chunk of last Spring to a straight re-read through of The Gunslinger series - on the 10th re-read, it still had the power to take over my mental life for a while.

And I fill in the rest with random books, and I always have one or two “active” trivia books like an Uncle John’s Reader or The Straight Dope Series.

I just finished Freakanomics again, and am working on Gone With the Wind. I also have an AV Club book, a home decorating book and a Chuck Klosterman currently around the house to read.

I have a bad habit of reading too fast - last Christmas, I got 4 new books (a Hughes bio, a book on the Oscars, some light fiction) and read them in 3 days. It drives my husband crazy.

The internet has been great for finding new things to read. Ten years ago I used to re-read a lot, because I couldn’t find anything new that appealed to me. The few readers I know in real life don’t read the kind of books I enjoy.

Thanks to sites like the SDMB and Goodreads and Amazon, I don’t have that problem anymore. I now have the opposite problem - I won’t live long enough to read everything I want to read.

Wow. I have to think about this. Because I’m a re-reader, and I wonder if my life would be improved if I spent that time finding/reading new works.

But there are a number of books that I consider “comfort food”. And re-re-re-reading them is therapy.

Oh, and you mystery fans? I have advice for you: Get Older.
I finally got to the point where I picked up an early Dorothy Sayers and thoroughly enjoyed it… partially because I didn’t remember who dunnit.

i’m a rereader. music, tv shows, movies, books, all things to enjoy multiple times.

there are some i don’t reread, i’ve gotten a lot better at send those books along, and with my kindle i’ve started to pack on some books that i know i reread and give away the paperback on the shelf.

I’ve actually been rereading a bit more over the last few years – mostly books I read 30-40 years ago (I’m 56). Some stuff holds up, some doesn’t.

I don’t think I’ve ever reread an entire book. I’ll reread certain passages over again, but not whole books. I’m also poor, so I don’t buy many books. I use the the library constantly. There are too many books worth read and not enough time, especially as I’m not a super-speed reader.

I reread all the time. More than I read new materials, by far. It’s completely normal for me to read a book and then begin rereading it in the same sitting.

I almost never re-watch things. No idea why.

I re-read my favorites about once a year. I’ve always been that way–books I loved and read over and over as a kid, then as a teen have dropped off the list as newer faves enter the rotation.

A couple of titles have withstood the test of time:
The Stand
Memoirs of an Invisible Man by H.F. Saint. Nothing at all like the shitty movie.
Two or three others I’m too embarrassed to mention

More than once, I’ve picked up one of those books just to read my favorite parts, and before I know it, I’m knee-deep and gobbling up every word to the very end.

I like new books too.

I’ve been reading virtually no new books for the last few years, save for non-fiction books, because I’m totally broke, the library sucks here and I have specific taste, so even when I had plenty of money to buy books, I didn’t buy that much back then.
I love re-reading books I’ve enjoyed, so it works out.