# Why read a book twice? Did you miss something the first time? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 26, 2003, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-read-a-book-twice-did-you-miss-something-the-first-time/221131 "2003-12-26T16:28:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![drm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a88e57/32.png) [@drm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drm)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2003, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-read-a-book-twice-did-you-miss-something-the-first-time/221131/21 "2003-12-26T21:39:58Z")
There are a few reasons, very similar to ones others have mentioned, why I may read a bood more than one, -I have bad reading comprehension, if I’m not careful and if I don’t take my time, it all slips away rather quickly. -I enjoyed reading the book the first time (authors writing style, characters, etc). I don’t really enjoy mysteries so for my purposes, the ending aren’t all that important. Precisely the same reason I’d watch a movie more than once…well not precisely, but I think you get the idea. -I like where it takes my imagination. ---
**Author:** ![drm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a88e57/32.png) [@drm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drm)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2003, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-read-a-book-twice-did-you-miss-something-the-first-time/221131/22 "2003-12-26T21:41:30Z")
it figures i’d make a bunch of mistakes in a thread about reading. :smack: ---
**Author:** ![rinni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f6c823/32.png) [@rinni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rinni)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2003, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-read-a-book-twice-did-you-miss-something-the-first-time/221131/23 "2003-12-26T21:54:17Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Avalonian \* > \*\*For example, I read Susan Cooper’s “Dark is Rising” series for the first time when I was in 5th Grade. \*\* Holy crap. I read that for the first time in 5th grade, too. I still read The Dark Is Rising (just that one book, though, it’s the only one I own, the rest were library borrows) once every couple of years. As soon as I read the title of this thread, I thought of The Dark Is Rising, actually. Come to think of it, I’d like to own that series. I think I’ll make it a mission of mine. About the actual topic, that’s an odd question. Why WOULDN’T you read a book twice if you liked it and had the time to do so? I liked pizza the first time I ate it, so I ate it again. I watch Seinfeld reruns infinitely because they still make me laugh. If The Dark Is Rising still gives me goosebumps 13 years later (and it does, baby!), I will still read it. Case closed. Book open! ---
**Author:** ![Dangerosa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Dangerosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dangerosa)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2003, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-read-a-book-twice-did-you-miss-something-the-first-time/221131/24 "2003-12-26T21:57:09Z")
Do they ever watch movies a second time? I read books a second time for a variety of reasons… Some are old friends - Pride and Prejudice will make me laugh out loud no matter how many times I’ve read it. I’ve read Anne of Green Gables regularly since I was ten. And To Kill a Mockingbird yearly since I discovered it a decade ago. Some are rich - I can read something like LOTRs many times, and pick up something new every time. I dare anyone to pick up an Umberto Eco book and acheive full comprehension in a single reading. Some I forget - popcorn books are easy to forget. Some I read again for bookclub or research or class or something else. ---
**Author:** ![Darkhold](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/90db22/32.png) [@Darkhold](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darkhold)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2003, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-read-a-book-twice-did-you-miss-something-the-first-time/221131/25 "2003-12-26T21:57:09Z")
I saw a sunset once. Didn’t bother again I saw a breathtaking painting once. Why go to the same museum again? My favorite song is on the radio so I better turn it off. I beat this video game better throw the CD away. The people that feel that way about books simply aren’t people that enjoy reading. Why do I read books over and over? Depends on what book. David Gemmel has a lot of easy to digest fantasy makes for a quick energetic read when I’m bored. Robert Jordan (minus his last 5 books) paints really pretty pictures in a world that lives and breathes(plus he sprinkles a lot of references both to his world and other works that I constantly find each time I read). George RR Martin has such complex stories you’d have to have a photographic memory to follow it all the first time through. Religious works to challenge my personal beliefs and to aid me in debates I’m sure to get into so I better have my details straight. Sandman books b/c hell I just love them. I could go on but I think that’s enough. ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2003, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-read-a-book-twice-did-you-miss-something-the-first-time/221131/26 "2003-12-26T21:58:40Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Master Wang-Ka \* > \*\*I first read “Animal Farm” when I was eleven. I thought it was some kind of fairy tale, not bad. > > I read it again when I was sixteen, and realized it was about communism. > > I read it again in my twenties, and realized it was a simplified parable about how Stalin came to power, among other things.\*\* Get out of my body! Seriously, subtract a year from the first two and three from the last, and that’s _exactly_ the way I came to that book. Scary. As a side discussion triggered by the OP, I reread books a lot less frequently the older I get. Partly it’s because I feel so much pressure to read new material; I had a backlog of like a dozen titles waiting for me to get to them before I got another four or five at Christmas. I definitely see the value of reading a book a second or third time, but I just don’t feel like I have the time. ---
**Author:** ![Snooooopy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ee7513/32.png) [@Snooooopy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snooooopy)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2003, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-read-a-book-twice-did-you-miss-something-the-first-time/221131/27 "2003-12-26T22:27:49Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Little Nemo \* > \*\*The argument I usually use when all else fails is to ask them if they’ve ever listened to a CD and enjoyed it. When they say yes, I ask them if they listened to it a second time. \*\* That’s hardly the same. A CD is something you can pop in the stereo and listen to while you’re doing other things. A book is something you kind of have to devote your concentration to. ---
**Author:** ![obfusciatrist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/4af34b/32.png) [@obfusciatrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/obfusciatrist)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2003, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-read-a-book-twice-did-you-miss-something-the-first-time/221131/28 "2003-12-26T22:27:56Z")
I rarely watch movies more than once (even though I prefer to buy them rather than rent; if I am watching a movie for the second time it usually means that I am bored and there are no new movies in the house). I don’t think I’ve ever listened to a CD twice (of course, I could count the number of CDs I’ve listened to on two hands). Books are mostly in the same category. It isn’t so much that I don’t want to read them again but with fiction I have too good of a memory for the written word and even years later I tend to remember too much. Also, there are too many good things I haven’t read that when it is a tie, I usually opt for the new thing rather than the old. On those few occassions when I seek out to reread something, it is usually because I think I’ve changed in some way in the intervening years that will alter my understanding or perception. In recent years I have gone back and read most of the books we were forced to read in high school English classes. Turns out I hated most of them because I was being forced to read them, not because they were bad. ---
**Author:** ![Podkayne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/edb3f5/32.png) [@Podkayne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Podkayne)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2003, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-read-a-book-twice-did-you-miss-something-the-first-time/221131/29 "2003-12-26T22:43:30Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Doghouse Reilly \* > **Why read a book twice? Did you miss something the first time?** Buh? You must work with some kinda mental giants, if they can read a book once and then recall it perfectly for the rest of their lifetimes. I’m rereading the _Dirk Gently_ books, which I first read, geez, it must have been ten years ago. I vaguely recall the plotlines and most of the main characters, but really, it’s like reading a new book. One of the blessings of a poor memory is that I can enjoy the same books (or movies, or knock-knock jokes 🙂 ) over and over again. The only good argument I can think of against rereading books is that there are so many books out there I _haven’t_ read. My husband rereads a lot more than I do. I’m too eager to get on to new stuff to get sidetracked by old favorites very often. ---
**Author:** ![Jurph](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/50afbb/32.png) [@Jurph](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jurph)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2003, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-read-a-book-twice-did-you-miss-something-the-first-time/221131/30 "2003-12-27T01:17:18Z")
If it’s a really well-written book, and I enjoy both the tale and the telling, it’s often worth three or four reads: once for understanding the basic plot; the second time to catch foreshadowing or major themes that parallel each other as well as to clear up confusion about inter-character relationships; a third time to do things like look for a particular word (e.g. “addiction” in _Infinite Jest_ or “choose” in _Trainspotting_) and its importance in key scenes. At this point, if I’m still really taking a book apart, I’ll have begun to underline passages, make notes in the margins referring back to other pages, and possibly (if I’m feeling ambitious) make margin notes that include quotations or citations from other works. _Many many_ times, however, I never go past the first reading: the plot is not intricate enough nor the writing good enough to warrant a second pass. As the OP suggested, there’s not much more to “get”. If I read one of those again, it’s because I liked the plot but perhaps don’t remember it, or want something “easy” (non-challenging) to just run my eyes over. If you want to use the CD analogy, then you need to separate active and passive listening before comparing the acts of active and passive reading. Neither _Infinite Jest_ nor _Quadrophenia_ were meant to be enjoyed idly, while Britney Spears’ and Dean Koontz’s latest works are usually enjoyed solely for their entertainment value. ---
**Author:** ![Mazikeen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a9a28c/32.png) [@Mazikeen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mazikeen)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2003, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-read-a-book-twice-did-you-miss-something-the-first-time/221131/31 "2003-12-27T01:22:33Z")
> [@](#): > > In recent years I have gone back and read most of the books we were forced to read in high school English classes. Turns out I hated most of them because I was being forced to read them, not because they were bad. I’ve done that as well recently, with both To Kill a Mockingbird and The Great Gatsby , but that was mostly because I liked those particular books back when I read them for English class. Maybe I should re-read the assigned books I didn’t particularly like–though I am rather relucatant to go near any copy of > [@](#): > > Ethan Frome if I can help it. A couple years ago I took a course in children’s lit, and so I got to re-read some of the books I had read during my childhood. Some of the books I reread I gained a new appreciation for while with others I was left wondering “What did I ever think was so great about this one?” ---
**Author:** ![Mazikeen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a9a28c/32.png) [@Mazikeen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mazikeen)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2003, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-read-a-book-twice-did-you-miss-something-the-first-time/221131/32 "2003-12-27T01:23:36Z")
Gah! :smack: Ethan Frome should be underlined. My apologies. ---
**Author:** ![EddyTeddyFreddy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eddyteddyfreddy/32/18796_2.png) [@EddyTeddyFreddy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EddyTeddyFreddy)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2003, 2:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-read-a-book-twice-did-you-miss-something-the-first-time/221131/33 "2003-12-27T02:45:35Z")
Why reread? All the good reasons have been pointed out already. I’ll just add that (as others have said) I tend to gallop through a book the first time, especially if it’s really well written and the plot is a grabber. I want to find out **what happens next**!!! Needless to say, I can roar right past subtleties that a second reading will reveal. Old friends get read again and again, with a few years often intervening. For a while, in my 30s, I would take several books on vacation with me each year: two or three new ones, plus LOTR and Samuel Butler’s _The Way of All Flesh_. Every rereading unfolded new aspects of the repeats. ---
**Author:** ![RadioOrange](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/a9adbd/32.png) [@RadioOrange](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RadioOrange)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2003, 4:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-read-a-book-twice-did-you-miss-something-the-first-time/221131/34 "2003-12-27T04:41:30Z")
Sometimes I’ll buy two copies of a book just so that I can read it twice. 😉 Growing up, most of my reading was Stephen King, Dean Koontz, etc, so I never really had the need to read a book twice. And now I’m usually too busy to read a book once. ---
**Author:** ![Enright3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/enright3/32/2897_2.png) [@Enright3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enright3)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2003, 5:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-read-a-book-twice-did-you-miss-something-the-first-time/221131/35 "2003-12-27T05:25:41Z")
My litmus test for a good movie is “Will I watch it again”? Ghandi… great movie… but I wouldn’t watch it again. Pulp Fiction? I’ll sit down right now and really enjoy watching it again, and again, and again. A few others that fall into this catagory… Bull Durham, Major League, The Godfather I & II, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, Raders of the Lost Ark. I could go on. Anyway, to me there are certain books that I just enjoy the story so much, that I’ll re-read it again and again. I’ve probably read The Godfather 50 times over the last 25 years (I’m actually reading it again right now). I’ve read The Princess Bride at least 10 times. I really enjoy that book. E3 ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2003, 5:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-read-a-book-twice-did-you-miss-something-the-first-time/221131/36 "2003-12-27T05:37:57Z")
Because I want to relive the experience of the book! Sure, it’s not QUITE as thrilling, when you don’t know the ending, but in other ways, it’s better, because you don’t feel so rushed to find out what happens. I’ve read some books so many times I’ve lost count. ---
**Author:** ![voguevixen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b5ac83/32.png) [@voguevixen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/voguevixen)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2003, 6:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-read-a-book-twice-did-you-miss-something-the-first-time/221131/37 "2003-12-27T06:03:31Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Jurph \* > \*\* > If you want to use the CD analogy, then you need to separate active and passive listening before comparing the acts of active and passive reading. Neither _Infinite Jest_ nor _Quadrophenia_ were meant to be enjoyed idly, while Britney Spears’ and Dean Koontz’s latest works are usually enjoyed solely for their entertainment value. \*\* Good point. That’s bordering on deep, even. But even so, there are books I read over and over BECAUSE of their “fluffy-ness.” For example I have books I love to re-read because of their powerful characters or stories, but I also have “tub reading” or “airplane books” that are entertaining in an entirely different way, and I wish to be re-entertained thusly. I think **Enright3** had a good point about rewatching movies. There is a lot to be said for the craft of moviemaking/writing. There are several movies you watch repeatedly because of how well-made they are, and in the same fashion, there are many books I like to re-read just because they were so well-written to begin with. Likewise, there are authors who have such a pathetic grasp of the language that I cannot read them no matter how interesting the story might be (JAMES PATTERSON!!!) I cannot comprehend the idea that someone couldn’t understand re-reading a book. There have been some books where I read it, then stared at the back cover when I was done (not quite believing it was over!) and seriously contemplated starting at the beginning and reading it again right then and there! Books. Love 'em. More. Gimme! ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2003, 12:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-read-a-book-twice-did-you-miss-something-the-first-time/221131/38 "2003-12-27T12:35:02Z")
A while ago a friend of mine and I were talking about books. It must have been when Gregory Peck died and _To Kill A Mockingbird_ came up in conversation. My friend said she had never read it. I grabbed it from the bookshelf and read the first couple of pages aloud to her and then handed her the book. She read for a while and then it was time for her to go. I re-read the book over the next few days - hearing a bit had got me going. My friend bought a copy on her way home. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2003, 12:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-read-a-book-twice-did-you-miss-something-the-first-time/221131/39 "2003-12-27T12:41:26Z")
I almost never re-read anything straight through. I usually say _The Great Gatsby_ is my favorite book, but I’ve only read it twice. Not because I don’t like books or reading, but I really have to force myself to read a book repeatedly to dissect it, examine the style, etc. I’m getting better at it. I re-read _Lolita_ a few months ago, and while I liked it the first time, it was WAY better the second time for just those reasons- it’s so complex you have to look over again and again to see how it works and how it’s put together. Watching the pieces fall into place made it that much more enjoyable. I did surely miss things because it’s so dense; I paid much more attention to the annotations this time and was rewarded for it. I’ve never re-read _The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy_, but I absolutely love the books. When I get bored, I very often just grab my giant copy and flip to some random point and start reading. So who knows how many times I’ve been through the thing in non-sequential fashion. That’s not something you can do with just any book, though. ---
**Author:** ![kambuckta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/53a042/32.png) [@kambuckta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kambuckta)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2003, 12:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-read-a-book-twice-did-you-miss-something-the-first-time/221131/40 "2003-12-27T12:53:20Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by don’t ask \* > \*\*A while ago a friend of mine and I were talking about books. It must have been when Gregory Peck died and _To Kill A Mockingbird_ came up in conversation. My friend said she had never read it. I grabbed it from the bookshelf and read the first couple of pages aloud to her and then handed her the book. She read for a while and then it was time for her to go. I re-read the book over the next few days - hearing a bit had got me going. My friend bought a copy on her way home. \*\* When I saw the thread title here, I immediately thought of ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ which I have read sooooooooo many times (at least 20), I can almost recite it word for word now. And like others have mentioned, it’s like meeting up with an old friend who is comfy and familiar, but with the extra that you always discover something new about your ‘friend’. It’s a special treasure to curl up in bed with such a book…which reminds me, it’s at least a year since I have read TKaM…I think it deserves a dusting-off again. Sometimes though I’ll even re-read crappy detective-type novels again, but only because I have a lousy memory and forget whodunnit. 😃 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-read-a-book-twice-did-you-miss-something-the-first-time/221131.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-read-a-book-twice-did-you-miss-something-the-first-time/221131.md?page=3)