Comments on: Rereading

By: on re-reading… | a writer's blog

on re-reading… | a writer's blog — Tue, 17 May 2011 05:19:17 +0000

[…] Jenny’s post on re-reading (which I read a while ago but haven’t found the time to write on) has got me thinking. Why is it that I enjoy the act of re-reading so much? Any why is it that sometimes all I can really bring myself to read is a book that I’ve read before? […]

By: The Secret History by Donna Tartt | A Good Stopping Point

The Secret History by Donna Tartt | A Good Stopping Point — Mon, 18 Apr 2011 00:42:49 +0000

[…] of Jenny’s Books has written that this is one of her favorite books to re-read. I can definitely see why you would […]

By: Samantha

Samantha — Sat, 16 Apr 2011 21:34:29 +0000

I enjoy rereading although like you I find myself doing it less now that I blog. I’m trying to make a more serious effort at rereading this year because I really do enjoy revisiting old favorites. And there is really nothing like a comfort read for me 🙂 I’m also a series kind of gal so rereading allows for me to revisit a series that I haven’t read in awhile and then continue on with it. Great post!

By: Aarti

Aarti — Fri, 15 Apr 2011 22:04:34 +0000

I don’t know why I don’t reread more. There are some books I would like to re-read, but they don’t generally draw me as much as a possibility of a new book. In that case, you’d think I’d not PURCHASE so many books, but I do! I think I just like having well-loved books NEAR me, just in case I need to read them again. It’s kind of like a security blanket, I guess. It just makes me feel whole to have my happy reading history with me, even if I don’t need to lean on it too often.

I have The Secret History. Every time I pick it up to read, I read the back cover, am reminded again of The Skulls, and put it back down. But one day, I shall get over this aversion and read it

By: Matthew

Matthew — Fri, 15 Apr 2011 20:26:05 +0000

I have maintained a re-read shelf in my growing book collection. Books are flagged for various reasons to be re-read: multi-layered meanings, beautiful prose, memorable/likable characters. What usually convinces me to mark a book for re-read is how it pulls my heartsring and triggers emotional provocation.

That said, some of the books I read on rotation are The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov, The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco, The Painted Veil by W. Somerset Maugham, The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro, The Go-Between by L.P. Hartley, and East of Eden by John Steinbeck. Re-reads rough accounts for 10% of my reading in a year.

By: Kristen M.

Kristen M. — Thu, 14 Apr 2011 05:42:47 +0000

I used to re-read over half of the time too and I’ve stopped for many of the same reasons that you have (except for the job part). I miss it. I’m going to start doing it more again — just as soon as I get through some of these other shiny new books. 😉

By: Erin

Erin — Wed, 13 Apr 2011 14:42:03 +0000

Yes yes yes, most especially to 3 and 3a. 3 most of all. I find myself subconsciously avoiding chunksters, too, because they take longer to read and therefore would leave me lacking in books to review while I read them. Which is silly! I also run into the “so many books, so little time” thing. With an ever-growing TBR list and pile, it’s hard to revisit a book I’ve already read.

By: Mumsy

Mumsy — Wed, 13 Apr 2011 12:17:32 +0000

In reply to Jenny. I didn't mean different from YOU - I meant, I first-read and re-read with different motivations. I guess that was such an obvious comment, you thought it must be more complicated!

By: Ela

Ela — Wed, 13 Apr 2011 08:25:45 +0000

I used to re-read a lot, before I started the new book a week meme a few years ago and consciously tried to read new stuff (and try new authors, too). My re-reads tend to be the things I read avidly as a teen – detective fiction, mostly – but because I have most of my books in storage I have a limited stock of stuff at home. I don’t tend to re-read non-fiction, either, unless I want to look up something, or it has been a particularly interesting book.

I agree with Memory that sometimes you just want to re-read something NOW and it’s so frustrating to know that you have the book but can’t find it. I can see myself getting second copies of lots of things for my Kindle…

By: Jenny

Jenny — Mon, 11 Apr 2011 00:08:06 +0000

In reply to Jenny.

I promise I’m not keeping things from you, Other Jenny! The only time I reread and don’t blog about it is if I’ve already written about that book, or if the book is so amazing I can’t think what to say about it.

I like the idea of wanting to spend time with the characters again, but I’m not sure that’s my motive in general. I reread a lot of books I liked as a kid, and not because their characters are always so beautifully drawn. Maybe it’s because I like feeling like the person I was when I read the books the first time, when I was little and things were, you know, simpler.