Why we re-read...

[Todd Young]

There's plenty of books I re-read regularly. I don't think there's anything strange about that.

[xg4bx]

Originally Posted by crich70

There are some people who read a book only once for some reason. I don't understand it either.

i only read books once. its simply too much of a time investment to reread a book, a movie is done in 90 minutes.

the only occasion where i'll reread a book is if i get back into a series and its been years since i've read previous installments

[tubemonkey]

Originally Posted by xg4bx

i only read books once. its simply too much of a time investment to reread a book, a movie is done in 90 minutes.

Spot on

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by xg4bx

i only read books once. its simply too much of a time investment to reread a book, a movie is done in 90 minutes.

the only occasion where i'll reread a book is if i get back into a series and its been years since i've read previous installments

I don't understand that argument. If you know that re-reading a book is going to be a pleasurable experience, then a longer book is more pleasure; you think that's bad?

I regard my favourite books as old friends; re-reading simply renews our friendship. Eg, I re-read "The Lord of the Rings" every couple of years.

[tubemonkey]

Originally Posted by HarryT

I don't understand that argument. If you know that re-reading a book is going to be a pleasurable experience, then a longer book is more pleasure; you think that's bad?

For me, reading a book I haven't read before is more pleasurable than reading one I have. Since reading takes a large investment of time, I'd rather explore new territory.

* there are exceptions and I have a few very favorites I'll re-read, but they number less than a dozen.

[AgentOrange]

I have books I like to re-read every year, but I can definitely understand the argument that there are so very many books to read and so little time, too. I have hundreds of books on my to-read list, but that doesn't stop me from going back to say 'hi' to my old friends.

[Fozzybear]

There's no wrong or right to reading once or re-reading... in fact I'm not sure why people would feel uncomfortable about doing either really. I read quite a lot of books only once but there are some books that I really love and will re-read often. A lot of Terry Pratchett's books are like that and I often re-read them when I'm feeling blue as they cheer me up... they're like papery comfort blankets!

[fjtorres]

Originally Posted by tubemonkey

For me, reading a book I haven't read before is more pleasurable than reading one I have. Since reading takes a large investment of time, I'd rather explore new territory.

* there are exceptions and I have a few very favorites I'll re-read, but they number less than a dozen.

Ah, so you do reread after all.

As many have pointed out, sometimes you want a fun reading experience without the risk of a letdown; what better want to one than a known-good book? A comfort read.

But there are other reasons, too.
People change over time; experience, perception, mood.
As the article points out, a lot of us reread to re-examine the material, look at it from a different perspective, see if it still offers the same experience or if there are new insights to be found from our older point of view.
Time colors memories and revisiting familiar experiences can be an exploration of self as well as the material. The researchers found a lot of that being done *consciously*.
That I found most interesting.

[latepaul]

It takes me on average about 8hours to read a book. A re-read is likely to be 8 hours where I can guarantee a certain level of pleasure. It'll usually involve anticipation of favourite scenes or characters. It may be slightly less due to familiarity. Also recently I've re-read a few books that I haven't read for 20+ years and whilst they were fun I'm not sure how much I expected to enjoy them was how much I actually did, because memory is unreliable and tastes change over that period.

A new read is always a risk. You might get 8 hours of pleasure of 8 hours of ho-hum or worse. I rarely give up on a book if I've started it so I guess that affects it too.

I've often thought if I were a faster reader then I'd be more experimental in my choices.

[spindlegirl]

I am an unabashed reoffender when it comes to books, movies, cds and tv shows.

I am a very picky buyer of things. I only buy things if I know I am going to completely exhaust the resource. I don't have the money to constantly be buying new things each time I want something.

[Apache]

When I buy a book I read it. If it is a good book, I will read it again in a few years. If it is a great book I will read it many times over the course of my life.
A great book does not have to necessarily be a classic although the classic genre have a larger percentage of great books.
Some, but not all of my favorites.
Louis L'Amour's The Walking Drum This is not a Western and his descriptions bring the 13Th Century alive.
C.S. Forester's Horatio Hornblower Series.
The Three Musketeers by Alexander Dumas.
Starship Troopers by Robert Heinlein.
Dune by Frank Herbert.
Shoot Him on Sight by William Colt MacDonald
Matt Helm Series by Donald Hamilton
The Corp Series by W.E.B. Griffin
Nero Wolfe by Rex Stout
The Kaahvren Romances and The Vlad Taltos Series by Steven Brust
And many many more.
Most I like because of the characters and the problems they solve. Movies are only 90 minutes long. I can savior the pleasures of a book for hour upon hour. And don't get me started on all of the interactions, by the characters of my books, that never make it into a movie. And all of the books that will never be made into a movie or were made into an uninteresting movie. I pity those who only watch movies.
Apache

[AlbertaCowboy]

Originally Posted by Apache

Starship Troopers by Robert Heinlein.

I reread books all the time, especially when I find one that really speaks to me. I first read Starship Troopers a year or two ago, and have since reread it three times, (now come to think of it, might be time for a fourth). Every time I hear about another activist group complaining about their "rights" I think it might be time to revisit the old Rodger Young.

[BeccaPrice]

I'm currently in something of a reading slump where none of the new books I have are appealing to me for some reason. I've just finished revisiting the Chalion and Sharing Knife books by Lois Bujold, which I seem to do every few years or so, and which never disappoint. I always find new things in them. A few favorite authors have new books coming out shortly, and I'm hoping those will break me out of the slump.

[Ninjalawyer]

I rarely re-read; in fact that only books I've ever re-read were the Hitchhiker's Guide books, and Hyperion. I just find that I'd much rather have a new experience.

I also don't really have any books I'd consider "comfort books". My favourite books of all time are 1984, A Canticle for Leibowitz and Fahrenheit 451; nothing that I'd consider reading as a pick-me-up

Edit

Come to think of it, I really don't like re-watching movies either. I think a big part of the experience for me is novelty and surprise, without those I'm not that interested. I also find that a second reading/watching lessens the emotional impact, so I don't remember the book/movie as fondly.

[frostschutz]

I think a large part of it is that I simply have a limited set of books/movies available at home, that I can read/watch as often as I like without having to spend money every time.

Going for a new book/movie on the other hand requires research (read reviews etc), and a money investment (no matter how small). And some uncertainty as to what you're getting.

At the end of the day the amount of money you can spend on new things is simply limited so why not read one of the old books. It helps that we're not computers but regular humans who tend to forget a lot of stuff over time, so reading a book / watching a movie you haven't read / watched for 3 years can be a very enjoyable experience.

If I wanted to never reread/rewatch anything, I'd have to stop buying altogether and instead go the rental route. I recently started renting movies instead of buying discs, because Bluray is just too damn expensive. And since renting costs money either way there the motivation is much larger to go for something new, rather than rent the same movie twice.