Which books do you reread most

[afv011]

I don't re-read books as a general rule, though there are a few I might consider re-reading because I read them not in the author's language, but translated.

[Yapyap]

I re-read books a lot more as a child, but I still do it with some books.

Books/series re-read in recent years:

The Harry Potter series
The Skulduggery Pleasant series (with the exception of the latest book; keep thinking I need to re-read it soon though)
The Three Musketeers & sequels

Books I used to re-read a lot but haven't done so in recent years, although I keep thinking I want to...

The Hobbit
Jane Eyre
Various Jules Verne books
Various Arthur Conan Doyle books (not Sherlock Holmes - mostly Professor Challenger)

[Joy736]

The only books I can think off are the Harry Potter books. Not very orriginal but I've never re-read any other book. There's too many books and too little time to do so although a lot of book are deffinitely worth it.

[AlexBell]

Originally Posted by ebusinesstutor

For me it is series like these:

Elizabeth Moon's Vatta's War Series
Elizabeth Moon's Serrano/Suiza Series
Lois McMaster Bujold Vorkosigan Series
Lois McMaster Bujold's Curse of Chalion
Roger Zelazny's Amber Series
Kristine Katherine Rusch's Retrieval Artist Series

Like coming home to old friends...

You don't read Lois McMaster Bujold's The Sharing Knife series?

I've read them often, and also The Daughter of Time by Josephine Tey, the Benjamin January series by Barbara Hambly, Jane Austen, and occasionally H. Rider Haggard.

I've just read All Roads Lead to Austen by Amy Smith, and left it on my Sony because I know I will read it again.

[graycyn]

I re-read a LOT as a child, probably because I was limited to what was on hand, as I was only likely to be taken to the city library once every couple of weeks.

Book I read most as a child: Swiss Family Robinson. Bet I read it 50 times. I read it so much that I've never read it again as an adult! Treasure Island was also popular, as was anything by Jules Verne. Loved and still love Bagnold's National Velvet and O'Hara's My Friend Flicka series.

Another that was hit hard as a child, but is still being read occasionally is my now wretched and quite rare paperback copy of Kin Platt's Sinbad and Me.

Also hit the Hardy Boys up hard, since Dad had a set, likewise for Leo Edwards' Jerry Todd and Poppy Ott series. The latter I have also enjoyed an occasional read of as an adult, they are too funny!

As I got a little older, other favorite re-reads were David Copperfield, The Secret Garden and my grandmother's copy of The Decline and Fall of Practically Everybody, all of which are still on the bookshelves here. Also loved Mowat's The Dog Who Wouldn't Be.

And anything mystery. Mom had this set of little red books that were full of mysteries, Sherlock Holmes and Agatha Christie were the ones I re-read most.

In high school, LOTR, Dune, Anna Karenina, The Once and Future King were all favorites that I read many times. Gone with the Wind is another. Rissa Kerguelen (omnibus) was another with many reads.

Later, McCaffrey's Dragonriders, Mary Stewart's The Crystal Cave Arthurian series.

Currently very fond of Elizabeth George's Lynley and Havers series and Laurie R King's Mary Russell series. I can re-read any of those, did the whole Lynley series again just last year.

Gads, it is scary how much I read! And I fit in new stuff all the time too. I don't re-read quite as much as an adult, but I sure still do it!

Oh, and for the romance category, where I don't generally do a ton of reading, I have a re-read favorite there as well, Jennifer Crusie's Faking It.

Sadly, even after this list, I know I am forgetting some.

[rjmac]

I have reread A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens a few times. Also the Hobbit and Lord of the Rings.

[speakingtohe]

Originally Posted by Spock96

I can't re-read books, soon as I either pull one out or start thinking about doing so I'll remember most of the jist of the story and then I put it back.

I'm with you on this one. I have reread books in times of scarcity, when it was reread or nothing.

My grandmother told me (when she was in her late 90's) that it was one of the few benefits of old age, that you could reread a book

I almost envy those who enjoy re-reading, but with so many books I know I will like and have yet to read available, I am feeling no worse off for not enjoying re-reading.

Each to his own and happy rereading to those who enjoy it.

Helen

[CWatkinsNash]

Originally Posted by Spock96

I can't re-read books, soon as I either pull one out or start thinking about doing so I'll remember most of the jist of the story and then I put it back.

Ditto. I'm often astounded at how clearly it all comes back to me when I try to re-read certain books.

Originally Posted by tompe

But the story is not the interesting part. The journey is. A good book you should be able to re-read event if you remember every detail.

If I remember every detail (or even most), reading it becomes something akin to deja vu. And for me, at least, deja vu is not comfortable. It doesn't feel to me like visiting old friends or taking a trip to a favorite place. It's more like visiting an old haunt, finding all your friends still there, drunk and telling the same stories they were telling last time you stopped by.

The only books I enjoy re-reading are long, rather involved tomes with lots of details and such. For example, The Stand by Stephen King. Even then, It has to be 7 or 8 years between readings for me to enjoy it again. The same is true for some series, like Anne Rice's Vampire / Mayfair chronology (two separate but somewhat intersecting series).

I also rarely re-watch movies, for the same reason.

But one of the great things about reading is that it's primarily an individual pursuit, and there's no one right way or wrong way to enjoy reading (or re-reading). We can all do as we like.

[DiapDealer]

My inability to re-read has nothing to do with "knowing what's going to happen" (not directly anyway). I want to re-read, but I can't. Not because there's no joy in it, but because I simply can't focus. I read something that I didn't catch the first time around and immediately start trying to fit it in with what I know is coming from my previous read. Part of my mind goes on a wild tangent while my eyes are still scanning the pages (and my hands are even turning the pages), but I'm no longer reading. I'm just turning pages and moving my eyes while my mind is working a future problem in the plot. Then I catch myself and have to figure out exactly where my eyes stopped seeing the words and start over from there. But it eventually happens all over again. I'm skimming pages without the words truly registering while thinking about other parts of the book. I hate skimming; I won't ever consciously do it. So eventually I just gave up trying.

It's my loss, I know. I really do envy those who can still re-read books.

[speakingtohe]

Originally Posted by DiapDealer

My inability to re-read has nothing to do with "knowing what's going to happen" (not directly anyway). I want to re-read, but I can't. Not because there's no joy in it, but because I simply can't focus. I read something that I didn't catch the first time around and immediately start trying to fit it in with what I know is coming from my previous read. Part of my mind goes on a wild tangent while my eyes are still scanning the pages (and my hands are even turning the pages), but I'm no longer reading. I'm just turning pages and moving my eyes while my mind is working a future problem in the plot. Then I catch myself and have to figure out exactly where my eyes stopped seeing the words and start over from there. But it eventually happens all over again. I'm skimming pages without the words truly registering while thinking about other parts of the book. I hate skimming; I won't ever consciously do it. So I eventually I just gave up trying.

It's my loss, I know. I really do envy those who can still re-read books.

Happens to me as well although I could not put it so clearly.

I go into blah blah blah mode when reading long recaps from previous books in a series even. Then I find myself several pages down the book without a clue what I have read. Oh well.

Helen

[rkomar]

Originally Posted by DiapDealer

My inability to re-read has nothing to do with "knowing what's going to happen" (not directly anyway). I want to re-read, but I can't. Not because there's no joy in it, but because I simply can't focus. I read something that I didn't catch the first time around and immediately start trying to fit it in with what I know is coming from my previous read. Part of my mind goes on a wild tangent while my eyes are still scanning the pages (and my hands are even turning the pages), but I'm no longer reading. I'm just turning pages and moving my eyes while my mind is working a future problem in the plot. Then I catch myself and have to figure out exactly where my eyes stopped seeing the words and start over from there. But it eventually happens all over again. I'm skimming pages without the words truly registering while thinking about other parts of the book. I hate skimming; I won't ever consciously do it. So eventually I just gave up trying.

It's my loss, I know. I really do envy those who can still re-read books.

So it sounds like your memory is too good. Mine isn't, which may explain why I don't have any trouble with re-reading. Although, for books I read a long time ago, I will occasionally get a flash of the way I pictured the characters back then and find that it was totally different than the new way I'm doing it. It always leaves me a little flustered (why couldn't I remember? why have they changed? was it because I changed?...)

[Freeshadow]

Originally Posted by tompe

But the story is not the interesting part. The journey is. A good book you should be able to re-read event if you remember every detail.

^This. Same for movies and adventure games.
Don't possess any books not worth a reread. That's my test for quality. Would never recommend a book I found readable once only.

[DiapDealer]

Originally Posted by rkomar

So it sounds like your memory is too good.

That's part of it, yes. Not photographic by any means, but a little too good for my own comfort at times, quite frankly.

[Yapyap]

I've found that some books are far more rewarding in re-reading than others. This can be especially obvious in series with plot arcs that cover the whole series, or with continuous character development - I've discovered all sorts of little clues and things upon re-reading that seemed like throwaway lines or mentions upon the first read, but then after a plot twist or reveal in the fifth or sixth book in the series, you suddenly realise that the clues were there all along.

Other books though are pretty straightforward - what you get out of it on the first read is the same what you get out of it when re-reading, apart from the element of surprise (if re-reading fairly soon after the first read). So it really does depend for me, and it's one factor that determines whether I can happily re-read a series 4-5 times or whether once will be enough.

Of course, I also don't have the best memory around, and I read a fair bit, so chances are that unless a book has been *really* memorable for some reason (which happens with maybe 1-2 books a year, and only if I can talk about it with someone), if I pick it up again 3-4 years later, I won't remember much of the plot, never mind anything else.

It also depends on the genre - with straightforward mysteries, I wouldn't re-read them any time soon after the first read (I would many years later though, once I'm sure I've forgotten who did what!), while with other books, it really is the journey that matters, more than whether I remember the plot outcome/details or not. I think for me this is largely a difference between plot-driven books and character-driven books, too.

[John Carroll]

David Eddings's Belgariad and Mallorean.

Anne McCaffrey's Dragonriders of Pern

Glen Cook's Black Company.