What are you rereading?

What with "what are you reading" topics popping up constantly, I thought I'd put a little spin on it to enliven the conversation. I'm not currently rereading anything, but next summer I plan to reread all 7 Harry Potter books.

I'm pretty much always re-reading stuff. Currently Century rain next up Big Over Easy then I plan the new The Fourth bear which will be the only non-reread.

I want to re-read Twilight and New Moon before Eclipse comes out in a couple weeks.

Yesterday I picked up a manga called Her Majesty's Dog that I read through twice yesterday. The first time I was just learning how to read it, the second time was for pure enjoyment because I really loved it!

I've mostly been steering clear of rereads this year so I'll be able to get through more of my TBR pile, but I did just finish a big reread of all the Harry Potter books. I'm also slowly but surely rereading the Elfquest series, just as I feel like it.

I don't re-read that often, simply because there are so many new reads on my TBR list. However, I have made a mental note to try to re-read more when my mind needs a bit more of a rest, instead of reading new stuff. I recently re-read Pillars of the Earth ahead of the sequel coming out and loved it as much as the first time.

I will be rereading War and Peace when the new translation by Pevear and Volokhonsky comes out in October.

It comes out in October? Good to know!

Ken Follett's sequel is called World Without End. Amazon says it is due Oct. 9, 2007.

I started re-reading Ian Fleming's James Bond series, but there are just so many books out there to be read for the first time that I stopped. Of course that dip into re-reading was driven by the return of the movie series to the one Bond book that wasn't turned into a movie by the "official" team (though it was the basis for a TV movie (or an episode - information is differing; had Bond as an CIA agent :)) and then later an movie by different producers of the "official" movies).

I re-read old favorites all the time. At the moment I'm reading All Quiet on the Western Front again.

"The God of Small Things" by Arundhati Roy. Excellent book ! Rereading for a face2face book group. I specifically suggested we read this as I read it long ago and wanted an excuse to reread it. I have so many on the TBR stacks that to reread a book doesn't seem like the best use of my time. I do this occasionally, suggest a book I want to reread. I did this with T.R. Pearson's "A Short History of a Small Place", "BreakHeart Hill" by Thomas Cook and "A Prayer For Owen Meany" by John Irving are a few that come to mind.

I usually don't do re-reads. But right now I've just begun re-reading Mrs. Dalloway, The Bell Jar and one of my favorites: Girl With A Pearl Earring. I love read books over and over cause you always see something that you didn't see before. I mostly have to re-read anything by Virgina Woolf or Sylvia Plath. They can just be so complicated, but so wonderful and brilliant.

I used to reread books when I was teaching them, (former high school English teacher). Now I reread books because my book club or a student book club (currently I'm a teacher librarian) is doing a book, and I need to review it.

I read Lolita three times in April 2007 just for the sheer joy of it! I've read Jane Eyre 4 ot 5 times in my life.

Otherwise, I tend not to reread.

I fantasize that when I'm old I'll reread all the books I've loved and see them in a new way.

I often reread books. I recently reread Sunshine by Robin McKinley for the 6th (or something) time and I might have to reread it again, as it's just about the only book unpacked in my new apartment.

#14 - bluesalamanders
Sunshine is also one of my all time big rereads - but I reread most of McKinleys work regularly. When I first read it, reread it immediately. Same with Spirits that Walk in Shadow

Last week I managed to reread A Brother's Price twice (and read it once:-). Right now I am not rereading, and the next few books I've lined up are all new.

I just finished re-reading all the Harry Potter books right before Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows came out. I also plan on re-reading all of Jane Austen's novels (I do this about once a year).

#5 - Not to derail the thread, but john257hopper, there's a sequel coming out to Pillars of the Earth? Could you drop by my profile and shoot me some comment info about it? Loved that book too!

I've kept books for 30 years. When I am in one of my frugal phases, delving back into the '70s is fun. I have to be careful though. What I found fun and interesting when I was 10 may not be when I am 40. I hate losing those fond memories.

I just started rereading Redwall by Brian Jacques. Wonderful YA fantasy fiction. We'll see if it is as good as I remember.

Right now i'm rereading Middlemarch. After reading a bunch of fantasy books, Harry Potter among them, it's so nice to read beautiful prose!

#18 - tcgardner: I haven't thought about Brian Jacques and the Redwall series in years.

Those were the best books! I'll have to add that series to my re-reads for this year!

I re-read by accident sometimes...otherwise I tend not to. The only book I have ever wanted to read over and over again was Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption...finished the last page and immediately went back to the first page and starting reading it again.

>Right now i'm rereading Middlemarch. After reading a bunch of fantasy books, Harry Potter among them, it's so nice to read beautiful prose!

You may be interested in A.S. Byatt's take on Middlemarch.

Thanks for that. Interesting that Byatt goes on & on about a spider metaphor, which I don't really see in Middlemarch, but Byatt herself uses to great effect in Angels & Insects.

Byatt certainly is an odd duck, no? I do love her books, mostly, but she can be such a prig at times in her essays!

I'm re-reading Jasper Fforde's Thursday Next series in anticipation of Thursday Next: First among Sequels. I know it's already out, but I'm a paperback kinda guy, so I get some extra time.

(edited to fix touchstone)

littlegeek - A few years back, Byatt appeared at an author chat at a now (sadly) defunct bookstore here in San Francisco called "A Clean Well-Lighted Place for Books." An audience member actually asked her what she thought about the Harry Potter books. She expressed her utter dismay at their popularity. She said something to the effect of "why on earth don't you read Pratchett?" Apparently, Terry Pratchett is her "guilty pleasure" reading (although she didn't put it in those terms).

I know she hates Potter. Personally, I think she's just got a case of professional jealousy. Yes, the prose is not spectacular, but the imaginative ideas are charming. And I like Pratchett ok, but Rowling & Pratchett aren't really comparable. The audience is completely different.

I dig her books, but I think I'd rather have a pint with Pratchett, or Rowling, for that matter!

>1 DeusExLibris: Child_of_Light

I was thinking of starting a new topic called 'What do you re-read every year, but... you guys are pretty close to that already. DO you have things you regularly go back to?

I remember an interview with Christopher Lee where they were asking him about casting for the Jackson production of the J.R.R. Tolkein trilogy; he said that the reason he wanted on the project was that he'd re-read the books every year for a very long time. And I have to say, so do I.

Here's a short list of my regulars, not including the 'escapist' stuff that I use to put me to sleep:

Dune
Cyrano de Bergerac
The Moon is a Harsh Mistress
The Book of Morgaine
Mark Twain
Jonathan Swift
The Left Hand of Darkness
Across the Sea of Suns

These are all rich enough that I learn something new every time I read them, and I'd rather do that than get irritated by something new; I seldom put down books in the middle.

Anyone else?

27> wyrdchao, do you read Cyrano in French or English? If the latter, what translation do you recommend? I appear to have developed an obsession with translations. I blame The Three Musketeers.

And as I've posted on this thread I feel like I have to comment on my re-reading habits! I'm currently re-reading Terry Pratchett's Discworld series, mostly as easy-to-read, not-totally-fluff book fodder. I re-read Haroun and the Sea of Stories every so often, because it's amazing, and Under Plum Lake, but I always leave a while between: I think I feel like I can savour it more if I do that! But I don't have any books I re-read every year. I don't seem to get through enough books each year to have a list like that!

> 28

English (as if I new any French, bwahahaha). The translation I have is by Lowell Bair, and it has a lot of intersting extras concerning the French and English actors who have most famously played Cyrano.

I've never seen the play, myself, but I've seen three different screen versions; the Jose' Ferrer (my favorite), the newer Gerard Depardieu (sp?), and..umm..Roxanne. Go, Steve, go!

> 29 I always used to watch the Depardieu version with my Dad when I was younger, which was why the fact that you were reading it caught my eye! I might have to look a copy out :-)

the Pagan series, by Catherine Jinks, starting with Pagan's Crusade as I'm addicted to that series. And the Pirates! Series by Gideon Defoe. the pirates in an adventure with scientists is the first one.

I seldom re-read, but here are the books I have re-read in my life:

23 Peter Pan, by Sir J. M. Barrie (read about 1937 - re-read as Peter Pan or The Boy Who Would Not Grow Up on 8 Aug 1998)
104 Beau Geste, by Percival C. Wren (read in 1942 - re-read 1 July 1961)
229 Giants in the Earth, by O. E. Rolvaag (read 14 Jan 1946 - re-read 19 Aug 1969)
230 Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Bronte (read 20 Jan 1946 - re-read 29 Nov 1973)
231 Wuthering Heights, by Emily Bronte (read 23 Jan 1946 - re-read 8 Dec 1973)
298 The Return of the Native, by Thomas Hardy (read 24 Nov 1946 - re-read 16 Jan 1965)
315 Brideshead Revisited The Sacred and Profane Memories of Captain Charles Ryder, by Evelyn Waugh (read 18 Mar 1947 - re-read 27 Nov 1982)
469 The Girl in the House of Hate, by Charles and Louise Samuels (read 4 Jan 1955 - re-read 11 Aug 1962)
1196 The Incredible Journey, by Sheila Burnford (read 12 Nov 1972 - re-read 15 Apr 1991)
2183 The Third Army, by Wayne Johnson (read 26 Jan 1989 - re-read 8 Sep 1997)
2678 Encountering Mary: From LaSalette to Medjugorje, by Sandra L. Zimdars-Swartz (read 23 Nov 1994 - re-read 1 Nov 2000)

This year so far I've only re-read three books. The Named and The Dark by Marianne Curley and Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince. There are a couple others I would like to re-read, but I have so much in my tbr pile and requested from the library the chances are slim that I will get to them.

I'm not including the manga that I tend to re-read over and over and over again. I just can't help myself with those!

I am rereading Independent People by Halldor Laxness. I read it first for a church book group, and we all liked it a lot ("the best novel"). Another book group formed in the church; some of us participated in it too. The first group disbanded. Independent People kept getting mentioned in the second; a couple of months ago one of us said, "We could read it again." I am happy to be doing it.

The books that I know myself to reread are The Glass Bead Game, Lord of the Rings, and Paradise Lost. It is getting close to time to reread the last. I am hopeful of rereading Paradiso soon; I have a well regarded new translation.

For one reason or another I have happily reread Maggie, a Girl of the Streets, Their Eyes Were Watching God, All the Kings Men, a few books of the Bible, V, Pilgrim's Progress, War and Peace, and the forgotten ones. Tolstoy will very likely get more attention.

I am surprised that I haven't memorably reread nonfiction. I started once to reread Godel, Escher, Bach, but grad school, full time work, and other contingencies kept me from it. I expect sometime soon to reread some Nietzsche, but I can't remember, besides Zarathustra what I read before. I have set up Emotion and Peace of Mind: From Stoic Agitation to Christian Temptation for rereading but without any specific plans; I have Sorabji's Self: Ancient and Modern Insights about Individuality, Life, and Death to read first.

I read Henry James in college. Any reading in him now is possible rereading. I only remember that we did not read The Golden Bowl; that was a grown up pleasure. I have what I call my Ulysses project, which entails reading about twenty books including rereading Ulysses and The Odyssey.

Robert

It would take too long for me to list everything I've reread this year - of the 100+ books I've read, I've read around half of then at least once before. They can all be found here, though - the rereads don't have an asterisk (*) by the title.

However, I just finished four new reads in a row (I haven't yet posted about the last two), so last night for my bedtime reading I picked up Dealing with Dragons by Patricia C. Wrede, which I've read probably several dozen times before. So much so, in fact, that I need a new copy - mine is falling apart. It's a fun, quick book that I'll probably finish tonight.

I'm currently rereading Madeleine L'Engle. God rest her soul.

Rereading both His Dark Materials and Kap'tän Blaubär. And Wuthering Heights through dailylit.com - I read that when I was 18, I was wondering if I would like it more now I'm 39. I'm still not sure I like it.

#32 - I am awe inspired by the diligence with which you must have kept reading lists over more than 60 years. I'm 40 years old and have kept reading lists for only the last 10 years, but have tried to add to my LT catalogue from memory books I have read prior to that but do not own, but inevitably with only partial success.

With the publication of Bridge of Sighs by Richard Russo, I'm rereading his previous novels. He's one of the nest contemporary American novelists going.

ooh, thanks, rufustfirefly66, for mentioning Russo! I enjoyed Empire Falls a lot when we read it at my library group a couple of years ago, and then I forgot about my thought of trying some of his other stuff. Another few titles for my list that never seems to shrink.

I`m re-reading Somebody wants Me Dead by Richard Williams aka Stephen Frances aka Hank Jansen.

The one Jansen book that I`ve read didn`t impress me - maybe I was just unfortunate in my choice. I`ve read two of his Richard Williams books, and enjoyed both.

I have officially given up on Isabel Allende's The House of the Spirits and am considering a re-reading of Lucky Jim, by Kingsley Amis -something I know I'll enjoy.

I am rereading The Master and Margarita for a book group. I read it in the early 70s, so it will seem new again.

im re reading twilight. it's the only book i have ever been able to re read. i find it weird that anyone can sit down and watch rerun after rerun of those idiotic sitcoms but can't reread a book.

I just finished rereading The Lovely Bones which I surprisingly enjoyed so much more this time rereading than when I first read it maybe 5 years ago. I am also rereading for a book club Shadow of the Wind as I forgot a lot of the book. It still is very good 2nd time around.

Besides the obvious classics pride and prejudice and wuthering heights, I also plan to re-read:

bel canto by ann patchett
lonesome dove by larry mcmurtry
i was amelia earhart by jane mendolsohn

I've also re-read George RR Martin's series at least once and will do so again before the next book is out!

All books that had a huge impact on me for whatever reason.

I've been rereading The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco. The book is as dense as I remember it, but it does feel a little less intimidating.

#38 - i started keeping track of what I read when I was in third grade--when I could remember every book I had ever read: there were only about 20. I find that I have saved very much time by keeping track of what I read, so I don't unknowingly re-read. Since 1969 I have done a post-reading note on every book I read, so that my mind can be refreshed as to the book or at least what I thoght of it. Now I have the entire list on the computer and can get the eact title, author, or date read in a second or two. This makes the silly game played on another thread very easy since I can in a click find every book I have read with, e.g., the word "vietnam" in its title. 16, , I just determined.

For some reason most of my re-reads involve psychology books. I've re-read An Unquiet Mind by Kay Redfield Jamison a handful of times. I've also read Girl, Interrupted by Susanna Kaysen, Skin Game by Caroline Kettlewell, and I never promised you a rose garden a couple of times.

However, my all time favorite reread is The Secret Garden. I never get sick of it. I also fairly regularly reread some of Chuck Palahniuk's books.

>48 Schmerguls: I wish I'd done that. I've been such a voracious reader for such a long time, it often happens that I get a few chapters into a book and realize, "Doh! I've read this before!" I think it's mainly because as a child/young teen I used to just randomly pull books off my mom's shelves (also a voracious reader) and go at them. It's gotten to the point where I intentionally avoid buying used books by the authors I remember her having a lot of - Sidney Sheldon, Ken Follett, Robert Ludlum... because every time I've picked one up, it's turned out to be something I've read before. (Sadly, her shelves were also filled with a lot of Danielle Steel type authors, but I don't have to "remind" myself not to read those... how weird to think I was reading that stuff at 11, 12 years old. My mom's attitude was always, "Hey, at least she's reading!")

Anyway, I try not to re-read fiction, there's too much good stuff out there to read for the first time, I'll never get to it all. The exception is when new books are released in series that I love, and I go back to re-read just to refresh my memory. I've read the first few books in Steven Erikson's Malazan series a few times now, with another re-read coming soon.

Non-fiction, I do a lot of re-reading, mainly for research purposes. Right now, I'm reading John Rawls's Theory of Justice for probably the 6th or 7th time.

ETA: a lot of touchstones not working here. sorry.

Currently in reading: The Historian by Elisabet Kostova, Peter Rabbit by Beatrix Potter, I'm with the band by Pamela Des Barres and a manga series Emma by Kaoru Mori

"An Unquiet Mind" by Kay R. Jamison. Always interesting.

I'm re-reading Fred Vargas, the two books of the Three Evangelists group. Now , I hear that there will be a third book. I am really very happy to hear of it. She's an interesting writer and I have re-read several of her other works also, the Commander Adamsberg ones. The book,
An Uncertain Place is a great re-read. What interests one person frequently has very little appeal to his friend, as I have found many times. So, I no longer recommend the things I read to others.

I did a lot of re-reading recently while recovering from surgery: several of UKL's Earthsea books, plus Julia Spencer-Fleming's Clare Fergusson mystery series. Now that I can process new stuff again, I'm trying to catch up on that!

I've been rereading more of this year than other years. I decided I needed to break up my TBR reading with Comfort reads of things I loved.
So these are the things I've been reading:
Dorothy Sayers mysterieso
Ellis Peters mysteries
Terry Prachett
And anything else I feel like rereading.
Presently,
At Home in Mitford by Jan Karon
Orthodoxy by G.K. Chesterton

Just reread Quotable Eleanor by Chandler Roosevelt Lindsley.
I love Eleanor Roosevelt. These quotations were compiled by her granddaughter.

Here's one for today -
"America's objective today should be to make herself the best possible mirror of democracy that she can. The people of the world can see what happens here."

Currently I am rereading 1984 - just finished rereading Boat of a Million Years. I have not read 1984 since high school, some fifty years ago.