How many times will you read the same book?

With so many books and so little time, I'm wondering how many of you read books more than once. How about books you just reread again and again. And why? I've reread the Harry Potter series once, and A Tree Grows in Brooklyn and Gone With the Wind several times. I read Conrad Richter trilogy about the Trees, Fields and Towns at least twice. There may be a few others that aren't coming into my head right now but except for some children's fiction, which I reread because of my grandkids, I just can't see going back. So chime in. Tell me I'm wrong and that a great book deserves to be read again and again. Name the books.

Hi Vivienbrenda. I tend to agree with you because there doesn't appear to be that much time left for any of us. But I know that I buy the same book more than once, which is very irritating, especially when my wife discovers my error. I have read CS Lewis and JRR Tolkien more than once. I finally discovered Homer not too long ago, but found that I could only have someone else read it to me, i.e. books on tape. I just recently saw a new paperback edition of The Dark is Rising sequence with the note on the cover that it is being made into a movie. I always wondered why these languished in the children's section of the bookstores.

The only books that deserve to be reread by you are the books that you want to reread. If you don't want to, don't bother.

And to answer the question in the subject, I'll reread a book as many times as I feel like rereading it. The books I reread aren't necessarily the greatest or the most famous; I just read whatever I feel like reading. There are some books I've read two or three times in the past couple of years. And there are other books that I read once and never touch again.

Sometimes I finish a book with a sigh of relief, and put it on the Out pile. But more often I put it on a shelf (or in a box) to wait for next time. Like many people, I went through a phase of reading Lord of the Rings over and over; and there are books I know I shall enjoy revisiting, such as Titus Groan, Tigana, The Blanket of the Dark, Sword at Sunset, and Bleak House. I've just started reading Many Dimensions by Charles Williams for the second time.

There are a few books I read years ago that are very near and dear to my heart for whatever reason. I've thought about re-reading them, but for some reason I can't bring myself to do it. I guess I'm almost afraid that my attitude toward the book is going to be different, and it's going to ruin my memory. These books were very important to me during certain times in my life, and now that I'm in a different place (emotionally/mentally), will I still identify with them? Maybe, maybe not.

I think I read Lord of the Rings about 11 times in my teens (shortly after the discovery of the wheel). I've read the Gormenghast Trilogy three times. I've read Bleak House three times, Pride and Prejudice maybe 5 times (all of Austen, really). But one of my biggest comfort rereads is the Mapp & Lucia series, all 6 books, by E.F. Benson. I don't know why but when I'm knocked out with a bug, I just curl up on the couch with my old bathrobe and the afghan and read that whole darn series. By time I've finished, I'm better, mentally and physically.

Thanks for the laugh tiffin. I think I date back to fire.

I'll reread something as many times as it takes for me to get sick of it. Some books only deserve a single reading, to my mind; others, I'll keep around for considerably longer. Absolutely everything in my library is something I intend to reread, and a few titles, (namely, Lloyd Alexander's Chronicles of Prydain, Anne Rice's Vampire Chronicles and Neil Gaiman's Sandman), I've read as many as ten times. I long ago lost track of how many times I've read C.S. Lewis's Chronicles of Narnia, but it's definitely over twenty.

I've reread several of the books in The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant trilogies up to 6 times -- the most recent of which was just last year, in preparation for the latest installments.

There's another book -- The Common Sense No-Frills, Plain-English Guide to Being a Successful Dad : (that every mother should read too) by Dr. Ronald L. Klinger that I would pick up and read about once every 6 months, for YEARS! It took me only 2 nights to read it, and helped me not forget what my priorities were (and still are). It was an exercise in positive reinforcement rather than forgetfulness.

And I see that Touchstones are pretty presnickety tonight....

I was part of the crew that beta-tested dirt. It didn't coagulte and stick to things too well, and nothing would grow in it, so we rejected it. What we refer to as "dirt" now, is really Dirt 1.1. And the original stuff? Marketing changed its name to "Dust", and it sold like crazy! You can find it all over the place now!

to me books are like songs,TV shows, or Movies. I love to revisit them. Based on sales figures of TV on DVD and ratings for reruns people will continue to watch tv shows that have long since ended and are only in syndication just to revisit it. People will buy movies on dvd to watch over and over, people will listen to a song more than once so why not read a good book more than once. I've read Harry Potter definitely approaching twenty times.

I've read A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving 3 or 4 times; I've read Nobody's Fool by Richard Russo 3 times; I've read How We Die by Sherwin Nuland 3 times; I've read The Road by Cormac McCarthy twice and I'm ready for another reading. I'll read a book I really like as many times as possible without it getting in the way of something new i really want to read.

I'm not immune to the dilemma. So many delicious, alluring new books, full of promise... If I pick up something I've already read, am I wasting my time, am I returning to what's easy and comfortable?

The answer is possibly yes, but I've come to think that a comfortable read doesn't preclude a rewarding read. There are books I go to over and over just because it makes me happy. I've read Rose in Bloom by Louisa May Alcott too many times to even estimate, and Little Women not as many times, but still a lot. Pride and Prejudice probably comes around once a year-ish, so maybe 10 or 12 times. Persuasion quite a few times, too, just because it was in the same Austen omnibus. And I specifically keep myself from reading A Moveable Feast too often because I like it so, so much, and I don't want it to lose any of its luster.

I didn't like The Great Gatsby or The Secret Garden the first time I read them. But I got better! Thank goodness I game them another chance. It's true, though, that some things fall in my estimation, like The Chronicles of Prydain (which don't seem quite as original once you've read LOTR), or Stranger in a Strange Land (mind-blowing, free-thinking the first time, misogynistic and naive the second).

There are books that show me something new every time I go through them, like Through the Looking Glass, or To the Lighthouse, or the short stories of Calvino, Borges, and James Joyce.

I honestly don't think I spend a *lot* of time re-reading, relatively speaking, but there is something to be said for --deepening--, rather than merely --broadening--, your experience.

Anything in my library rated 3 or higher is likely to have been re-read at least once.

LOTR is probably my most re-read work, no longer read anually but most years it gets a reading.

I've re-read JRR Tolkien times beyound count, particularly Lord of the Rings and The Silmarillion. I'd have to guess twenty to thirty times for each. Same goes for particular works from The Rose that Grew from Concrete....I've read certain passages from E.A.R.L. the Autobiography of DMX 10-20 times as well. Also the spin-off series of Ender's Game that focuses on Bean and his life a half dozen or so times.

There's really no limit to how many times I'll read something: if something moves me, speaks to me, is beautiful to me...I will continue to read it for as long as it calls to me and offers some perceived benefit. Reading can be a great cathartic mechanism, and works that offer this release are generally those that I read many times. Nothing wrong with reading the same thing if it makes you happy!

I have to say that all of the books in my library are ones I will probably read more than once, if I haven't already. That's how I judge if I like a book enough to want to own it: would I read it again for enjoyment or to learn something new? Books I like okay but don't want to read again usually don't make it onto my personal shelves. I just don't understand why people own books they aren't going to read more than once- collector's items?

I read Anne Tyler once a year. All of her books. I used to read the brothers Karamazow very often since I was 14. I wish I would have written a review every time I read it. Come to think of it: I want to read it again. I reread a lot. I agree with Jeane: what's the reason for having the book if you're not going to read it again ?

Any book on my shelves is a candidate to be reread. Some old favorites like Starship Troopers I read when I want a quick, familiar story. I reread The Iliad and The Odyssey about once every two years. It does help that new translations keep coming out. Sometimes I will just reread a section of a book such as the Battle of New Orleans in the Henry Adams history of the Madison administrations.
My reading is for fun and stimulation. Rereading an old faithful or a book with layers of meaning does just that.

I was more into reading books cover to cover more than once when I was younger - Anne of Green Gables was run to the ground when I was 11. Nowadays I tend to reread passages of a book I enjoyed, but rarely from front to back.

I often reread A Tree Grows in Brooklyn. I read How Far to Bethlehem? every Christmas. I reread Madeleine L'Engle and Robin McKinley often - especially The Blue Sword, and Swiftly Tilting Planet.

I divide books into (mental) categories:

Awful books that I can't even finish and get rid of asap

Books I can finish but never want to see again - get rid of them too

Okay books I enjoy and might want to read again sometime, maybe

Books I like so much that I zip through them to get to the end, then immediately reread them to get the good bits again. These will stay on my shelves to the end of time, and will be reread regularly. Some books are 'once a year' books; others get read again when I get a yen for a Heyer or a Heinlein fest.

I read Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland both annotated and plain at least once a year. I also read John Welter's Night of the Avenging Blowfish, Begin to Exit Here and I Want to Buy a Vowel AT LEAST once a year. Douglas Adam's Hitchhiker's trilogy (which redefined how many book are IN a trilogy!) and Dirk Gently detective novels are always good for a light-hearted read. Michael Murphy's Golf in the Kingdom is also on the list of re-reads. Sophie's World and The Solitaire Mystery by Jostein Gaarder are two more favorites, along with Tolkien's Lord of the Rings. I read Elizabeth Zimmermann's Knitting without Tears, Knitting Around and Knitter's Almanac regularly, too. Her style is warm and encouraging, like your favorite aunt sitting next to you while you learn to knit.

I still manage to read 8-10 new books a month, even with all the re-reading!

I found myself re-reading Lord of the Rings about every ten years because I realized that the first time, I read it for the story. The second time I read it some years later, I really found myself studying the characters as they developed during the story (those that did develop), - and so one. It seemed that each time I read it after some years away from it, a different aspect of the book caught my notice.

Robert A. Mosher

I know you will all sigh and roll your eyes, but I have read Romeo and Juliet every year since I was ten. Every time I read it, I learn something new that was completely lost on me the first (or fifth, or fifteenth) time around. As you can imagine, I understand a LOT more now that I did fifteen years ago.

Apart from reading it on my own time, I also read the No Fear Shakespeare: Romeo and Juliet with my seventh-grade ESL students each year. They absolutely love it, even the ones who hate to read. I know they'll most likely read it in high school (and hopefully college), but who cares! Why not show them the magic of absorbing a story, rather than pushing through one just to do some worksheets and take a test? Some of my students really benefit from the pure joy of it.

I probably read Little Women a dozen times. Sometimes I re-read series in anticipation for the newest installment--I'm working on Diana Gabaldon's works again because the newest work is out this summer. Some works, like Madeleine L'Engle I read again & get something new out of it. I read A Wrinkle in Timewhen I was a kid, strictly as as scifi; read it again in college, it was like reading an entirely different book. Lots of nuances and theology I'd never noticed at age 10. Read it again as an adult who had done some Bible study, got something else again from it then. I may re-visit it again soon. Re-reading a book is like visiting an old friend.

I read Our Town once every six months and I try to read either The Sound and the Fury, Absalom, Absalom, or As I Lay Dying once a year.

Wow. I've read so little, it's taken me decades to get to a 30 book-per-year pace, and my TBR pile is well over 500 books. It will be a long time before I revisit anything.

hello what is your real name

hello what is your real name

Rumplestiltskin.

hello what is your real name

hello what is your favourite colour?

Black.

Robert, i said "what is your favourite colour?", not "what colour is your heart?".

I heart my heart.

Robert

Sooooo...

I reread a lot less now that i have a large TBR, but i will still occasionally reread books that i'm particularly fond of - generally books or series that i read when much younger and more impressionable.

That would include:
The Silmarillion
Ender's Game
Lord of the Rings
Earthsea
The World of Tiers
The Dark Is Rising
Desolation Road
The Wasp Factory
The Bug Wars
Doomtime

...i think i'll stop there before i get too embarrassed about this collection.

ETA I'm very pleased about how i brought this thread back on track.

I re-read as much as I read new books. There's something very comforting about knowing that it all ends happily and you can sit back and enjoy the writing, the quirks of the characters, the settings...

#38

That is so true. Comforting is the perfect way to describe a reread.
You know the characters, can sort of check back in on them and see that they are okay, right where you left them. :)

No matter how life changes, or how bad things are at any given moment..
visiting these old friends give comfort.

I love to reread and reread again. The first time to know the story, the second to know the characters and the last to pick.