Seemingly random odd, potentially hair-splitting kind of question

In looking at the various reading challenges that folks are setting up for the forthcoming year, I noted that some are talking about re-reading titles over the course of the year. My question is, "what constitutes re-reading a book?" and it actually has to do with the reader's level of engagement with the text on a second time or third time around.

When you re-read something, do you read it as slowly as you did the first time? Or do you speed through it in the space of 2-3 hours, refreshing your memory of the text without forcing yourself to take in a lot of specifics? Is it a "dipping into" or do you take a linear approach in moving through the narrative?

I just "re-read" a book of 564 pages that I initially read way back in high school (so figure 30-plus years). Back then, it was instructive as well as entertaining. I took my time in reading it although I know I skimmed some of the boring bits. I re-read it over the course of a few hours this afternoon (recalling many of the good bits as I went along). I could write a review of the book now after a three-hour skimming of the text, but (again in the context of the reading challenges) I wondered how others define and count "re-reading".

I wondered if others had any thoughts that would help me clarify my own?

I like to re-read :- sometimes I pick up nuances that I missed on the first read so it adds to the depth of the read - the little "aha" moments; or maybe for a series to remind myself of how the story developed; other times it is just curling up with a familiar favourite - revisiting old friends. I don't think I skim re-reads.

ETA - missing "missed"

I can count on one hand books I have re-read. If I go to it again, seriously, I'll re-read it carefully. Mostly I don't tolerate reading something twice.

I'm much like #2, and I reread about 10-12 books a year. If I skim to refresh a detail I don't count it as "read".

I'm a re-reader. There are a whole lot of books I'll reread many times over. When I re-read, it's like I did it the first time. I'm a pretty fast reader as it is, though, so both times, people may think I'm skimming a bit.

There's too many books out there to waste a lot of time on rereading. I only reread books that really challenged and amazed me - ones that will obviously mean something new or different to me at a later time in life. That said, I'm planning to reread The Brothers Karamazov this year.

The few books I re-read, I'm attempting to pick up on nuance and foreshadowing, so I read it much more slowly than I did the first time.

I tend to get wrapped up in great books and want to read fast to see what happens. On re-reads I'm trying to see exactly how the author got us there.

littlegeek - I don't really think of time spent rereading books as wasted. I have some movies I love to watch over and over, and some books I like to read over and over. I love to read my favorite parts.

I will admit though that recently I have reread a few and found that I didn't like them nearly as much this time around, Heart of Darkness being maybe the most noticeable. It just wasn't as powerful this time around. Plus my tastes have changed, and some books I liked and thought good fun are now a little too light for me.

There are a few books that I have and will continue to re-read. I read them as opposed to skimming. Like Busifer, if I skim in order to search for something, I don't think of it as reading.

I guess it depends on why someone reads as to whether they find value in reading. I don't always read in order to experience something new and different. Sometimes I want to read for comfort and a re-read is comforting to me. I know what to expect and I like the feelings inside, all warm and fuzzy.

I tend to rewatch tv or movies more often, but I'm knitting while I'm doing it so sometimes it's just what there is to watch. Plus it's a much shorter time investment. Rereading a book when there's so many new experiences waiting for me on my TBR does seem wasteful to me, but that's just my preference. There's nothing wrong with rereading if it's your thing.

I definitely reread, and when I do, I read carefully. I generally only reread for pure enjoyment, and I don't want to rush through something I'm enjoying.

My response is pretty much identical to Will's in post #5 -- I read quickly, and I reread quickly. I reread a lot, because some books seem like old friends.

When I reread it is mostly like the first time. Sometimes, when I know I'm coming to a favorite part, I'll slow down to savor the section. But otherwise I do not skim.

I'm a definite re-reader. There are times I need the comfort of old friends. I seldom skim on rereading.

I don't skim. If I'm reading something for the umpteenth time, it's because it's a classic to me and I want to enjoy it again.

Usually only the works of a few certain authors. Arthur Conan Doyle, David Drake, C.J. Cherryh, Dashiell Hammett, and Raymond Chandler.

#1 I know when I've re-read vs. skimmed. Re-reading means every page has been at least scanned again - no 'scene' is missed. Skimming is exactly what one thinks it is - hopping about to one's favorite places.

I really don't think you should worry about splitting hairs over whether or not you have 'officially reread' something, unless for some reason you want to make reading deeply (and 'fairly' - as in fairly judged) competitive, where part of the pleasure is knowing you have done better than others. Just like you shouldn't worry about the minimum page count for a book to 'count'.

I wasn't worried about it per se, JPB. I was just thinking about it as the discussion arose in a particular context. At what point, does the reader specifically engage at a particular level of immersion with a text? At what point, does the brain actively become stimulated and become involved. Skimming to me isn't particularly engaging; one can break away from the activity as may be convenient. A true re-reading implies that the connection between author and reader is established a second (or third or fourth) time. It suggests to me that there is substance to the work and the re-reading prompts *new* thoughts as opposed to just a simply recollection of a happy experience.

I re-read favorite books to experience the pleasure I felt in reading it the first time and sometimes to pick up something I didn't get the first time.

I will also rre-read books I read long ago but didn't enjoy or understand as a youngster, to see if I like them now.

I am so with littlegeek on this one. Even for a book club discussion of a book I read a few years ago I will just do a fast skim (20 minutes or so) to refresh my mind.

If I am lucky I have maybe 30 years of 'good reading' left, and I chose to waste little of it on rereads. Unless, like she mentioned, many many years have passed. For instance right now I am rereading Ivanhoe after a 30 year period, because I remember nothing from that initial reading but laughing at the name Reginald Front de Boeuf, because of what his surname means in French. (Loosely translates to Meathead.)