Do You Re-read Books?

[Earl49]

Many books are not worth a re-read, but plenty of them are. Some examples that I have read multiple times:

James Mitchener's Hawaii and Alaska (love Hawaii and lived in Alaska)
Isaac Asimov - almost everything
Clive Cussler, especially the earlier stuff
Tom Clancy, all of them but Hunt for Red October in particular
Shogun (long interest in martial arts and Japanese culture)
Atlas Shrugged and The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand
Lord of the Rings

I find myself reading a lot less these days with aging eyes that fatigue easily and not liking to wear reading glasses. I used to read Louis L'Amour westerns while on airplanes, as I could finish one southbound and another northbound on most trips. On longer plane trips I could read a Clancy novel in two halves, outbound and return. But I do not fly anymore. Most of my reading lately is shorter sessions, like magazines and shortish books. I should get more comfortable with the Kindle app on my iPad since the contrast and font size can be optimized.

[jseth]

There are certain authors whose books I re-read from time to time... if it's a really good one, I might re-read it after several years.

Even though I know "what's going to happen", there is a lot of nuance and subtleties that I pay more attention to on the re-reads... certainly, some of the books that were important to me when I read them decades ago could bear a second (or third, or...?) look...

[sevargnhoj]

Short answer, all the time and multiple times each.

Asimov - Foundation series and robot novels

Arthur C Clarke - too many to mention

Dune series and lots of other Frank Herbert works (The White Plague was fun to read under the current situation)

The Riverworld series and lots of others by Phillip Jose Farmer (Venus on the Half Shell is a favorite)

Anything by Alfred Bester (The Demolished Man and The Stars My Destination are a couple of favorites)

Ayn Rand's novels (may have read the Fountainhead for the last time, might read Atlas Shrugged one more time)

Edward Abbey (no telling how many times I've read The Monkey Wrench Gang - someone please make the movie!)

The Ringworld series by Niven and friends

...and so so so many others...I could go on.

[Jim Owen]

Yep. As I teach classes on the British Novel, a certain amount of re-reading is job related

However, even if I didn’t have to reread Fielding, Defoe, Dickens, or Woolf, I can’t imagine reading them only once. When they turn up on my syllabus, it’s like seeing an old friend.

[Jeff Scott]

I have, but not very often. But, I do re-read magazine articles, depending on the magazine (American Bungalow, Old House Journal, for a couple of great examples).

The only book I have read several times is Atlas Shrugged. Put the philosophy aside, and you have to agree, it is an excellent fictional story.

[Glennwillow]

I have been re-reading a bunch of books lately. I have really been enjoying rediscovering them. I'm reading new books, too. Because I am retired and have time to read, I have found that I am just tearing through books these days. Enjoying books I have already read once doesn't seem to be hurting my enjoyment at all.

Right now my wife and I are taking turns reading aloud Doris Kearns Goodwin's "Team of Rivals" about the Lincoln presidential years. There is a lot of this book that I remember very well, but there are some parts that I don't remember reading at all. I first read this book in late 2006, maybe early 2007, so that is 13-14 years ago. So it would not be surprising that some of the book's contents would no longer be accessible in my memory. We are really enjoying this book again.

- Glenn

[guitar12]

I re-read 'To Kill a Mockingbird' every year, usually along with one of my adult literacy students that I work with. There is something very grounding about that book and there is almost always a parallel to current events.

Rob

[TJE"]

Originally Posted by Dru Edwards

Do you re-read books? When I was pre-teen I did, such as some Hardy Boys and other books. Since then I don't think I've re-read a single book ... non-education or Bible related anyway. So much on my list to read now.

I've been thinking about re-reading some Stephen King. I have all his books (except his newest one) and perhaps The Stand, It, The Eyes of the Dragon, The Tommyknockers, or the Dark Tower series need a re-read. I recall all those very fondly.

What about you? What have you re-read and what would you like to?

I wish I could start reading Stephen King all over again, I grew up on his fiction, and leaving aside the story and subject matter - he is an extremely evocative writer, although I think his earlier work stands up better.

The problem I find with re-reading these kind of books with a good story is that when I start i suddenly remember what is going to happen in the end. Some kind of selective amnesia pill would be good.

Books where story-lines are not so important, like maybe Jane Austen or some 19th century Russian fiction are easier to re-read, perhaps because they were hard in the first place - I see new layers.

[fumei]

Originally Posted by dirkronk

Ah...forgot to mention Hesse myself. Siddhartha and Steppenwolf got all the attention back in the '60s and '70s. But for me, his last two books (Narcissus & Goldmund and Magister Ludi/The Glass Bead Game) were an utter revelation in my first read-through of all his work decades ago. I'd like especially to reread those soon and see if they still have the same insight (if not the same impact) that I recall.

Cheers,

Dirk

Magister Ludi/The Glass Bead Game is most definitely worth a re-read. I re-read it about a month ago, in concert with John Fowles' The Magus. I tend to read 4-5 books simultaneously.

[nacluth]

Sure. If it’s good, I like to come back to my favorites. Just books previously mentioned in this thread that I’ve re-read like many of you: Hobbit/Lotr, Iain Banks (Consider Phlebas recently), Watchers, Contact, Dark Tower, Tale of Two Cities, Twain (Connecticut Yankee last).

Having kids to read to at night helps a lot to hit good books again: George MacDonald tales, Chronicles of Narnia, Little House series, Anne McCaffrey’s Harper Hall Trilogy.

[ADK]

I used to re-read quite a bit. I've read "Middlemarch" three times, and I was really into some authors so much that I would cycle through their books. Everything from Tolkien to Erdrich to Hesse.

Now, I rarely re-read. I revisited The Old Man and the Sea because my son was reading it for school, but generally, I prefer to read things that are 'new to me'.

On a side note, my tastes have changed with time. I almost always read fiction in the past, but now I've gotten more interested in non-fiction. "Educated" by Tara Westover was great, as an example.

[tinnitus]

Got some great ideas here thanks to all.

My tastes run broad, from science to fiction, history to hip, fluff to instructional, adventure, mystery and everything else in between. For entertainment, I've always enjoyed Tom Wolfe's style and re-read pretty much everything he wrote. Ken Kesey too - interesting how their books have a significantly different nuance than the movies (The Right Stuff, Sometimes a Great Notion, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest).

I used to read and re-read books a lot when I was a sailor out to sea. Many was the night I plowed through extra chapters when I should've been getting precious sleep. But, back here in the real world, I always found myself too busy to sit still and read. Finally discovered Audiobooks (Overdrive/Libby apps on iPhone, free through my local library). With earbuds in, I can work, pursue hobbies, jog, and maintain the house and yard. And I have Bluetooth radios in the car and truck too. The only thing I cannot do while I listen is physically read something different with my eyes at the same time.

I counted the other night and realized I've devoured 400+ audiobooks in only 5 years. There's a feature that allows one to play the audio at faster speeds (all without raising the pitch because it's digital). 1.25x speed is perfect, allowing me to enjoy an 8-hour book in 6 hours. In fact, 1.0x seems to drag. There are many books I won't finish because I learned a long time ago to delete whatever doesn't grab me by the face in 15-20 minutes.

I still read physical books from the library because it's important to read with the eyes too. Mostly I enjoy real books at night as a way to settle down and prepare for sleep. Sometimes I dream about the books I read too.

Just for fun (back to Tom Wolfe), I'll enjoy Bonfire of the Vanities (again) sometime in the next week or two.

[Humbuster]

Absolutely.

Just re read “The Stand” (the long one).

In anticipation of the forthcoming mini series.

Thought it was appropriate to read at this time in history as well.

[Dru Edwards]

Originally Posted by TJE"

I wish I could start reading Stephen King all over again, I grew up on his fiction, and leaving aside the story and subject matter - he is an extremely evocative writer, although I think his earlier work stands up better.

The problem I find with re-reading these kind of books with a good story is that when I start i suddenly remember what is going to happen in the end. Some kind of selective amnesia pill would be good.

Books where story-lines are not so important, like maybe Jane Austen or some 19th century Russian fiction are easier to re-read, perhaps because they were hard in the first place - I see new layers.

I hear ya, about remembering what's ahead on the next page is a spoiler. I rewatch tv series and sometimes they seem so fresh after a few years that I'm thinking I could reread the King books I read back in the latter half of the '80s and they could be fresh.

Originally Posted by Humbuster

Absolutely.

Just re read “The Stand” (the long one).

In anticipation of the forthcoming mini series.

Thought it was appropriate to read at this time in history as well.

The Stand - what a great book. I've never read the "long" re-released edition, only the short 1000 pager, lol.

[Jim Owen]

Originally Posted by ADK

I used to re-read quite a bit. I've read "Middlemarch" three times, and I was really into some authors so much that I would cycle through their books. Everything from Tolkien to Erdrich to Hesse.

Now, I rarely re-read. I revisited The Old Man and the Sea because my son was reading it for school, but generally, I prefer to read things that are 'new to me'.

On a side note, my tastes have changed with time. I almost always read fiction in the past, but now I've gotten more interested in non-fiction. "Educated" by Tara Westover was great, as an example.

Man, I can remember the stunning experience of reading Middlemarch for the first time. (I was teaching it in a survey class). I’ve read it many times. It must be one of the finest novels writ in English.