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Jan 2021

I recently stumbled across an article on the benefits of re-reading your favorite books.

Recently i started re-reading a particular art history (literature) book for the second time and it's a very interesting experience.

More importantly though, I haven't re-read any fiction yet.
I'm curious. Have you re-read any of your favorite novels? If so what was it like for you the second time around?

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    Jan '21
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    Jan '21
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I have re-read the More than Magic series by Elizabeth Kirke many times(lost the count). Mostly it was a wonderful experience but the last time, it got a little boring since I had almost memorized what was going to happen.

i've read Sombra del Aquila by Perez Reverte three times.
first time - wow effect from unexpected twist
second time - wow effect of how the twist is set up
third time - wow effect of how that cavalry joke made me laugh again.

I sadly don't read, like novels, these days very often anymore- but when I was younger and did more reading I did re-read some of my favorite books and series at times :slight_smile: For longer series maybe not the whole thing, but either the first book or two with the intent to make it all the way through, or maybe just my favorite in the middle of a series if such a book existed.

In the same vein as re-reading comics/ rewatching shows/movies /replaying games, it's not something that happened super frequently and usually only with my favorites (and after some time had passed). But I like re-experiencing stories that I like sometimes~

Also a specific example with novels is that sometimes for long running series, if it had been long enough since I had read the previous book in a series, sometimes younger me would just straight up restart from the beginning lmao. I miss having that kind of time :joy:

edit: missed the "how was it the 2nd time" part. Enjoyable~ It's interesting knowing what's going to happen later on, but I find that with enough time between readings that a lot of smaller details would be forgotten and rediscovered on the 2nd read through.

I have no idea how many times I’ve read the 3rd and 5th Harry Potter novels. Those two were my favorites in the series. My copy of the third, I read it so much the binding started going out and I had to ask my aunt to buy me a second copy lol

I also re-read the secret garden, Anne of green gables, any Josh Landon novel, and pride and prejudice fairly regularly. When I was younger I would re-read the Little house on the prairie novels.

Edit - second and on read throughs are enjoyable to me. It’s the same as re-watching a favorite tv series or movie. Knowing what’s going to happen is a comfort. Plus I tend to find details in the second read through that I missed in the first read through

Sadly I don't reread any of my favorite books, I guess the only time that I have to reread is when I get lost in the book

Like the book called Akata Warrior I had to reread because I stopped reading.

:sweat_02:

I've definitely re-read books like the Terry Pratchett Disc World series. Usually since it's been years between reads, I'll forget some key parts and then get excited when I come across them again. Or if I do remember that a really good part is coming up, I'll get impatient to read that section. I tend to keep my books and lug them with me every time I move so I can repeat this experience :joy:

Oh yes! I reread more that I read new, partially because I have little access to print books where I am and can't read long on screen, so I reread the print ones I have.

But even when I had access to books, I would reread a lot.
Actually, I really, really like a book only if it takes several rereads to enjoy fully. The first read is like a scouting, the second a real exploration, and after that, I look for nuances, new ways to interpret what's going on, etc.

I read some of my favorite books so many times I know long passages by heart.
I reread translations too, even when I know the original language.
Some books which have a lot of critical works on them, I reread in parallel when I read the critique work.
Yep, I'am an avid rereader! :laughing:

If I like your work, I often re-read it. Sometimes I see things or understand things I didn't realize before, its fun haha.

Yeah for sure. Especially comics, and in particular One Piece. I re read it all the way through probably once every three years or so.

I see a lot of things now that I didn't before, when it comes to composition and comic creation.

I would re-read stuff a lot as a kid when I had more free time, now though, not as much, but there still a handful of comic and manga series I just feel like picking up and reading through again.

I haven't re-read anything in a while, but back in the day when I used to read a lot I re-read things constantly. Pretty much every work of fiction that's been in this house longer than 6 years, I've read multiple times...

I'm a very picky consumer and reader of any content, so I rarely re-read anything. I'm currently in the process of re-reading the W.I.T.C.H comics though. They're better than I remember them as a kid.

I do not read as much as I used to. The eyes are failing. However, if I had the chance, I would re-read the Retief books by Keith Laumer. I would re-read Nightwings by Robert Silverberg. I would re-read the Books of Charles Fort. :grinning:

Sure do! Not all that often but I sure do re-read the good ones & when it's been a long time since the first reading.

I actually don't re-read that much unless the urge happens. Though it typically has to be something that I absolutely love.

Sometimes I think that I re-read fav books even more than read any new book :thinking:

YES!!! I re-read novels quite often actually.

The Iron Fey Series I read as a middle school / Highschool student and I re read them as an adult. The second time I read it was much like the first actually. I understood and appreciated it the same.

A more complex series I re-read constantly is Throne of Glass by Sara J Maas. That one, every time I re-read it I notice more foreshadowing that I missed, or another connection in the plot that I did not notice the first time around.

I get periods were I just want to re-read books I've already read because I miss the characters or the story or just the general vibe of the series.
Howl's Moving Castle is my favourite novel, and I've read it probably at least five times. I also enjoy re-reading Rick Riordan's books.

That is my go to book for when I feel like crying! The ending devastates me every time and that vivid imagery the author used during the scene in the middle with the neighbor kid and the axe has stuck in my mind from the moment I first read the book!

I reread The Magicians Trilogy a couple times. I'll probably reread the entire Stormlight Archive at some point.

Rarely, but when I do I am always amazed at all those little clever details that hint for the upcoming twist that I would have never noticed in my first read

I have lots of weird reading quirks, but obsessively re-reading my favs is a big one. I'm glad I'm not the only one that does it! They're typically really easy reads (young adult fantasy is my bread and butter), but once I start at one, it turns into a re-reading domino effect. XD

I don't know why certain books are more pleasurable to reread than others, but it is weirdly satisfying and comforting to re-read particular books/series. It also can get in the way of finishing or starting other things, tho, which is annoying.

I re-read The Annotated Mona Lisa a few times! It was for studying purposes, but it's a great book all the same.

I love rereading!! There’s the comfort and familiarity of it (apparently that’s something our minds desire when we’re extra stressed – knowing how a story is going to end, even if we’ve forgotten a lot of the specifics) but I almost always pick up on various things I hadn’t caught the first time around. There’s foreshadowing that clicks easier. There’s lines that resonate differently depending on what’s going on in life. And characters sit with you differently as you grow and change. Some that may have seemed unlikeable the first read through might actually make sense the second time through or vice-versa.

So, I guess I like seeing all the things I’ve forgotten, catching new things, and kind of seeing how I’ve grown from rereading.

I reread Small Gods by Terry Pratchett every year or so. Some other Discworld books too. It's just kind of comforting to go back to a story you already know and enjoy.

Calculus :cry:
Such a literary masterpiece for portraying so much dread and terror in human mind.

Oh yeah I reread books a lot, especially as a kid. I can't tell you how many times I re-read books by Road Dhal (loved Charlie and the Chocolate Factory) and re-read the Catwings series--shoutouts to Catwings. And then, once Harry Potter came out, I re-read that series so much I still remember exactly where in what book certain lines are from. Terry Pratchett is another author I re-read several times a year, because he had so many books it's kind of impossible to memorize them. Same with Douglas Addams--Hitchhiker's guide had several different versions, and so you can pick and choose which you want to read. Agatha Christie books are a good read to have in your bag, too (even when you know the murderer, I love Hercule Poirot)

I re-read classics a lot, too, like Shakespeare, the Odyssey, stuff that I feel like I'm starting to forget. I like to revisit Jane Austen quite often because Persuasion is the best. Also, the last book I re-read was Hunchback of Notre Dame, which is my favorite book so I like coming back to that one. Just a master of words.

I feel like when I read through them again, it helps me analyze the way they formed stories and the way they used words--it's really helpful in wanting to be a better writer.

I have re read Miss Peregrines home for peculiar children. It's nice to experience the same enjoyment. It's also pretty hard to start a new book.

Italo Calvino's "Nonexistent Knight" is the book I had re-read 6 times in two days, without never stopping, and I loved it so much I also watched the old movie based on it.
Also "Human" by Tommaso Percivale was one I re-read 3 times in different occasions.

I re-read books all the time! I've read good omens about 10 times at this point...

When i was young, yes, constantly. Nowadays, no, I have so much reading on my plate that I just can't

I don't reread fiction. I do reread comics sometimes though.

If I liked the book, I reread it some times later. I think it gives me some sort of "the knowing one" reading experience. And I recognice things I missed in the first read.

Harry Potter though... The first book I reread, no joke! 11 times! But back then I had to wait reeealy long for the new books to arrive so everytime a new one appeared, I basically did go through everything again ^^'