Re Reading books

I think I do more rereads than new reads, I think it must be the fact that I know I'll enjoy the reread even though I know the story whereas I might not enjoy the new book I've picked up. It also allows for the convenience of not spending money :)

I reread David Gemmel's books over and over.
 
I have a hard time finding time to do the re-read...There are so many books out there I always want to read and I usually have a pile of 6-10 books to go through at all times that I would have to stop buying and do the re-read. I have been meaning to reread the GRRM series though. I am sure there is a lot I missed or have forgotten.
 
I have hundreds of books to be read, but there are times I just want to (or even long to) reread one of my favorites. It's been mentioned before that it's like visiting an old friend...or maybe taking a vacation to a special spot you love.

There are several books and or series that wait on my shelves for the next reread. Some I've worn out.
 
I'm well into my Robin Hobbs reread - I'm halfway through The Golden Fool. I really enjoyed it this time. The first go, I read Liveships then Farseer/Tawny man. Now I'm reading them chronologically, and it makes more sense, though after Liveships, Tawny Man seems dark and gloomy.

For some reason, my retention isn't what it used to be, so I can quite easily reread a book and not have much in the way of recollectioin of the plot or characters. I'm not sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing :) .
 
I've read and re-read and re-re-read several books many, many times over the years. They've become like good friends. Comfortable and always there. I usually go to them when I get home dead on my feet of when I'm sad or upset or just very worried. Somehow the right book will find it's way into my hands and the moon will shine again.

It's a different experience from reading a whole new book and discovering yet another writer. There's something special about the re-read books.
 
I tend to re-read a lot. It's like revisiting an old friend. Sometimes I just don't feel up to immersing myself in a new story. My most frequent re-reads are Anne McCaffrey, Arthur C. Clarke, Isaac Asimov, Agatha Christie and Dick Francis. Oh, and I read The Lord of the Rings about once a year.
 
I haven't done a reread very recently, I've really been trying to get my TBR pile down. Which is almost pointless because I just keep adding books to it faster than I can read them.

That being said, I really enjoy doing rereads of good books. It's interesting to see what I missed the first time through. (this applies mostly to ASOIAF and Malazan). Sometimes I just like the comfort of knowing the story, and enjoying the journey of reading it. A reread is especially good for those times when I'm in the mood for reading, just not reading something too deep that requires all my attention.
 
Nesa's said exactly how I feel about re-reading, only much better than I could....
 
I always plan to reread the books that I own, otherwise I would resell them immediately after finishing them. More often than not, I get around to rereading a book only after 5+ years. By that time I either find myself loving the book more than when I first read it, rarely do I find myself wondering why I loved it so much in the first place.
 
I do tend to keep a number of books on hand to read again. But I don't often get to them. Recently re-read some very old tomes by A. Merritt and Edgar Rice Burroughs. They were mildly entertaining, but had nothing of the impact they did 40 years ago.

OTOH, I've re-read Clarke's Against the Fall of Night and The City and The Stars (same story, really) and enjoyed them both immensely.
 
I am currently re-reading Ian M Banks novels, finding (most) of them as enjoyable as I recall. After that I plan on a re-read of the Malazan books - I am looking forward to having a clue whats going on before I get half way through the book this time :)

Oh and lets not forget financial issues, if i'm a little skint I pick up a book I already have (I dont do libraries!).

Like watching a movie though, I do find that I need to leave quite a span of time before I can do a re-read, giving me time to forget all the interesting little things that made it enjoyable the first time around.
 
I am re-reading Turtle Moon right now because I just found it in Hardcover for $2 in a thrift store. I lost my copy sometime over the last couple of years and I had only read it previously once, so this is real treat. i forgot nearly everything about the story and am loving it again, fuzzy recall and all.
 
I've re-read The Axis Trilogy and The Wayfarer Redemption by Sara Douglass a number of times. Also the Historical Fiction books like Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follet and Sarum by Edward Rutherfurd.

I've tried reading other books which I enjoyed the first time but now find I just can't 'get into them'. Feist and Jorden being two of them.

I think I have mentioned before, that perhaps our taste in literature is not quite the same. After reading Erikson's books I found that many of my other fantasy books seem like children's fairy books! :D
 
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I think it is great that other people like to re-read great stories as much as I do. Some people put what they re-read the most, what about the rest of you? These are the stories I re-read the most (meaning, I had to tape some of them back together, and the rest are falling apart):

The Black Jewels Trilogy Omnibus - Anne Bishop - No cover, binding is taped to hold it together, with loose pages stuck in between.

Kushiel Series (Dart, Chosen, Avatar) - Jacqueline Carey - These are falling apart. Kushiel's Avatar has no cover, it's my favorite.

Dragon Prince & Dragon Star Series - Melanie Rawn - Some of these are ok, while others are missing front and back covers hear and there.

Tawny Man Series - Robin Hobb - These thankfully are still in OK condition.

These are my top re-reads, there are others, but these are my old friends. I will have to purchase copies very soon, but I think they are worth it.
 
I used to do more re-reads back when I had less cash and more time, now the most likely "re-read" scenario is listening to the audiobook version while travelling.

My most re-read:

Speaker for the Dead - Orson Scott Card
Lord of Light - Roger Zelazny
Startide Rising - David Brin
Player of Games - Iain Banks (what can I say, I'm a gamer I just so want to play Azad :) )
All of the Vorkosagin saga - Lois McMaster Bujold (publication order, internal chronology, and random re-reads)
Anubis Gates - Tim Powers
 
I've been a rereader ever since reading was a serious source of enjoyment. I'd reread my Marvel comics, for one thing. Once I'd discovered Tolkien's Middle-earth books and Lewis's Narnian books, etc., I was a rereader of books. Lewis says somewhere that, with good books, you generally can't really enjoy the book deeply till you reread it, because the first time you may just so focused on the pleasure of finding out what happens next. But in something worth rereading, that's only one element of the pleasure. Among the eminently rereadable authors of science fiction and fantasy I count Arthur Machen, H. P. Lovecraft, H. G. Wells, Fritz Leiber (for "A Pail of Air" and a few other stories, but not for the Fafhrd stuff), G. K. Chesterton (The Man Who Was Thursday), George MacDonald (Lilith, etc.), Wilson Tucker (The Year of the Quiet Sun), Algis Budrys (Who?, Rogue Moon), C. L. Moore (for "Vintage Season" etc.)....
 
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