But my relationship with re-reading is quite complicated. It's not like watching a movie again, because that only takes two hours or so. (Or forty-five minutes if you're a Dr. Horrible's Sing Along Blog fan like me--which PREMIERES ON TV FOR THE FIRST TIME EVER ON OCT. 9 ON THE CW DON'T MISS IT.) Re-reading a book can take much longer, and whenever I think of re-reading something I remember a new story waiting for me to discover it that I could be reading instead.
Of course, I do love re-reading. When I was about nine or ten I read Judy Moody countless times, even when I wasn't much of a reader. Last year I re-read a book for the first time since then, and that book was, predictably, Looking For Alaska. I loved being able to focus on every tiny detail more than I did the first time around and being able to pick apart Alaska's character even more.
Then, this Wednesday I finished re-reading Jellicoe Road and found that I loved it even more than the first time I read it. The initial confusion I had the first time I read it was gone and I focused more on Taylor's character and JONAH GRIGGS because I had forgotten how delicious he is. I had forgotten how much I loved the book, really.It is experiences like those that make me think I should set more time aside to re-read some of my favorite books. In fact, if I had it in my possession I might re-read Grave Mercy right now.
How do you feel about re-reading? Is it boring, exciting, or great but hard to find the time to do?
I need to reread or I go nuts. I love owning my favorite books and if I don't reread them, what's the point? Plus I love visiting old characters and worlds; it's like visiting old friends.
ReplyDeleteI LOVE re-reading. I recently re-read If I Stay (3rd time) and Where She Went (1st) and I still cried in EXACTLY the same places, and in the case of WSW I picked up on so many new things that perhaps didn't quite stick in my mind after the first reading of it.
ReplyDeleteI definitely intend to re-read all of my favourite books sometime in the future. I have the same problems as you though, I have a massive TBR and just lots of other stories I could be going through instead of re-visiting.
The only book I've ever reread (other than ones when I was little) is Pride and Prejudice. I love it and the movie (Colin Forth version) so much! I've seen the movie so many times and read the book in HS so long ago that last year I decided it was time to remind myself what was in the book and what was only in the movie. I loved it again but, I don't reread my books usually.
ReplyDeleteI plan on re-reading Howl's Moving Castle this year, and possibly So You Want to Be a Wizard. I'm finding that I want to re-read MORE with time because it reminds me of the magic of some stories that you can't replicate in new ones. The looming TBR always thwarts my good intentions with re-reading, though.
ReplyDeleteI love to re-read. I always pick up on things that I didn't catch the first time.
ReplyDeleteI love re-reading books, but I never make much time for it. I really want to work on that more, as I have so many books that I want to re-read. But just when I think I'm going to settle down with an old book, a newer one will catch my eye from my tbr pile and I end up reading that instead!
ReplyDeleteI am a huge fan of re-reading myself. Sometimes I'll re-read an entire book and other times I'll just re-read a chapter or specific section of a favorite book when the mood hits me. I haven't really re-read anything since I started my blog and began to pressure myself to keep reading more to be able to produce new content, etc. The one book I have re-read in the past few months is actually Jellicoe Road as well! I re-read it immediately upon finishing it initially because I was so confused for most of it and thought that by reading it again with my newfound understanding I could better enjoy it, and I really did. Books may take longer to read, but I feel like the benefits that come from re-reading are more than worth it. (Also it would be kind of silly to buy all these books to only read once).
ReplyDeleteI don't do much re-reading either, mostly because I also am thinking about the new books I could be reading. But I am happy that you enjoyed Jellicoe just as much the second time around :)
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