My cousin saw me reading my old, battered up copy of Emma and asked me how many times I have read it. When I said three, he shook his head. It was worse when I said I read Pride and Prejudice at least ten times, he said that was “lame”. He said that rereading the same books is preventing myself from reading new and different. books. And that has led me to this week’s Weekly Tea Discussion topic:
Rereading: is it necessarily a bad thing?
My answer: absolutely not.
People reread for different reasons. One reason is maybe you feel missed something on your first initial reading. Another reason, a common one, you just love the feeling and the awe the book gives you and you constantly just want to “wrap” yourself in the world of the novel. That is my reason for rereading anyone of my favorite books. They are my favorite, is it so wrong that I want I want to relive those moments?
Now, I know what some of you are thinking, “You’re wasting time rereading old ones when you can be discovering new ones”. While that is true, there will always be too many books for us to read. So many books, so little time, I think that is one of the commandments of a book lover. The amount of books I want to read will always increase so rereading any books would not diminish that in any way.
Last year, out of the 20 books I read, only 5 of them stand out to me. And the year before that, I read 30 books, and only 2 books stood out to me and I knew I wanted to read them again. It is a job hazard of a book lover that there will be some bad books I will meet along the way. It is so wrong of me to revisit the books that demonstrate the true joys of read after reading some bad ones?
So rereading? I have no problems with it. You may run the risk of not completing your reading list or heaven forbid, ending up not liking the book at all. But you’re doing the most important thing: reading! Isn’t that the greatest joy of them all?
How do you guys feel about rereading? Do you guys ever reread your favorite books? How often? Do you feel like your wasting time with rereading?
Post a comment below or pingback to this post. I love to hear your responses!
There’s nothing wrong with re-reading books you love. I don’t do it myself, mostly because I have so many books on my shelves that I haven’t read yet… but if you love a book, why not read it again? It’s sort of like visiting a favorite vacation spot, or reuniting with an old friend.
Thank you! Can you please tell that to my cousin?
*lol* If I knew your cousin personally, I would try. 😉
I reread – quite a bit at times as it seems to come in waves. Most of my rereads are either for group reads which don’t actually count because they’re not totally voluntary or different English translations of a French novel. Pere Goriot by Balzac holds that record, but there again, it’s not actually a reread since it’s a different translation.
For legitimate rereads, there are three books I’ve read multiple times, another planned for soon and a recent read which I have kept knowing that eventually I will probably reread it again.
I reread all the time, particularly Jane Austen. Until quite recently I probably reread more than I read new. There’s something so comforting about a book that you already know, like visiting an old friend
I feel exactly the same way. And also if you find a particular author’s writing, I.e. Jane Austen, is far superior than anything else you read, why not reread books that you are great examples of great writing?
Exactly. It’s not like she’s going to publish anything new!
I honestly love rereading some books. I think even after the 5 time of reading, you still find stuff you didn’t see the first 4 times. Like you, there are very little books that I reread, but if it is for class, I don’t mind.
I love to reread! As you’ve said, you pick on things you might have missed when you reread. Such was the case when I reread The Game of Thrones (I just read your Top 10 post and saw that you don’t plan to read it but maybe you’ll change your mind when the series is completed then you won’t have to worry about recalling the characters. You’ll only have the length to contend with. :o) I also like the warm fuzzy feeling I get from rereading favorite books, especially when I’m depressed or facing a hardship.
Whenever I’m feeling down or depressed, I always reread Jane Austen, especially Pride and Prejudice, like a little pick me up for myself.
I tend to reread “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer Stone” or “Eat, Pray, Love”.
I find it odd that anyone would find re-reading favorite books odd. Don’t people have favorite museums, parks, monuments, foods, and people? Do they only visit them once and never again?! Of course not! I re-read my favorite books all the time. It is a reliable source of joy.
Especially when your in a reading rut or stressed out (*cough* in a pandemic *cough*)