I mostly want to read as much as I can, but sometimes I re-read something, especially if it's been a long time since the last read. It then becomes a different book because you're essentially a different person.
I am a re-reader. I read a lot of fiction, and I scour used bookstores for my favourite authors and series (particularly older works; I buy new as well!). I rationalize my book collection as an investment in my future - when I move into the old folks home in a couple of decades or so, I will be glad to have old friends with me.
I LOVE re-reading an old favourite - especially in the cold months. I re-read a christmas carol and the nutcracker ever holiday season! I also love making notes and doodling directly in the book to mark my favourite parts/passages i want to find again!
That's funny - I never think to do it for non fiction because i generally read them as ebooks and i really should find some way to mark them up because i always want to go back and check factoids i want chew on haha Maybe i need to start a common place book for non fiction :)
It is a dilemma fraught with bad conscience as well. My library used to number over 4000 volumes, now down to a 1000 from moving and culling, but even at this number, their stacks eye me with a kind of erudite accusation; 'when was the last time you picked me up', one might say to me, or worse, 'you don't have the chops to understand me!'. And unlike some other writers on Substack, I feel I am getting more dimwitted as I age, and this is a direct result of not reading enough.
I've generally defaulted to the "reading a new book is more valuable than re-reading an old book" camp, though this holiday season I'm reversing course. I'm planning to re-read at least one, if not two, of my favorites. Catch-22 is my top priority.
Great choice! I re-read Catch-22 several years ago and was amazed at how much I enjoyed it again/still as though it was a first reading. Sure, enough time had passed to forget details, but many books that I appreciate at one age don’t speak to me later. Catch-22 nailed it for me twice. Totally worth the re-read! I hope so for you, too.
I love your point about the relation between rereading and memory. My test of this is photo albums. If an event doesn’t make it into an album to be re-seen, I’m liable to forget it ever happened!
I didn't think I could re-read for the reasons you state. But, I started writing my own "novel" in November and my character picked up Wuthering Heights to read. It occurred to me that maybe I should re-read it especially if it was going to be important to my character. So, I am. I read it first as a teeanger and it's now 30+ years later. What struck me most about my re-read of Wuthering Heights so far is HOW MUCH of that book had entered into my psyche because I recognize the themes in my own writing. I'm also struck by how reading it at a different stage of life I'm noticing different flavors and themes. So, it's a delicious re-read.
I love to reread, especially books which were important to me in younger years - the way I relate to them changes, because I’ve changed. I get something new out of them every time!
I used to re-read books as a kid (so many dog-eared copies of comics and novels in the back of our family car), but I've gotten out of that practice now. The exception might be poetry, because I can flip to bite-size morsels that I enjoy, and because it helps me learn to be a better writer of poetry, too. If I do re-read, it's something that hits that emotional chord. (Same with re-watches of movies/shows, I suppose.)
I have a handful of books that I’m happy to re-read (sometimes annually). Because I love them so much. I’m also the type of person that has no problem re-watching TV series or movies that I really enjoy. On the opposite end of the spectrum is my sister who doesn’t believe in re-watching anything and for whom time is far too short, and the supply of books far too great, for her to ever re-read anything.
I read as much as I can... but literally mark down books that evoked powerful emotion in me and reread them compulsively (once in every few months only, though - for otherwise I risk memorizing the book and not enjoying the story, omg).
Unfortunately (or not so?), as I grow older and enter the later years of high school, I don't have enough time to guiltlessly read trash anymore. Still, these days were fun.
I know there are so many books in the world to go through but I love rereading. I like to come back to old favorites to be comforted. I usually schedule my rereads in January and February because it’s the time of the year where I don’t get to buy new books because of all the holiday spending. The rest of the year I spend (and splurge) on reading new books.
I used to re-read endlessly as a kid but for a few years there I felt like I couldn’t keep up with all the new stuff I wanted to read and never re-read. However the past year or so I’ve really started to cherish a re-read and made a dedicated shelf for the books I’d like to re-read soon. Whether that’s to enjoy a story I love or test of my feelings have changed 8+ years from reading or simply enjoy the writing again. I hope to keep making space for re-reading more and more.
I mostly want to read as much as I can, but sometimes I re-read something, especially if it's been a long time since the last read. It then becomes a different book because you're essentially a different person.
Indeed and the same holds true for your own writing: you are not exactly the same person today than the day that you wrote something.
This.
And is this only for me: or do books you loved when you were a kid seem horribly childish after a while? (Plus, you finish them in like 15 minutes)
I am a re-reader. I read a lot of fiction, and I scour used bookstores for my favourite authors and series (particularly older works; I buy new as well!). I rationalize my book collection as an investment in my future - when I move into the old folks home in a couple of decades or so, I will be glad to have old friends with me.
I like this!
I LOVE re-reading an old favourite - especially in the cold months. I re-read a christmas carol and the nutcracker ever holiday season! I also love making notes and doodling directly in the book to mark my favourite parts/passages i want to find again!
I never developed the marginalia habit for fiction but non-fiction I'm much more likely to annotate.
That's funny - I never think to do it for non fiction because i generally read them as ebooks and i really should find some way to mark them up because i always want to go back and check factoids i want chew on haha Maybe i need to start a common place book for non fiction :)
Careful, they're addictive!
It is a dilemma fraught with bad conscience as well. My library used to number over 4000 volumes, now down to a 1000 from moving and culling, but even at this number, their stacks eye me with a kind of erudite accusation; 'when was the last time you picked me up', one might say to me, or worse, 'you don't have the chops to understand me!'. And unlike some other writers on Substack, I feel I am getting more dimwitted as I age, and this is a direct result of not reading enough.
I've generally defaulted to the "reading a new book is more valuable than re-reading an old book" camp, though this holiday season I'm reversing course. I'm planning to re-read at least one, if not two, of my favorites. Catch-22 is my top priority.
I've never read Catch-22, it feels like the kind of book I should read at least once.
For sure! It's one of the most influential satires ever written, and once you read it you'll see its footprints everywhere.
Great choice! I re-read Catch-22 several years ago and was amazed at how much I enjoyed it again/still as though it was a first reading. Sure, enough time had passed to forget details, but many books that I appreciate at one age don’t speak to me later. Catch-22 nailed it for me twice. Totally worth the re-read! I hope so for you, too.
Thanks for the recco - will read it soon. Satires are the best.
Of course, Animal Farm is another great one. A Brave New World is something to consider, though it's somewhat dystopian.
My issue with reading a new book/authr is that it often turns out to be trash - how do you deal with this?
I love your point about the relation between rereading and memory. My test of this is photo albums. If an event doesn’t make it into an album to be re-seen, I’m liable to forget it ever happened!
I didn't think I could re-read for the reasons you state. But, I started writing my own "novel" in November and my character picked up Wuthering Heights to read. It occurred to me that maybe I should re-read it especially if it was going to be important to my character. So, I am. I read it first as a teeanger and it's now 30+ years later. What struck me most about my re-read of Wuthering Heights so far is HOW MUCH of that book had entered into my psyche because I recognize the themes in my own writing. I'm also struck by how reading it at a different stage of life I'm noticing different flavors and themes. So, it's a delicious re-read.
I love to reread, especially books which were important to me in younger years - the way I relate to them changes, because I’ve changed. I get something new out of them every time!
I used to re-read books as a kid (so many dog-eared copies of comics and novels in the back of our family car), but I've gotten out of that practice now. The exception might be poetry, because I can flip to bite-size morsels that I enjoy, and because it helps me learn to be a better writer of poetry, too. If I do re-read, it's something that hits that emotional chord. (Same with re-watches of movies/shows, I suppose.)
I have a handful of books that I’m happy to re-read (sometimes annually). Because I love them so much. I’m also the type of person that has no problem re-watching TV series or movies that I really enjoy. On the opposite end of the spectrum is my sister who doesn’t believe in re-watching anything and for whom time is far too short, and the supply of books far too great, for her to ever re-read anything.
Same. Rereading stuff that once powerfully affected me is just an awesome experience.
I re-watch tv shows all the time so it makes sense to re-read!
I read as much as I can... but literally mark down books that evoked powerful emotion in me and reread them compulsively (once in every few months only, though - for otherwise I risk memorizing the book and not enjoying the story, omg).
Unfortunately (or not so?), as I grow older and enter the later years of high school, I don't have enough time to guiltlessly read trash anymore. Still, these days were fun.
I know there are so many books in the world to go through but I love rereading. I like to come back to old favorites to be comforted. I usually schedule my rereads in January and February because it’s the time of the year where I don’t get to buy new books because of all the holiday spending. The rest of the year I spend (and splurge) on reading new books.
I used to re-read endlessly as a kid but for a few years there I felt like I couldn’t keep up with all the new stuff I wanted to read and never re-read. However the past year or so I’ve really started to cherish a re-read and made a dedicated shelf for the books I’d like to re-read soon. Whether that’s to enjoy a story I love or test of my feelings have changed 8+ years from reading or simply enjoy the writing again. I hope to keep making space for re-reading more and more.