Fro those who reread some books regularly.

[TexasProgresive]

I got to thinking about this as some books that I really enjoyed I would never reread. It's like "been there done that!" Other books just call to me to be reread. The first ones that reeled me in were by James Street (Oh Promise Land, Tap Roots and others relating the saga of the Dabney clan). There are others such as "The Hobbit" and the Ring trilogy, and I think I reread everything Robert Heinlein ever wrote as well as Asimov.

These books seem to reveal new things each time I read them. Now I don't come to the end and start over again but usually after a year or more.

So if you are like me, why do you do it?

[Faygo Kid]

1. I'm rereading Bruce Catton's "Army of the Potomac" trilogy now. Civil War Sesquicentennial.

Seemed to be the right time. That man could write - beautifully.

[The Philosopher]

2. I read

Ishmael by Daniel Quinn 11-13 times, mainly because it took that that amount for the points to stick in my head. But I loved each reading of it.

When I read other books, it's mostly because I've forgotten things about it; I have a very bad memory. There are some books I read because I can't help myself. Bukowski's Ham on rye is one. I have a feeling I'll do the same with Howard Fast's Spartacus, so each time I pass its spine I give it a dirty look to strengthen my resolve to not pick it up (yet).

[krispos42]

3. A good series really gets the brain moving

I specially like stories about people misplaced in time and/or space. But sometimes I just like to spend time imagining that I, a modern man, was in the plot of the book.

Or alternate realities... like Harry Turtledove's "The Case of the Toxic Spell Dump". It is extremely imaginative, and is a parallel of our world, so going through it to find the basis of the parallels is fun. It's also heavy on puns, many of them obscure, so that's another challenge.

[SheilaT]

4. Sometimes I reread a book for the sheer pleasure or

re-experiencing that world. Replay by Ken Grimwood is one example. Another is Time on My Hands by Peter delaCorte.

Over the years I've reread the Laura Ingalls Wilder books at least a dozen times, and every single time I get something different from them. When I was a little girl, I identified very much with Laura. Like her I had an older sister who was prettier and more favored by my parents. Once I had kids of my own, I found I identified with her parents.

Norah Lofts is another author whose books I've reread, some more than once.

I tend to think that if a book is worth reading in the first place, it's probably worth rereading, although I certainly do not and will never reread all of the books I've read. Some of them are not worth it, and I rarely reread nonfiction, even though I actually read more non- than fiction.

[YankeyMCC]

5. 2 reasons I think I can articulate

There are times I need something to read and I just want to revisit a favorite story, sort of like 'comfort food' not that they are all comforting stories just ones I'm found of and familiar with. Asimov's empire, robot and Foundation stories fall into this category for me and there are others.

Also, there are stories that I after some time passes I feel like my life has changed enough that I'm likely to find something new in the story. Lord of the Rings, Grapes of Wrath, Odyssey and Iliad fall into this category.

And the two categories are not mutually exclusive, Lord of the Rings is also a familiar comforting story at times and I honestly have a lot of fun running Homer's epic poems.

[TexasProgresive]

6. I got to thinking about my reasons

One is that books that really call out to me for another visit are those in which the characters have gained lives of their own in my mind. books that I read once and enjoy but that's the end of it are books that have a great story but the characters are rather thinly developed. An example of this was Red Storm Rising by Tom Clancy.

[JitterbugPerfume]

7. it is like visiting an old friend to re read good fiction

I recently re read A Poisonwood Bible. by one of my favorite authors, Barbara Kingsolver. Some books are so rich , so bountiful in what they have to offer that to read them just one time is doing an injustice.

I also re read A Hitchhiker Guide to the Galaxy every few years just for the sheer delight of it.

When I re read Vonnegut what is old is new again .

Always make new friends (books) but do not abandon the old.

[AngryOldDem]

8. Rereading books, to me, is like visiting old friends.

It gives me a chance to enjoy the story again, as well as look at the author's mechanics of how he or she put the story together.

[fadedrose]

9. Because I love the characters...

sometimes the story is better than other times, but if my characters are doing their thing, I could read them over and over with a feeling of ease and trust that they won't disappoint. I'm like that with the Doss books.

[WaitingforKarlRove]

10. I think it's because of the characters

I've lost count of how many times I've read To Kill a Mockingbird and Mila 18 by Leon Uris. I can name most of the Polish characters which is weird because I can barely remember my own name these days. I still cry whenever I reread them.

[fadedrose]

11. Welcome

Wow, 6 posts. I remember starting out wondering where to go, who was nice and who wasn't...have fun..


Edited to say that everyone in Books: Fiction is nice. It's when you go to the serious discussion groups and there's an election coming up. Everybody's got their favorite Dem to put in office and they get over-enthused sometimes :)