Re: Re-reading

[rosaleeluann.livejournal.com]

Are Sounisians re-readers?

I think we all know the answer to that question. I think its safe to say that most/all fans of MWT's books would have to be. But I know so many people who aren't re-readers. Which makes me think--

Why is that?
What makes re-reading a different experience from reading books only once?
Do re-readers only like certain kinds of books while read-only-once-ers like others? Or maybe they like them in different ways?
Do you feel that re-reading takes you away from reading and discovering new favorites, or is re-reading an old favorite better than taking a chance on a new one?


Any thoughts or discussion on re-reading (or re-re-re-re-re-reading ;-) welcome here, even if its not a direct answer to any of the questions above. :-)




Oh, and in case anyone hadn't noticed... I'M BACK. I MISSED YOU GUYS!

Comments

[drashizu.livejournal.com]

I'm going to number your questions 1-4 so I can think about them easier.

(1) I have no, no, no idea. Personal preference? But I think you're onto something when you ask (in question 3) whether re-readers might like books differently than only-once-ers.

(2) The first time you read a book, it's a surprise. You aren't sure if you'll like it at all, first of all, but then once you do decide you like it and you settle in and start to trust that the author will deliver the same quality ending as she did the beginning and middle parts, it can be exhilarating to have absolutely NO idea what's going to happen. I always feel like the first time I read a book is the most shocking, the most dramatic, the most emotional. If I re-read a book, it's likely to be a much calmer, more thought-provoking, even an analytical experience. In the case of MWT's books, for instance, I have never been as absolutely STRUCK by what was happening on the page as the first time I read. But I didn't understand all the implications of what I was reading until my second, third, or twelfth re-read, and I'm constantly deepening my understanding of the characters and the intricacies of the plot each time I go back to those books, so I think a re-reading experience allows a reader to appreciate the craft of a book more directly than the first reading, when, because you don't know what's coming, you can't possibly know how all the pieces are going to fit together.

(3) I think not all books merit re-reading, and there are some books that I've enjoyed immensely that I have no desire to pick back up. I would say that people who re-read and people who don't are not necessarily targeting different kinds of books, because maybe personal preferences just lead someone to prefer the first-reading experience far beyond the re-reading experience, but I also think that if you never read books that become deeper or more complex on re-examining them, you probably won't get a very good impression of re-reading and you might decide you don't like to do it. I'd be interested to see if someone who passionately dislikes re-reading could be persuaded to do it once (or twice) after being exposed to the Queen's Thief series. I don't think it's possible to understand The King of Attolia, for example, without re-reading in whole or in part.

(4) Both. I know I've been re-reading more often lately, because a few months ago I had to drag myself out to the bookstore to look at some of the new releases, because I realized I had no idea what any of the new books were! But I also think that it's a lot easier to re-read a book you know you can trust to be good. All I know is, if I want to stay on top of the new stuff, I can't do what my grandmother does. (She has stopped buying new books because she has so many it takes her 5 years to re-read them all. At the end of 5 years, she goes back to the beginning and starts over.) I love discovering new books too much to do that, but re-reading is easier sometimes. Hmm. I hadn't realized what a dilemma this was for me until you posed this question!

This is an excellent discussion topic, Rosalee!

[1221bookworm.livejournal.com]

But I also think that it's a lot easier to re-read a book you know you can trust to be good.

Sometimes looking for new books is such an overwhelming prospect, that turning to the tried and true books is really appealing.

[freenarnian.livejournal.com]

Hi!! It's good to see you again. :)

First, a little story: I once knew a very nice, very intelligent, very attractive guy who irrevocably annulled all of the formerly mentioned qualities with the passing remark, "I don't think any movie is worth seeing more than once." Blink. (Okay, so maybe he wouldn't apply this rule to books... but movies are stories too, and I can't imagine thinking any such thing about movies OR books. Suffice to say I am a re-re-re-reader and re-re-re-watcher.)

To echo drashizu, it has a lot to do with appreciating craft vs initial response. Though it varies which I notice first... sometimes I am so captured by the story during the first reading, I'm almost completely oblivious to the writing itself. This has decreased over time, however, as I've gotten older and done more of my own writing. Nowadays I can be easily distracted by what I perceive as great or poor writing, and it's only the during the second reading that I really abandon myself to the tale.

But I have many reasons for re-reading. Some books are just plain comforting, like old friends. I come back to them when I am sad or lonely or in search of an anchor. Some books are so familiar I come back to them for the simple pleasure of reading when life is full and hectic and I haven't got a lot of extra room in my brain for puzzling out something new. Other books (guess which ones I'm thinking of) catch me so completely off guard that I MUST go back and read them again, sometimes several times, to fully appreciate just how perfectly I was blindfolded and led astray. And some books just taste wonderful, like chocolate fondu, so I keep dipping. The lines blur between these categories, of course. The more that apply, the better the book, and the more times I re-read it.

My favorite re-readables: Beauty by Robin McKinley, The Eagle of the Ninth by Rosemary Sutcliff, Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones, Crown Duel by Sherwood Smith, Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine, Gaudy Night by Dorothy Sayers, anything Tolkien or Lewis. And the award for most re-read goes to The Queen's Thief series! W00t.

What are some of yours?

[drashizu.livejournal.com]

And some books just taste wonderful, like chocolate fondu, so I keep dipping.
Love this metaphor. And the entire paragraph it was in, actually.

Favorite re-reads: Howl's Moving Castle, definitely, as well as Ella Enchanted. The Silverwing series by Kenneth Oppel. Animist by Eve Forward. Catspaw and the rest of the Cat series by Joan D. Vinge. Anything Miles Vorkosigan. And, although they're recent enough that I haven't had time to reread them yet, I can definitely feel that the Vlad Taltos books by Steven Brust are going to be on this list very soon.

I agree with everything you said about movies as well. I have a few favorites of those that I watch over and over, too. Princess Mononoke is one I rewatch almost twice a year. I also love Clue, the film made from the board game, and The Lion King and Brother Bear and Mulan and... pretty much any animated Disney movie, actually.

[1221bookworm.livejournal.com]

But I have many reasons for re-reading. Some books are just plain comforting, like old friends. I come back to them when I am sad or lonely or in search of an anchor. Some books are so familiar I come back to them for the simple pleasure of reading when life is full and hectic and I haven't got a lot of extra room in my brain for puzzling out something new.

Completely Agree!! :)

[rosaleeluann.livejournal.com]

Favorite re-readables...

Obviously, all of MWTs

lots of DWJ, expecially Howls Moving Castle and the Chrestomanci books

Ella Enchanted

Robin Mckinley, most especially The Blue Sword, The Hero and the Crown, and Dragonhaven

Elisabeth Marie Pope

To Say Nothing of the Dog


Just to name a few. As I stated elsewhere, generally my rule is if its worth reading once, its worth reading again.

It also depends on my mood (as I've already said...). When you've already read a book, you *know* when you're in the mood for that type of story and you sort of get "hungry" for it.

[chocolate-smash.livejournal.com]

2. The re-reading experience (for me) is for absorbing the book then disecting it in my mind and then going back again and fangirling over all my favorite parts. The first time I read stuff all im doing is getting the story and the excitment of the plot.
4. For me, sometimes yes. I adore new books but whenever I re-read The name of the wind and Harry Potter 4-7 I do feel like there were other new books I wanted to read that are now back at the library and out of my reach for a while. It makes me sad.
My favorite re-reads are Harry Potter 1-7, The name of the wind, anything Diana wynne jones I can get my hands on, and anything queens thief.
Also, my someone-is-going-to-get-there-face-ripped-off book is KoA. For reasons unknown to me it almost always calms me down a bit.

[meltintall3.livejournal.com]

1. Laziness? A feeling that if you already know what will happen why bother?

2. You (can) see so much more the second time around; you're not racing to find out what happens next, so you can take your time along the way to enjoy how you get to the end

3. As near as I can tell, I will read and enjoy all kinds of books. But the books I re-read have characters that have come alive and become friends. I can not think of any reason connected specifically to re-readability that would render the book unlikable to someone who prefers a once through and then on to new territories approach.

4. Not at all. I find that rereads make up on average about a third to half of my reading diet so it's a very balanced approach. :)

Here's a question: do you like to let books settle before you re-read them? ie, can you reread immediately, or do you have to wait a bit until you don't remember quite how events are structured? Are there different levels of re-readability?

[1221bookworm.livejournal.com]

Here's a question: do you like to let books settle before you re-read them? ie, can you reread immediately, or do you have to wait a bit until you don't remember quite how events are structured? Are there different levels of re-readability?

Depends on the book. Some, like QT, you want to go back immediately, kick yourself in the head, and then remove yourself from the book quickly. Others you go back to only after some time has passed, and you remember the gist, but not the details, where it becomes kinda like a first read all over again. The ones where you feel a connection with the characters are the ones that you can re-read without letting them settle, because it is like leaving your friends.

[rosaleeluann.livejournal.com]

Like bookworm already said, I think it depends on the book. I read KoA five times in a row the first time, and was still laughing out loud at all the clever lines. Other books need a bit of time to settle.

[filkferengi]

Author Jo Walton [papersky] has said that she can't re-read her very favorite books any more, or at least not for a very long time, because she knows them too well.

I've run into that sometimes, with particular favorites, in which the book is *so* comfortable & familiar, it's all too easy to skim over things & lose the emotional impacts. If you're going to reread, it should *mean* something, so it's a tricky balance.

[shelver506.livejournal.com]

It may not be fair to say, since I don't really know, but I suspect one-timers don't read as deeply as re-readers. They pick it up, milk all the emotion and interest they can out of the book, then put it down again because they think there's nothing else to glean. They probably don't get into philological discussions or anything like that. My theory is that, for them, reading is done purely for an emotional charge (jolts of adrenaline, etc.) rather than a joint emotional-intellectual charge.

Or it could just be that they simply read different kinds of books. Some books simply don't invite a re-read, either because the plot is superficial enough that trying to recapture the first-felt emotions is like trying to retaste the zing out of pre-sucked Pop Rocks (how's that for a visual?) OR because all of the punch is in the ending. Here's what I mean by the latter. MWT's crown jewel is her endings, right? That's always what bowls us over when we read the first time, but the books can still be enjoyed later because they can be dissected to find the clues we had previously skipped over AND the book holds enough action and personal interest to sustain itself even without the twist. It's the same reasoning used by people who watch The Sixth Sense or Fight Club again and again. They know the twist, but now there are clues to reexamine and the whole thing is so dang interesting.

As for re-reading vs. new favorites, I don't think it's an either/or. I love new books. They're always so exciting! I read one new book a week to review for my blog, and that's while holding two jobs. However, that doesn't prevent me from going back to enjoy The Thief (as I'm doing right now), or Rilla of Ingleside, or any of my other favorites. Old favorites always serve a purpose. New books are for adventure and excitement, but old favorites are like your favorite stuffed animal on a stormy night. They're comforting. The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight made me cry buckets, which surprised me. I expect that with Rilla. So if I'm feeling particularly nostalgic and mellow, I go for Rilla. If I want to waste an entire day for straight reading, I reach for an MWT book or Hunger Games.

Re-reading favorites serves one other purpose. They make excellent fillers for those new books. If I've finished New Book A and know for a fact that New Book B will be at the library ready for pickup in a day and a half, I'm not going to try to cram in a New Book C. It's just bad for mental digestion. Instead, I'll pick up Old Book D and enjoy our visit. Not only can I read it more quickly than a new book, but, since I know the story so well, I can also set it down mid-story if I need to.

[rosaleeluann.livejournal.com]

My theory is, some books are really really re-readable. Some are written for just that first-time-through shock value, and once thats gone it's gone. I don't want to point any fingers and imply its a bad book, but one book that is this way for me is Da Vinci Code. I read it once. I know how it ends. It was exciting the first time but the characters didn't become my friends--I never plan to pick it up again.

Characters seem to be mentioned alot here. Does it have something to do with the difference between plot-driven and character-driven novels? If its plot-driven once you know the ending, thats it. If its character-driven, it doesn't matter if you know the ending, because thats not why you're reading it.

[aged-crone.livejournal.com]

Rilla! Such a marvelous book. And the romance in it is just so beautiful.

When I "discovered" the Anne of Green Gables books in junior high it was the Grosset & Dunlap re-releases of the 1970's. And for reasons I've never understood, they didn't include Rainbow Valley or Rilla of Ingleside. They didn't even list them with the other books. It wasn't until several years later that I was in London, in the book department of, I think, Harrod's, browsing around, and happened to notice both those books (hardcovers, by Harrap, I think) staring me in the face. You know that pleasant shock you feel when you discover a book you've been looking for, or one you never knew existed?

I finally understood a couple of cryptic references in Anne of Ingleside (which although it takes place before those two books was written after they were).

But it still grates on me that they don't match the rest of my books!

Which has nothing to do with re-reading (although I have, frequently) but I couldn't resist.

[bluestalking.livejournal.com]

I would agree with you that one-time readers try to get everything out of a book that they can the first time through, but I don't think it's at all true that it makes them specifically shallow/emotional/experience readers. You might have more complex intellectual things to say after you've read a book a few times, but that doesn't mean you have none (and no desire for any) because you prefer to only read something once. If that were the case, university would be basically useless, wouldn't it?

[elvenjaneite.livejournal.com]

I personally tend to think that if a book doesn't stand up to re-reading, it wasn't that good to begin with. Which is awful, I know, but I tend to find that the really good books have something new to offer every time I read them. It might be something tiny, a detail I hadn't noticed before, or it might be that I've changed enough to see the story in a new light. But regardless, my favorite books are the ones that never disappoint, even when I've read them ten times.

I read fast, so I don't feel like I'm losing time when I re-read. Also, sometimes I get almost physically hungry for a particular book and NEED to re-read it right then and there.

[rosaleeluann.livejournal.com]

There is occasionally I'd place in the category glad-I-read-but-won't-ever-come-back-to, but thats rare. Generally my motto is, if its worth reading, its worth reading again and again and again....

I know what you're talking about being "hungry" for a specific book. Been there, done that.

[1221bookworm.livejournal.com]

I do a lot of re-reading, but find that there are only some books that I really want to re-read. Sometimes, I'll pick up a book at the library, and be like, "oh, I think I'll enjoy reading this again," only to get home and realize that I'm not really interested in reading it again.

I think that I re-read the books where the characters are like friends. Those are the ones I always turn to.

Re-reading also brings up : Do you read through completely, or do you flip?

I tend to be a flipper, letting the book fall open to where ever and reading that scene. But it depends on the individual book. I really like Crown Duel by Sherwood Smith, but find it is difficult to flip, because all the scenes flow into one another. (Though I will happily read chapters 22 and 23 anytime !! :) I prefer to read through it completely. Rise of a Hero and Forging the Sword by Hilari Bell are good flipping books, because each chapter is like a mini episode in the whole series, with an ending to the individual adventure.

I enjoy re-reading, but I don't like when I feel like that is the only thing I have to read because I can't find anything new to read.

*apologizes for the rambliness*

[icastlecaptured.livejournal.com]

I'm a flipper too! Though I've never used the term before :) This goes hand in hand with the fact that for most of my life I was a constant reader (never without a book on hand)

This tends to lend complications when it comes to being able to say how many times I've read a book - when I first saw people discussing the Harry Potter series online they would say things like "I've read all the books 3 times!" or "5 times!", whereas I was like "Jeez, well I feel like I've picked them up hundreds of times, but I have no idea really.

I do do complete read throughs too. I find they have a different kind of result than flipping. When I read a scene in media res it's for atmosphere, for spending time with the characters and appreciating the way their world works. Reading through is much less casual and I find I pay attention to plot and buildup a lot more, and noticing patterns. I think however, that flipping really lends to understanding the shape and character of a story more in depth, as well as understanding what makes the characters tick. Do you agree?

Nowadays I find I do complete read throughs much more often - rereads as a deliberate event rather than a casual activity, since university has eaten up my pleasure reading time (I was warned as a kid that this would happen, but I never believed I would subcome :( )

Looks like a rambled a bit myself! But I've always felt weird for my rereading habits, so it was nice to see someone who seemed to share one!

[chubbyleng.livejournal.com]

I think I'm a little different in the sense that I actually wasn't a re-reader before I came across QT. And even then, I read QT and though I liked it, I didn't plan on re-reading it until I came to Sounis. And I found out everyone was saying that the books actually get better on re-reads, and here I was going, "There's such a thing as re-reads?!" I do admit that I wasn't an avid book reader until... 2010? That's pretty late compared to some of you. So I had very little reason to re-read in the first place.

I think re-reading depends both on the person and the book. I know some people are very persistent, and they will go through a book they don't like, or even re-read it just to get a new perspective on it. Then there are people like me who will drop a book half way if we really don't like it. It depends on what people find the most beautiful or worthwhile experience in reading a book. For people who only like plot-driven books, re-reading may seem a little redundant because all the twists are known already. But there are also people who re-read because they like the language or style of the writing, or like what the other Sounisians have said above, the characters feel like they're old friends. And in some cases, like QT, even though we already know the twists, it's those hidden clues scattered along the pages that make re-reading so worthwhile. We get to discover something new each time.

Hmm... for the last question, I think it's a mix of both. I'm constantly in search of new books that I'm hoping I like, but for a picky reader like me, sometimes it's just safer to stick with what's in my bookshelf if I need to quickly grab something. Sometimes though, my type of re-reads aren't the full fleshed kind, but the "I know there's this awesome scene on page blah, and I'm gonna read it ten times!"

Anyway, I don't think I was a member yet before you left, but welcome back anyway!! And you said from the other thread that you're back from the Philippines, so... uhm, Kamusta?

[rosaleeluann.livejournal.com]

Oo nga, galing ako sa Pilipinas! Marunong ka ma mag-tagalog? Taga saan ka?

So have you found that you've become more of a re-reader since joining sounis for books other than MWTs, or is it just these books that you've re-read?

[dehdwood.livejournal.com]

/quietly de-lurks

Serial re-reader over here so this topic definitely piqued my interest! I browsed through some of the responses to this post and one point that stood out for me was the one about how some books just aren't "built" to be re-read--though which books these are depends on the kind of reader you are, I guess? I tend to go for the ones that I can immerse myself into, while my sister prefers either chic lit or those Chicken Soup for the Soul-type books, which are genres that I tend to leave alone after the first read.

I enjoy rereading immersive books because they tend to have a lot of details in them which I inevitably miss out on during my first read. I'm the type that gets that impatient, I-wanna-know-what-comes-next feeling so I tend to speed through the scenes. Re-reads are partially propelled by guilt for having skimmed over the author's hard work, ahaha. I am never bored though because I always pick up on something new.

Whilst reading The Queen's Thief series, I had many moments where I slowed down or stopped completely in order to appreciate a particular passage or scene (for example, the attempted assassination in the garden in The King of Attolia). I'd dig into any book with finely-crafted prose, intriguing characters, and a clever plot so it doesn't surprise me that I've become a fan of MWT's work. :)

[booksrgood4u.livejournal.com]

Hi! Welcome! De-lurkers are always welcom in Sounis!

I have that "wanna-know- whats-comes-next" syndrome too. I usually get about 20 or 30 pages from the end of a book and it occurs to me that if I keep reading at that pace, I will soon be finished. So then I go painstakingly slowly just to savor what's left of the book.

[bluestalking.livejournal.com]

I NOTICED I NOTICED I NOTICED I MISSED YOU ROSIE <3 <3 <3 <3

That is such a hard question. (I like it.) I know some of the reasons I reread. Sometimes only one particular book gives me one particular feeling, and I have to go back to that book if I want the feeling again (I often do). I also have an awful memory, so if I enjoy something I have to lay down the pattern of the story a few times to really get it in my head. And like a lot of people here, I invest very deeply in some characters, and also relate to them really strongly, so rereading is like mapping the characters and myself to each other. It makes me better when I don't feel okay.

[rosaleeluann.livejournal.com]

ITS NICE TO BE NOTICED <3<3<3 *hug*

[brandy-painter.livejournal.com]

I have nothing really to add that hasn't already been said but wanted to add a heartfelt, "WELCOME BACK!" to you Rosie.

[rosaleeluann.livejournal.com]

thanks muchly :D glad to be back!

[elle-winters.livejournal.com]

Yayyyy!!! YOU'RE BACK!!!!!


also my friend first read the series last year after much pressure from myself. At the end of it she said, "she didn't know how she felt about Gen" it made me feel kinda deflated, how could she not LOVE gen like I did?! Didn't she see how AWESOME HE WAS. lol

Well, just the other day I got a text, and guess who was re-reading The Thief ?!! She re-read them and said she LOVED Gen, especially now because she got all his small snarky comments and his super witty-ness. I definitely think every has to at least read the series twice to enjoy them.

Theres so much we miss the first time around!

[rosaleeluann.livejournal.com]

Everything is SO obvious in retrospect.

[aged-crone.livejournal.com]

By the way, I was reminded of this thread yesterday when I was talking to a teacher at school.

You may or may not know that at my school they use a "reading incentive" (HA!) program, whose alleged purpose is to encourage children to read but whose result, practically speaking, is to make them look on reading as a hated chore done only to take tests, accrue points to win a t-shirt or go to a movie.

Anyway, here's a quote from a teacher who was in the library with her class so they could check out books (it was a year or two ago but it still burns in my mind): "Why would you want to check out that book? You've already taken a test on it."

(Another quote, though less relevant to this discussion: "Don't check out that book. It doesn't have a test.")