Re-reading books, worth the time?

Discussion in Books, eBooks & Audio Books started by prettycolors • Oct 7, 2014.

  1. prettycolors

    prettycolorsActive Member

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    I'd say yes. One of my favorite book series is Dune by Frank Herbert. I first read the books at a very young age and while I understood some of the concepts it was nothing more than a cool sci-fi book. Once I got older I found a cheap edition, bought it and re-read the whole saga. This second time I understood many of the complexities and now I see Dune as a fantastic mix of philosophy, religion, sci-fi and much more. It's the same as re-watching some cartoon from our youth only to find violence or adult humor - things that we didn't notice/understood back then.
     
  2. Strykstar

    StrykstarActive Member

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    If you think a book is worth re-reading then you already know that it is of a very high quality so it's definitely worth it.
    I've re-read The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy series twice and I'm pretty sure I'll do it a couple of times more, it's a great one to read because there are so many things going on that by the end you're not sure what exactly happened.
     
  3. Gelsemium

    GelsemiumWell-Known Member

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    I've re-read a few books, most of them when I was a student and some technical books. If it's fiction I don't read it twice, but if it's a study book or something I want to grasp I feel that reading it again allow us to retain way better the content.
     
  4. Theo

    TheoWell-Known Member

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    Books should be re-read. I enjoy reading them again, especially tales that are fun like The Chronicles of Narnia. refer to my non-fiction books, but like to look through them and there are some classics that can be re-read through different eyes. I read English Literature at University and reading books then was a chore and now I can read them without thinking of themes and look at the story. I do still think of themes, but subconsciously!
     
  5. Denis Hard

    Denis HardWell-Known Member

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    There are some books especially those with a twist which one might choose to re-read in order to get the "feel" of the story once you have got the "whole picture."

    I'm talking about stories like The Spy Who Came In From The Cold. Stories that unexpectedly head off in a different direction. I like re-reading such stories with one goal — to see if the rest of the story ties in with the twist.
     
  6. lizzief79

    lizzief79Active Member

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    It would probably be considered a waste of time but I do this regularly. There are lots of books I have loved and read them time and time again. However, I have to wait a few months before I read a book again. Although I know what is going to happen, it is still nice to read them again.
     
  7. Sly14Cat

    Sly14CatActive Member

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    I used to have this habit of never reading books more than once, it just looses it's meaning for me the second time and it's just outright boring. I will read a book I haven't read in years though, in hopes that I forgot all of it and nothing comes back to mind. So for me personally, reading books more than once just never seems to be worth it.
     
  8. Spectre456

    Spectre456Active Member

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    I think it's worth the time if it is a particularly good book. I'm the type of person that likes to read a book once and then move on, I feel like books are experiences, so I want to experience something new each time. Every once in a while there's a book that is so good that I have to re-read it though, The Hobbit was the first book of this type I read, it was amazing.
     
  9. Pat

    PatWell-Known Member

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    Once I have read the book I seldom read it again. If it is a technical book I may refer to the book when I need more information. Fiction books I always seem to remember the book before I finnish and do not enjoy reading it again.
     
  10. lrd913

    lrd913Active Member

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    Yes! Yes! Yes!

    I love to reread books. I always find small details that I might have missed the first time and I love reading the story again. When I'm rereading a book I can look back onto the first time I read it. When did I read it the first time? What was going on in my life?

    I know it's not for everyone but I really enjoy it. I figure since I bought the book why read it only once? It's a waste of money to do that.
     
  11. 003

    003Well-Known Member

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    Of course, if you are an avid reader. It's like listening to a music you really like. You keep on listening to it, and every time that you do, there's always something beautiful that comes out, that comes to your senses that was not able to do so in your previous listening. Basically, it's for the pleasure, and if you are the type who values pleasure so much and that you find pleasure in reading, then you would most likely find re-reading a book that you really like worth the time.
     
  12. obliviousme

    obliviousmeActive Member

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    Yes, definitely. I do reread books, especially the really good ones, for the main reason that i want to know the books by heart. Every small detail is important and reading it the first time, I'm sure i've missed a lot of details. I reread because it's fun also and it's good to experience the book all over again.
     
  13. atlmom5

    atlmom5Active Member

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    Sure, if a book was really good, why not? I've read many books over again because I wanted to experience them all over again. Why not experience something over again, it isn't a waste of time if it's something you like to do.
     
  14. thenextGeek

    thenextGeekActive Member

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    Of course. I can't remember how many times I've re-read my favorite book, The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho. I read it every time I want to feel peaceful, during times when I'm sad, during the times when I want to regain my focus in life, etc. It's basically my comfort food (book edition) and every time I read it, I feel as if I'm still understanding more about the story and the message that the author wants to convey. It's as if the book is literally wrote to guide you in every milestone in your life, and direct you towards your ultimate goal.
     
  15. Denis Hard

    Denis HardWell-Known Member

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    And there's another good reason why you should re-read books. If you buy books regularly [the cost doesn't matter] if you read a book more than once and you already have a collection of books at home which you can read more than once it could save you some money since you won't have to buy any new books until you re-read all your old books.
     
  16. Flowerpower

    FlowerpowerMember

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    I have a few favorite books that I make a point of re-reading at least once a year, If people can re-watch movies, then why not re-read a book? Sometimes I'll just read a particular passage or part of a story that really speaks to me. So to answer the question, yes, re-reading is totally worth the time.
     
  17. roarzie

    roarzieMember

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    Happens from me to time to time to be in the mood of re-reading a book, for the simple fact that the atmosphere will be the same as the first time you read the book, and as time passes you will forget details.

    Books that are great are well worth of reading more than one time in my opinion.
     
  18. eagletal88

    eagletal88Active Member

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    I tend to re-read books that add great value to my life. So generally these tend to be non-fiction books, but I can think of a few books that I want to re-read from my childhood days. I actually just started reading the old Goosebump books again. I have a lot of fond memories of reading those books in-between classes at school.
     
  19. Briannagodess

    BriannagodessActive Member

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    I certainly re-read books especially my favourite ones. It's fun to understand a whole concept after reading the book twice or thrice already. Sometimes, I miss out on some important parts just because I'm in a hurry to read the book the first time. So re-reading it, I am able to truly digest it and understand the story and scenarios well.

    Sometimes, I'd just read the parts that made my heart race. Or maybe just the ending that truly amazed me. Sometimes, I'd read it from front to cover, not missing any single word or punctuation mark. It's truly a wonderful hobby because it not just fills up your time, it fills up your imagination as well.
     
    #19Feb 21, 2016
    Last edited by a moderator: Feb 22, 2016
  20. explorerx7

    explorerx7Active Member

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    Some books are similar to some movies, they keep you coming back to them every now and then. There may be times when you need a little perking up and you just draw for them and they really reignite you. These are the books that take pride of place in your collection, they ones that are real discussion pieces.