I try not to re-read because there are so many un-read books out there. However, there are occasions when re-reading occurs: if I want to go back to something tried and true and comforting, for example. Another example is that I have recently started writing a book review column and so some of the books I have recommended I read a while back, so in order to make intelligent comments about them, I have had to re-read them....

But most of the time, I don't re-read.

I re-read when I can't find anything that caters to what I feel like at a specific time. As an example, if I feel like reading a mystery but I can't find one, I sometimes go back to a Nero Wolfe mystery or a Sherlock Holmes tale.

The same goes for humorous books -- quite often I re-read Wodehouse's Jeeves tales if I feel like a good laugh and I can't find a nice, humorous book to read.

Now, this "novel" that's being written on RP .... not only does it have mystery, intrigue, and a liberal dose of insanity, but it looks like it's shaping up to be quite a read! :-)

I reread for comfort, to re-visit old friends, when I am too lazy to invest in getting to know new characters or when I want to read but don't feel like following the story closely. In a handful of cases I reread to get taken back to my childhood (The Hobbit, Anne of Green Gables and My Family and Other Animals).

I suffered from depression for many years and one of the things that always made me feel better was rereading books I had enjoyed before. Now that I have learned to handle the depression (fortunately without resorting to drugs) and recognise the symptoms of a downswing, I reread books a lot less than I used to. Every now and then I still get the hankering to revisit a book I have already read and go to one of several good books to get a fix, but it has gone down from maybe 20 times a year to about 4 or 5.

I often get a sudden urge to reread something. If the book isn't too large I will often indulge my cravings, but try to avoid if it will take a long time to read (like lemonhead said, there just so many other books yet to read...).

Some books are just perennial favorites that never get old, like Tom Sawyer, To Kill a Mockingbird, and Auntie Mame.
And, like Netla, I like to reread beloved childrens books. They do help to get me out of a low spots and revitalize my spirits.

But sometimes I fear rereading some books. I wonder how many of my 'top' favorites would hold up to another reading; whether I would find them quite as good the second time around.
CMK

I don't reread that often even though I often intend to do so with a really special book. This summer I feel pulled to reread the Cazelet Chronicle. I'm finding the second reading 10 years after the first just as enjoyable. I'm finding it hard to tear myself away from the book even though my eyes hurt!

I am a compulsive rereader: when I find something I like I can't seem to let it go after a once through. Often I reread because of limited availability (too much time on airplanes and coaches), but even when I have lots of choice I will reach for something already familiar. While I can inhale nonfiction and I savor oft-read fiction, I find new fiction requires more patience than I am usually willing to give it.

I reread all the childrens' books I have Wind in the Willows, The Borrowers, Treasure Island when I need comforting - which is quite often - no where near Hendrika's age but feeling my 71 years and deteriorating eyesight(glaucoma). I can also reread immediately if I find something that I have rather raced through and need to savour 'Revolutionary Road' being the latest; 'The Secret History' and the Ripley novels also some of Barbara Vine's novels being some of the others. Entertainment,comfort, enhoyment as I know I'm not going to be disappointed and sheer pleasure - that's why I reread.

For comfort, more often than not. If everything around is spinning out of control, I turn to a sure thing, a certain distraction, rather than risk disappointment.
Also I will reread a well-written old friend as an antidote to a lousy new book.
And when travelling, I always pack at least one old reliable as well as a couple new books...just in case.

I'm a chronic re-reader. I hang on to my old favorites and re-read them every few years, mostly for comfort and delight. Some of these are "Greengage Summer", "Too Late the Phalarope", "Brideshead Revisited", "Pan", "Little Women", "The Secret History", "The Historian", and "The Sheltering Sky." I also love to re-visit beloved poetry of my childhood, e.g. A. Milne, R.L. Stevenson, and others.

One of the pleasures of re-reading is to note how I've grown and changed over the years, and my taste, as well, through various life experiences.

I often re-read parts of old favorites rather than the entire book. I've read Chapter 5 - Dulce Domum from Wind in the Willows so many times I practically have it memorized. About twice a year I read and then immediately re-read a really wonderful new book, most recently The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society. I've reread the entire Harry Potter series as well as the Lord of the Rings more times than I can count. Favorite children's books of mine, such as Tuck Everlasting and The Bridge to Terabithia often get re-read in one sitting, or rather standing at my local library.

I also save articles/editorials/essays from newspapers or magazines that I find particularly interesting or moving, keep them in a scrapbook and reread them regularly.

Yes, I'm a rereader!

So pleased you reread 'The Secret Hiatory' and of course I will reread Little Womem' but only in the winter!
Rumer Godden's 'Kingfishers Catch Fire'.
I am feeling very down at the moment and Netla see that you managed your depression without drugs - which is what I;m trying to do as they affect my eyes anyway. Any special books to recommend - anyone?

Tim, I do very little re-reading . . . lack of time and so many books piled up around me or from the library. I just don't know how some RP'ers are able to read a book a day. I'm lucky if I can find the odd half-hour in which to read and even then I feel I should be doing something else. ;-)

Jan, sorry that you are feeling low. Not easy to recommend books as I don't suppose you want who-dunnits/Scifi/laugh a minute stuff. Just something gentle but not sentimental.
Off the top of the head and because you enjoy Godden, how about An Episode of Sparrows or RL S's Travels With a Donkey. Do you enjoy natural history? If so try Nature in Downland by W H Hudson, or Akenfield by Ronald Blythe (about a 'composite' Suffolk village)

I reread old favorites and sometimes books I read so long ago that I only remember liking them in the first place. I have at times reread series books beginning with the first one and progressing right along in them. I don't think I'll be doing that with the Cynthia Harrod-Eagles Morland Dynasty books, though. There is only so much time in my life!

Jankin,

When my mother passed away in April (one month before our daughter's wedding) I needed a book that would enfold me and strengthen me for the counterpoint of emotions I was experiencing. I reread In This House of Brede by Rumer Godden.

Jankin, I would recommend almost anything by Rumer Godden. Two others I have liked: "Two Under the Indian Sun" by Jon & Rumer Godden, and Rumer's autobiography: "A Time to Dance, No Time to Weep."

Also, I found "The Joy of the Snow" by Elizabeth Goudge a gentle read.

I don't re-read much at all, but when I go through periods where nothing is holding my attention book-wise, I always turn back to Barbara Pym. Her books are very soothing and get me past any lingering "reader's block".

There are several books I want to re-read, but I just haven't found time to do so. I guess they'll keep :)

I reread old favorites frequently, especially if I haven't had any luck finding new books to hold my attention. Lord of the Rings, most Georgette Heyer books, favorite mystery authors like Dorothy Sayers, Agatha Christie, Ngaio Marsh, Rex Stout to name a few. I couldn't get by if I didn't have old favorites to tide me over a dull, stressful or anxious time.

Like most I reread for comfort and a "sure thing". Some favorite rereads are the "No.1 Ladies Detective Agency" series...I have reread this entire series several times before the latest book is due out and enjoy it more each time. Then there are my three favorite Nun Books "In This House Of Brede", A Right To Be Merry" and "Stalking the Divine" (these last two being nonfiction and delightful), plus most of Kathleen Norris.

gbg

I re-read favorite books on a regular basis. If I don't eventually re-read a book, it means I didn't like it much the first time around. There are a lot of books around, but there aren't all that many wonderful ones to keep a heavy reader satisfied.

Rosefolly

I re-read quite a bit, for different reasons: because I plain just loved the book in the first place (Dickens); because I'm curious to know how the book reads against the background of my current perspective; to see how a recently-read new book connects to an older one (Netherland by O'Neill and The Great Gatsby); because I am in 2 book groups; and at least once because I didn't remember reading a particular book in the first place!

Fortunately for me, I'm a fast reader. And I never feel as if I am covering old ground, particularly, because a book can be so different, depending on my life perspective.

There's one book I have re-read so many times (The Last Place on Earth, Huntford--I love books about polar exploration) that it has literally fallen to pieces. To read it again, I will have to get a fresh copy!

Both my DH and I re read. I like to revisit my childhood favourites, the Narnia books, the Dark is Rising series, Alan Garner books and all the others I have lurking about the house; To Kill a Mockingbird gets a regular outing as does The Once and Future King; old classics like Jane Austen, the Brontes, Thomas Hardy etc. Each reading I get something different from the book, or I understand something better in the light of my own experience or learning. I'm planning to reread the Harry Potter series soon as I feel I read them too quickly the first time and missed a lot, and I'd like to get the whole story all in one lump, as it were.
When we thought back in 2002 we'd move I packed all our books, looking at each one and thinking, might I ever read this again? If the answer was a definite "yes" then I kept it, if it was a "no" out it went, the ones I was unsure about (dozens) I reread and then put them in the appropriate pile. Sold or gave away several hundred books but still kept two thousand or so- and I seem to have replaced the ones I discarded with new ones since then :-)

I agree with colleen's comments about getting something different when rereading a book. I've read Madame Bovary a number of times and in different translations. Each reading feels a bit different.

kkay: The Great Gatsby is one of my favourite books to reread.

I'm a rereader too. Sometimes the entire book, sometimes just favorite sections. I reread when I need something specific - for comfort, to laugh, to cry, to feel safe.

I too avoid re-reads. I have so many un-read books in my TBR pile that I want to read them before reading anything again. I will re-read when I am teaching a book that I have not read in a while, so that I can be more effective with lessons and activities and my students get more out of it.

There are several books I do expect I will re-read many times down the road because I really liked them. If I've had a series of unsatisfying books, I might break it up with a book I know will keep me engaged.

the only time i ever reread is when i am trapped at my house and cant go to the libray. then i just choose one of my worn out paperbacks curl up in a cozy chair with a lamp and a snack and see how much i actually do remmeber.:)