I have a regular roster of books that I reread once a year, including To Kill a Mockingbird, I Capture the Castle, several of Daphne du Maurier's, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, and Huckleberry Finn. These are my comfort books.

I also reread several nonfiction favorites; just to mention a few: The Strange Last Voyage of Donald Crowhurst, Robin Knox-Johnston's A World of My Own, Dana's Two Years Before the Mast, and Juliet Barker's The Brontes.

gbg, I like nun books, too, including This House of Brede, Black Narcissus,, Kathryn Hulme's The Nun's Story, Sylvia Townsend Warner's The Corner That Held Them, and Mary Gilligan Wong's memoir Nun. Oh, and I can't forget Life with Mother Superior by Jane Trahey. I've read all of them except the S.T. Warner multiple times (it's a little too weird to read very often).

If I really like a book, I'm liable to reread it as soon as I finish it the first time. I read a new book about every three or four days, but between times I dip in and out of books that I've read before. I've been doing this for as long as I can remember.

>Stalking the Divine by Kristin Ohlson

Oh I haven't read that in ages! Loved that book - may need to return to it someday.

I have a set of 'comfort' books which I read when nothing else works, or when I just need to smile. Good Omen, any of Douglas Adams, any of Terry Pratchetts Disc World and Ray Bradbury short stories.

Otherwise I rarely reread books unless for a reading group. Some exceptions of books that I reread immediately upon finishing: Atonement Ian McEwan, Time Traveler's Wife, Far Pavillions MM Kaye, Pilgrim by Timothy Findley.

When I get a new book I read it three times in succession. The first time is to find out what happens. The second time is to go through it more slowly and in greater depth. The third time is to go over particular sections or passages that I particularly liked. Only then does it go on the bookshelves (I have almost 3000 books, including those in my professional library [medical and bioscience]). Moreover, I re-read EVERYTHING periodically, and some books have been re-read hundreds of times. I know it's time to re-read a book when a passage from it pops up in my mind.

I virtually never re-read a book. I find I just don't have enough time to read even the ones waiting for me either from the library or on my TBR pile.

Frieda add I Leap Over the Wall by Monica Baldwin to your 'nun' list. MB (niece of Stanley R the PM) leaves her enclosed order after some 30 years and trys to adapt to WWII England. She was also related to Kipling, Angela Thirkell, the artist Burne-Jones . . . and others I can't remember.
I was sent a copy by an old friend who was locked in the Convent school with me. She now works in a BC, Canada library and liberated the book as it had only been taken out once in 27 years.

I have tried to reread favorites and found it to be a very unsatisfying experience.
There are so many books waiting to be enjoyed I simply cannot imagine why I would waste my reading time on a book I have already read!
I wish I spent more time reading but the rest of my life is wanting to be attended to as well......... I anticipate my reading moments with great anticipation and would never waste them on a stale, know-the-plot old rerun. Even the best old books don't hold up for me in a reread.

Many of my rereadings have been accidental...picking up a book by an author I recognize, but whose title I don't. The blurb doesn't ring a bell...and about 20 pages in it becomes familiar.

I don't feel that I am wasting my time when I reread-just like reconnecting with old friends at reunions, when I don't see or speak to them at other times, is not wasting my time, even though there are lots of other people out there to meet. If I miss a great book in the process, so be it-I'll never feel the loss.
I read for the entertainment and enjoyment. So if my mood and circumstance pushes me toward In This House of Brede yet again (gbg-I am on my second copy!) then that's where I go. I refuse to read a book just because I've been told I "really need to read this" for my edification, or so I am educated about one or another wonderful or awful thing happening in the world. For me, life is too short to read other people's choices. I usually give a book 25-50 pages. Then, if it hasn't grabbed me, I pull out another-often an old favorite.

I have several perennial reads, is books I re-read every year, and many that I pick up again every few years. Among the perennials are The Hobbit, My family and other animals, Good Omens and Anne of Green Gables. Among the occasional re-reads are Terry Pratchett's Discworld books (I'm going through the whole series right now, by sub-series), several of Gerald Durrell's books, some Agatha Christies and now I can see myself re-reading Georgette Heyer's books and The Enchanted April as well.

It's funny, but you can sometimes read the same book several times and discover something new every time, especially books that are as intertextual as Terry Pratchett's books. Several times between one reading and the next I have aquired new knowledge that has enabled me to understand some allusion or joke that went completely past me the other times I read the book.

I reread only when I am out of stuff from the library and can't get there for a few days. I will pick up one of the oldies on the shelf and enjoy myself. The older Dick Frances books are a favorite.

I quite often pick up something at the library that looks interesting and, like some of the others here at the RP, don't remember that I have read it before until I get into it. It's usually just as enjoyable the second time (or third) time around as it was the first.

Too many books and not enough time to reread anything deliberately

Like rule34, I reread everything I liked, some hundreds of times.
If I don't like the book I don't keep/purchase it and probably don't finish it. Most books in this category rarely get a second chance.
I do however, listen to books on tape all day and gravitate towards old friends more than new ones.

Hee, rule, I like that system, unfortunately I'd never have time to read anything else! However - I tend to read very quickly and sometimes (horrors!) I peek at a section towards the end so I can get some idea of whats coming. Its those books that I then go back to and re-read, for indeed I miss so much the second time that I'm amazed I read it at all!

And like ccr, I enjoy returning to 'old friends'. My problem is that I have so many new ones waiting in the wings that its almost impossible to stay in touch!

Since finding RP several years ago, I rarely have time to re-read anymore. That said, I recently re-read Anne Fadiman's Ex Libris, and thoroughly enjoyed it. My other favorite re-reads include The Lord of the Rings, A Gift From the Sea by Anne Morrow Lindbergh, Heminway's The Sun Also Rises, the occasional Miss Read, and when I'm in the mood for romance pretty much anything by Nora Roberts. I've also re-read the Harry Potter books as new ones come out (I just don't have the memory for detail that I used to).

Before having a TBR list, I reread a few favourites simply because I lacked inspiration in choosing a new book. I very rarely do that anymore, too many books too little time. This is why I rarely buy books, I don't see the point if I'm never going to pick it up again.

What ce and Cindy said: I do re-read as I seek out old friends for their unique points of view. My favorites are: works of Laurie Lee, Rumer Godden, Alan Paton, L.M. Alcott, du Maurier, Annie Dillard, Knut Hamsun, Hermann Hesse, and Alain Fournier.

Frieda, I do just what you do: if I am taken with a book, I will often immediately re-read it as soon as I finish, to repeat the pleasurable experience and find other nuances or meanings.

As I read these posts I wondered if there is a corelation of reading to travel? I only re read a few books and then only MANY years apart. It's not that there aren't many books that I think are worth re-reading, it's that there are SO MANY books to read. And I'm of the school who wants to read them all!

I feel much the same way about travel. It's not that there aren't places that I would like to go back to and see more of, or revisit again, it's that there are so many places in the world I haven't been! I want to see them all!

I have never been one who wants a vacation home that I would go to again and again. Nor would I ever return to the same resort or house rental over and over. I can understand the comfort of such repetitions but it's not for me, when there is so much of the world to see.

And that's the way I feel about books. After a long absence I'll return to something I remember fondly. Many years ago while nursing my son I re-read The Lord of the Rings Trilogy and several sci-fi trilogys. I have delighted in listening to Jane Austen, Dickens and some other classic novels on audio tapes. It's a delight to hear the language and the various accents done by a real actor rather than my inadequate inner voice.

But give me a new book, instead of an old one, most of the time.

You may be on to something-we do the someplace new each vacation thing, but mostly because of DH's preference-he is a "go-go-go" vacationer, while I would, left to my druthers, go to a cabin somewhere, put my feet on the porch railing and read straight through the two weeks. I have enjoyed seeing all these new places-but it's just so much work figuring out the routes and the hotels and the attractions and the restaurants all over again each time we go. I always pack a combination of new and re-read books, so that I know I'll have something to read...what if I only took new books and hated them all!?!

I'd never take old books on a trip! I do try hard to find novels about the places or at least the country I'll be visiting if I'm going abroad. English books are too expensive and hard to find elsewhere. However, I do always pack a new one or two by a favorite author for insurance!

In fact my need to take 4-5 novels plus travel guide is ONE on the reasons I can't just take a tiny carry-on or backback on a trip. (Shoes is the other.) I do have fears about nothing to read.

Granjan, I once packed such a thick stack of paperback books in my checked through luggage that the airline personnel opened the suitcase to see what the "dense black object" was.

I don't re-read regularly, but I do have old favorites that I go back to sometimes, such as Gone with the Wind, To Kill a Mockingbird, Hannah Fowler, Ammie Come Home, Rebecca, The Little Colonel's Knight Comes Riding, Those Happy Golden Years, the Williamsburg novels, some of Dick Francis, Helen MacInnes, and some others.

My problem is, as some of you have said, favorite authors keep writing new books, and you all keep recommending good books. What's a person to do?

Certain books I reread when I find I don't remember them as well as I want to. I've read the KJV twice, Ulysses three times, Proust twice, War and Peace twice, the Iliad four times, the Odyssey five times, Dante three times, and so on. But the most is the Harry Potter books which I've read seven times because I get so much pleasure from them as though they were a drug.

I do occasionally reread certain books because I find they evoke certain emotions, much like a particular fragrance might trigger a past memory or a sense of comfort. For example, almost every winter (and only the winter) I reread Ethan Frome and Smilla's Sense of Snow. It doesn't ruin my enjoyment of a book to already be aware of the plot and the ending because I often get an almost, dare I say, sensual pleasure from the way certain authors put together words and phrases. A fine turned phrase is truly a joy.

Rereading a favorite book is not a waste of time to me, even though I have literally hundreds of books waiting to be read, much the same way that I don't consider it a waste of time to listen to the same music cd hundreds of times, even though I know the melody, the chord progressions, the climax, and ending note. Or how about watching the same movie more than once? Yep. Guilty as charged. I'm one of those who would much rather watch a favorite movie that I've seen 10 or 20 times as to waste the same amount of time watching a television program that I care nothing about and does nothing to enrich me.

I also confess to being someone who packs a bag full of books when we take a trip. Shamefully, though, sometimes the trip is only an hour long, but I still feel a compulsive need to take three or four books, along with a volume or two of poetry, "just in case." Just in case of what, I don't know.

I re-read all of my favorites: Passage to India, Howard's End, Hannah's Daughters, the Shipping News, the Hours, Mrs. Dalloway, Snow Falling on Cedars, The Left Hand of Darkness, A River Runs Through It, The Only Daughter, Mother Love, The Seven Ages, The Woman Warrior, The Joy Luck Club , the James Herriot books, my favorite short stories..... This summer I discovered the Harry Potter books and am reading them for the third time. I love them!

Well the rereading habit,or lack thereof, really runs the spectrum from rereading immediately or hundreds of times to not at all.
I don't believe I have ever reread a book immediately. I don't think it has ever occured to me to do so. But I do get into rereading moods and since I read for fun, I follow my moods.
Thanks to all who mentioned nun books. Some new to me titles were mentioned!

LOTR, In This House of Brede, My Family and Other Animals, Papillon, Anne of Green Gables (only this first book of the series), several Arthur Upfield mysteries, some Hammond Innes books--Golden Soak comes to mind, and much of my Georgette Heyer collection. My GH favorite is Venetia.

"I also confess to being someone who packs a bag full of books when we take a trip. Shamefully, though, sometimes the trip is only an hour long, but I still feel a compulsive need to take three or four books, along with a volume or two of poetry, "just in case." Just in case of what, I don't know."
colormeconfused: I understand perfectly. There might be traffic jams-we were caught on the highway for 2 hours, sitting just 2 short miles from our exit, while they cleaned up a very sad 16 wheeler-pedestrian accident this summer-but at least we all had something to read-and water (which of course created another problem-boys are SO LUCKY) but what if I hadn't packed two books and a magazine? We would have all snipped and snapped at each other for hours.

Not only do I make sure that I pack enough books for the trip, I also make sure I have enough money so I can hit the local bookstores as well. Ya know, the books I brought might not be what I want to read, so....

You all reminded me of something I witnessed once. We had a heavy snow storm (which, being semi-southern our city is not well equipped to handle), so I caught the bus to go to work. We were stalled in traffic trying to get up a hill when I saw a man in a car in front of us get out, open his trunk, get out a book, and get back behind the wheel. Ah, yes, you can't be overprepared with books.

oh-Life With Mother Superior-a classic laugh a minute book. The other book I re-read for laugh out loud moments is You Are Stepping On My Cloak and Dagger. My whole family read and reread a paperback, mailing it back and forth to whoever needed it, until the binding gave way and it fell to pieces-my brother took the pieces and had 4 photocopies made-for family use only-as Christmas presents. A couple years ago I tripped over a box sticking out from under a table at the library book sale (held in a skating rink-it's a biggie) and as I rubbed my barked shin, lo and behold-a hardback copy!

It has been a long time since I have re-read a book but I used to read Forever Amber and Gone With the Wind frequently. As a kid I read all of my books so often they were practically memorized.

As far as packing for a trip, when I was traveling a lot for business I always had my work-related reading but I also took a book, three magazines, and a crossword puzzle book with me, just in case. The thought of being without anything to read was more unbearable than the extra weight and space required in my briefcase. I am always amazed at the number of people who get on planes with absolutely nothing to read.

I too am amazed at people who get on planes or even BART without something to read. I sat in the airport last week waiting for a delayed plane next to a man watching his cell phone re-charge! When I got up to strech and get coffee I left my sports and business sections on the side table. He was reading them when I got back. Why didn't he go buy a paper at least! Besides my paper I had my book, cassette recorder with BOT, a food mag and 6 crosswords from old papers. (More books in my checked luggage, and I knew where the airport bookstore was.)

I re-read old favorites without any shame or embarrassment at all. I consider certain books to be old friends, ready and waiting for when they are needed. There are several that I will read over and over again, depending on my mood. Jane Austen, Georgette Heyer, Ellis Peters, Robin McKinley and Mary Stewart are some of my favorite authors. There are many more, too many to list here (you'd be bored out of your minds, if I listed them all!).
I like to find new authors to read, but sometimes an old friend just fits the mood or moment best. Especially if I want to soak in a tub filled with hot, scented water. It's better to take one of my old friends than a library book I might accidentally drop in the water!

For a number of years, I read The Long Winter from the Little House series always in January. Carolyn, I probably shouldn't ask given my TBR pile, but what is the Williamsburg series?

Smallcoffee, Elswyth Thane wrote a series of novels about a family that lived in Williamsburg, VA, about the various U.S. wars beginning with the American Revolution and going through WWII.

There are seven or eight of them; the first one is Dawn's Early Light, and I think it is the best one--but then I usually think the first book of a series that I read is the best one.

Thanks Carolyn. Sounds like an American Morland Dynasty. I'll just have to add them to the TBR list.

Susan

Funny, I have a seasonal re-read, too: The Last Place on Earth by Roland Huntford (originally published as Scott and Amundsen) about the race to the South Pole. I only read it in winter, and it's just as gripping the umpteenth time. Lots of other re-reads, including Dickens, Austen, and Wharton, but no seasonal requirements. I find re-reading a favorite book enormously satisfying and somehow reassuring .

I'm amazed at people who don't reread books! Or only watch a movie once...that would be pure torture! I want to be the character, live in the setting and have their life. It takes a couple readings to become truly immersed.

You sound like my husband with movies. He can watch a film four, five times and wonders why I won't watch it again. There are few films that I will watch multiple times, but usually once, maybe twice is enough

Same with books. With exceptions mentioned above, I usually don't reread. Im not sure why; certainly I agree that with each reading you come away with a different perspective, and can get more out of it. But somehow I don't have a great need to do so. It might, just maybe, have to do with the fact that there are too many books out there that I haven't read even once! :)

pulled this up.

I am currently in the throes of rereading the No.1 Ladies Detective Agency series in anticipation of the new one to come out in 2007. My plan was to go slowly and space them out but I am now on the third one, "Morality for Beautiful Girls". Maybe I will slow down after this one, but then again maybe not.
I find that I am enjoying it more this time around because I know how the characters have developed and can see their development clearly.

gbg

I join those who have re-read, 'To Kill a Mockingbird,' in my case many times since childhood.

The Stephen King novellas, "The Body" and "Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption" are two favorites in his 'Different Seasons' compilation that I re-read on occasion. I've also read all of the Harry Potter series more than once.

'Brite and Fair' is an out-of-print family treasure that we have all re-read to pieces, a fictional diary of a boy in New Hampshire in the late 1800s.

Emerson's essays and Joel Goldsmith's 'The Thunder of Silence' are a couple of non-fiction works I also like to re-read.