It’s time once again for Connect Five Friday, hosted at Book Date by Kathryn – the meme where we share five book/reading things that connect in some way.
A blog I follow (Book Wanderer) took part in a weekly meme – Let’s Talk Bookish – where a question is posed and they answer it.
This week’s question intrigued me – Rereading books?
Several years ago, my answer would have been – not hardly at all. There were too many books I wanted to read – who had time to reread.
But the past few years have changed my thinking about rereading.
Here are 5 reasons why I reread a book:
- For comfort. I know the story or characters; I know the ending. There is comfort in that, especially when there is so much uncertainty and stress around. Rereading The Others series by Anne Bishop fit this exactly. I immersed myself in The Others’ world and could forget for a time the world around me.
- To refresh your memory about a series. When you’re reading a new book for a series you haven’t read in a while. I reread A Desperate Fortune’ as her story “Weapon of Choice” in the anthology The Deadly Hours was a follow-up to this book. I wanted to reacquaint myself with the historical couple from this book.
- For a book club or a presentation. When I have already read a book, I will often reread it so that I can be up-to-date with it when we discuss sit for a book club.
- To learn something new. A reread, especially of a non-fiction book, read at different times in your life, will often bring new meaning or a different perspective. Rereading Gift From the Sea from Anne Morrow Lindbergh brought different insights last year, compared to when I read it 20 years ago.
- Can’t get enough of a character, story, even series. Sometimes, nothing else seems good enough and none of the books I could read are as inviting as rereading an old favourite. I just finished a reread of A Rose Garden by Susanna Kearsley because I just had to return to that world, that couple.
There were questions posed as well at Let’s Talk Bookish and they are worth considering.
Prompts: How many times is enough? Why re-read at all? Is re-reading just a comforting pastime? Or is there excitement to be relived? What kind of books do you re-read? Do you ever re-read books you don’t like in hopes that it will be better the second time? Were there any books you didn’t like as a child but liked as an adult, or vice versa?
Do you reread books? If so, which ones?
Beverley A Baird 
I don’t reread books, because I have too many new ones I want to read, but you have made some convincing arguments to do so.
I didn’t reread much before 2020. The past couple of years have gotten to me!
Fantastic reasons to reread and I am totally with you. I’d like to reread more than i do but … so many books. But when you know a book was good then sometimes its totally great to reread ( especially when I’ve forgotten most of it!.Agree too with No. 3, new insights as we experience life as we go.
Thanks Kathryn. I’ve reread more in the past 2 years than in the last 20+ years. Definitely needed the comfort.
Exactly.
I do not often reread books but those are all good reasons to do so!
Thanks. Rereading has grown on me – it has helped during this pandemic.