how many people read a book more than once?
 

personally, after i read a book once, i dont really care to read it again, unless its really really good, or im bored

thats why i find buying books kinda pointless, but my library sucks here so i dont really have a choice!

whatcha all think?

I don't have a huge library. BUT, anything that I buy I will damn well read more than once.

I typically will read books over and over again. I think that I've read A Long Days Journey Into Night over 150x. Whenever I have any free time, I read.

I've read most of my books more than once. I've worn out 2 sets of the LOTR Trilogy in paperback I've read that series so much.

The way I see it, I will never, in my lifetime, finish all the books I would like to read, therefore, I can't spare the time to read a book more than once.

Ah, I agree in part. What I disagree with is having the money to buy all the books I would like to read, and I don't like checking books out of the library.

I can typically read 6 or so 300 p. books ever other week, so I spend a lot of time rereading. I also look at books like an English major. :)

I hear where you're coming from TonyLomak and sometimes I'm torn between re-reading something or grabing a new book from the pile.

I've read Red Storm Rising about 3 times and The Sum of All Fears 4 times. Not that these are literary classics, but the entertainment factor for me was quite high.

i gotta read red storm rising sometime
looks damn cool

I have about 300 books in my collection, and I have more unread than read twice. It has to be a blow me away kinda book (ENDER'S GAME, THE THINGS THEY CARRIED) or part of a series (DARK TOWER, STAR WARS) for me to read twice.

If i enjoy a book/series, I will read it over and over and over.... ad nauseum... I can't remember how many times i've read dragonlance, david eddings, dennis mckiernan, tamora pierce... i don't like trying something new, so i tend to go back to my old favorites.

I have read numerous books more than once. I usually buy favorite authors (whom I know I will read more than once) in hardback and everything else in paperback. Then I just trade in the paperbacks every once in a while.

I have a sucky memory, so I have to re-read everything. I usually re-read a series when a new book (or two) come out in it. I have thousands of books, and I can read 1-3 paperbacks a day, although I don't read every day.

Some of my favorites I reread a lot when I'm either bored or need something comforing.

I always find myself reading books that I have read before. I don't know why, I have so many books that I haven't read, but I guess it like watching a favorite movie over and over again.

There are some books that not only deserve to be read more than once, but absolutely require it for full understanding and enjoyment.

The experience of reading is not the same always as watching a popcorn flick. The process of reading a book can be very different from reading to reading, or sometimes if a person changes they can respond to a book in a completely different way.

I've read a some of the books I really enjoy, particularly Sometimes a Great Notion, a few times, but other than that I only read them once. When I was in college I had to read most books at least twice, once to read and once to really annotate, but have rarely picked those books up again.

The problem is that it is so much easier to reread a great book than to discover a new great book. For me, I will usually pick the great book to reread. I only read new stuff about one out of every five or six book reads.

To those who don't reread books: Do you rewatch movies?

I've reread all of the William Gibson books at least once except for All Tomorrow's Parties. Guess I'll be reading that one again soon.
Also I got a hell of a lot more out of 1984 just recently than I did 10 years ago.

I've done it a few times
usually years after the last reading

the 4 of 5 times I've started reading Dune I *have* to read the rest of the series along with it, and this happens with any other series that I have (like star wars books, etc)

Books are my first love, but I have the same reasons for re-reading books as I have for re-watching movies/tv series, all of which have been mentioned before.

Usually it's because I loved the book/series of books, but I'll also re-read the rest of the series when a new one comes out (for continuity's sake as well as a crappy memory :) ). And yes, I do either get something new out of the book/series (because I've changed or because I've caught things I didn't catch the first time) or I simply revel in the places and characters I've grown to love.

While I agree that there's probably no way I'll ever get to read all of the books that I want to, I see absolutely no reason on this earth to deprive myself of re-living a favorite book or series of books simply because I "should" read something new. There are no "shoulds" when it comes to the pleasure of reading. If I want to re-read something, I will. I don't even question it. If it makes me happy, it's fine. It doesn't matter that I've got a couple of hundred books I haven't read yet - they'll keep. :) And when the time is right (and my mind is in the right place to appreciate it) I'll read something new.

So - do those who read books only once also only rent DVDs? (i.e. why have a DVD - you'd only watch IT once as well, right?)


That said, yes, I read my favorite books more than once.

I use books I've read before as bedtime reading. If I'm reading in bed, I don't want to be sucked into the plot and suddenly realize that it's 4 AM.

I tend to read a small number of favorite books when I get depressed, and so have a few books with the corners worn off.

I've read a few books twice or more, but usually with a few years between re-readings:

A Confederacy of Dunces
Dune
The Lord of the Rings
Vampire Chronicles (1st 3 books)