I have been re-reading books (mostly fiction) since I was a 10–year-old girl and was gifted a set of the Anne of Green Gables books. There is a certain joy in revisiting known and beloved characters. You’re not racing along wondering what’s coming next but instead savouring the development of the plot and deepening your understanding of the characters.
Well put. I had a similar childhood experience with a beloved set of little house on the prairie books, which I still own. I now only buy hard copies of books that I know I will want to reread. I do have a kindle, but only for Libby books.
yes yes yes! i used to find it so silly to re-read books, even though i’d rewatch my favorite movies. over the past two years i felt this sense of existential floating so i made a conscious effort to return to the books that sparked thought and comfort. it feels like meeting an old friend for coffee, in the re-reading not only do you learn something new of the book and yourself - you also get to reflect on the person you were/have been in prior reads. there is such a culture to devour a giant # of books, and i fell into that but wasn’t able to enjoy what i was reading. this year i made it a goal to savor all of my reads, focusing on books with good storytelling and/or niche interest. i have fallen back in love with reading and have honestly felt myself reading more. all this to say, i LOVED this post.
Love this piece!! It’s interesting how we talk about comfort watches of TV shows or movies, and watch the same things over and over again (2005 Pride and prejudice, I’m looking at you). Why can’t we also have comfort reads??
There's no movie I've watched as many times (as an adult) as 2005 Pride and Prejudice. Last time, I was sick in bed and watched it on my son's tablet (I have no TV in my room). It's the perfect comforting companion :)
I have about 20 comfort reads , some of which I have read maybe 30 times. But the books themselves tend to be the opposite of comforting. I guess this is the same paradox as sad songs making us feel better.
This is so validating. I’ve been referring to myself as “not really a reader” lately, and it’s mostly because of how voracious people seem on social media. I really loved reading this!
I was thinking the very same! I’ve caught myself saying I’m just a “casual” reader, but I’m uncertain what that means? I love the re-frame of what it means to be a reader—to learn and deepen your understanding.
Loved this Clara — funnily enough i’ve been working on a piece about re-reading, and why it’s essential. I love that story about you as a kid, and my sense is that a lot of people used to read that way! They would have a few books they really loved, revisit them often, and know them front and back. Of course they’d read other things too, but it was taken for granted that a reader would have a few books they would often re-read.
Like you said, other art mediums don’t have the same aversion to reading. People aren’t wildly averse to rewatching movies they love, or revisiting favorite tv shows, or wearing a beloved jacket more than once. My sense is that people are wary of re-reading partially because of the effort it takes, but maybe because people have also been taught that books only have a certain amount of entertainment and educational value, and that you can get it in one reading. Like you’ve probably experienced, books shift and expand so much with each re-read, and one’s enjoyment of a book only deepens on re-reads.
I’m glad you wrote this!! i hope more readers make time for re-reading
Lately I've been re-reading books I loved as a child in the 70's and it has been delightful. Most recently The Westing Game and The Wolves of Willoughby Chase.
LOVE The Wolves of Willoughby Chase! My dad read it to me as a kid, and I can't wait to read it to my kids. Revisiting childhood favorites with the next generation is so wonderful.
I also have the habit of re-reading some books when I find I have changed. I usually enjoy finding a new perspective but, oh boy! I tried to re-read 100 years of Solitude and that was an unpleasant surprise.
I had a similar experience when I tried to re-read some Harlan Ellison stories that I devoured when I was in college. His writing was so very dark and I just couldn’t read him anymore.
I re-read all the time, books and essays. Any success I have had as a writer comes from re-reading. It's the way you find out how pieces of writing "work."
I returned recently to the Babysitters' Club series from my childhood, and while I am now a relic and I was sure they'd appear written in ogham, I can confirm it was like getting a warm hug from an innocent past self. RE-READ FOREVER!
long live the re-read! i've been dipping back into childhood favorites (currently "the westing game") to read aloud to my almost five month old because he doesn't care what words come out of my mouth so they might as well be interesting to me!
I'm an avid re-reader, especially as I enter new decades of life. I like to re-read a group of books every year and another one I like to re-read every decade. I also have certain movies I watch every year. For example, I watch The Age of Innocence every winter (sometimes more). Some works of art are so gorgeously complex that one visit is not enough for your senses to glean every subtle shift in conversation and behavior...and sometimes it is just so damn cozy to return to old favorites!
Loved this! I have a dozen or so favorites that I read over and over. It always feels like visiting old friends. I went from buying and keeping every book I read to a near total purge of all but my very favorites a few years ago when I was moving/downsizing. Since then, I've tried to be more thoughtful about what I add to my permanent shelf, and have found myself borrowing new titles from the library, then buying and rereading what I really love.
I find myself loving long, semi-predictable series as well, mostly cozy mysteries. I know the characters, I know the formula, the plot may or may not be fresh. Like watching a Hallmark movie at Christmas! But I do love a re-read of my favorite books and have been delighting in reading some of the high school / college English class required reading that didn’t land the first time.
High school reading assignments are wasted on teenagers. I kind of understand why they thought we should read The Scarlet Letter or Animal Farm, but honestly I'm not sure how turning kids off from reading by forcing them to analyze "classics" is better than getting them engaged with material they can connect with.
That said, my favorite favorite thing now is Charles Dickens novels on audiobook. I've listened to Bleak House four times. Teenage me found Dickens brutally slow and dour. Middle aged me appreciates that it sometimes takes a while to get where you're going and enjoys meeting all the characters along the way.
Personally love a re-read. In fact, that is normally how I decide whether to keep a book or donate based on whether I will read again. It’s also why I borrow from the library so I’m not spending so much on books that I’m not going to keep.
I, similarly, reread the wizarding series so much growing up that it felt like I knew the characters better than myself at times. As I’ve aged, I have found a number of books and series that I come back to over and over again - each time I find something new in them, something that speaks to a different part of me or a new life experience. I think of these stories and series as my “abandoned island” books - the ones I would want to take with me if I was going to be stuck somewhere indefinitely haha
I have been re-reading books (mostly fiction) since I was a 10–year-old girl and was gifted a set of the Anne of Green Gables books. There is a certain joy in revisiting known and beloved characters. You’re not racing along wondering what’s coming next but instead savouring the development of the plot and deepening your understanding of the characters.
Oh, I love that! I re-read Anne a million times as a teenager, one of my all-time favorites.
Well put. I had a similar childhood experience with a beloved set of little house on the prairie books, which I still own. I now only buy hard copies of books that I know I will want to reread. I do have a kindle, but only for Libby books.
Oh, what timing! I am just re-reading the Anne series at the moment and they have been such a balm
yes yes yes! i used to find it so silly to re-read books, even though i’d rewatch my favorite movies. over the past two years i felt this sense of existential floating so i made a conscious effort to return to the books that sparked thought and comfort. it feels like meeting an old friend for coffee, in the re-reading not only do you learn something new of the book and yourself - you also get to reflect on the person you were/have been in prior reads. there is such a culture to devour a giant # of books, and i fell into that but wasn’t able to enjoy what i was reading. this year i made it a goal to savor all of my reads, focusing on books with good storytelling and/or niche interest. i have fallen back in love with reading and have honestly felt myself reading more. all this to say, i LOVED this post.
me nodding along furiously as i read "i felt this sense of existential floating" because EXACTLY
Love this piece!! It’s interesting how we talk about comfort watches of TV shows or movies, and watch the same things over and over again (2005 Pride and prejudice, I’m looking at you). Why can’t we also have comfort reads??
There's no movie I've watched as many times (as an adult) as 2005 Pride and Prejudice. Last time, I was sick in bed and watched it on my son's tablet (I have no TV in my room). It's the perfect comforting companion :)
I have about 20 comfort reads , some of which I have read maybe 30 times. But the books themselves tend to be the opposite of comforting. I guess this is the same paradox as sad songs making us feel better.
This is so validating. I’ve been referring to myself as “not really a reader” lately, and it’s mostly because of how voracious people seem on social media. I really loved reading this!
Can't call yourself a reader if you don't read 77 books a year, I'm afraid!
I was thinking the very same! I’ve caught myself saying I’m just a “casual” reader, but I’m uncertain what that means? I love the re-frame of what it means to be a reader—to learn and deepen your understanding.
Loved this Clara — funnily enough i’ve been working on a piece about re-reading, and why it’s essential. I love that story about you as a kid, and my sense is that a lot of people used to read that way! They would have a few books they really loved, revisit them often, and know them front and back. Of course they’d read other things too, but it was taken for granted that a reader would have a few books they would often re-read.
Like you said, other art mediums don’t have the same aversion to reading. People aren’t wildly averse to rewatching movies they love, or revisiting favorite tv shows, or wearing a beloved jacket more than once. My sense is that people are wary of re-reading partially because of the effort it takes, but maybe because people have also been taught that books only have a certain amount of entertainment and educational value, and that you can get it in one reading. Like you’ve probably experienced, books shift and expand so much with each re-read, and one’s enjoyment of a book only deepens on re-reads.
I’m glad you wrote this!! i hope more readers make time for re-reading
Lately I've been re-reading books I loved as a child in the 70's and it has been delightful. Most recently The Westing Game and The Wolves of Willoughby Chase.
I just bought The Westing Game for my son and I am SO excited for a re-read!
LOVE The Wolves of Willoughby Chase! My dad read it to me as a kid, and I can't wait to read it to my kids. Revisiting childhood favorites with the next generation is so wonderful.
I also have the habit of re-reading some books when I find I have changed. I usually enjoy finding a new perspective but, oh boy! I tried to re-read 100 years of Solitude and that was an unpleasant surprise.
I had a similar experience when I tried to re-read some Harlan Ellison stories that I devoured when I was in college. His writing was so very dark and I just couldn’t read him anymore.
I re-read all the time, books and essays. Any success I have had as a writer comes from re-reading. It's the way you find out how pieces of writing "work."
I returned recently to the Babysitters' Club series from my childhood, and while I am now a relic and I was sure they'd appear written in ogham, I can confirm it was like getting a warm hug from an innocent past self. RE-READ FOREVER!
long live the re-read! i've been dipping back into childhood favorites (currently "the westing game") to read aloud to my almost five month old because he doesn't care what words come out of my mouth so they might as well be interesting to me!
One book I return to often is Euphoria by Lily King! The story is so perfectly weaved (woven?), and I find something new to love about it each time.
I'm an avid re-reader, especially as I enter new decades of life. I like to re-read a group of books every year and another one I like to re-read every decade. I also have certain movies I watch every year. For example, I watch The Age of Innocence every winter (sometimes more). Some works of art are so gorgeously complex that one visit is not enough for your senses to glean every subtle shift in conversation and behavior...and sometimes it is just so damn cozy to return to old favorites!
I’ve loved revisiting childhood favorites as an adult at various phases and seeing my reactions shift with each new chapter of my own life!
Exactly! 💗
Loved this! I have a dozen or so favorites that I read over and over. It always feels like visiting old friends. I went from buying and keeping every book I read to a near total purge of all but my very favorites a few years ago when I was moving/downsizing. Since then, I've tried to be more thoughtful about what I add to my permanent shelf, and have found myself borrowing new titles from the library, then buying and rereading what I really love.
I find myself loving long, semi-predictable series as well, mostly cozy mysteries. I know the characters, I know the formula, the plot may or may not be fresh. Like watching a Hallmark movie at Christmas! But I do love a re-read of my favorite books and have been delighting in reading some of the high school / college English class required reading that didn’t land the first time.
High school reading assignments are wasted on teenagers. I kind of understand why they thought we should read The Scarlet Letter or Animal Farm, but honestly I'm not sure how turning kids off from reading by forcing them to analyze "classics" is better than getting them engaged with material they can connect with.
That said, my favorite favorite thing now is Charles Dickens novels on audiobook. I've listened to Bleak House four times. Teenage me found Dickens brutally slow and dour. Middle aged me appreciates that it sometimes takes a while to get where you're going and enjoys meeting all the characters along the way.
Personally love a re-read. In fact, that is normally how I decide whether to keep a book or donate based on whether I will read again. It’s also why I borrow from the library so I’m not spending so much on books that I’m not going to keep.
I, similarly, reread the wizarding series so much growing up that it felt like I knew the characters better than myself at times. As I’ve aged, I have found a number of books and series that I come back to over and over again - each time I find something new in them, something that speaks to a different part of me or a new life experience. I think of these stories and series as my “abandoned island” books - the ones I would want to take with me if I was going to be stuck somewhere indefinitely haha