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Fiction

Staph

(6,346 posts)

2. I reread for many reasons.

Reply to mvccd1000 (Original post)

Sun Jun 3, 2012, 11:42 AM

Jun 2012

The first time through a book is usually at high speed -- I can't wait to find out what happens next. The second (or third or fourth...) are to appreciate the language, the nuance, the characterization. To do all of those things that my junior high English teacher said that you were supposed to do to understand great literature.

There are some books I reread every year or two, like Pride and Prejudice, Sense and Sensibility, David Copperfield, along with some not-so-great literature. I have some SF and mystery series that I dip back into from time to time, just to revisit that particular universe.

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Highlight:

Do you like to read books a second (or third) time? [View all] mvccd1000 Jun 2012 OP

Almost every single one krispos42 Jun 2012 #1

I reread for many reasons. Staph Jun 2012 #2

Your first paragraph is my main reason.. fadedrose Jun 2012 #4

I reread some books every five to ten years. Curmudgeoness Jun 2012 #3

That's my approach too. Chemisse Jun 2012 #19

You named two of mine that it is time to reread. Curmudgeoness Jun 2012 #20

Nope. I almost never reread books jp11 Jun 2012 #5

Some books I do. I've read ALAS BABYLON several times. I like the way the characters raccoon Jun 2012 #6

Sometimes, but rarely getting old in mke Jun 2012 #7

Varies dmallind Jun 2012 #8

I'm rereading "The Mysterious Island" but this time the original. Sometimes there's dimbear Jun 2012 #9

Where do you find the original Verne Curmudgeoness Jun 2012 #21

Great French site: dimbear Jun 2012 #22

layering and depth violetsurf Jun 2012 #10

A good book is like an old friend JitterbugPerfume Jun 2012 #11

Great way to look at it. mvccd1000 Jun 2012 #12

After re-reading this thread I got a giggle fit... Little Star Jun 2012 #18

I must have re-read The Travis McGee Series... Little Star Jun 2012 #13

I reread books all the time, particularly if they are a series and the new one is coming out mtnester Jun 2012 #14

I do. AngryOldDem Jun 2012 #15

Not as much now as I used to pscot Jun 2012 #16

awesome... fe6252fes Jun 2012 #17

Sometimes. It just depends. Like others who responded here SheilaT Jun 2012 #23

I have a few I reread every decade or so. Mz Pip Jun 2012 #24

Interesting point about Mark Twain. mvccd1000 Jun 2012 #25

It recently dawned on me that "A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court" was another one of... Tom Ripley Jul 2012 #28

I have re-read Dante about every five years for the last forty years Fortinbras Armstrong Jun 2012 #26

Madame Bovary, Last Exit to Brooklyn, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Ladies Man, In Cold Blood, and Tom Ripley Jul 2012 #27