ThrillhoBaggins
Sage
Because usually with writing you are able to get multiple things out of it each time you look at through a different framework.
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What makes you read a book multiple times?
- Thread starter Karlin
- Start date
Gurkhal
Auror
If a book leaves a very strong positive impression on me I can read it again. But that don't happen often as there are so many books I want to read and I am a slow reader.
ThrillhoBaggins
Sage
I also read a book again if I’m discussing it with someone. That’s why I’m always looking for people to talk to because they might force me to go back to the back and pick up on something I somehow missed the first time.
Demesnedenoir
Myth Weaver
I'm not a good person to ask, I've only ever reread Lord of the Rings and The Name of the Rose. And my own books, but that's different. I really don't read other people's fiction anymore unless it's a writer I know because I'm working on my stuff. I have dabbled in other rereads but they don't hold my attention, and sometimes completely ruin my youthful love of the book, LMAO.
When I've had readers talk about being on their 3rd-5th read of my series I've asked a few them what made them do it. Three answers I've heard:
1: I dunno. I just like it.
2: Getting the story fresh for the next book
3: Basically reading it like they're working on their master's thesis because there's just so much going on and they want to pick out details. Hey, that's my favorite answer.
When I've had readers talk about being on their 3rd-5th read of my series I've asked a few them what made them do it. Three answers I've heard:
1: I dunno. I just like it.
2: Getting the story fresh for the next book
3: Basically reading it like they're working on their master's thesis because there's just so much going on and they want to pick out details. Hey, that's my favorite answer.
Lizzie Brookes
Acolyte
In my case it is usually a combination of caring about the characters and finding the plot interesting. Sometimes I read a book beginning to end and then reread my favourite chapters such as Mr Darcy's letter or Mr Darcy's first proposal to Elizabeth in Pride and Prejudice. Sometimes if a book has a distinctive opening e.g. Emma Woodhouse, handsome clever and rich...(Jane Austen Emma) or Last night I dreamt I went to Manderlay again....(Daphne Du Maurier Rebecca) I pay particular attention. I do love literature but tend to focus on 19th century/William Shakespeare etc. As for fantasy, I favour Lord of the Rings, Dark Materials Trilogy (Philip Pullman) and of course all 7 Harry Potter books. The Magician's Nephew and perhaps The Silver Chair are the only Narnia books I like to reread. I still reread Enid Blyton from time to time though that is nostalgia and caring about the characters/plot. Strangely enough I only read the first Secret Seven book as a child and then switched to Famous Five because I preferred it. As an adult I read the other Secret Seven adventures for the first time and really liked them. David Copperfield (Charles Dickens) used to be my favourite but when I read Bleak House and Our Mutual Friend I found I preferred them over David Copperfield. My Dad was irritated that I continued to read Heidi at the age of 12 but I love the sleepwalking chapter.
ThrillhoBaggins
Sage
I could see nostalgia playing a bit of a part, but I don't think it would be the driving force for me. Unless I remembered the book verbatim from when I was younger and there just isn't one like that.
casval
Scribe
I mostly only read books a second time if one of my book clubs is reading something I've read before. 
I suppose a book like Pale Fire, where the 'twist' is in the index (requiring you to go back through the book to the referenced page numbers to put the story together), is one I have 'reread,' but almost in the same way I have 'replayed' Nier: Automata. You haven't really played or read these once until you have done so a couple of times.
But I do have one major exception: Beowulf. It was my specialization at university, and I have read it so, so many times. I have read it in its original Old English; I believe I have read every Modern English translation of the poem; I have been browsing online Japanese used book stores for Japanese translations of the text as well - I've been learning Japanese casually for a few years, and want to see if I am able to work through a book I have a strong familiarity with in English. Heck, I've read that Jorge Luis Borges has translated sections of it, and if I could find a copy of that I would try to read it despite knowing very little Spanish.
I've dabbled in doing this with other medieval classics, Piers Plowman and Sir Gawain and the Green Knight in particular, but there's just something about Beowulf that stuck in my head and hasn't left in the 20 years since I first read it.
I suppose a book like Pale Fire, where the 'twist' is in the index (requiring you to go back through the book to the referenced page numbers to put the story together), is one I have 'reread,' but almost in the same way I have 'replayed' Nier: Automata. You haven't really played or read these once until you have done so a couple of times. But I do have one major exception: Beowulf. It was my specialization at university, and I have read it so, so many times. I have read it in its original Old English; I believe I have read every Modern English translation of the poem; I have been browsing online Japanese used book stores for Japanese translations of the text as well - I've been learning Japanese casually for a few years, and want to see if I am able to work through a book I have a strong familiarity with in English. Heck, I've read that Jorge Luis Borges has translated sections of it, and if I could find a copy of that I would try to read it despite knowing very little Spanish.
I've dabbled in doing this with other medieval classics, Piers Plowman and Sir Gawain and the Green Knight in particular, but there's just something about Beowulf that stuck in my head and hasn't left in the 20 years since I first read it.
xena
Inkling
How well I connected with a book will definitely play a role in whether I go back or not
Insolent Lad
Archmage
I'm old enough to be revisiting books I first read decades ago and feeling the need to reacquaint myself with them. I have to admit, quite a few have proven disappointing (most recently, a couple of Richard Adams titles). On the other hand, I reread most of Asimov's SF this summer and was more impressed than when I first encountered it as a teen. That doesn't mean I'm ever likely to read it again!
I do re-read books. What makes me do it? Wrong question. Right question: why do I choose to re-read a book? That question puts the focus not on attributes of the book but upon the reader.
A few cases are easy. I have re-read books aloud to family members. I read Dune to my wife. Also, War and Peace, and The Hobbit, and Lord of the Rings. I read those latter books to each of my three children. Those were all cases of me wanting to share a book I admired.
But I also re-read books for myself, and there the situation is muddy. I just get a hankerin'. I do seem to be re-reading more often now that I'm retired. Reading one right now--Sometimes a Great Notion. I can sort of trace causation there. For reasons I can't quite identify, I was reading about Kesey and the Merry Pranksters and Kerouac and the SF music scene, so there was ... I guess you might call it psychological prep work.
I can also pretty clearly recall re-reading The Once and Future King specifically to see if it still resonated with me the way it did decades ago. It didn't. I enjoyed it even more, not least because I caught so many more historical and literary references than I did as a youngster. And I re-read Tolkien's main works every few years, and have had since I read them first in 1966. It's almost like a reading pilgrimage for me.
So, multiple reasons there. I do want to emphasize that it isn't the book that causes the reading, it's the reader--where they are in life.
A few cases are easy. I have re-read books aloud to family members. I read Dune to my wife. Also, War and Peace, and The Hobbit, and Lord of the Rings. I read those latter books to each of my three children. Those were all cases of me wanting to share a book I admired.
But I also re-read books for myself, and there the situation is muddy. I just get a hankerin'. I do seem to be re-reading more often now that I'm retired. Reading one right now--Sometimes a Great Notion. I can sort of trace causation there. For reasons I can't quite identify, I was reading about Kesey and the Merry Pranksters and Kerouac and the SF music scene, so there was ... I guess you might call it psychological prep work.
I can also pretty clearly recall re-reading The Once and Future King specifically to see if it still resonated with me the way it did decades ago. It didn't. I enjoyed it even more, not least because I caught so many more historical and literary references than I did as a youngster. And I re-read Tolkien's main works every few years, and have had since I read them first in 1966. It's almost like a reading pilgrimage for me.
So, multiple reasons there. I do want to emphasize that it isn't the book that causes the reading, it's the reader--where they are in life.
