When I read a writer’s blog post where she
mentioned that she wanted to read Tolkein’s The Hobbit again for the third
time, I was surprised as well as shocked.
My shock and surprise were for two reasons: one, I have not read that
book once. Honestly, I am pretty embarrassed about it. I want to read it asap.
Infact there are so many books on my wish list, but
time constraints makes me reach out for the slimmer books and books which I
have to review for the newspapers. The other books, especially the classics
keep getting pushed back.
The second reason was that I just do not have the
luxury of time to read any book more than once. I would consider it a huge blessing if I get
the time to read all the books I want to read just once.
Years back I gave myself that luxury, I read all
Roald Dahl’s books more than once. So was the case with the Potter books. But,
not anymore. With, teaching, blogging, writing for the newspapers and working
on my books, reading has become less and less.
I would like to ask you all, which book or books
have you read more than once and why? Any book or books on your reading wish
list?
Time is definitely an issue when the TBR list is threatening to topple, so the rare few books I've read more than once are my favourites. Lord of the Rings tops out at 4 reads. The others were only twice: The Hobbit, Anne McCaffrey's The White Dragon, along with her Dragonsong. I also read Perfume twice. I think that's about it. I might read Chocolat again though...
ReplyDeleteThere's just no time available to read a book more than once. And there are so many great books out there. I've been meaning to make a list of the classics that I still need to read.
ReplyDeleteAnd I've never read The Hobbit either.
I’ve read many books more than once, but those are the favourites that I keep returning to over and over, like the Potter books, Pride & Prejudice, some PG Wodehouse etc.
ReplyDeleteI rarely re-read books, in part due to a lack of time and also because I want something new. I did re-read the Lord of the Rings series before seeing the movies, just to refresh my memory. But that's an exception.
ReplyDeleteI remember re-reading books I had already re-read more than twice when I was a young girl. Today, I find I cannot re-read a book. I'm glad you asked because it set me thinking why I could not re-read a book I did like very much. It isn't that I do not have the time! Perhaps it is because I cannot identify with any character the way I would earlier! Could be. However, I can re-watch certain movies over and over again...and identify with a certain character in each!! Ah! you've got me going Rachna. :)
ReplyDeleteThere's a number of books I would love to re-read, but I don't know if I ever will. So many new ones!
ReplyDeleteOver the last few years, I have re-read the Little House Books, The Stand by Stephen King, Gone with the Wind by Margaret MItchell and a handful of others.
Madeline @ The Shellshank Redemption
I've read all the Harry Potter books except the last one more than once. Some I've read up to four times. I also like to read Michael Crichton's books again, particularly Jurassic Park and The Lost World. I think I've read Jurassic Park at least three times. But I do know what you mean. As much as I would like to read some books more than once, I just don't have the time.
ReplyDeleteMy TBR pile is tall, and that's not counting the ebooks patiently waiting on my tablet. So time is definitely a factor for me as well. I used to read books again growing up, but there few books I've reread as an adult. One however, is The Blue Castle by L.M. Montgomery. For some reason that is a classic favorite of mine. :)
ReplyDeleteHave a great weekend!
As an adult I do not re-read books because I just don't want to. But as a kid, I used to read "The Secret Garden" EVERY summer. Loved that book. Loved the idea of a brick wall overgrown with vines, of finding a hidden door, of building your own world inside. Since you write for children, you ought to read it if you haven't already. It's by Frances Hodgson Burnett.
ReplyDeleteI don't re-read books. Well novels. There's tons of children's books I read over and over and over...
ReplyDeleteThe only book I can remember re-reading is The Outsiders, and I did that as a kid. I'd like to read it now though and see how my perspective has changed.
Even though there's so many novels I love, I don't have any desire to read them again. The exception being some of my favorite novels I read as a teen--again to see what I think about it as an adult.
George Orwell's 1984. I read it twice.
ReplyDeleteI used to reread books more when I was a kid. Must have read Lord of the Rings a dozen times. Don't really have the time now. It's all about time.
ReplyDeletemood
Moody Writing
I have read all of Tolkien's books several times. In fact, all the fantasy and horror books I purchased have been read several times. Of course, that was back when I had the TIME to read. Its been several years since I re-read any book, and like you, most of my reading now is done to write a review. I really miss pleasure reading.
ReplyDeleteWhen I was young I would read my books over and over--until I could get to the library! Oh I wish I had more time to do that again!
ReplyDeleteI have a few books I reread, but they have to be on my special or favorite list. There's no time to reread the others, even though they're great.
ReplyDeletePerhaps the only book I've ever reread is A Corner of the Universe by Ann M. Martin. It's MG contemporary.
ReplyDeleteOh, I LOVE rereading books! The Mists of Avalon, Justine, Red Mars, and anything Tolkien. The Hobbit is a fun read if you haven't read it, but Harry Potter is certainly fun too. I find that a good book only gets better each time you read it (the true test of a good novel) :)
ReplyDeleteHi, Rachna!!! I'm striving to get back on the blogging horse! How are you, sweetie? Anyway, I agree with you on this, my time is wildly sparse with a 15 month old baby crawling about. Whew! He's crazy cute. There are a few books I have read more than once, but they have to appeal to my emotions.
ReplyDeleteOne that I have read about 3 times so far is Giants of the Frost by Kim Wilkins. Oh, how I love it--especially when the broken female character gains her most heartbreaking wish. *sigh*
Thanks for this post! <3
♥.•*¨Elizabeth¨*•.♥
I don't enjoy re-reading books Rachna. And not because of lack of time. As a kid, I used to read Enid Blytons over and over again.
ReplyDeleteStephen King's The Stand--twice. And I recently reread Flowers in the Attic and the one right after it. I would have read more but I couldn't find books three and four on audio and at the time, I was reading books on my commute so they had to be on audio for me to read them. I lost the momentum, so I won't be re-reading the rest in the series, I guess.
ReplyDeleteI usually don't read books more than once. There have been several times I've totally loved a book and thought, I'm definitely going to read that again, but then when I tried I couldn't enjoy it. Once I know what happens the magic isn't there. But I am kind of re-reading (more like skimming and picking out my favorite parts) the Song of Ice and Fire series by George RR Martin. I love Game of Thrones so much that I enjoy reading the books when the show is done for the year. :)
ReplyDeleteBooks are piling up on my coffee table, just waiting for me to find time to read them. Books I've read twice (many years apart): The Scarlet Letter, On the Beach, and The Wind in the Willows. I don't think I've ever ready anything three times. There are just too many books out there I haven't had time to read once.
ReplyDelete"Time" is perhaps the most constrained resource nowadays. I am a bookworm but I don't re-read a book often. I read "A brief history of time" by Stephen Hawking twice.
ReplyDeleteI have not read any book more than once until now. But would like to read, "On Writing Well" by William Zinsser and "Story: Structure, Principles, ..." by Robert McKee again. Two gem of a books!
ReplyDeleteDestination Infinity
It's very rare that I will read a book more than once. But I did read Jurassic Park three times lol. And also Mutiny on the Bounty (twice) - my favorite book of all time.
ReplyDeleteI rarely read books more than once, because I just don't have the time. Also, I want to read something new. The only books I've re-read are Stephen King's The Stand and Rendezvous with Rama.
ReplyDeleteI haven't read Tolkien either. They really don't appeal to me.
Oops. Rendezvous with Rama is by Arthur C. Clarke, not Stephen King.
ReplyDelete