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Kim Brown
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Kim Brown
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PostMon Apr 29, 2019 4:54 pm 
Good lord, yes, I re-read books. Not re-reading at least some books is wierd, unless you can absorb everything you ever read on the first go. Like Mal C says, something new to discover each time. I’ve read all of my favorites many, many, many times. Also, with history, biographies, the various government scandals/crises, and various other intricate, involved events – some of that is too difficult for me to grasp in one read, so I check out the same book at the library time and again. Esp. for backpacking. I like old familiar stories when backpacking because I don’t want to think, and I’m usually very sleepy when I get into my tent, so no sense getting all think-y.

"..living on the east side of the Sierra world be ideal - except for harsher winters and the chance of apocalyptic fires burning the whole area." Bosterson, NWHiker's marketing expert
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Malachai Constant
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PostMon Apr 29, 2019 8:37 pm 
It is like seeing a Shakespeare play again, R & J, MacBeth, Othello, etc. each production is different depending on actors and direction. In a book each read is different because you and your experiences differ so each read is different.

"You do not laugh when you look at the mountains, or when you look at the sea." Lafcadio Hearn
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GaliWalker
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PostTue Apr 30, 2019 6:38 am 
Kim Brown wrote:
Good lord, yes, I re-read books. Not re-reading at least some books is wierd, unless you can absorb everything you ever read on the first go. Like Mal C says, something new to discover each time. I’ve read all of my favorites many, many, many times.
Me too. The way I read books I find that the first time around I'm really keen to know how it will all turn out at the end and have missed some of the finer points; I savor every word on the second and third readings. Case in point: On first reading, whenever Gally Threepwood launched into one of his off-topic stories, in P. G. Wodehouse's Blandings series, I found myself lacking the patience to thoroughly enjoy the humor. Every time I pick up one of those books now - and I've read all of them many times over - I take my time, enjoying every single line.

'Gali'Walker => 'Mountain-pass' walker bobbi: "...don't you ever forget your camera!" Photography: flickr.com/photos/shahiddurrani
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markweth
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PostTue Apr 30, 2019 11:52 am 
I am a frequent re-reader of books and short stories. I also listen to the same albums hundreds of times, go on backpacking trips to the same mountain lakes, eat the same meals often, etc. Not perfect analogies, but somewhat applicable. Like others have mentioned, you can often find added depth reading books a second or even third time because you are able to focus on each word and not trying to comprehend the whole plot (RumiDude did a good job of explaining this) or because your life experiences and outlooks have evolved and you can relate more, or less, to certain characters, themes, etc. Short list of books I've read more than once: "All the King's Men" by Robert Penn Warren "Appointment in Samarra" by John O'Hara Many Jack London short stories (I re-read "To Build a Fire" each winter) "No Country for Old Men" by Cormac McCarthy "The Road" by Cormac McCarthy "To Kill a Mockingbird" by Harper Lee "Shadow Divers" by Robert Kurson "Into Thin Air" by Jon Krakauer "Into the Wild" by Jon Krakauer Plenty more, but those are the ones that came to mind. Anyways, yeah -- re-read on! Would definitely be a good move to re-read the Harry Potter series to get familiar with everything again and maybe pick up on stuff you missed.

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Kim Brown
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Kim Brown
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PostTue Apr 30, 2019 1:31 pm 
GaliWalker wrote:
Case in point: On first reading, whenever Gally Threepwood launched
Ah, we can wax on and on about PG Wodehouse again, can't we! (I felt the same way about his Blandings series; now they're among my fave) The first time I read Thomas Hardy’s Tess, I came to the part where she suckles her child. Huh? What baby, when did that happen! I completely missed the assault of Tess. I had to re-read it to figure it out. I re-read 2 or 3 Salinger and Steinbeck novels every year. And Nathaniel Hawthorne, Thomas Hardy and Charles Dickens - some of the social and political references by those authors go over my head, but each time I read them, I look up something new I had glossed over the time before. Quite the history lesson.

"..living on the east side of the Sierra world be ideal - except for harsher winters and the chance of apocalyptic fires burning the whole area." Bosterson, NWHiker's marketing expert
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