Anne Bishop has a new Black Jewels book coming out next week, so I
just spent the last two days skim-rereading the first trilogy to get myself up
to speed on who all the characters are and how the magic works. (So psyched!)
Many people, like my sister, are baffled by this behaviour. Why reread an old
book when there are so many new wonderful books and their time to read is
limited? So I asked myself, why do I reread usually at least one book a month?
Sometimes, as mentioned, I reread to get up to speed on a series so that I will
enjoy the newest release more without having to wrack my brain over who is this
minor character and what happened in the last book anyway?
Sometimes I reread because something triggered a vivid memory of an
awesome scene. I try to limit myself to just reread that scene but often end up
rereading the entire book.
Sometimes, as a writer, I want to study a particular writing technique
and may pull out a book where I know the author did it well.
Sometimes I reread in order to share a book I loved with someone
else—books I read aloud to my children often fall under this category.
Sometimes I reread an old book out of frustration because my nothing
in my current To Be Read pile is grabbing me. Or, more painfully, if I’m not
enjoying a book by an author that I usually love, I might then reread one of theirs
that I did enjoy just so I can get that promised hit.
The biggest reason I reread is for comfort, because I’ve had a long day
and I want a guaranteed reward instead of the uncertainty of trying a new book
which I may or may not like.
What are your reasons for rereading (or not rereading)?
