One book I would unfortunately not suggest rereading is “Life of Pi” (Martel). It loses all its magic and mystery the second time around. Love it the first time, remember it forever, pass it along to someone else, but don’t reread it. That’s my advice.

But as far as the intent of this thread goes, I’m with Es – I re-read everything. Literally. If I’m not going to re-read it, it goes to a book swap, the library, or a used book shop.

My favorites to re-read are Mercedes Lackey and other fantasy/sci-fi. I think I’ve said it before, but I can no longer read Anne McCaffery anymore. I am finding I really appreciate silly fantasy/sci-fi. I spend so much time reading about rape, war, labor strife, the suffrage movement, more war and rape, that I just can’t deal with it in my fiction anymore. I think there’s going to be a culling of my personal library very soon. Which my local public library will profoundly appreciate.

I read Catch-22 probably four times a year, Fire and Hemlock (Diana Wynne Jones) is my favourite book ever and I could read it once a week.

The exception to the rereading rule is Slaughterhouse 5, which I found too harrowing to read again. That’s an incredible, horrible book. I have everything Vonnegut wrote and everything else is very well thumbed. The Once and Future King is similar – I can only reread it when I have gotten over the trauma of the last time! I am currently nearly at the end of the unabridged audiobook and it has had me having to turn it off in the car because it was making me cry.

I also turn to YA fantasy for comfort reading – as well as Victorian ghost stories and Agatha Christie.

On the not-getting-at-a-certain-age-but-rereading-when-older note, for me it was Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison. I hated it when I read it for AP English in high school; re-read it three years later just for funsies and was blown away. Totally was not understanding critical race dialogue at the time, so makes sense the genius flew right over my head.

Becky and everyone this has been such a great thread.

I didn’t really like the depiction of the female characters when I reread it when I got older, and wished that there was like a 3 Musketeers but with the core 3 being women.. (women and swords, riding horseback, having adventures, wearing funny hats – I want to go to there!)

Other books I go back to and read a couple of times a year is the 18th brumaire of louis bonaparte (yes written by Karl Marx).

Re-reading can be a lot of fun, soothing, and an eye opening experience. I’ve recently been re-reading most of Tony Hillerman’s booklist, which I first read 15-20 years ago. I’ve forgotten whodunnit for most of them so it’s like catching up with an old friend I haven’t seen in a while. My recently discovered guilty pleasure is fan fiction ~ mostly ok, some cringe worthy, and a rare bit is absolutely brilliant and hard to believe it’s done by amateurs.