Do you ever re-read a book?

Another Secret History fan here. Also her other two, The Little Friend and The Goldfinch. I give all my books away once read, but not Donna Tartt.
I do rebuy/reread favourite books but don't have the space to keep them.

Gabriella you're right about Daddy Longlegs. It's about a young girl and her journey into adulthood with who she thought was her guardian but she ends up marrying. It's very sweet and honest.

I hate rarely re-read books but recently joined Audible and am listening to biographies I have previously read . Currently listening to Let It Go , the memoirs of the amazing woman Dame Stephanie Shirley which I thoroughly recommend in any format .

My all time favourite is The Thorn Birds by Colleen McCullock. So much better than the film which misses about the first 14 yrs! I must be due for a re-read it's at least ten yrs since my last time.

Mrswoo I'm fairly sure I still have a hardback version of The Loving Spirit somewhere in the house. I think I may have bought it secondhand, many years ago! It has a torn dust cover, I can see it in my mind's eye to this day.

I've read all my books by Anne Tyler , Margaret Drabble and Margaret Forster twice and some by David lodge 3 times..
In a really good novel there's always some new aspect which you missed the first time round.
I read Gone with the Wind every 10 years and each time I find something different or have matured a bit and see another side of the historial events.
Jane Austen because of the language and Anna Karenina because there is too much in it to take it all in first time round.

Lindylo
My mum had that book but I never knew what it was about. Possibly a small child whose guardian was a tall man? I might have my books mixed up...

Yes, now and again I do re-read a book, or seek out a book I read, say, twenty or thirty years ago.Not often though, as there are so many good books out there to read.
Mainly humerous books such as ( already mentioned) Three Men In A Boat, or Three Men On The Bummel, Diary Of A Nobody, Vice Versa , McCarthy’s Bar, The Riad To McCarthy, Round Ireland With A Fridge,and some Bill Bryson books.

SueDonim - I read the Loving Spirit about every 2 years and there are still bits that make me cry. It was the first “ grown up”book I read aged 13 or 14. The language is very flowery and it’s all a bit cheesy but it was Daphne du Maurier ‘s first book so she can be forgiven. It’s long been out of print but I managed to pick up a copy in a charity shop some years ago.

Oh dear, I wrote a lengthy response to this on another thread - Books You Hated. If you're interested, look there.

Yes you are right Nielspurgeon0. Sorry

Jane Austen's novels, Jane Eyre, Little Women, Northern Lights trilogy and many more, especially with children both at home and in class.
Hadn't read Wuthering Heights for years and when I did reread as an adult, I realised how much I' d missed as a youngster!

Re-read Jane Austen novels many times. To kill a mockingbird. James Herriot books. Ruth Rendall. Could go on...many books.

I'm a voracious reader and love many genres of literature but - Guilty pleasure disclosure! - I love rereading the early Jilly Coopers Prudence/Emily/Bella etc (NOT the Riders stuff which I'm sure I'm on my own in saying they're a bit rubbishy) I'm also in the process of re reading Henry James to see if I can get a handle on him this time around

I'm with you Fennel. I re-read Three Men In A Boat every year. I absolutely love it. Likewise Diary Of a Nobody.

Is that Leon Uris BBbevan? I genuinely thought The Source was one of Michener’s brilliant history/travel books, others include Hawaii, Caravans and South Pacific, but I completely agree - the Source about a Tell in Israel was superb. Have you read Edward Rutherford’s Sarem?

A town like Alice, I think I have read it five times and Requem for a WREN about four times - but strangely enough only really Nevil Shute - well Richmal Crompton when I was a kid - but he just somehow tunes precisely on my wavelength

Having taught English Literature for 30 odd years I often re read the most wonderful books. Every time was a first for the class I was reading with and every time was a joy. Knowing what was coming helped me read meaningfully and watching the children’s reactions to a really good piece of writing was a never ending delight. Reading with regional accents and different voices for different characters was something I just loved. My own children loved it too and I am thrilled that DS has inherited the mimicry thing and uses it when he reads to my DGD.

I only keep books that I know I will want to re-read! Some of them are old friends and re-reading Jane Austen, Dorothy L. Sayers, Dornford Yates, etc. etc. is just like meeting old friends again. My oldest book-friend is the bear with very little brain, aka. Winnie-the- Pooh and I have had my copy since long before I could read. I have no recollection of being given it, but I do remember Daddy reading it to me when I was four, but that was not the first reading of it.

Do I re-read a book?
All the time.
That is why I have four bookcases and counting.

Yanagihara. Just Googled it! Don’t you love how Google has become a verb?

Has anyone read one of my favourite books - ‘A Little Life’ by Hanya Yana.... At 750 pages it would take some stamina to re-read, even though it was brilliant!

As I child I re-read many of my books......Louisa May Alcott's "Little Women", "Eight Cousins", "Jo's Boys" "Little Men" etc. Then there was "Tom Sawyer" by Mark Twain (aka Samuel Clemens) "The Secret Garden" by Frances H Burnett, "Ballet Shoes" by Noel Streetfield, "Red Curtain Up" by Beryl Gray and "Moby Dick" by Herman Melville.

As an adult, I've also revisited "The Count of Monte Cristo" by Alexander Dumas, Leon Tolstoy's "Ana Karenina" and "The Godfather" by Mario Puzzo

Recent re-reads have been "The Alienist" by Caleb Carr (in anticipation of upcoming series) and Ken Follet's "Pillars of the Earth" (ditto for series). I also go back to "Game of Thrones" (George Martin) from time to time, but mostly to sort out certain characters and events.

My favourite book from long ago was I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith.. I have read it several times, my daughter and granddaughter loved it too.

I read Lord of the Rings as a teenager and seem to recall it took me forever. However, when the Peter Jackson trilogy was announced I thought I should reread it first before seeing the films and was surprised at how quickly I skipped through it.

I'm quite a Sci Fi fan so reread my favourite book every decade-the End of Eternity by Isaac Asimov. It has such a clever ending and, although I do know it by now, I still enjoy the book.