Rereading Books

Hey Happy Bookworms!

So….I’m late – I’m sorry! I’ve been so good at keeping on schedule but I had rehearsal and had to revise history (The test went alright…I think….I hope)

Anyway, I’m here to discuss the age old war over rereaders and non-rereaders (how many prefixes can I fit onto one word?)

Hope you enjoy…

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What is rereading?

Simply reading a book or series again, mainly because they’re your favourites or simply because you just like the book.

Why do people reread?

A lot of people feel really emotionally attached to characters & books so it feels like a comfort to reread them, these books are normally more simple contemporary books and are quite often quick reads for people. These are the kinds of books that people really love and so can read over & over, they’re also a lot of people’s cure for reading slumps as it’s a known book they’ll enjoy.
More complex books can be good to reread so you can spot hints & signs from the author that you would have missed the first time without knowing the outcome. It can also make confusing books more fun to read as you’ll know what’s going on, unlike the first time when you were too caught up in trying to remember 50 names & personalities of characters XD

I’ve talked about rereading to Lais @ the bookish skies quite a lot and the main thing I’ve gleaned (correct me if I’m wrong) is that she likes the knowing of rereading, the predictability & almost safety of knowing what’s going to happen to the characters.

Why don’t people reread?

I think very few people never reread books because there’s always that book that you love to pieces or read ages ago & want to revisit so I’m going to be talking about why some people don’t spend a lot of time rereading.

The main argument is there’re so many new books (*googles* apparently around 30,000 YA books published per year!) Why would you go back and reread a book when there are so many more to be discovered?!
Then there’s the flip side of predictability, some people don’t like that they know what happens and this can ruin a book, especially a plot twist heavy book. And some books just don’t lend themselves to being reread as they’re mainly based on shock-factor or big reveals.
Finally, books change. And the style of YA now is very different to the style of a couple of years ago. A book that you really liked then, you could hate now (this also applies to target ages for books, eg: rereading a book targeted at children when you’re an adult & expecting to like it just as much) This would tarnish your memory of the book & also be unfair to the book (if you’re not the intended reader).

My opinion:

Personally, I’m not a rereader. I have reread books but they’re normally simpler books that I read for the comedy, characters/romance, or memories.
I’m a big plot reader & a good plot is really important to my enjoyment of books so rereading isn’t a great option for me as it ruins one of the biggest things in a book. This means I don’t reread often but when I do – it’s a sign of a really special book! *awards gold star to any rereads* ⭐

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Thanks for reading!

Your opinions on rereading? Are you team yes or team no? And why? Join in on the discussion!

(Also happy blogiversary Adi – love you 🤗🤗)