Monday Musings

Rereading Books

I have a confession to make: I don’t reread books. 

Those of you who have read Diamonds in the Rough might remember that Courtney also doesn’t reread books. Her reasons are reflective of mine. She says, “I never read a book more than once, because the time spent rereading one book is one less new story I’ll be exposed to in my life.”

There are so many books I want to read that I’m not sure I’ll be able to ever conquer my ever-growing to-read pile. I want to read as many books as I can—to experience all the possible stories and meet all the possible characters I can—that I always want to read something new. I’m the same way with movies and television shows. The only times I watch movies and television shows more than once is if I’m watching with a friend or family member, because then I view it as a social activity. 

I love that experience of the first time reading a book, when you have no idea what’s going to happen next, and just want to lock yourself away and tear through the pages because you need to know how everything will resolve. You can never recreate that experience. I also have a really good memory, so I tend to get bored if I try reading a book again. If I want to “experience” books again, I’ll stand in front of my bookshelf, look at the books I own, and “watch them in my mind.” 

There’s only one book I’ve read more than once—Twilight by Stephenie Meyer! I reread it once for a project I was doing.

Do you reread books? If you don’t, why not? If you do, what are your favorite books to reread?