Do You Re-Read Books?

Let’s Talk Bookish is a weekly series hosted by Rukky at Eternity Books and Danie at Literary Lion. The full list of November topics can be found here.

This week’s topic is all about re-reading books.

Do you re-read books? How often?

Yes! Not as much as I used to. It depends on the time of year and whatever else is going on in my life at the moment. Sometimes I just get the urge to return to a story that I know with characters that I love for the familiarity and comfort that it brings.

Do you re-read a series before reading the newest book?

Generally, yes. It’s partly because if a series has a full year between books, I’m most likely going to forget the details by the time the next book comes out. At the same time, if I really love the series I might re-read it just for the hype of getting ready for the new book. Case in point: re-reading all of the Cormoran Strike books this summer before the fifth book came out in September. I did this both because I wanted to refresh my memory on the story and because I wanted the excuse to read the books all over again.

Is there a certain book or series that you always come back to re-read?

The Shopaholic series by Sophie Kinsella. It’s the one I go to whenever I’m sick because the books are so light and funny and fun. Becky Bloomwood is one of my favorite literary characters and I always enjoy diving back into her world.

Do you count re-reads towards your monthly/yearly goals?

Always. It’s a book, I’m reading it, so it counts!

Do you feel guilty about re-reading books?

Occasionally, yes. It’s easy to think that the time spent re-reading a book could have been spent reading something new. But any form of reading is valuable and I find that returning to a story a second time can have just as much meaning, if not more, as it did on the first read. There are always things I missed the first time around that I don’t notice until I go back.

Do you re-read books or series for similar reasons? Tell me in the comments!