Rereading Books: Why I rarely do it, but probably should.
Why I rarely reread books.
I don't have the time. Seriously, finding the time to read a book once is hard enough and finding time to read that same book again is just impossible. As much as I love some books and genuinely want to reread them, it's hard to make an argument for it. I mean, I already know how the story is going to end, and I could spend that 5 hours it will take me to reread it to read something completely new.
I guess, some of the reasoning also has to do with work and blogging. When you work as a children's specialist, people expect you to be up-to-date on the newest and best books for kids. However, they also expect you to recommend classic books that their kids may not have read yet. For example, The Phantom Tollbooth or Secret of Platform 13, which are two books I read as a kid and loved. Do I remember anything about Secret of Platform 13? Not at all. I remember I loved it, but I have no idea what it's about anymore. It's hard to recommend a book that you don't remember the plot for. I find myself regularly thinking, "I should go back and reread that book..." and then never get around to it.
I think the biggest reason I don't reread books is because I just can't commit myself to the time it will take to read something old when I have over 300 books that need to be read for the first time on my shelves. I feel like I'm missing out on the opportunity to discover a whole new world by revisiting an old one. Also, a lot of what I read is so heavily dictated by blogging and work that I feel like by rereading something I'm missing out on the opportunity to review something new that people may not have heard of yet. I know it's kind of a ridiculous notion, and something I'm really trying to get away from this year, but still. Blogging and work will constantly be in the background of my reading choices.
Why should I even reread books?
Like I said earlier, there are a lot of books that I read when I was younger and I want to recommend them to kids now, but for the life of me I can't remember what they're about. Most of my memories come from watching the movie, if it came out later. Like Holes? I read Holes when I was in like, second grade, but what I remember the most is what happened in the (seriously awesome and hilarious) movie. I should probably reread Holes, mostly for content.
As a bookseller, it's important that I don't recommend books to kids that might be inappropriate for them. When parents ask about content, I need to know what the worst part of the book might be for specific kids. Kids who get scared easily aren't going to like Harry Potter or Wildwood. They get dark, people die, there is blood. These are things that sensitive kids won't be able to deal with. Which is fine. But, it's necessary for me to know how dark the content may get so that I don't recommend those books to kids who won't be able to handle it.
Also, sometimes I know a book will be great for someone, but my ability to talk it up is compromised when I can't remember what it's about. I have to say more than, "Yeah it's awesome! There are fairies or something like that!" Would you read that book? Probably not. I have to at least remember the basic premise. Also sex. I need to know if there's some crazy sex scene in it. I don't want to give a book to a 12 year old's grandma that has an intense sex scene in it. Usually working with kids is easier because I can ask them what they've read and how they felt about it and I can judge their interests and maturity levels better. But still. I need to know these things.
Which books do I actually reread?
There are very few books I've reread in my life, but some of them include: The Great Gatsby, which I read every summer just to remind myself why I love it so much; Chronicles of Narnia, which I also read every summer, all of them; Harry Potter, which I try to read every couple of years, but it usually takes me awhile.
Okay that's it. I've reread some books, mostly for school, but I don't revisit them regularly.
*****So which books, if any, do you reread? Are you a repeat reader?
