Re-reading ????

[Guershom]

Whats your opinion and have you done it???? I have never re-read a book. There have been times that I have put a book down for a while and had to go back several pages to pick it back up. I want to re-read Hearts as soon as I get done with DT VII but am afraid I will get bored as I begin remembering it. What is your experience???? Thanks for your time.

I think the dilemma is : will the second reading enhance your knowledge and taste of the book, or on the contrary spoil it ? Oddly enough, I reckon I've never read any of Stephen's novels twice...short stories yes, a few of them, but as for novels I'm perhaps afraid I'll be somehow disappointed with the second reading...I will read Insomnia and The Stand again, but it doesn't really count since I couldn't finish Insomnia (the only time it happened to me with a King book...maybe 'cause I'm an insomniac myself) and I'd only read the abridged version of The Stand.
But yeah, re-read Pet Sematary, Dead Zone, Cujo,...why not ? I'm so different a man now...but wouldn't it create a wave of nostalgia to read with an adult's eyes stories I discovered and enjoyed greatly when I was a teenager ?

As for your question about Hearts of Atlantis, I would advise you not to re-read it again if you can still remember the story, aside from the general pattern I mean.

Also, there are so many novels I want to read and haven't so far (including several by Stephen) I tend to think it's better to discover new ones.

[JohnDalglish]

I think the dilemma is : will the second reading enhance your knowledge and taste of the book, or on the contrary spoil it ? .

Hi,

Enhance, in my experience, certainly in the case of Sai King.

I think most of us read the first time for the pure story, but on subsequent reads one can appreciate more the quality of the prose and also the inevitable subtexts present in all his work IMO.

Long days and pleasant nights

[Haunted]

i'm in the process of starting at the beginning and rereading all of stephens books ...its been years since i read the older ones ...what i have found is i read differently now...its hard to explain hahha i guess its maturity ...so far i am enjoying the books (i'm only up to different seasons). yes i know the outcome ..but the ride is different .....does that make any sense

I think you've got it! You are a different person today than when you first read those books. Enjoy your journey.

[Haunted]

John makes some wonderful points here. I am not a re-reader except for The Stand and Salem's Lot. I read the abridged version of The Stand and when the unabridged version came out bought and read that! I will re-read it again as it is one of my very favorites.

I just recently re-read Salem's Lot. This was my first King book. I was blown away by my re-read experience. It was like reading it for the first time.


"And yet they both knew, of course. They were not alone."

[Merlsmom]

Before discovering Sai King I used to never re-read a book save for the LOTR series, but I find that reading King works again and again is like being at an archeological dig. One unearths new and exciting things with every layer and it takes several reads to sift through all the layers. That's why King rules, IMO.

[aussiewonder]

There are a few I re-read by accident, like Rose Madder, it had been so long since I had read it, I still enjoyed it. I do intend to re-read DT, but I have so many books I need and want to read, I will have to get to it later.

[nosila]

I'm a huge rereader. An amazing book can be reread dozens of times without it ever getting old.

[smooth operator]

The first time I read a book, I read very quickly, so that I can see what's going to happen. If it was a good book the first time around, I will pick it back up after a few months (or longer) and re-read it more slowly, to savor it, if you will. I am re-reading The Stand (unabridged) right now. For me, a good book is like a good friend - I often revisit them.

[daffyrocks]

I'm a huge rereader. An amazing book can be reread dozens of times without it ever getting old.

I couldn't agree more! I'm the same with movies, if I love them, I can watch them over and over and over and..... !!! I have re-read so many of SK's books and have never tired of them yet! Is it bad to admit I have read IT so many times I almost have it memorised?!?!

[delores 74]

I re-read books, much to my husband's annoyance...lol. I've re-read several of SK's, Delores Claiborne being the one I've re-read the most. At last count it was around 7 times. Re-reads of the older ones are planned, as soon as I get done reading the stack of books I got from my mom and my ex-mother in law.
Non SK books I've re-read are Helter Skelter, Step Into My Parlor (the Jeffrey Dahmer true crime), Small Sacrifices (Diane Downs true crime), and Diana Gabaldon's Outlander series.