I’ve noticed that there seems to be a bit of a minor debate on the subject of rereading books.  It’s not as big as the physical vs. ebook issue, but it’s there.  I myself happen to be a fan of rereading books.  I love going back to my favorite characters and reliving their tales again.  It’s like re-watching a favorite movie or television show.

However, I can understand why people think rereading books is a waste of time, what with so many new books being released on a consistent basis.  It’s hard to imagine rereading a book for the hundredth time when you have a pile of new books sitting on your bookshelf.  Despite the amount of books I have yet to read, I’m always going to be on the side of rereading.  Let’s face it, there are pros and cons of rereading books.  So… let’s discuss them, shall we?

Pros and Cons of Rereading Books

PROS

Finding things you missed before

Whenever I read a book for a second time (sometimes the third) I always find something that I missed before.  This might be a small detail that foreshadowed an event or just a cool fact about the character I missed the first time.  Either way, I like finding little gems that I missed before.  I especially love doing this with books I read as a child because let’s face it, some things just go right over kids’ heads.

Familiarity

Rereading a book is like visiting a friend you haven’t seen in a long time.  You get to learn about them again, or remember the things you learned the first time, and go through those experiences with them again.

Helps with reading slumps

Sometimes going to a story I know already can help me out of a reading slump.  My go-to is Harry Potter for when I’m not finding anything else to be appealing.  However, I do enjoy some of my other favorite books to kick me out of a slump.  Rereading old favorites will re-spark my love of reading and then I’ll be good to go.  Sometimes you just need a reminder of why you love reading, and rereading a favorite will do that for you.

Save money

Not a huge reason to reread books, but it does save on the wallet when you’re in a rereading phase.

CONS

You don’t read anything new

Obviously if you’re rereading books, you’re not reading any of the new ones coming out (or the ones that have been sitting on your shelves for months).  As much as I love revisiting old favorites, I do like delving into new worlds with new characters to love or hate.

You can’t reread a book for the “first time”

Once you’ve read a book, that’s it… you read it.  You can’t read it with a fresh mind again.  Even if it’s been a decade since you’ve read the book, little things will come back to you as you reread.  It’s kind of a bummer when it comes to mystery books because it’s likely you’ll remember what the mystery part was.

Well, that’s all I can think of for pros and cons of rereading books.  If you have any more, leave them in the comments!

On that note, what do you think of rereading books?  [here is the twitter poll I shared yesterday]