Into the Fire

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The re-reads . . .

June 2, 2013

If ever there's a test for evaluating your writing, it comes in the re-reads. I can't tell you how many times I've had to reread my novels. Especially the ones I've self-published. If you can still stand the story after all the rereading, at least you've written something that manages to be meaningful to you. And if it truly still provides a modicum of entertainment or touches your soul after knowing every nuance of the story, well, just maybe it will do the same for someone else.

I don't often reread novels. I can only think of three. I have genuinely loved a whole lot more than three novels, but rereading them hasn't been an option. As all of you writers and readers know, there are so many in the TBR (To-Be-Read) stacks, there's just no time to revisit past loves. It's not that I haven't considered some for rereading, it's that the growing list of must-reads outweighs the time commitments required to go back to them.

Are you a novel re-reader? How do your stories strike you after multiple re-readings?

God, you constantly create and share inspiration with us. Apart from you, we can do nothing. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.

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9 responses to “The re-reads . . .”

Brenda Anderson

June 3, 2013

I have a stack of novels I’d love to re-read–maybe some day when I’m an empty-nester & have nothing better to do. 😉 That said, I have revisited a few novels: I’ve read Francine Rivers Mark of the Lion series at least 3 times. Jane Eyre is on my multiple-read list, as is the Lord of the Rings series. No doubt I’ll read them all again.

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BK Jackson (@BKJacksonAZ)

June 3, 2013

One of the most special things about fiction is that rare magic where you find a novel you want to read more than once. I can only think of two that have fallen into that category for me. Zane Grey’s “Forlorn River” (I don’t remember how many times I’ve read it now) and Nancy E. Turner’s “These is My Words”.
There are a handful of other books I thought were great, but still didn’t make the “read multiple times” cut. I mean War & Peace is an interesting read, but not one you’d want to do over. LOL! Then of course, there are many hundreds of books that are simply meant to be flashes in the pan–read once and forgotten 2 hours later.
As to my own fiction–it is my own so of course I can read it again and again because it’s topic matter that interests me. I’ve only written a couple manuscripts, so it’s not like I have a breadth of experience. Although I did start a novel once and came back and read what I’d started only to realize I’d lost interest in that particular issue.
But definitely, if I ever pick up one of my own manuscripts and even I’m not interested, then it’s time to hang that one up.

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Nicole

June 3, 2013

I’ve read Kristen Heitzmann’s Secrets, Unforgotten both multiple times, and they were the first to captivate me immediately. I had read Secrets way before Unforgotten came out, but I decided to reread it so the story would be fresh and a natural progression into Unforgotten. When I finished Unforgotten I closed the back cover and reopened its front cover and started it all over again. Never happened before or since. Three times through. Loved them. (Echoes not so much.)
And I had the pleasure of reading Becalmed as an unpublished manuscript years before it was published so it was fun to read it again in book form.
I hope to read F. Scott Fitzgerald’s Tender Is the Night again – I downloaded it to my Kindle – because it touched me so deeply so many years ago, but we’ll see.

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Tim George

June 3, 2013

When it comes to re-reading the novels written by others I sometimes like to listen to the same novel. I spend about an hour a day at the gym and and hour a day driving alone so that’s 10-12 hours a week to relive a favorite story from a different perspective.

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Barb Riley

June 3, 2013

It’s only in the past few years that I’ve begun to partake in the joy of rereading. Like you, my TBR pile would stalk me, and I’d feel guilty returning to something old when all these new (to me) stories were waiting to be read. But then one day on a whim, I brought my favorite novel on vacation with me, b/c I wanted something I already knew I loved to help pass the travel time (nothing’s worse than being stuck with a boring book on a flight)… and I couldn’t believe how the story had just as much magic the second time around; I wondered why I’d waited so long to spend more time with my favorite characters. I’ve been in rereading heaven ever since. 😉
Part of the reason I no longer feel bad about choosing an old favorite over my TBR pile is that I’ve had sooo many disappointing experiences (dang internal editor) with what’s out there, and so I started going deeper with the stories I loved instead, and found that it was a wholly satisfying experience. It’s also eye-opening to see how much I missed the first time around because I was caught up in having to know what was going to happen… C.S. Lewis has a quote about this:
“We do not enjoy a story fully at the first reading. Not till the curiosity, the sheer narrative lust, has been given its sop and laid asleep, are we at leisure to savor the real beauties.”
That narrative lust gets me every time (in the well-written stories, of course), and I can’t tell you how cool it is to go back and soak in all the special little details and hints the author wove into the story that I missed. It’s twice as nice the second time. I’ve even returned third and fourth and fifth times to my very favorites. Bonus: I feel like I’ve learned more about storytelling by repeated readings, but really, that’s not as significant is returning to the emotional state I experience.
Sorry about the lengthy comment, but because rereading has brought me so much joy, I can’t contain myself. LOL

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Nicole

June 3, 2013

Great comment, Barb. (Where’ve you been?) 😉 You bring up some great points. What about with your own work?

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Nicole

June 5, 2013

Great idea, Tim. I’ve never listened to an Audio book. I should try that.

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Kristen Torres-Toro

June 9, 2013

I am a re-reader, definitely. I’ve gotten to where I will keep books I want to read again and then will randomly check in every year/2 years or so. The only books I read yearly are Harry Potter, every year in July. It’s coming up again soon and I can’t wait!

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Nicole

June 9, 2013

You’re a committed rereader, K. Ha! That’s hilarious to have a rereading schedule.

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