Young Writers Society

zelithon wrote:I think I understand now. I remember EVERYTHING I read. I get it the first time completely. It might be because I don't ever skim-i find skimming is pointless even if I could read faster that way. I can read a chapter in my history book once and get 100% on the test. You fellows skim or do what I would consider skimming. I am not claiming genius status. If I skimmed or just 'read' as fast as 300 pgs a day I would understand but I would not enjoy and would probably forget eventually. If I want to find a definite good book I look for a book by a definite author. I don't read to simply get to the end sometimes i read slowly to savor the story. Rereading does not mean your stupid-I said that, but I still think it is foolish. Read it right the first time and only reread it if you don't understand, not understanding if you read it properly does not mean your stupid either it simply means you chose a book too hard, which I also think is foolish.
Another thing, library vs owning. I like owning books but I usually only read them once. The library I like reading books many people have read before but i cannot look at it anytime and claim ownership.
Maybe I shuold have put this in debates.

How do you know if you're not missing anything if you don't reread the books?

It's not just a case of not understanding and misreading things the first time you read it. There's also interpretation and response. Regardless of whether or not it is a difficult book or an easy one, if you read it a second or third time, you are a different person and will therefore respond to in differently. Say you read a book about a death and you'ev never lost anyone close to you. Then a few months later you experience a death in the family, or or one of your friends does. The next time you read it, you're going to experience it differently. Whether in school or not, you're always learning more and experiencing new things that will change the way you look at a story.

Throw all the intellectual stuff, there is the simple enjoyment of a story. Like was said, nobody thinks anything of wanting to hear a song multiple times, watching a movie several times, or picking up an illustrated book several time to look at the pictures again, or to do something fun and wanting to do it again. So why should reading a book be any different? If you enjoy something, it's natural to want to experience it again. That's why video stores, Shakespeare festivals and Shakespeare-in-the-Park events are so successful. It's never just people who have never seen the plays/movies before. You get repeats all the time.

Ooh, I did what you did with the sixth HP, Bekster.

I read it in about eight hours, and then a week later reread over the course of three or so days, just because I was so eager to find out what happened, and then I wanted to go back and pay more attention to details.

Besides, how are you ever going to memorize anything if you don't read over it? Just because you understood the material the first time through doesn't mean you're going to know it all instantly. I have to chant Latin charts over and over and over and write them down and chant them some more, but once I do, they're stuck with me. Or maybe I should say I'm stuck with them. :p

rereading-yes!
re-reading-yes!
re-re-reading-yes, yes yes!!!

i re-read specially the HP series till i almost learn them by heart
since we have Julius Caesar in my new class (equivalent of grade) i'll have to break all HP re-reading records and read that book at least over 100 times!! (if you're wondering, we'll have JC for two years and then give a grand exam on it and 15 re-read poems and 15 re-read short-stories. and this exam is everything)

I have reread books when I was desperate at for a few months that was practically all I could do. I have recently reread the midwife's apprentice and Catherine called birdie. The first time I read them I was in 4Th grade a long time ago for me. I picked up nothing new. You could argue I am as smart as a fourth grader, but even despite my atrocious spelling that is not true. I remember everything put into sentences. Maybe I just read more thoroughly than most people. I read at the speed of someone talking, I do remember all of it. I tried rereading The Goblet of Fire which I read for the first time in 3rd grade because I thought I might have forgotten something but I did not. Also photographic memories don't always apply to books. I almost want to say sorry that all you people are wrong but I will restrain myself. Its hard disagreeing with people older than oneself when they are not related.

Well, I claim to be the most obsessive rereader here. I reread so much my mum actually goes on campaigns to get me interested in new books even though I love books. When I read a book, I read it twice. I don't read it once. Ever. Sometimes I read it three times. I don't do it to pick up new things, although I sometimes do anyway, I don't reread to see it in a different light ... I just reread because I enjoyed the stories so much.

My mum told me that when I was little I'd watch the same movies over and over and over again, and never get bored of them. Now I do that with books. I read books quickly, but that's not why I reread them. I just reread them because I enjoy them. I still do that with movies too. If I don't reread something, I begin to crave that story.

The ending isn't what's important. Wanting to read a story, for me, has nothing to do with wanting to reach the end. It's every bit along the way I want to experience again and again. Some people here can name the books they've reread. I couldn't do that, because I've reread everything a gazillion times. When I feel like a certain story, I read it.

Does it make me stupid? Does it make me wrong?

Beats me.

I do have a skimming tendancy, but I skim the same bits every time I read something. I don't reread to get the things I missed. Anyway, if I'm constantly forced to skim things, does that make me a bad reader, or the author a boring writer?

To me, the sign of a bad book is one I never want to reread.

Éloeré >> Succinct and articulate. You summed it up pretty much perfectly. Thanks.

Cheers to that Eloere!

El.. that's right in one. I have nothing else to add, right now.

I LOVE to reread books. Sometimes it's hard to not skip sections because you know what happens next, but with the suspense and plot aside, you can focus on the more hidden elements of the story and it's amazing how much you catch reading something the second time through.

Wow, El, that was pretty much some of the things I was gonna add. I reread all the time, and skim sometimes.

I reread all the time too. I love it. i usually read quite fast thoruhg the first time (I have a habit of staying up to all hours of the night and morning not being able to put a book down) but when I go through it again its like *click click* and you see things that you can't remember reading before and everything just makes so much more sense.

Anyway, everything had basically all been said, but I do love rereading, I've done it since I was little. How can you ever read "Horton the Elephant looks after the Egg" just once? You see, little kids love haering their favourite books over and over, why should we change when we grow up?

For me, rereading is one of the greatest things in the world. It's not a matter of not understanding. I just love to reread some books because I love the emotions they give me. For example, The Two Princesses of Bamarre. An all-time favorite, I love rereading it because I always cry at the end because the story is something I can completely relate to. Another favorite, The Perilous Gard. I've reread this probably five or six times because no matter how many times I read it, it's still one of the best books I've ever picked up and I never get tired of it. But in all actuality, I very, very, very rarely reread a book all the way through. I usually just reread my favorite parts. And sometimes I will reread a book I know I enjoyed but that I've forgotten because I've read so much stuff since I first read it.

HP books and some books i like loads heh.

Man. Re-reading books is my life.

Honestly. I love so many books and so many different writing styles that I just keep going back to them. You notice something different every time, no matter how many times you've read it. I'll read new books and then, if I like them, I'll re-read it...probably a couple of times.

And besides: why spend the money on a book when you're going to read it once and let it sit there?

I think re-reading also helps you become a better writer. The first time through, you're just paying attention to the details that make the story come together. The second time, you're looking for the important pieces of the story that you overlooked the first time. After that, you start to understand the mechanics of the book, and how it is that it makes a story. That, in turn, allows you to do a better job when you try it out yourself.