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Studious Saturday: Why I rarely reread books

studious saturdays

This week I’ve been thinking about my reading tastes and style compared to other friends and bloggers which made me realise that, unlike many others, I tend to dislike rereading books. I decided to share my thoughts with you briefly on why I prefer to only read books that I haven’t read before, which I also believe may be a slightly unpopular opinion but could produce an interesting discussion.

  1. Time, time time!

My main reason not to reread books, which I think many others can probably relate to, is due to time related constraints. Most of us are already struggling to juggle our social, family and work life while also managing to find time to read so it’s no wonder that we often can’t find the time to return to our most loved books. I often feel guilty when I decide to pick up a book that I have already read instead of finishing off the various tasks I have pending or even starting a new book.

2. Too many books on the never ending TBR list

Also linked to the first point, the little time that I save for reading is usually spent catching up on my to-be-read list. Between a pile of backlist books waiting to be started and the constant stream of exciting new releases, books that I have already read somehow always tend to fall behind in my reading priorities.

3. Expectations

Most of us would understandably only go back to books that we have previously enjoyed and want to rediscover, I also fall into this category. However, I cannot imagine visiting any of my favourite books and feeling disappointed that they didn’t live up to my expectations as I reread them for the second time. Even if I did have enough time and a visibly reduced to-be-read list, I still don’t think that I would reread some of my favourite books because I would feel worried that I wouldn’t like them as much.

Those are my main reasons for not re-reading books and although I realise that they may feel strange to many in the bookish community, I have come to understand that my reading habits are somewhat peculiar and many others may not understand them.

Question time

Do you ever reread books and if so why? What are some of your favourite books that you like to revisit?

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