Would you re-read a book you hated?

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Yani
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Re: Would you re-read a book you hated?

Post by Yani »

I already did. Deception Pass by Earl Emerson, if I'm not mistaken. The too-humorous-to-be-true feel did not change but I think I appreciated the plot more than the first time I read it.
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ekfinn
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Post by ekfinn »

I think there is true value in the act of re-visiting "old" or already "known" writing, because we are in a continual state of becoming (and thus perpetually changing our essential selves). I love to discover the (perhaps even hitherto unacknowledged) perceptual change that has taken place in my world-view(s) when re-reading.

However(!), I have also come to believe that there's no reason that I should waste time, or feel obligated to finish, a book that I truly dislike when there are so many out there I do and would love instead.

Definitely worth giving it a shot though!
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Post by barb429 »

I have re-read books that I did not initially like. I do like giving things a second chance, and I have thought before that maybe I was in the wrong mood when I read something. Unfortunately, I have never found a hidden gem that I liked the second time around. Typically if I don't like it the first time, then I will not like it the second time.
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Helaine
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Post by Helaine »

Life is too short to reread a book I don't like, and there are so many more out there to try.
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Post by Annelore Trujillo »

If I didn't finish it the first time, I might try it again. Although, if I didn't like it the first time, I don't usually like it the second time either. I've tried to finish books I didn't like, and I've never actually finished them.
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Queenbee_3
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Post by Queenbee_3 »

It would depend on how much I hated it and why. As we go through different periods in our lives we are able to appreciate topics that we may nit have understood or enjoyed before. I am not the same person I was 5 years ago so something that did not appeal to me then might be just what I need or am looking for now.
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Jenkies
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Post by Jenkies »

I think there is difference between hating a book and never finishing a book. There are some books that I tried reading before and never finished for different reasons, either other stuff came up or I was still thinking about a recent book I read and couldn't figure out what parts of the book belonged to which book. I don't think just because you stopped reading means that you hated it and shouldn't give it another try. I think if something just got in the way at the time and you never finished it, give it another try. Now if you started reading it and found it boring, then that might be a different story. But also like you said, that could have happened years ago, and you may have a different outlook on it now being older, and not find it boring anymore. I'd say continue to give it another try, but then again, I don't like give away or throwing away books!
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WrenBrown
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Post by WrenBrown »

What a wonderful question...I've had the pleasure of reading assigned and personally chosen literature, technical and scientific texts, and nonfiction works since I first learned to read. I have liked most, loved many, and hated - truly hated- only a few. I've had many books go unfinished which I did not hate. But of those I hated, I believe the hatred probably revealed something in my own development versus the impact of the book, moreso than speaking to value, or lack of value, in the book. I despised The Jungle and The Grapes of Wrath when I first read them because I had massive teen outrage over the social circumstances of both stories- and those many years ago, had no outlet for those strong emotions. They later became favorites. So, my answer is yes! I would reread a book I hated. As I am changed by every experience, any book could later be a great read.
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Chris123
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Post by Chris123 »

Not often, there's so many books out there why would I waste my time on a book I know to be bad?
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Post by Sarah_Khan »

I have reread books I initially hated or gave up on and most of the time I still have the same opinion even after giving them another chance :P, but that doesn't stop me... I would still be willing to give books I initially dislike a second chance (but not all of them), specially if it's a classic, because I want to understand why everyone else loves it. :)
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Post by lolashoes »

Yes i would reread a book i initially dislike when i was younger. We change as we grow older and generally more open minded, so I'm all for giving books i hated once another shot. Now that I'm in a different state of mind as opposed to my younger self, maybe I'll appreciate it now.
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D A Lascelles
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Post by D A Lascelles »

It depends... I have reread books from school that I hated and enjoyed them simply because of the fact I was not being forced to read it. Though that does not save Far From the Madding Crowd as there is nothing that will make me reread that :)

I have often had the opposite issue - books I loved as a child being reread and not liking so much.
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Post by Redlegs »

I wouldn't normally, but I'm thinking of re-reading To the Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf. When I first read it a few years ago, I thought it was the most boring book I have ever read, but I think I may have missed something.

I should give it another go, I think. :?
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Post by alwaysdaddygirl »

Aloha,

Yes. I will let some time pass. I will try again. Why? Things changed as we go through the different paths of life.

Blessings?
"Death ends a life, not a relationship."
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Post by Amh73090 »

Books like the ones I passed up in high school yes I would reread most of them. I'd give them a try but if I don't like them now I wouldn't read them again.
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