u/FancyThought7696

Nabokov once famously said, "“One cannot read a book: one can only reread it."

I think most of us in this subreddit have done this and had good experiences with it. I know that I have re-read several and only on the second reading did I realize "Wow! This is amazing!"

Some of my best re-reads have been:

Pride and Prejudice -- It clicked how witty and insightful it is
Brothers Karamazov -- I liked my first read, but I loved my second
Lolita -- Blew me away on my second reading
Brideshead Revisited -- Clicked on second read
Great Gatsby -- My all time fave, loved it my first read and loved it my tenth
Great Expectations -- Liked it first read, loved it the second
Jane Eyre -- Hated in high school, loved in my 40s
Anna Karenina -- Loved my first read, loved my second
Crime and Punishment -- Great first read, great second read
Gilead -- Great on first read, great second read
Dante's Inferno -- Hard for me to grasp on first read, more clarity on second

However, I've also had cases where I enjoyed a book on the first read, but just couldn't get into it on my second.

Winesburg, OH
Pale Fire
Catcher in the Rye
Of Human Bondage
Confederacy of Dunces

What has your reading journey been like with second readings?

I recently read a quote from Henry Oliver where he basically said that we should try to understand and appreciate the classics and question ourselves if we don't like one of them. That being said, I think we all know that there are books that no matter what we do, we can't seem to like them (and those books vary by person).

Are there books like that for you?

For me, these are books that I haven't enjoyed. Maybe if I tried them again I would like them, but as for now, they're just not for me.

Gulliver's Travels (I understand that there are lots of satirical references in this book, and I do think that many of them--if not all--are still relevant, but I just don't like it.)

Sons and Lovers (I got a little icked out by it.)

An American Tragedy (I couldn't bring myself to finish)

Magic Mountain (I felt like this was just two people talking incessantly. I kind of wanted the characters to all die from TB so that the story would just end. I do feel like I should try re-reading.)

Don Quixote (I loooooooooooove Man of La Mancha. I did not love DQ. I do sometimes feel like I should re-read.)

The Sound and the Fury and Light in August (There are many Southern writers I like, but I can't get into Faulkner)

Madame Bovary (I couldn't feel any sympathy for her, and so I couldn't bring myself to feel bad for her.)

The Bridge of San Luis Rey

I'm sure there are others, but these are the only ones I can think of now. I don't feel like I am right about my opinion, and I would love nothing more than to enjoy these books. I will definitely give some of them another go. Are there books like that for you?