360 Listener List: What to Reread & Rewatch

A couple weeks ago, Kurt Andersen realized that he’d never read a book or seen a movie more than twice. The reasoning seemed clear: with so many great works (new and classic) to be discovered, life is just too short for revisiting old favorites. Right?

We wanted to test Kurt’s theory, so we asked: Are you an avid rereader / rewatcher? And if so, which works are worth a second look?

The answer was a resounding yes! — 70% of the people who answered our survey say they delight in revisiting work they’ve enjoyed before. Yourresponses present an interesting case study in the best-loved works of our time:

1. The Lord of the Rings, J. R. R. Tolkien

2. Jane Eyre, Charlotte Bront

3. Catcher in the Rye, J. D. Salinger
The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald
Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen

4. A Confederacy Of Dunces, John Kennedy Toole
Moby-Dick, Herman Melville
To Kill A Mockingbird, Harper Lee
War and Peace, Leo Tolstoy

5. The Harry Potter series, J. K. Rowling
A Prayer for Owen Meany, John Irving

When it comes to rewatching movies, the results aren’t so clear cut. Tied for #1 areBlade Runner(1982), Lawrence of Arabia (1962), and (you guessed it) the Lord of the Rings trilogy (2001-03). But from there, your picks are as varied as you are, with votes for films ranging from the Marx Brothers’ Duck Soup (1933) to Dr. Strangelove (1964), to Pulp Fiction (1998).

Many find comfort in revisiting the novels of their youth. “Childhood books take me away to simpler times,” explains Marnie from Menoken, North Dakota, who rereads Little Women every year. Others find “where there was once a girl who skipped ahead or missed the point, there is now a wiser woman who understands the nuances,” writes Joanne from Albuquerque, New Mexico. (Her pick isTo Kill a Mockingbird.)

Kevin from New Jersey writes, “I’ve re-read Catcher in the Rye about six times and each time have been amazed by how wrong I was the previous time about good old Holden. My opinion of him changed from inscrutable adolescent, to soul-mate, to wise man, to crazy person, and probably back. It provided a unique mirror for how I’ve changed or at least how my perspective has changed.”

For Jonathan from Rockville, Maryland, the choice is clear: “It’s better to commit Lear to memory than give Danielle Steele a try.”

Thanks again to everyone who wrote in.