Time consuming re-read project

[Malkorion]

Where do you guys even find the time to do this?

Is there some special method you do this with, or you just read the books with an analytical pair of eyes and at a snail's pace?

How do you take notes?

A simple read through of these books usually takes anywhere from 1-2 weeks. Though I've read AFFC in 3-4 days, which surprised me.

Must be a daunting and draining task.

[Ygritte]

Sometimes I read a specific section looking for specific stuff, but every couple of years I just get the urge to do the whole saga again. I'm currently in the middle of ASOS. It does take a while; I've been at it since sometime last week. They do go quickly for books this huge, though, at least in my experience.

[xspicer89x]

I feel like each re-read i do gets a bit easier each time cause the overall storyarchs get engraved in my memory, so its much easier to remember the interactions between story archs. At the same time, I find it takes longer with each reread because your constantly uncovering details, links, and secrets that you have missed before (and especiially trying to rewirte your notes given the new information and its impacts).

I honestly my last 3 rereads are done in my downtime when im not busy with school or friends and stuff. The first time I read the books I got hooked instantly and it was like nothing I had ever read before. Got addicted like a drug fiend, could not put them down and spent every waking hour reading and ended up cranking all 5 out in a week. (LOL school suffered a little bit haha). And I missed ALOT the first time through. No notes or anything, just needing to read more and more of the story like an addict lol. For instance on the first read I was constantly waiting to find out who Jon Snow's mother was lol. The first reread was a couple months later and I made sure to actually read everything with an analytical eye and trying to keep in mind where the story was going, and how GRRM foreshadows in the early books (and how they subsequently play out in the books that have been published so far). I started keeping notes on major links that I had not previously seen, significant sentences of foreshadowing, or hidden facts like Old Nan's tales (notes were organized by character chapter number, so I could go back and do a single storyarch review if i wanted afterwards). I remember finishing book 1 on the reread and thinking to myself "damn, there's enough information in book 1 to know who Jon's mother is". I think the most important part in doing a reread is don't let yourself get carried away by the story like you did on your first time through; it takes patience and a lot of attention to boggle yourself down in the details lol.

I ended up doing the single character arch reread on my 3rd time through and highly recommend this AFTER doing a full reread. There is no benefit to doing a single character arc reread BEFORE if you're not entirely familiar with the overall structure of the story (the only exception being trying to examine a single character's personal development throughout the story). Anyways I found this method really informative and quite entertaining. It is also excellent for note building and getting into the minds of the characters you're getting to know.

The 4th and most recent reread I've done took from a couple weeks before season 4 aired up until about a week ago. Just prior to doing this reread I had rewatched all of the show (trying to pick up on potential spoilers and whatnot, and just getting a fast refresh of the overall masterpiece). Prior to that I had spent a couple months looking over the forums here and trying to get an idea of what other people thought (most specifically the single character story arch developments). I had set my sights on absorbing everything this time around and not speed reading through anything. Had my own personal notes from previous rereads and forum discussions, and before reading a chapter I would try to do a quick review of what happened previously to that character (or characters at a similar point on the timeline), and try to think of how this chapter impacts the future story archs of other characters as well.

It's only daunting and draining if you let it get to you or feel like there is some stress or major reason to do it. Most importantly it should be fun and entertaining not stressful. Just do whatever feels good for you, you know yourself better than anyone. Unless youre writting ASOIAF essays you shouldn't really feel any pressure or fear of doing a reread. Just try to consult timelines or character map movement or reviews of your previous chapter notes before beginning each chapter. Get a feel for what is going on where and when before and after each chapter As you go along the story gets engraved in your memory and youll find yourself writting more and more notes of potential links you pick up on and want to check out or confirm in later books.

[Mother Of Dragon]

What type of notes (besides dreams & foreshadowing) are you taking? Do you refer back to them alot or does it just help the details stick better?

[Rhaenys_Targaryen]

The type or re-read and the type of notes I take (and how I take them) completely depend on why I am doing a reread. Am I looking stuff up for a project? Am I looking stuff up to answer a question? Am I looking stuff up because I think I remember reading something, but I'm not totally sure anymore? Am I looking stuff up for a theory (making one myself or discussing those of another)? Or am I re-reading just for fun?

[Malkorion]

I've actually read AGoT twice (once in Hungarian and once in English), and the 2nd time around I've noticed some details more. I just had to take notes because of all the character descriptions, stuff that's been going on, people's actions, etc. Then it all comes together. These books are huge and not a single word is wasted. But I just wanted to read all of them so spoilers would stop.