Rereading favorites

I have a question for those of you who consider yourselves avid readers.


Do you go back and reread a favorite book?


I ask this because I've been derided in the past by people--some of whom claim they are avid readers, themselves--because I'll go back and reread a book I particularly enjoyed. Their response is, "Why? What do you think you'll get out of it that you didn't the first time?"


I usually respond, "Do you only listen to a song you like only once?" The usual reply is, "No, but that's different." I'm not sure how it's different, and no-one has been able to explain it to me so far. I've taken a lot of crap from people because of this--for some reason people seem to think it's a character defect or something.


To me, rereading a treasured book, like The Lord of the Rings, is like dropping in on old friends that one hasn't seen in a long while. Sure, I know what's coming, and there won't be any surprises, but somehow that makes it more pleasurable for me, not less. I don't necessarily read it for the plot, but for the characters I love.


So, to restate the question--do you reread books? Why or why not?