Rereading
One of the memes going around the blogosphere has to do with books and reading — which book you’d take with you if you were stranded on a desert island, which book made you laugh/cry and which book you keep coming back to to re-read.
Rereading is an interesting phenomenon. Why do we re-read? It’s obviously not for content. (Well, I suppose it sometimes is, if we are teaching the book and forget the characters’ names…*clears throat*). However, I imagine we re-read in part to take us back to the past moments in which we read the book in the first place. Is this the sort of thing we do with songs as well? Listening to music from our “golden days”?
What do you think? What books have you found yourself going back to and why do you think this is?
August 16th, 2006 at 11:40 pm
One of my favorite books (in the past) is a book by Pat Conroy called “Beach Music”. I have read this book more than a few times. Mainly because I really enjoy the main character and understand him and relate to him. I have stopped re-reading the book though and don’t feel a need to return to it. I wonder if this means that I’ve grown and my personality doesn’t relate to the character? Hmmm.
Other books that I enjoy rereading are:
1- Lord of the Rings
2- Microserfs
3- Harry Potter
4-Wheel of time books (although I have stopped reading these. too frustrating)
I do note that my favorite books of all time I don’t tend to re-read. I find this fact interesting. I wonder why that I don’t feel compelled to re-read the books I have enjoyed the most? Hmmmmm
August 17th, 2006 at 8:35 pm
Thanks for sharing, David. That is interesting that you don’t re-read your favourite books of all time. I find that there are so many things I haven’t yet read that I really want to read that I don’t often re-read — and if I do it’s often favourite literature or children’s books.
August 17th, 2006 at 9:52 pm
1) I re-read books now because of my age–there are many seminal books I read 30 years ago. To read them again now yields lots of new insights, because I’ve changed and the world has changed and so there’s lots of new applicability.
2) I never stop re-reading Lord of the Rings, the Silmarillion, and other Tolkien myth-cyle works. They don’t get old.
August 18th, 2006 at 12:27 am
Wheel of time huh?
I read most of those me-self!
I have enjoyed the Sword of truth Fantasy series, but have not reread them at all, though when book 11 comes out in another year and a halof or so, I think I may reread the whole series again just before.
I have read the Chronic (what?) kulls of Narnia series (SNL anyone?) two times. Once when I was 13, and later when I was 31.
I rewatch movies, but rarely reread anything.
hmm
August 18th, 2006 at 6:15 pm
I just finished re-reading Stones from the River by Ursula Hegi. All three times I’ve read it, it has been for pleasure–I get sucked in to the story and the characters. The time period and setting (WWII Germany; there’s a side storyline about those who harbored Jews) really fascinate me, too. Each time I’ve read it, I do notice different connections and insights. I guess it takes me longer than some to get to the “literary”/scholarly level of making deeper connections and analysis.
August 18th, 2006 at 11:09 pm
Mr T has re-read a few books, sometimes it can be trashy fantasy like the Sword of Truth series or Forgotten Realms or something, and Mr T re-reads to bring himself up to speed on the plot before getting the new one.
When Mr T re-reads Lord of the Rings, it is probably like Ash said, it brings Mr T back to when he was just a little T and reading it for the first time. Although, Mr T sometimes just reads certain chapters over again becaus they are so well written. In particular the last two chapters of the Return of the King, as there was something about them that was just phenomenal in Mr T’s humble yet non foolish opinion.
That, though, is a different type of reading. Reading of brain candy is simple and quick, but reading of something like LOTR or more serious novels Mr T takes his time and savours the writing.
Mr T
Hard on the outside and soft on the inside, like a big cuddly bear (a big cuddly bear armed with explosives and machine guns)
August 19th, 2006 at 12:09 am
That’s gotta be one of the best Mr T comments yet
.
August 21st, 2006 at 5:20 pm
Katie, you’re awesome…I LOVE Ursula Hegi. Given the fact that I’m a slow reader, I need books that are written so beautifully that each and every sentence is a joy to read. Ursula Hegi provides that in every book she’s written. So, I’ve re-read both Stones from the River and The Vision of Emma Blau. Also, I’m just starting to re-read Gabriel Garcia-Marquez’ One Hundred Years of Solitude. The ending just gives me chills…it’s totally worth the re-read.
Also, I’m almost done reading all of Steinbeck’s books, so once I’m done, I’ll be starting all over.
August 22nd, 2006 at 2:44 pm
I re-read Jan Karon’s Mitford books, because I need a mental vacation to the hills of North Carolina–and their people– periodically.
August 22nd, 2006 at 4:25 pm
I re-read Bill Bryson, because you can read it in small chunks and it doesn’t use up much energy from my tired brain.
Other than that, my only other re-read is sadly the instruction manual for the dishwasher.
August 24th, 2006 at 1:53 am
Now that you’ve reflected on books, I’ve tagged you to answer the questions.