Book worming revisited
I have three different books going right now. Well, actually four if you include the one that I only read while Sophie chows in the morning. I don’t like the book but part of me needs to know how it turns out. Sick huh?
I am re-reading a book by my favorite author; James Lee Burke. I got my dad hooked on him so he’s reading the whole collection right now. I first fell in love with Burke’s writing when I picked up a copy of “In the Electric Mist with the Confederate Dead”. It’s a marvelous and haunting tale (literally). Burke’s writing is very beautiful, descriptive, yet fast paced.
I recently sent a letter to the editor of a book magazine. His editorial in the last issue was about re-reading books and that he personally doesn’t do it very often. He finds that most books aren’t as good the second time around. But he knows that many people out there will re-read stories all the time. Some people will read a certain story every year. I agreed with him for the most part. I think the major reason for not picking up a book a second time is that the magic of discovery and surprise is gone. We know what happens.
And some of the great books that change us, move us, or bring us to laughter or tears could never do so again because that surprise is gone.
I have re-read only a few books. “Great Gatsby” – which the editor and I both agree is a book you can re-read mostly because as we grow older we collect more experiences and can relate to this book on a different level every time. I have also read the George R.R. Martin series “Song of Ice and Fire” a couple of times. Mainly because an ungodly number of years passed between books. I can remember a lot of the story but not enough to feel comfortable picking up the next volume. And now I am re-reading the James Lee Burke story.
Thankfully doing so has not ruined anything for me. I am as deeply in love with the author’s prose as I was 10 years ago. The same actually goes for the George R.R. Martin series. Even though the element of surprise and wonder are gone the style is so fabulous that I get carried into the story just as easily the second time around.
I have always hesitated to read any book through a second time just for the fact that I don’t want the magical memories to be tarnished. But both author’s are so exceptional that everything is just as bright and beautiful the second time around.
Are there books you have read more than once? Just curious.
3 comments:
See, in my mind, re-reading a book isn't that different from watching a favorite movie a second (or third, or a hundredth) time. Knowing the storyline takes away the initial excitement, but it's the writing that draws you in. I'm a big re-reader, especially for series that have been going on for years (and have gaps between novels that span years - hello, Robert Jordan) where I need to reread the series before buying the new book, just to remember the story line. Besides that, I'm guessing I've reread "The Lord of the Rings" a few dozen times at least.
There are some authors who I can read again and again. It's like revisiting an old friend.
On the other hand, the author of the article is correct in that some author's works really don't stand up to multiple reads as I've found to my dissapointment.
You know, since we're discussing re-reading books that we were assigned to read back in high school, here's something I'm curious about: which books that you were assigned to read back in high school would you like a chance to read again? Which ones did you absolutely hate, and why? Was it just because of the time limit, and the impending pop quiz associated with it, or was the book itself poorly written?
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