Weekend Assignment: Read It Again
Fresh when it gets here from
Julie Barrett
Friday, November 5, 2010
Some people like to read a book once, and then they're done. The plot is resolved and they know whodunnit, so it's time to move on to the next book. Other people reread a favorite book every few years, and still others keep it on their shelves in case they may want to read it again someday. Are you a frequent re-reader, an occasional one, or are you "one and done"? How do you decide what to reread, and when?
Haven't had much of a chance to participate in this lately, but this one is timely for me as I just exhausted the last new book in the stack and I'm up tonight with asthma issues. (Oh, I'll be fine. I started in on what I hope will become a new fitness routine today and I was over-enthusiastic. I just need to take it slow.) So yes, I frequently scour the bookcases for things to read again when I've hit the bottom of the TBR stack.
I also re-read books for research, or just to get a feel for particular time period. Sometimes a read a book a second time because I'm in awe of the story structure, world building, characters, prose, or some other element of the book. I'll read once to just enjoy the story, and another time to admire the details.
But mostly, I reread books because I enjoy them. A good book can be the literary equivalent of comfort food - without the calories!
Extra Credit: What was the book you reread?
What? Just one? My main comfort book is Dorothy L. Sayers' Busman's Honeymoon, but tend to reread the rest of the Lord Peter stories from time to time. I reread Sherlock Holmes stories often, too, as much for pleasure as I do for research. (I've adapted several of the stories for radio - and not by sticking them on a board and banging a nail through them, though the critics may say otherwise.)
Well, I'm going to try to go back to bed. And if I still can't sleep, then I'll find a book to re-read....
Tags: Weekend Assignment
Filed under: Weekend Assignment
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Karen Funk Blocher said:
I've discovered at least one online database of Sherlock Holmes stories; presumably they're finally out of copyright. A few times lately I've Googled some phrase from a story to check the quotation, only to end up rereading the whole story. My old Doubleday edition is musty and water-damaged (ahchoo!) but perhaps one day I'll work my way through the individual book reprints with the Paget illustrations.
Good luck with that sleep thing. It's hopeless (and a whole lot of no fun) trying to sleep when you can;t breathe!
Date: 11/5/2010 3:36:50 AM
Date: 11/5/2010 3:36:50 AM
Julie said:
I want to say that some of the very last stories may still be in copyright, particularly in the UK. Over 20 years ago someone put together an electronic edition of the Holmes canon. Essentially, it was all the stores then in the public domain on 5.25" floppies. Included were some tools for searching along with a handful of essays and reference materials either in the public domain or included with the permission of the authors. I want to say the thing ran close to a dozen floppies, plus the documentation. Now that's obsolete in so many ways from the physical format to the tools to the fact that you can find it all online now. I think I scraped together $100 for that edition. Of course, then I was working full time. Sigh.
Date: 11/5/2010 8:28:36 AM
Date: 11/5/2010 8:28:36 AM
Karen Funk Blocher said:
I've discovered at least one online database of Sherlock Holmes stories; presumably they're finally out of copyright. A few times lately I've Googled some phrase from a story to check the quotation, only to end up rereading the whole story. My old Doubleday edition is musty and water-damaged (ahchoo!) but perhaps one day I'll work my way through the individual book reprints with the Paget illustrations.
Good luck with that sleep thing. It's hopeless (and a whole lot of no fun) trying to sleep when you can;t breathe!
Date: 11/5/2010 3:36:50 AM
Date: 11/5/2010 3:36:50 AM
Julie said:
I want to say that some of the very last stories may still be in copyright, particularly in the UK. Over 20 years ago someone put together an electronic edition of the Holmes canon. Essentially, it was all the stores then in the public domain on 5.25" floppies. Included were some tools for searching along with a handful of essays and reference materials either in the public domain or included with the permission of the authors. I want to say the thing ran close to a dozen floppies, plus the documentation. Now that's obsolete in so many ways from the physical format to the tools to the fact that you can find it all online now. I think I scraped together $100 for that edition. Of course, then I was working full time. Sigh.
Date: 11/5/2010 8:28:36 AM
Date: 11/5/2010 8:28:36 AM
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