{"id":319,"date":"2016-07-07T10:33:00","date_gmt":"2016-07-07T10:33:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.holdsuponhappiness.com\/index.php\/2016\/07\/07\/to-reread-or-not-to-reread\/"},"modified":"2020-10-28T02:44:25","modified_gmt":"2020-10-28T02:44:25","slug":"to-reread-or-not-to-reread","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.holdsuponhappiness.com\/index.php\/2016\/07\/07\/to-reread-or-not-to-reread\/","title":{"rendered":"To Reread Or Not To Reread"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/a><\/div>\n

This past weekend we went to visit my grandmother. \u00a0I try to visit regularly but it has been a while since the whole family has made it in to see her. \u00a0This time I brought my laptop so I could show her the pictures from our trip to London back in April. \u00a0She used to love to travel and was very into photography before she had her stroke so I thought she would enjoy seeing the pictures. \u00a0I was right, she did enjoy it but finally, after about the five millionth picture of a bookshop she looked at me and asked “but what do you do with all these books? \u00a0You buy them and read them, but what then? \u00a0Do you just give them away?” \u00a0She was confused by my choice to buy souvenirs that I would not hold onto, that I would just give away again. \u00a0I explained to her that I would keep the books but she found that just as baffling. \u00a0Why would I keep a book I had already read?<\/p>\n

Now, my grandma is a reader. \u00a0She has always had a stack of library books on her end table and she trades books with my aunt. \u00a0She is a reader but she doesn’t own books. \u00a0There are no jam-packed bookshelves, no old favorites that she goes back to again and again. \u00a0Once she has read a book she is done with it. \u00a0I suppose there are many people who look at books that way but I am the exact opposite.<\/p>\n

If I love a book I want to read it over and over. \u00a0I want to submerge myself in the story and get to know the characters better on a second reading. \u00a0I want to notice details and connections I missed the first time through. \u00a0I simply want to revel in knowing what is going to happen and in anticipating my favorite parts.<\/p>\n

As I have gotten older and the internet has made more and more books easily accessible I don’t reread quite as often. \u00a0Some days, however, only an old favorite will do. \u00a0I want to sit in the attic and munch on apples with Jo March. I want to walk to Netherfield Park with Elizabeth Bennett. \u00a0I want to dance at a ball in Regency times. \u00a0I want my old friends to comfort and soothe me.<\/p>\n

Some books I have read so often that I can recite whole sections of them. \u00a0As a teenager, I memorized an entire swathe of Pride and Prejudice.<\/i> \u00a0My dad occasionally still makes me recite it just to see if I can. \u00a0What can I say, we are a family that is easily amused. \u00a0Despite those feats of memorization, I don’t have the best memory. \u00a0Wording I particularly enjoy may stick in my head but whole plot points manage to evaporate. \u00a0Maybe that is a reason why I don’t mind rereading books. \u00a0There is always going to be something I don’t remember and sometimes that is something vital like who the murderer is. \u00a0I suppose it is a bit of a contradiction. \u00a0I remember and love books but at the same time, I don’t always remember them clearly. \u00a0I think I am grateful for that. \u00a0I can reread books and somehow they are still brand new.<\/p>\n

The two books I have read most often are probably Little Women<\/i> and Pride and Prejudice.<\/i> I am not sure how often I have read them, I wish I had kept track of my reading when I was younger. \u00a0It must be twenty times at least but honestly, I am just guessing. \u00a0It could be more. \u00a0I read them a few times a year for years and years on end. To read them again is like coming home.<\/p>\n

Even when I read a book for the first time and I really love it, I also know that I will probably love it more the second or third time around. \u00a0The first time I am galloping through, caught up in the story, desperate to get to the end to find out what happens. \u00a0The subsequent times I slow down and notice more. \u00a0I sink into the story instead of skating on the surface. \u00a0I love to reread.<\/p>\n

My grandmother also asked why I had to go all the way to England to buy books. \u00a0I am just a baffling grandchild.<\/p>\n

Are you a rereader? \u00a0What book have you reread most often?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This past weekend we went to visit my grandmother. \u00a0I try to visit regularly but it has been a while since the whole family has made it in to see her. \u00a0This time I brought my laptop so I could show her the pictures from our trip to London back in April. \u00a0She used to love to travel and was very into photography before she had her stroke so I thought she would enjoy seeing the pictures. \u00a0I was right, she did enjoy it but finally, after about the five millionth picture of a bookshop she looked at me and asked “but what do you do with all these books? \u00a0You buy them and read them, but what then? \u00a0Do you just give them away?” \u00a0She was confused by my choice to buy souvenirs that I would not hold onto, that I would just give away again. \u00a0I explained to her that I would keep the books but she found that just as baffling. \u00a0Why would I keep a book I had already read? Now, my grandma is a reader. \u00a0She has always had a stack of library books on her end table and she trades books with my aunt. \u00a0She is a reader but she doesn’t own books. \u00a0There are no jam-packed bookshelves, no old favorites that she goes back to again and again. \u00a0Once she has read a book she is done with it. \u00a0I suppose there are many people who look at books that way but I am the exact opposite. If I love a book I want to read it over and over. \u00a0I want to submerge myself in the story and get to know the characters better on a second reading. \u00a0I want to notice details and connections I missed the first time through. \u00a0I simply want to revel in knowing what is going to happen and in anticipating my favorite parts. As I have gotten older and the internet has made more and more books easily accessible I don’t reread quite as often. \u00a0Some days, however, only an old favorite will do. \u00a0I want to sit in the attic and munch on apples with Jo March. I want to walk to Netherfield Park with Elizabeth Bennett. \u00a0I want to dance at a ball in Regency times. \u00a0I want my old friends to comfort and soothe me. Some books I have read so often that I can recite whole sections of them. \u00a0As a teenager, I memorized an entire swathe of Pride and Prejudice. \u00a0My dad occasionally still makes me recite it just to see if I can. \u00a0What can I say, we are a family that is easily amused. \u00a0Despite those feats of memorization, I don’t have the best memory. \u00a0Wording I particularly enjoy may stick in my head but whole plot points manage to evaporate. \u00a0Maybe that is a reason why I don’t mind rereading books. \u00a0There is always going to be something I don’t remember and sometimes that is something vital like who the murderer is. \u00a0I suppose it is a bit of a contradiction. \u00a0I remember and love books but at the same time, I don’t always remember them clearly. \u00a0I think I am grateful for that. \u00a0I can reread books and somehow they are still brand new. The two books I have read most often are probably Little Women and Pride and Prejudice. I am not sure how often I have read them, I wish I had kept track of my reading when I was younger. \u00a0It must be twenty times at least but honestly, I am just guessing. \u00a0It could be more. \u00a0I read them a few times a year for years and years on end. To read them again is like coming home. Even when I read a book for the first time and I really love it, I also know that I will probably love it more the second or third time around. \u00a0The first time I am galloping through, caught up in the story, desperate to get to the end to find out what happens. \u00a0The subsequent times I slow down and notice more. \u00a0I sink into the story instead of skating on the surface. \u00a0I love to reread. My grandmother also asked why I had to go all the way to England to buy books. \u00a0I am just a baffling grandchild. Are you a rereader? \u00a0What book have you reread most often?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":875,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-319","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-thoughts"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.holdsuponhappiness.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/319","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.holdsuponhappiness.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.holdsuponhappiness.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.holdsuponhappiness.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.holdsuponhappiness.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=319"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.holdsuponhappiness.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/319\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2817,"href":"https:\/\/www.holdsuponhappiness.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/319\/revisions\/2817"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.holdsuponhappiness.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/875"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.holdsuponhappiness.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=319"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.holdsuponhappiness.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=319"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.holdsuponhappiness.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=319"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}