Thanks for this. I have an old essay on re-reading that I was considering revisiting for a post down the road. If you're a reader who keeps track/reading-lister, there's a built-in conflict: If I read an old book I'm not reading a new one. So the act of re-reading starts with valuing certain past books from our reading life . . . and as you (and Prose) say, there are various reasons that a particular book compels another look--sometimes you measure your own growth against a book in your deeper history, sometimes it's nostalgia, but sometimes it's not so much nostalgia as checking in with your inner circle of text, the ones that helped form you . . . I've found that sometimes I end up re-reading a book that I picked up just to have a re-taste of a certain voice. Or sometimes, after some time has passed, you go, Wait, how did she pull that off?? That's why I re-read Gone Girl. Also My Year of Rest and Relaxation. Sometimes it's just for pleasure--Normal People I read twice almost back to back.
Thanks for this. I have an old essay on re-reading that I was considering revisiting for a post down the road. If you're a reader who keeps track/reading-lister, there's a built-in conflict: If I read an old book I'm not reading a new one. So the act of re-reading starts with valuing certain past books from our reading life . . . and as you (and Prose) say, there are various reasons that a particular book compels another look--sometimes you measure your own growth against a book in your deeper history, sometimes it's nostalgia, but sometimes it's not so much nostalgia as checking in with your inner circle of text, the ones that helped form you . . . I've found that sometimes I end up re-reading a book that I picked up just to have a re-taste of a certain voice. Or sometimes, after some time has passed, you go, Wait, how did she pull that off?? That's why I re-read Gone Girl. Also My Year of Rest and Relaxation. Sometimes it's just for pleasure--Normal People I read twice almost back to back.