Quote:
Originally Posted by rkomar
What about the joy of the presentation that many re-readers experience? Do those who don't re-read miss that? Does the language or characterizations not move you a second time? It would be interesting to know just how different some of us are.
|
For me, if I haven't forgotten most of the specific details, I find myself with an uncomfortable sense of deja vu while re-reading that is highly distracting. (Obviously, it's not the same as deja vu, but it's the closest thing I can think of to describe the feeling.) I can recall the major plot points, of course, but it's the little things that have the potential to screw me up when trying to re-read. Helen says she gets "bored and edgy" and that's pretty close to what it does to me - I become disengaged, distracted, and mentally edgy because my brain runs off trying to grasp on to something it remembers and trying to fill in the blanks, whether I want it to or not.
It took 8 years before I could start re-reading Harry Potter (I never read the last one, so previously I had left off at Half Blood Prince), and I still had several moments where I had to force myself through certain parts because of this.
For me, presentation can't be enjoyed separately, so if any part of the reading experience is hampered, style isn't going to carry me through.
Edited to add:
Quote:
Originally Posted by HarryT
I have to admit that it baffles me. It would be like never listening to a piece of music that you enjoyed again, or never eating your favourite food again, on the grounds that there are so many other foods that you haven't eaten yet  . |
I experience music in a completely different way than I experience books. For me, they are not at all comparable.
Books are unique for me. Closer, perhaps, to movies, but still not the same.