Quote:
Originally Posted by HarryT
I'm curious. A question for those who never re-read: do you also never listen to a piece of music more than once? If you do, what's the difference with a book?
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It's quite simple really: effort/commitment vs. reward.
Revisiting, and enjoying, a three-minute favorite song requires almost no tangible effort on the part of the listener. It's (nearly) all reward and zero commitment. The music just
happens to me. Conversely, I can't really kick back, close my eyes, blank my mind and simply allow the contents of a narrative to wash over my senses. I must hold it, I must move my eyes across it's pages for hours/days—concentrate intensely to comprehend—all to experience a reward I've previously claimed. I'm not saying both experiences can't be
worthwhile, only that there's no real comparison between them for me. They use (and tickle) vastly different areas of my brain.
I tend not to re-read because the effort required in the attempt to re-capture the "magic,"
degrades that magic (for me). I feel my time is much better spent seeking out brand-
new literary experiences. Mileage will vary here.
I'm not saying I've
never re-read in the past, or that I never will re-read again, but it's going to have to be something pretty special—damn near epiphanic, more likely—to get me to take
that long of a break from my usual "
Never straight, but ever forward" reading philosophy.
And to answer the OP: yes. Even though I rarely re-read, it's still important to me to religiously strip the drm from, catalog, "shelve," and preserve each and every ebook I purchase. Why, one might ask? Because I'm still evolving. I used to enjoy re-reading when I was young and who knows?... maybe I'll re-acquire a taste for it in my dotage. I'd hate to be caught flat-footed, if so.
