I read. If it has letters, words - I voraciously digest it. Sometimes repeatedly.
I occasionally re-read several of my favourite books; but I regularly re-read two of my favourite authors - Ayn Rand and Jane Austen.
This week, I am spending my free minutes re-reading (for perhaps the 50th time), Pride and Prejudice. I made a purchase at Amazon.co.jp last week, and decided to throw into the order a new copy of the book, as the one that is sitting on my shelf is so well-thumbed as to be, well, unreadable!
Not that I am a traditionalist, but...I am a traditionalist. I haven't yet seen the 2005 movie (with Keira Knightly) of Pride and Prejudice; I may rent it sometime, but very few movie adaptations of my favourite novels have succeeded in my eyes (the BBC Pride and Prejudice I loved!).
Pride and Prejudice, as all of Austen's 6 full-length novels (which I also occasionally re-read), operates on many levels - social commentary, position of women in society, etc.; but when I re-read this favourite novel, I just love to laugh at the irony and to lose myself in the blissful ignorance of happy endings. I read the novel for the sheer pleasure of the story, and that is what I am enjoying now.
Well, back to the book - I wonder what's gonna happen next?
2 comments:
Rereading good books is one of life's little pleasures. It always surprises me when I find things which I had forgotten or never noticed before. For my own part I tend to reread SF - Herbert, Gibson. Scott-Card but sometimes make room for Hardy (Tess of the d'Ubervilles breaks my heart) and Hemingway (how's that for an odd grouping?).
I just re-read Tolstoy's ANNA Karenina. Always see something new when I re-read. He is a great social commentator, and also really nails the little personality quirks of each of the characters in widely varying age groups.
Now, I need to get out the old Pride and Prejudice again...
I agree about the film adaptations. Often they are hard for a real reader to watch!
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