I have re-read "The Call of the Wild" by Jack London (there is a movie coming out soon.) I read it as a kid, as a recall I struggled with it on two fronts, the brutality of the way the dogs are treated, and the vocabulary. Fifty years later, I am still taken aback by the brutality. But the words have so much more meaning, subtle layers of meaning.
Have you reread any books recently?
I read Call of the Wild many years ago but my memory of it is rather hazy. We have a similar book here called The Way of the Dingo (kind of a native dog). I bought a second hand book about 18 months ago that I read many years ago and then found it so exciting. It was much less so this time.
ReplyDeleteI have another re-read in the works, and a third one loaded on the Kindle for after that.
Deletethe only books I have re-read more than once are "gone with the wind" and "a christmas carol".
ReplyDeleteI have never read Gone With The Wind, should I?
ReplyDeleteit's fiction and I don't really read fiction. it's worth a read, like "to kill a mockingbird". the movie covered about 50% of the book's contents.
DeleteYou make a good point; some books should be reread. I get different things out of books at different times in my life. This is particularly true for Dickens. I reread my favorite books every 2-3 years.
ReplyDeleteI am on about my 10th reading of Walden
DeleteMy only re-reads are To Kill a Mockingbird and the eight (so far) books in Diana Gabaldon's Outlander series. They are masterpieces, but it's an investment in time--most are over 800 pages.
ReplyDeleteI tend to avoid long books
DeleteIt's funny, before I got my kindle I used to re-read books all the time. The library was my friend, even though I had to deal with being around people. Now, I have so many new books downloaded that I don't have the time to re-read. I used to re-read in the bathtub. Now, no baths no re-reading. On occasion I still whip out my old beat up paperback of The Outsiders. It still astonishes me that the author was only sixteen when she wrote it. I downloaded To Kill a Mockingbird, but it feels wrong to read it without the actual print book in my hands, go figure.
ReplyDeleteI just finished a print book, one of like three that I have read in the past year.
DeleteI read only printed books; I love the feel of a real book in my hands.
DeleteI can barely find the time to read books once, let alone re-read any. So no, I don't re-read books any more.
ReplyDeleteI am lucky that my commute affords me time to ready, while I ride.
DeleteI haven't re-read any books in years. I don't even watch that many movies twice to be honest. I think I might like to try Catcher in the rye again. I think I was too young the first time, I hated it, I don't think I understood it.
ReplyDeleteI should read that.
DeleteSo many in the past year and Call of the Wild was one of them. And I too found the brutality upsetting. I’ve also reread every Dickens book in the past two years and enjoyed all beyond belief except for the Pickwick Papers. Next are the Iliad and the Odyssey.
ReplyDeleteI don't know as I have ever finished a work by Dickens.
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