One thing I really loved about reading was rereading. Isn't that crazy? Whenever I would finish a book, I always reread the end pages or chapters, especially when they were really happy endings. The feeling that you're at the end of someone's journey is bittersweet, and always takes more than one scan through.
That's what Gardiner talks about in chapter 2. She explains what it takes to be a good reader and that it is always okay to reread a passage in order to understand it. Sometimes, in fact, it's necessary. Usually a reader would think that having to read a book or a page more than once makes them stupid. But in reality, it just shows how much they want to understand the details and how much of the book they actually want to soak in. It's always really good to read over a text to understand it better. That's why I liked this chapter. It gave reason and value to rereading.
I feel the same way you do! My mother used to think I was crazy for rereading anything. She didn't understand that when I enjoyed a book, I liked to go through it again and again to follow the emotions and the plot of the book. A great piece of literature takes more than one reading to grasp all the finite emotions, ideas and messages. So we should stand tall as rereaders, and know that we're getting more out of texts than our one-time-reading counterparts.
ReplyDeleteThat is so funny because my least favorite part of a book is the end! I always feel so sad when I am done reading something I have been so connected to and have been enjoying so much. I don't want it to be over and as I am getting close to the end I read slower and slower but once it is over no matter how amazing or well concluded the ending may be I am angry and depressed because that connection is broken and I am bitter and would never choose to read purely the end over again! :) For me that would be torture!!
ReplyDelete