Is there a book you reread regularly? What makes it re-readable? Is it because it always stays the same -- or because it doesn't? (Stephen Marche's article "Centireading Force: Why Reading a Book 100 Times Is a Good Idea" may shed some light.)
I asked the lazyweb (a term I learned from Charlie Jane Anders) and got some interesting answers. This week I'll focus on poetry, memoir, and other nonfiction.
- At least parts of The Odyssey fairly often, in the Loeb Classical Library edition, trying not to forget my high-school Greek altogether. If nothing else, it lets me read the Greek verse aloud in my best schoolboy attempt to make the hexameter sound right. Thanks be to Athene, nobody can hear me.
- Leaves of Grass. Always finding something new. I think Walt's still fiddling with it from beyond.
- Mary Oliver's books of poetry. I get inspired and continue to learn to "see" through her eyes.
- Foods of the World series. First read in high school. Reading about food has done different things at different times in my life. In HS it was all about learning about other cultures. In college and grad school it meant stress relief. Now I read to understand these things that are past, and actually to gather recipes.
I have very narrow reading tastes (mostly whimsical, intelligent humor writing from 50 to 100 years ago, along with certain types of entertainment-biz memoirs and some erotica), so believe it or not I have trouble finding things to read. Books that stay in my collection on a permanent basis are those I know I'll enjoy rereading every 2–5 years (or rereading my favorite parts of—in many cases I've marked specific essays or stories). Given my perpetual quest to find books I'll enjoy, making time for the old favorites is not a problem.
Other titles mentioned: All Creatures Great and Small, Mostly People, Facing East, Landscape for a Good Woman, A Gift from the Sea.
Thanks, Dave Armstrong, Alicia Bailey, Andrew Braun, Heather Powell Browne, Inge-Marie Eigsti, Jonathan Caws-Elwitt, Gina Chen-Arms, Rebecca Hoogs, Kris Kanthak, Kathleen Kirk, Kyle Larsen, Steve Lawson, Andrea Lucard, Heather McHale, Josie Mills, Sarah Milteer, Emma Mitchell, Amanda Newman, Tonja Olive, Andrew Oppenheimer, Giselle Restrepo, Jim Risner, Paul Sampson, Sue Spengler, Sanjaya Thakur, Amanda Udis-Kessler, Joanne Uppendahl, David Weinstock, Sara Winters, Dina Wood, Nethery Wylie.
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