Up until very recently I was unlikely to read a book I'd already read. There were exceptions, of course. But my feeling was that there was a lot of stuff out there that I'd like if only I discovered it, and more was being published all the time.
I'm sure there are still undiscovered treasures out there, and some of them I'll get to, although I'm not in a hurry. As for new things coming out, there's probably some quality there too, but...Well, it seems to be an uphill battle to get something interesting and/or original out. So I'm selective on that front.
As far as nonfiction goes I'm always trying to learn new things, whether for research or just something to think about. And I'm more open to rereading old favorites now. They let me focus on what's important to me.
2 comments:
When it comes to rereading books I've been more likely to do so in recent years for two reasons. The first relates to the old saying 'that the book hasn't changed but the reader has'. It's interesting to see what new insights I've developed with passing time. The second is that if I really enjoyed a book the first time I'm happy to repeat the experience.
Living out of the mainstream as we do here where even cheap books are expensive I don't feel comfortable gambling on a purchase. Then there's the library where they've turned a lot of space that used to hold bookshelves into rows of computer terminals that's given them a reason to discard books. Browsing isn't much fun. I had some reasonable luck with interlibrary loans in Halifax but not here where the books I'm interested in reading are either unknown or there'll be a waiting time of months, sometimes many months. I'm far too impatient to tolerate that.
Since I like learning new things too I find I spend more time reading on the web than I ever could have envisioned myself doing. I do have a collection of non-fiction works but I really hesitate to buy more because most of them are only available on Amazon where they're invariably even more costly, probably because of smaller print runs and less general interest.
Nevertheless, if I'm stuck in a room with a book and a tv set I'll opt for the book.
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Jer wanted me to tell you: A New Thomas Pynchon Novel Is Coming This Fall - Featuring a Depression-era private eye, “Shadow Ticket” will be the 87-year-old writer’s first book since 2013.
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/09/books/thomas-pynchon-new-novel-shadow-ticket.html
That's also a salient point. Your vantage point can certainly change over the years. If you go back and read something again after a couple to a few years then you may pick something up that wasn't evident the first time. That's an added bonus to your enjoying it. Obviously if you enjoyed it the first time that's more of a hook for going in a second time.
As far as the library goes I'm very much reliant on interlibrary loans. The branch near me is a decent size but somewhat limited in its selection. How much of this is the presence of computer terminals and other gimmicks I don't know. Actually I have to admit to often using the computers when I'm there. I think they forget that when it comes to introducing kids to new things, a big part of that is just keeping around old things from before they were born. Anyway, interlibrary loans are a great good. As for buying books, I at least have to have some familiarity with the author.
I read a lot on the web as well. I try to make sure it's something that will get me thinking. It's become almost impossible to maintain the kind of attention span that was routine pre-2000. You want to at least foster your own interests.
You're probably making the right choice between the two.
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Shadow Ticket does look kinda promising. Or at least it has potential. Pretty wild that there are just a handful of photos of Pynchon, all from his early 20s. There's one floating around of him with grey hair and a mustache but it turns out they just computer-aged one of the old pictures.
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