Re-reading some, banishing others from the bookshelf
Every few years, I find myself re-reading old favorites from my bookshelf: books of impeccable essays by E.B. White, Mark Helprin鈥檚 otherworldly 鈥淲inter鈥檚 Tale,鈥� or classic children鈥檚 books from L.M. Montgomery鈥檚 鈥淎nne of Green Gables鈥� to Susan Cooper鈥檚 鈥淭he Dark Is Rising.鈥�
So I wasn鈥檛 surprised, when listening to a radio interview, to learn that rock-star librarian Nancy Pearl has her own list of books to regularly revisit (she favors Ross Thomas and Evan Connell). But it intrigued me even more to hear her case that there is no such thing as truly re-reading: that 鈥渆very time you read a book, you鈥檙e a different person,鈥� approaching the text with the perspective of an older age and different experiences.
Pearl also noted another important category: books better left unread. She remembered assigning Walker Percy鈥檚 鈥淭he Moviegoer鈥� to a class, years after it had resonated with her, and finding it appealed to no one 鈥� including herself. She had to wonder, 鈥淲hat was so meaningful to me at that age that is no longer meaningful to me now?鈥� Certain books and authors (the name Bret Easton Ellis was invoked) are 鈥渙f their time, and that鈥檚 when you should read them, and you should be exactly the right age to read them, otherwise they鈥檙e useless.鈥� That reconfirms my resolve not to re-open Ayn Rand鈥檚 鈥�Atlas Shrugged,鈥� so many years removed from my high school days.
Interested in hearing more of that conversation? Here鈥檚 a with Pearl on Seattle鈥檚 KUOW radio. I鈥檇 love to hear which books you鈥檙e re-reading, and which ones you鈥檙e permanently laying to rest.
Rebekah Denn writes at .
