Fifty First Reads?

[heidi]

A friend of mine just said:
> We need a spell that'll erase only the contents of specifically > identified
> creative works from our brains, so that we can enjoy them over and > over.

And I replied:

Ok, this is where I get weird. And expect more of this in two days when we have only one book left.

I live in Miami and go to disney multiple times each year. But the first time on a ride is always an amazing thing - I know it'll have Disney's *spirit* but I don't know the details. Book 6 is like that - it'll have jkr's spirit and voice and 'tude, but I don't know the details of it. But once I've been on it I can look at the details the next time, as I've already been through the "sheer enjoyment for the sake of the sake of the thrill" round, and I can finally appreciate the nuance. I can't wait to go back on Mission:Space, and I want to feel, early next week, like I can't wait to reread Book Six, the way I always love rereading, say, PoA.

If it was all "fifty first dates" would we be able to hope for Draco's redemption or Snape's supposedly intriguing history to be revealed, or even subtextual snogs ? No, me, I'd rather be able to appreicate the thrill, then lose myself in the details.

I can't do a poll via sidekick, so I'll just ask which you'd prefer- "fifty first reads" (like the film 50 first dates) or the ability to go more into depth on each reread?

Comments

[earth-magic.livejournal.com]

I like to read the first time to get the general idea, then the second to pick up more, and the third even more. It's lovely to go back, read and think "Ohhhh, I didn't notice that before."

[angelamermaid.livejournal.com]

As enjoyable as the first read is, I prefer the ability to go mroeinto depth. Even as I'm enviously watching one of my LJ buddies read and enjoy the HP series for the first time.

[bekkio.livejournal.com]

I prefer the depth of rereading a book. I have a large stack of favorite books (including HP) that I've read more than 25 times before. I like getting the "a-ha" moment that rereads often bring. I'm always thinking about new ways to think about the books I adore so much. The first time experience is transitory, and for me, it's often lost in a haze of "omg, got to turn to the next page."

There's something very comforting about reading the familiar words of a book. That's what I enjoy. :)

[musikologie.livejournal.com]

I prefer the depth of rereading, although there's the sheer excitement of getting a new book and cracking open the spine for the first time that I really miss.

[sundancekid.livejournal.com]

I like being able to look at the details in-depth every time I reread. Even when you know the ending - good books hook you in every time.

[effervescent.livejournal.com]

With most books, I like the fact that I can go back and reread and discover things all over again, just with more depth and meaning and fun, from a slightly different angle each time. I know people who haven't reread the first books at all since OoTP came out, and I can't imagine that, in a way - I love rereading the earlier ones to see things from that angle, now that I know so much more from OoTP. There are times when I sit down and I wish that I could just discover it over again (this happens most of the time with PS, because the style was much more simplistic then and I have to be in the right mood for it), but most of the time I just love the pleasure of rereading. I always seem to discover or rediscover things during reading that leave me with more to discuss and love at the end of it. :D

[zhonnika.livejournal.com]

The ability to go into more depth. I love seeing movies again for this reason as I pick up on all the things I missed the first time!

[mogliecat.livejournal.com]

I prefer to go more in depth with each read. Sometimes, I'm so excited on the first read that I miss things.

[pinguthegreek.livejournal.com]

I didn't enjoy OOTP, so I still haven't reread it. But I did enjoy GOF enough to want to reread it straightaway. So I'm hoping for a humdinger of a story....

[sistermagpie.livejournal.com]

I get much more out of thinking about it and digging into it afterwards. The first time I know I'm not getting it enough. I hate the feeling with these books when I first read where I'm just trying to get to the end so I'm not able to think about things enough. That's much more fun.

[http://users.livejournal.com/_ladeda_/]

definitely rereads . .. .

[cleverthylacine]

Obviously I like reading for depth. :D

[zorb]

Depth, definitely. My favorite books (P&P, LotR) are the ones where I can pick up something new, or discover a new angle, every time I re-read them. A first read can make you like something; the next readings make you part of it.

[acciopotter.livejournal.com]

Detailed rereads, no question. I love, especially with a series like HP, rereading the book and seeing how things click into place, now that I know what the end result looks like. Reading a book for the first time is like doing a puzzle without seeing a picture of what it will be as a finished product. Every reread helps me see how the puzzle pieces were meant to fit together. I may not be making any sense; my brain is addled with the excitement of new canon!

[dragongirlg.livejournal.com]

Depth, no doubt about it. I'd be frustrated if I could never remember hints from each read to piece together to find another level. Besides, fifty first dates would get old.

[neviachiel.livejournal.com]

I've always thought it would be interesting to go back and experience the books under different conditions. For example, I read HP 1-3 right in a row, but I think it would have been interesting to see my reactions had I read them when SS was first published, or on the other side, after SS came out in theaters, just to see my thoughts on them. I've also thought that about LOTR. I read the books about a year before Fellowship came out in theaters, and it would be fun to see how I reacted to things if I had seen the movie first.

All this being said though, I'd still prefer to see something new everytime I read the book. Every time I read LOTR (or HP in some respects), I see something I didn't notice before. Besides, that way I can impress (or horrify) my friends and family when they see the extent of my knowledge. :P

[ivyblossom.livejournal.com]

Another vote here for rereading. No question.

[demosthenes42.livejournal.com]

Here from the Snitch, and thought I'd throw my opinion out there since I appear to be a huge minority. I'd want the '50 first reads', I think. See, the real draw the books have for me isn't the details themselves. It's the feeling, created by the details, that I'm hanging out in the wizarding world for a few days. And that feeling, for me, comes with reading new canon--with ideas and new characters and wizarding tricks that are so fresh and appealing that they can only be real, this world can only be real, and maybe if I just try it one more time I can summon my shirt from across the room. Once the ideas settle in my brain, it feels like that's where they came from all along, and the whole thing becomes a fantasy again. A wonderful fantasy, a clever and complicated and fulfilling fantasy...but I'm never really, truly there again. You know?

[airemay.livejournal.com]

Fifty first reads. :)

via Snitch

[lastminutegal.livejournal.com]

The first read for me, usually, is "what's next?" I have a long-standing tradition of reading the book all on the first day I get it.

The second reading is, as it is for so many others, about finding what I missed. It's like when I saw Batman Begins for a second time and noticed little campy things going on in the background that I absolutely loved. A second read gives me time to appreciate the world JKR created, and all the little nuances therein (St. Mungos, anyone?)

After that, I enjoy what I like to call 'selective reading'. I know the book so well, what with the repeated reads, my crazy good memory, and fandom discussion, that I can be like, "Hmm...I'm in the mood for some Sirius Black" and turn to 'The Most Noble and Ancient House of Black' and read from there.