Tuesday, October 9, 2012

Rereading

Yesterday I was reading something, and the writer mentioned pointed fir trees.
And immediately I was taken back to my old friend, The Country of the Pointed Firs by Sarah Orne Jewett. It's a lovely book, an old-friend-book. It lives in my home and in a little corner of my heart. Every couple of years I reread it.
I don't read as much as I should. I have friends who plow through new books at amazing rates, just as I have friends who knit ten prayer shawls while I plug away at one.
But ... I do reread. I reread a lot. I'd rather visit with my old-friend-books than make new-friend-books. Is that bad?
The Country of the Firs also has And Other Stories, and the other stories are excellent too, if shorter. It's a cluster of stories all vaguely connected by locale. When I went to Google to lift a photo of the book cover above, I found this! Oh, I love maps. And when I reread Jewett's book this fall, while the cool, autumnal air wafts in my window and the chilling rain drips from the pine trees, this time I'll also study the map.
Because there's really no such thing as reading. No one reading of a beloved book is ever like any previous reading, just as no afternoon or evening with a dear friend is exactly like another time with her. In each reading, I bring to the experience new realizations, new associations, new information (like a map!), which have bloomed in my mind since the previous reading. So this fall, Miss Jewett and I will sit down again and revisit each others' worlds.

Are you a rereader?

5 comments:

Pom Pom said...

You must have told me about this treasure. I loved it, too!
I DO reread my favorites, especially in the fall and winter.

Pom Pom said...

You must have told me about this treasure. I loved it, too!
I DO reread my favorites, especially in the fall and winter.

melissa said...

This book is on my past favorites list, but I've only read it once, and that was a few years ago. As to re-reading...oh, yes. Definitely yes.

Thistle Cove Farm said...

MK, I love this book and need to read it again. Are you familiar with Jeanne McMullen? She passed away in the last few years, was an Aussie who lived and worked in GB.
A Small Country Holding, Wind in the Ash Tree...she wrote another and all are delightful.

M.K. said...

Thank you, Sandra! No, I'd not heard of her, and I'll definitely add her to my list ... what am I saying? I don't really have a "LIST" of "books I plan to read," and I desperately need one! I do. Okay, off to find a spot where I can make that list before I forget!