Not about writing, but about reading.

Why can't you do both? (I'm assuming the free audio book is an authorized edition and not pirated.)

Why? Don't you ever re-read books? And you've indicated that one of the purposes of buying the book is to have it visible in your print library.

HourglassMemory said:

As of today I haven't re-read a single book I have read once.

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Really? I have favorites that are read every year or two. I'd never be able to do without my groaning bookshelves.
Linnea

HourglassMemory said:

As of today I haven't re-read a single book I have read once.

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That statement absolutely BLOWS me away.


Kevin, an avid re-reader.

I don't re-read, either.

My reasoning: if I know what's going to happen, I can't bring myself to get interested in the book. (I also don't re-watch movies.)

Heard Michael Dirda on the radio Sunday quoting Oscar Wilde: "If you can't read a book a second time, it isn't worth reading the first time."

I appreciate that comment, but I'm someone who reads for plot. I love stories -- and more specifically, I love surprising stories. If there is no surprise, then I can't muster up the concentration to stay with a book.

Besides, I find something new almost every week that I'm interested in at the bookstore.

I grew up in a family of readers. Dad and I re-read books all the time, but my mother never has. Now, at the ripe middle-age of *cough-cough*, I own thousands of books and my mother owns a bagful of books for trade at the used book store.

I think she's odd this way, but she's my mom and I'd have to beat upon the head and shoulders of anyone who criticized her.

HourglassMemory said:

As of today I haven't re-read a single book I have read once.
I guess I will buy the book instead.

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I can't imagine not re-reading books I've enjoyed! And you can't get away with the age excuse with me either. When my daughter was 18 I had to replace a couple of her favorite fantasy trilogies because she'd read the books so many times they were falling apart.

Lady Cat said:

I can't imagine not re-reading books I've enjoyed! And you can't get away with the age excuse with me either. When my daughter was 18 I had to replace a couple of her favorite fantasy trilogies because she'd read the books so many times they were falling apart.

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Not sure why it's a bad thing to not reread books. I didn't reread as a kid, don't as an adult. Just doesn't interest me for some reason. Not sure why. Maybe it's the same reason I don't buy DVDs. I can't imagine having a shelf of films that I've already seen.

I have a 4500-book collection. Last year I spent over $3000 in books. (I know that for tax purposes.) So I'm an avid reader to say the least -- I just want to discover new books, not rediscover old ones, I suppose.

HourglassMemory said:

No, it's not pirated.
But, once I heard it....It would seem kinda pointless to buy the book

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Reading a book and listening to it, to me, are two different things. I don't usually like listening to books, but I've done that a few times while going on a long drive... it's a good alternative to listening to music. But I still prefer reading it. To me, they work on different parts of my brain...

ishtar'sgate said:

Really? I have favorites that are read every year or two. I'd never be able to do without my groaning bookshelves.
Linnea

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Same here.. one of them is The Diary of Anne Frank. I've re-read that one every year since childhood. It always leaves me feeling.. I love to re read books that make me feel.

I can't imagine not re-reading.

HourglassMemory said:

I see more advantages on having the audio, which I can carry and so on, but then I don't have my book on my collection and instead of not being visible on the shelves, it's in my computer.

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It sounds as if there is some value in having a paper copy visible in your collection, even if you aren't going to re-read it. Maybe it's a nice reminder of what you've read, or a kind of living catalog, or a nice display for friends and family. Seems reasonable to me.

So the question is: How much does that matter to you?

If it matters enough, listen to the audio and buy a paper copy for your collection.

If it doesn't matter that much, just listen to the audio and don't worry about a paper copy for the collection.

Dale

When you read a book, you are given the opportunity to interpret what has been written any way you choose. When you have an audio book, you have given away that right to the person who is reading to you. I don't like having that taken from me, but I do enjoy the very rare occassion of listening to a book during a very long car trip.

I don't think there's anything wrong with not rereading books, but it's certainly not a matter of age (as anyone who's read a favorite book over and over and over to a three-year-old will know). However, this is an intellectual position, not at all something I grok viscerally.

What I really don't get is the value of owning books for someone who doesn't reread, unless of course you don't have a good library nearby. (Or have some disposable income and choose to buy as a way of sending more money to your favorite authors. I can't quarrel with that!)

In fact, though I am a confirmed and inveterate rereader, I owned comparatively few books before leaving for college (maybe 30, including several inherited ones) because the library two blocks away was excellent. Two decades later and without good library access, that number has increased fiftyfold.

Dichroic said:

What I really don't get is the value of owning books for someone who doesn't reread, unless of course you don't have a good library nearby.

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It's the same reason anyone collects anything. The stamp collector may pull out his collection once a year -- but he is comfortable with the knowledge that he has them.

Personally I like rooms full of books, I like the bookness of books, their objectness, and of course I love the pleasure of experiencing the sheer shock of a story the first time through. I love the fact that I own my favorite books and can let others borrow them.

"... the bookness of books"

I like that!

I don't think I think of my books as a collection, really, any more than I think of the windows in my house that way.

HourglassMemory said:

As of today I haven't re-read a single book I have read once.
I guess I will buy the book instead.

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So (and I don't mean this as criticism - I'm just trying to understand), the reason you keep books is so that you can have them on display for others, to show them what you like to read? In other words, it's all about showing off your tastes?

Do you ever give books away, or loan them out to others with no particular interest in getting them back?

chartreuse said:

So (and I don't mean this as criticism - I'm just trying to understand), the reason you keep books is so that you can have them on display for others, to show them what you like to read? In other words, it's all about showing off your tastes?
?

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I can't imagine not re-reading the many, many books I own. I have always read books and re-read books, both from my own collection and from the library. There is a certain satisfaction in re-reading a book and often I find small details that were not as evident in the thrill of the first read.

When I was first married my MIL accused me of having a huge bookcase filled with triple rowed books as "show" but I was able to honestly tell her that yes, I had read every single one of them, most more than once. And the bookcase was only part of all the books I own.