tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13522238.post1278934079516419102..comments2024-03-28T17:53:43.541-04:00Comments on DarwinCatholic: Stories: What Happens or How You Get There?Darwinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08572976822786862149noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13522238.post-50267914587800816742012-10-01T23:59:56.263-04:002012-10-01T23:59:56.263-04:00Lisa, I'm sorry to say that I started To Say N...Lisa, I'm sorry to say that I started To Say Nothing of the Dog and never finished it, although everyone says it's delightful. I'll have to try it again. mrsdarwinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03446744635277205867noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13522238.post-52642740396984750422012-10-01T23:57:20.221-04:002012-10-01T23:57:20.221-04:00(lost my comment, trying again)
I haven't thou...(lost my comment, trying again)<br />I haven't thought of rereading Declare but may give it a 2nd listen if you say it plays well the 2nd time. On Jerome K. Jerome - it languishes on my Kindle awaiting a first read. But I only know of it from the excellent homage embedded in To Say Nothing Of the Dog by Connie WIllis. If you can handle time-travelling historians, give it a go. Lisahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13163585803665511746noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13522238.post-55082926702028884182012-10-01T23:30:27.011-04:002012-10-01T23:30:27.011-04:00I am an inveterate re-reader, and generally will n...I am an inveterate re-reader, and generally will not purchase a work of fiction if I'm not convinced that it's worth re-reading. (I've been wrong on this -- Girl With A Pearl Earring is gathering dust on the shelf, uncracked since the day I finished it.) And spoilers don't bother me, though I find that I read differently if I think I know what the ending is, and indeed have mis-read several books that way. Silence, by Shusako Endo, comes to mind; years before I read the whole book, I'd flipped it open, read a few pages in the second half, and came away with an incorrect idea about where the book was heading. And that's why I'm always flummoxed when I hear of people reading the last pages before reading the beginning of a book. Spoilers are different -- the person telling you may have details wrong, or even if they're correct about the plot, they don't have the authorial voice, and so the events aren't "real" until you read them in the author's own words. <br /><br />A novelist who doesn't bear re-reading will fall out of fashion and out of favor. I slogged through John Galsworthy's whole Forsyte Saga -- all nine volumes! -- but I wouldn't re-read it; it was too tedious and dated the first time around. On the other hand, Three Men in a Boat by Jerome K. Jerome will never grow old. The can of pineapple is even funnier when you know it's coming up. Declare, by Tim Powers, is one of those where knowing the ending makes re-reading very rewarding -- I think I've read it at least three times.mrsdarwinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03446744635277205867noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13522238.post-26310748030166006602012-10-01T22:27:14.438-04:002012-10-01T22:27:14.438-04:00I'm completely spoiler-immune myself; I actual...I'm completely spoiler-immune myself; I actually enjoy stories better if I already know how they end.<br /><br />I think the best test for good writing, though, is whether people will read it again and again, and this generally requires that the story not be spoiled if we know how it ends. And I think, even setting this aside, some stories are structured so as to require knowing how the story ends for full enjoyment -- Flann O'Brien's <i>The Third Policemen</i> is an even better story on second reading, although that's partly because the story is completely baffling until you realize the significance of the ending.Brandonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06698839146562734910noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13522238.post-59598408268440041702012-10-01T17:06:37.055-04:002012-10-01T17:06:37.055-04:00I don't know what I think of your question; a ...I don't know what I think of your question; a little like considering a second reading. If you reread an old favorite, you can do it when you've forgotten the details (like new again) or you can read it knowing exactly where it goes but enjoying the journey. <br /><br />I recently discovered Trollope via Audible and have read both The Warden and Barchester Towers. I had a similar startle when reaching the section you quoted - all the more striking when read aloud. You feel very connected to Trollope when listening to the audio book because of his narration style. <br />Lisahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13163585803665511746noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13522238.post-1305416373925537842012-10-01T15:31:44.480-04:002012-10-01T15:31:44.480-04:00I try to read books where I care more about the jo...I try to read books where I care more about the journey than the destination. Destination books that are ruined by finding out what happens at the end are oft shallow, poorly written and/or gimmicky. I'm sure there are exceptions, but none are occurring to me at the moment!Amberhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12689104216675201913noreply@blogger.com