Great video with clear, direct, and various reasons for wanting to reread these books! I love how we can almost always reread books with a new context, whether that be narrative familiarity, improved literacy, age/experience, or knowledge about historical/philosophical influences (as you mentioned in this video). My desire to reread a book is this feeling like there’s something almost infinite in the emotional experience or themes. There’s a balance between satisfaction and eternal wonder. I get this feeling that I loved or appreciated the book, but “it isn’t through with me,” if that makes sense. 😅
I thought I was the only one who felt that way about Blood Meridian. I've read that book twice and attempted a third. Each time I could sense moments of brilliance, but like you, it did not coalesce in the ways I prefer. You have top-tier taste, my friend (in my heavily biased view, and I also don't drink alcohol, which is funny; maybe we need more drunkenness amidst our poise to appreciate these works). 🙏
Enjoyed listening to this. A suggestion on Blood Meridian is to consider listening to the audiobook, after you have read the book for the first time. I did this myself and a lot of the imagery of the desert landscapes and subtle character descriptions that McCarthy articulates really comes to life in a way that I didn’t fully capture the first time. It went from being a decent read to a truly exceptional piece of writing. Thanks for sharing all the great books you are reading!
I’m going to re-read “The Magic Mountain” by Thomas Mann. Apparently according to Thomas Mann it’s a book that needs to be read at least twice to get most of the story. So I'm planning reading it again in January while imagining the cold mountain as I be drinking a hot chocolate in the cold winter of England.
mostly I reread either out of nostalgia, longing to be put back into that mindset/atmosphere I remember having been in when reading a book for the first time, or because I hear/read an aspect someone else brings up where I go "huh, that just completely went over me, let me see if I agree upon reread":) love your dog:D & also love how you often invite to your uploads with a big smile on your thumbnail:D
I'm definitely most interested in re-reading Crime and Punishment. Similar to your story with Demons it was my first ever Russian novel and I read it before I tabbed/took notes on the books I read.
Also I would definitely recommend giving Blood Meridian another go. I'm definitely biased because I love McCarthy, but the incredible language and prose alone make it worth a read for me. I will say that I think starting McCarthy with Blood Meridian is a bad idea. If you do want to get into McCarthy I would recommend reading The Road or No Country For Old Men first.
I’ll definitely give McCarthy another try! And I think you’ll enjoy C&P more on your second read. I’d read some Nietzsche or explore his concepts and how those ideas surrounding morality/higher man relate to Raskolnikov in the novel
@@TheActiveMind1 I will definitely start giving Nietzsche more thought. I've been wanting to get into philosophy but It's definitely very daunting. I bought a copy of the Platonic Dialogues as an entry point and I do have a copy of The Myth of Sisyphus I just haven't dedicated myself to either yet. Reading Nietzsche seems like something I would need to do a little deeper into the journey, but that's me speaking with no experience.
Completely agree with you about Blood Meridian, boring with no plot, think I gave it 2 stars on Goodreads, I knew what excerpt you were going to read from it before you read it as that was my favorite dialogue from the book too. Maybe came too overhyped!
I recently read Blood Meridian for the third time, and I ended up liking it less. There is a lot of what I call "landscape writing" in it, which gets tedious if there is too much of it. I reread books for pleasure only.
I re-read Demons 3 times and it's incredible how it's become better at each read, there is so much I didn't seen in the first read
Thank you for uploading! Your videos always motivate me to go and read/write more!
Grateful to hear that!!
Great video with clear, direct, and various reasons for wanting to reread these books!
I love how we can almost always reread books with a new context, whether that be narrative familiarity, improved literacy, age/experience, or knowledge about historical/philosophical influences (as you mentioned in this video). My desire to reread a book is this feeling like there’s something almost infinite in the emotional experience or themes. There’s a balance between satisfaction and eternal wonder. I get this feeling that I loved or appreciated the book, but “it isn’t through with me,” if that makes sense. 😅
I agree! There’s always a new perspective or emotional experience a book gives us on each read
I thought I was the only one who felt that way about Blood Meridian. I've read that book twice and attempted a third. Each time I could sense moments of brilliance, but like you, it did not coalesce in the ways I prefer. You have top-tier taste, my friend (in my heavily biased view, and I also don't drink alcohol, which is funny; maybe we need more drunkenness amidst our poise to appreciate these works). 🙏
Haha good to know I’m not alone!
Camus is one of my favorites, and The myth of Sisyphus is in my all time top ten.
Enjoyed listening to this. A suggestion on Blood Meridian is to consider listening to the audiobook, after you have read the book for the first time. I did this myself and a lot of the imagery of the desert landscapes and subtle character descriptions that McCarthy articulates really comes to life in a way that I didn’t fully capture the first time. It went from being a decent read to a truly exceptional piece of writing. Thanks for sharing all the great books you are reading!
That totally makes sense! I’ll keep that in mind!
I’m going to re-read “The Magic Mountain” by Thomas Mann. Apparently according to Thomas Mann it’s a book that needs to be read at least twice to get most of the story. So I'm planning reading it again in January while imagining the cold mountain as I be drinking a hot chocolate in the cold winter of England.
I plan to read that next year as well - and likely mix it into a book club!
mostly I reread either out of nostalgia, longing to be put back into that mindset/atmosphere I remember having been in when reading a book for the first time, or because I hear/read an aspect someone else brings up where I go "huh, that just completely went over me, let me see if I agree upon reread":) love your dog:D & also love how you often invite to your uploads with a big smile on your thumbnail:D
honey mon! 🖤🐶
I'm definitely most interested in re-reading Crime and Punishment. Similar to your story with Demons it was my first ever Russian novel and I read it before I tabbed/took notes on the books I read.
Also I would definitely recommend giving Blood Meridian another go. I'm definitely biased because I love McCarthy, but the incredible language and prose alone make it worth a read for me. I will say that I think starting McCarthy with Blood Meridian is a bad idea. If you do want to get into McCarthy I would recommend reading The Road or No Country For Old Men first.
I’ll definitely give McCarthy another try! And I think you’ll enjoy C&P more on your second read. I’d read some Nietzsche or explore his concepts and how those ideas surrounding morality/higher man relate to Raskolnikov in the novel
@@TheActiveMind1 I will definitely start giving Nietzsche more thought. I've been wanting to get into philosophy but It's definitely very daunting. I bought a copy of the Platonic Dialogues as an entry point and I do have a copy of The Myth of Sisyphus I just haven't dedicated myself to either yet. Reading Nietzsche seems like something I would need to do a little deeper into the journey, but that's me speaking with no experience.
I reread after more life experience or background and always find I gain a lot more from the book
Books definitely resonate or emotionally move us in different ways during different times of our lives! Appreciate the comment!
Completely agree with you about Blood Meridian, boring with no plot, think I gave it 2 stars on Goodreads, I knew what excerpt you were going to read from it before you read it as that was my favorite dialogue from the book too. Maybe came too overhyped!
My guess is that it’s a good book but also overrated making it feel like it underperformed compared to expectations
I recently read Blood Meridian for the third time, and I ended up liking it less. There is a lot of what I call "landscape writing" in it, which gets tedious if there is too much of it. I reread books for pleasure only.
I definitely sensed the tedium on my first read 😅
Oooo what’s your dogs name? 🐾
Her name is Honey! I have another cockapoo named Dobie :)