Did you go to see the Hunger Games movie last weekend? I saw it Thursday night (my reactions here), and once I got home, I had to flip through my copy of the book to see what liberties the filmmakers had made with dialogue and plot. As it turned out, this was a rather bad idea because I got sucked back in and ended up spending the entirety of my weekend rereading the entire trilogy (yes, even Mockingjay).
This may not seem that strange to many of you, but for me, it was an exception. Since I started book blogging in 2008, I have only reread one other book (A Wrinkle in Time). I just have too many other commitments to justify reading a book I've already read. But I simply could not stop myself.
And now, I have to admit, I understand the value of a reread. While rereading The Hunger Games, I caught a lot of little things that I couldn't have the first time around. For example, was it by design that the first time Rue approaches Katniss at training, Katniss is holding a spear? As someone who has written and revised a novel now, I think it must be. It's kind of a brutal poetic symmetry that Rue dies in front of Katniss, pierced by a spear.
In general, the reread gave me a greater appreciation for Collins' craft - the genius way she put parts together. A first read may be more thrilling, but a careful second read allows words and ideas to resonate more fully. Case in point: I am currently caught up in the idea of Peeta as Katniss' dandelion, and all that symbolizes, in a way I wasn't before.
Will you reread The Hunger Games? Have you? What other books do you count among your favorite rereads?
One of my favorites, before my book blogging days, was Connie Willis' The Doomsday Book. I have read my mass-market paperback so many times, it's practically falling apart. I love the blend of time travel with historical fiction (the plague!). The plot is clever and well-executed and the characters burrow so deep into my heart, I cry each and every time I read it. I may well find myself rereading it again soon ...
This may not seem that strange to many of you, but for me, it was an exception. Since I started book blogging in 2008, I have only reread one other book (A Wrinkle in Time). I just have too many other commitments to justify reading a book I've already read. But I simply could not stop myself.
And now, I have to admit, I understand the value of a reread. While rereading The Hunger Games, I caught a lot of little things that I couldn't have the first time around. For example, was it by design that the first time Rue approaches Katniss at training, Katniss is holding a spear? As someone who has written and revised a novel now, I think it must be. It's kind of a brutal poetic symmetry that Rue dies in front of Katniss, pierced by a spear.
In general, the reread gave me a greater appreciation for Collins' craft - the genius way she put parts together. A first read may be more thrilling, but a careful second read allows words and ideas to resonate more fully. Case in point: I am currently caught up in the idea of Peeta as Katniss' dandelion, and all that symbolizes, in a way I wasn't before.
Will you reread The Hunger Games? Have you? What other books do you count among your favorite rereads?
One of my favorites, before my book blogging days, was Connie Willis' The Doomsday Book. I have read my mass-market paperback so many times, it's practically falling apart. I love the blend of time travel with historical fiction (the plague!). The plot is clever and well-executed and the characters burrow so deep into my heart, I cry each and every time I read it. I may well find myself rereading it again soon ...
