Guest Post: The Mind of a Re-Reader

The Wife, here. Our resident blogger, whose fantasy football team outscored mine over the course of the season, is owed one blog post of his choice. The selected topic: Why I love to re-read and re-watch.

As long as I’ve known him, Husband has found the fact that I enjoy reading/watching the same things repeatedly to be a bit of an anomaly. Not that he never has a repeat viewing, but he prefers a significant chunk of time to pass before he is willing to go over the same territory again. Not so with me.

I have always had this habit. I come by it honestly – my father is the exact same way, although to a much greater extreme. We used to tease him that the only movies he watched were Twister, Independence Day and Moonstruck. On the reading side, he pretty much sticks with Lord of the Rings and the David Eddings “Belgariad/Mallorean” books.

You can get him to read/watch something new, but it often involves both cajoling and forcing him to sit down and give something a try.

I do read and watch new things. However, often when I am grabbing a book, it is to relax. My work is intense and takes a good deal of concentration. When I want to chill with a book, I often find myself reaching for something familiar – because I know exactly what “mood” it is going to invoke. Looking for something sweet and domestic with hints of sadness? Grab “Little Women”. Seeking a laugh? Terry Pratchett’s Discworld novels. The list goes on.

Part of what appeals to me, is that I know what is going to happen. I like to tell myself that I like surprises, but really, I am a frequent reader of spoilers. When I re-read/re-watch, I am prepared for what is coming. If I don’t want to see it/read it – it is easy enough to skip.

I also find that re-reading/re-watching gives me a deeper level of connection with a story. I tend to read quite quickly, so when I review something gain, I often pick up nuances that I missed the first time through, or I’m able to appreciate the way that the author or director laid the tracks for something that wouldn’t have been apparent on first review.

The irony of this, is that (also thanks to my Dad) I have a phenomenal memory for things that I have read/watched. Ironic because I, who seldom forget something I’ve seen or watched will re-read/re-watch over and over – while Husband, who rarely does so, often cannot recall specific details.

Dad was/is forever asking “who sang that” or “whose voice is that” and both I and Younger Sister have reams of useless trivia stuffed in our heads. Useless unless one is playing Trivial Pursuit, I should say. NEVER bet against me on the “Entertainment” squares. (Unless its music –that really isn’t my bag).

Classic example: Over the Christmas holidays, I played Trivial Pursuit with Husband, Younger Sister and Brother-In-Law. Sister was stumped on a question about A Christmas Carol (it was a bit of a trick question). To help her out, I advised her to “watch Muppet Christmas Carol in your head and you’ll figure out the answer” – which she did in about 30 seconds. Brother-In-Law declared us “weird” and he’s probably right.

Thinking about it, I guess it really all does come back to family. My parents, sister and I love nothing more than to quote at one another from our favourite TV shows/movies, etc. We can literally sit for an hour and quote back and forth from Monty Python, classic Musicals, the Simpsons, Friends, etc, etc.

Perhaps this is why Husband jokes that for Christmas/Birthdays/Anniversaries he is only going to buy me things that I already have. 