The rereading project

I'm just calling it a project because it's fancier that way.

I fell into a reading slump in late spring, which is a very discomforting state for me, and I did a few things to try to get out of it. I read a sci-fi book about intergalactic financial systems, which wasn’t really my thing but was different and enjoyable in a new way. I also abandoned my plan to read the International Booker Award longlist, because it felt like a chore rather than a fun challenge. What worked the best, though, was rereading.

Rereading books, especially ones you have a deep nostalgia for, can be risky - what if the magic is gone? But so far, the project (read: whim) has gone well.

I reread Salinger every few years, so that wasn’t taking too big a risk. I know there are valid criticisms of his work, but I love his characters. I picked up a new-to-me edition of The Catcher in the Rye at The NewSouth Bookstore while on a quick trip to Montgomery with my mom, and it stood up. The thing that is interesting about that book is that I age while Holden doesn’t. The first time I read the book, we were contemporaries and now I’m older than his parents. Older eyes with more experience see the text differently, which leads my thoughts down a new path with each rereading.

A riskier rereading was Infinite Jest. This book absolutely blew my mind when I read it in my early 20s but I hadn’t revisited it in full since then. With current day eyes, there were definitely parts that made me say “yikesssssssss” but I still loved Hal and Pemulis and Kate G. I knocked it from a five-star book to a 4.5 star book but it retained its place as a favorite.

I’m pleased to report that East of Eden remained an absolute five star book in my heart. One of my worst fears is being asked what my favorite book of all times is, because that supposedly simple question is actually one of the most complicated things, but under pressure I would probably blurt out East of Eden, as I would have when I first read it in my teens. Sam Hamilton and Lee 4eva.

Boy howdy, The Grapes of Wrath! It’s not like I thought this was an uplifting book in high school, but reading it as a grown-ass adult in this society was brutal. Just replace agriculture with artificial intelligence and the attacks on higher education. One thing that did not ring true for this day and age was the government camps, which were humane and sanitary and protected from law enforcement out for a fight. Would that it were so. This remained a four star book for me but I needed to take some time out with a refreshing adult beverage when I finished.

My current rereading project is one I haaated in high school - The Odyssey. I am using the Emily Wilson translation and reading from the page while simultaneously listening to the audiobook (sadly, an Audible exclusive but Claire Danes does a fabulous job IMHO). Kids these day call this “immersive reading” and for 99.99999% of books this would be an absolute nightmare to my brain but it is working really well for this. It slows me down and lets me absorb more. (Reading the book out loud the way I do when I read modern poetry would do the same thing but I’d look weird on my lunch break.) Guys, is this book actually a banger? It might be. I’m flying through it and will finish within the next couple of days. I’m not particularly invested in seeing the new movie, though, as I have a hard time thinking there could be a better adaptation than Oh Brother, Where Art Thou?

An appreciation

I have been really into the men’s World Cup this year. I have really fond memories related to my dad and the World Cup. He was teaching in Germany in 1990, during the World Cup, and I joined him for part of the trip. The entire country was going wild about it - they would later win the whole thing - and it was really fun to watch the games with my dad and so many enthusiastic Germans. In 1994, one of the US World Cup sites was near home, and I went to see Germany play. They got eliminated by Bulgaria and the shuttle back to the parking area was silent until a German man got up and said, “two tickets to the finals in Los Angeles, five dollars!” I didn’t buy them, because we lived in New Jersey, but my dad was disappointed - it hadn’t occurred to me that we could have gotten plane tickets.

I went into this year cheering for Germany, the USA, and Scotland. Along the way I also became Cape Verdean and Norwegian. At this point, all the teams I have real feelings for are out, but I’m hoping for a France vs. England final since I have ancestors from both. My French ancestors are Huguenots, though, so I’m not sure if that’s an argument for or against Les Bleus.

And, of course, baseball

Y’all, it has been A YEAR to be a Red Sox fan but because I am not well in the head I cannot give up on them, and now… are they suddenly good??? Sign me up for more eventual heartbreak.