Re: Book Recommendations?
Interesting Fastfinge. I must admit I disagree on your thughts on biography sinse for me at least trying to tease out authorial incidents or themes and claime, even when the Author denies the claime, that a given historical or biographical event influenced a book is very difficult. Also, I am never certain of the exact point of such studdies.
For example, Tolkien spent his first five years in Africa and reputedly hated it there. When you look at the way he depicts sand, deserts and dry places it's pretty clear he equates them with death and lack of life, however it is the validity of the description and the landscape of Mordor as it impacts upon frodo and Sam that makes things interesting for me, not whether or not thoughts of Africa were floating around in Tolkien's subconscious.
Personally if I reread something I hope to find something I missed the first time around. For example, when I reread otherland this time, I picked up on a number of clues to the over all plot that are given earlier on, and some indications of certain characters motivations that explain their later actions. This is particularly true for such a tightly plotted series as Harry potter.
It is not just a question of complexity or mystery though, sinse a book like Take back plenty I simply reread for the musical enjoyment of it's poetry and style. I would say that reason is partly why i revisit Lotr and Duncton more frequently, albeit there are not many books I'd treat this way as on my perminant reread list, indeed while I reread harry potter several times as different books of the series came out, I have not read them now for a good few years and likely won't again for a while longer until I have forgotten some intricacies of the plot.
I actually want to read stranger in a strange land again, sinse I read it myself when I was 12 or so, and didn' ;t follow all of the concepts involved but enjoyed the idea of the book, though I can see how if you come from a conservative christian background that one would be a real hit. Though I don't know how I'd take some concepts in Stranger in a Strange land now, having subsequently developed genophobia, sinse Heinlein's glorification of that aspect of life is such at odds to my personal feelings on the matter, indeed this is largely what has stopped me rereading the book.
URL: http://forum.audiogames.net/viewtopic.php?pid=169684#p169684
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