I’ll be the first to admit that I rarely reread novels. Although this seems to make me a bit unusual among writers, I’m generally too eager to move on the next great book in my pile to want to revisit an old one, no matter how well-loved it may be. I could likely count on both hands the number of titles I’ve completely reread over the years.
Usually when I revisit a book its because I read it when I was younger and want to see if the experience has changed or how well the book matches up with my memory of it. Or I don’t remember the book that well and want to. Or sometimes I just really loved the book and in a moment of nostalgia want to try and recapture the magic of reading it for the first time.
Yet recently I did revisit an old story, albeit in a different medium. One of my favorite movies of all time is Dragonheart, and I recently learned that the screenwriter crafted a novelization of it the same year the movie came out.
How did I not know about this until now? I have watched that movie countless times (movies and TV shows I tend to rewatch over and over again). I can literally quote, with accents, large swaths of the dialogue from memory at any moment, and yet I, the Dragonheart uber-fan, somehow managed to go twenty years without realizing there was a novelization?! Clearly this was a state of affairs that had to be corrected at once.
The book has never seen a revitalization as an ebook and is out of print, so the only way to experience it now is to track down a used copy. Luckily this is fairly easy to do on Amazon. After paying more than the cost of the used copy to have it shipped to me quickly, I devoured the book rapidly at first. Experiencing one of my favorite stories in the more visceral medium of a novel was so wonderful I could hardly put the book down and risked being late for work several days just to get a few more paragraphs in.
Then, as I usually do with books I love, as I approached the end I slowed down in my reading. Trying to drag out the wonderful experience for as long as possible I suppose. When I at last turned the final page, a tear forming in my eye as a catharsis of wonder and nostalgia swept over me, I felt heartened and inspired. Inspired in my own storytelling, for certain. If someday I can bring the kind of enjoyment and wonder to another person through my own stories, it will be well worth the work and hours and heartache put into crafting them.
But also, I find myself perhaps inspired to revisit some of my old favorite books and see what a second read through offers me. I think perhaps I’m shortchanging myself not having this experience more often.
Is there a story that had a powerful effect on you when you went back and experienced it again? I want to hear about it! Let’s discuss in the comments.
