This is book discussion week, and I'm rereading Anne Enright's The Gathering and François Gravel's Adieu, Betty Crocker. Both of them I enjoyed on first reading, or I wouldn't have included them in the book lists for the discussion groups I lead.
Sometimes when I do a re-read I find myself struggling with the book which I now find less interesting than I did when I was setting up the lists. Occasionally I've been so un-enthralled this second time that I've resorted to reading every other page, or even just the final 40 or 50 pages. This lack of enthusiasm doesn't mean the discussion won't be good, since often the best ones are about books that at least some of the people in the group don't like.
But this time I'm taking my time, really enjoying the story. These are two books which are quite different, but each has layers of language and meaning that delight. And while I sometimes bewail the fact that there are "so many books, so little time," I'm not at all sure that speed-reading is what one wants to aim for. Better to savour what you read, taking your time to think.
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