I'm a voracious reader, and always have been; I positively devour books. From trashy thrillers to Tolstoy, Harry Potter to Haruki Murakami, I love to read. But here's the thing; I'm crazy about re-reading books. Harry Potter? Well, I must have read the series at least five times. When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit? Every year since I was eight years old. I got to the end of Twilight - and started it again. I think I've read Cold Comfort Farm six times. And it's not just books; I love to re-watch favourite films again and again, too. I've seen Clueless so many times that I know the entire script off by heart. Lost in Translation? I bet I've seen it ten times; I watched it four times at the cinema!
I think that's pretty normal though, right? Perhaps a little excessive... but not unusual... In fact, I would actually suggest that people who DON'T re-read books and re-watch films are more unusual... I do wonder, though, how many more books and films I could get through every year if I didn't spend quite so much time on the old ones. So, here goes: for the remainder of the year, I will not re-read a single book, or re-watch a single film.
(This is how serious I am: this Christmas, I will not re-watch The Muppet Christmas Carol (a family tradition for about 15 years now) or It's a Wonderful Life. It's going to be tough.)
