Last week, I picked up The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid for the second time, even though I knew it’s not my favourite book ever. Far from it, actually. So why would anyone put themselves through the agony of reading a book one read while grinding one’s teeth continuously the first time around? Here’s why.
I started rereading a book I didn’t like because sometimes I’m too tired to read a very good one. I had been reading The Line of Beauty by Alan Hollinghurst, which is very beautiful indeed, but my brain can’t quite focus on it. Reading a silly book, like Jenkins Reid’s, means I can still tell myself I’m reading at all, which is good, but I’m not demanding too much of myself.
I started rereading a book I didn’t like because my work is very demanding. It’s even quite frustrating from time to time, and reading a book that is also quite frustrating helps, in a way. Sometimes a mild and very harmless form of self-torture makes one aware of all the good aspects of life.
I started rereading a book I didn’t like because somehow I felt I might like it a bit more the second time around. Unfortunately, reading The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo made me all the more aware of its annoying writing style, its obvious plot holes, its lack of historical awareness and all the other things I didn’t like about it the first time around.
I started rereading a book I didn’t like because good books deserve a reader who can actually pay attention to them.
I started rereading a book I didn’t like because my boyfriend was admitted to hospital because he had a collapsed lung. I was so worried I couldn’t focus on a difficult book, and I needed a simple one, in very much the same way I sometimes, or maybe even quite often, crave junk food. This time, I couldn’t resist. (And just like eating too much junk food makes me feel guilty and disgusting, so does reading this book.)
I started rereading a book I didn’t like because I was still recovering from the school trip I had recently been on. Reading all the nonsense in this book served a reminder that my life was, while rather uneventful (as in, cool splendid events like those depicted in Jenkins Reid’s novel), still quite ok.
I started rereading a book I didn’t like because I was informed my grandfather is dying, and I wanted an easy book to take my mind off all the things that are happening at the moment. Despite it not being a very good book, The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo allows me to escape into a world of glamour and excellent clothes.
I started rereading a book I didn’t like because I was in a kind-of fight with my boyfriend, still in hospital and on the eve of an operation, for the first time ever, and it made me unbearably sad. So yes, let’s return to a silly unrealistic world one more time and escape all those bad thoughts I was thinking.
I started rereading a book I didn’t like because I still haven’t finished it yet – I devoured it in a single setting the first time – even though I started reading it a week ago. Imagine how little I’d read if it were a proper novel.
I started rereading a book I didn’t like because, apparently, one tends to reread books and rewatch series and films because it’s a way of dealing with trauma, since this way one will not be subjected to any surprises. While I wouldn’t consider myself traumatised, I do think I have been subjected to a very high level of stress. Reading this book the second time meant I knew all about it and I wouldn’t have to think too much about things.
I started rereading a book I didn’t like because, basically, life has caught up with me. I can’t think properly, and I can’t bear wondering what the future might be like, so I preferred burying myself in a past experience – even though it’s not a particularly good one.
Oh, and by the why: after this one, I will start reading a book I am positive I will not like. Twilight. My brain is not up for anything good yet, so I think it’s finally time to read this overhyped, badly-written vampire romance. Perfect.
What would you do if you couldn’t focus on anything? Would you consider reading a book for the second time even if you didn’t like it? Which book would you reread if your brain was fried? Please let me know in the comments! Also, don’t forget to follow me for more bookish posts!
The Open Book 