Threads (original notes from November 2017)
Of my seven rereads from December, Threads had the least variation in notes files. This is understandable given that the gap between readings was the shortest among my seven rereads – just over one year. I was surprised to see that my second set of notes had shrunk in comparison to the original, however, for it had seemed based on my comparisons thus far that my notes – like any good bureaucratic process – were expanding without limit.
I identified two factors that caused my notes file to shrink after my second read. The first reason is that I learned a lot from Threads in 2017 and wrote these observations into my notes. I learned, for example, that what Americans call duct tape is known in the UK as ‘gaffer tape’. I could hardly be expected to learn this again just a year later and therefore skipped writing it down.
The second reason is that much of my notes from 2017 described conclusions while in 2018 the focus shifted toward reasons. This suggests that perhaps I expanded on thoughts from 2017 in my 2018 notes and in theory this would increase the size of my more recent notes. In practice, though, I found that some of my 2017 observations did not require added explanation and these were the thoughts that disappeared in my 2018 notes file.
Last but not least...
Norwegian Wood
Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimmage
100 Years of Solitude
Let’s bring my lookbacks to a close by highlight the three books notable for the lack of original reading notes. This sounds about right – I vaguely recall that it wasn’t until sometime early in 2017 that I first kept notes for fiction and I read all of these works prior to that start date.
I considered using the original TOA posts as a substitute for a notes file. However, when I looked up any mentions of these books from the TOA archives, I was disappointed to find almost no mention of them beyond their inclusion on a ‘here is what I read recently’ list or two. The closest thing to insight was my comment that ‘if you can read, you can cook’ was among the better quips from Colorless Tsukuru (this thought did not make it into my most recent notes from the book). Let’s hope for more interesting reflections when my reading reviews for these books – and all of my December rereads – finally come around in the next few days.
