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Podcasting, Writing and the Joy of Rereading

ID-100305236It’s been a lovely sunny Easter holiday. We’ve had the first picnic of the year and even been to the beach a couple of times (which means, of course, the first outdoor fish and chips of the season – yum).

In between the fun, I’ve been busy editing and uploading my new podcast. The first episode is now live and you can subscribe in iTunes or listen via The Worried Writer site.

The first episode features an interview with YA author (and my good friend) Keris Stainton. I really hope you like it!

Writing-wise, I’ve been trying to work on a new project that just doesn’t feel right. I don’t usually hit my first, serious ‘I can’t do it’ wall until around 20,000 words, but I am seriously flailing at just 4000. I need to decide whether it’s the wrong project or the wrong idea or whether I’m just burnt out and need a little break.

Speaking of feeling a bit odd, after finishing the excellent The Girl With All the Gifts by M. R. Carey, I couldn’t settle on a new book to read.

So, I decided to visit some old friends…

I used to reread a lot and it’s something I’m trying to find time to do again. It’s nice, every once in a while, to step off the ‘shiny new book’ conveyor belt (so many new books, never enough time!) and to slip between the worn covers of an old favourite.

Sometimes it’s like coming home, with everything just as I left it – and is just as comforting as that sounds. Sometimes, though, it’s deliciously unsettling; familiar stories made strange with the fresh perspective of another decade (or two) of life.

How about you? Do you like to reread books or is once enough?

[Image credit: pannawat at FreeDigitalPhotos]

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9 responses to “Podcasting, Writing and the Joy of Rereading”

  1. judy Avatar

    Sometimes you have to revisit an idea. So, maybe taking a break and writing something just “because” might be the thing to do.
    And about re-reading. I have read Jane Eyre many times. I love the cadence of the words – plus the love story, of course.

    1. Sarah Avatar
      Sarah

      Thank you, Judy; that’s great advice. Also, I read Jane Eyre a couple of times for my degree… It’s probably time to revisit it!

  2. Susan Mann Avatar

    Sounds like a lovely Easter. It’s nice just to spend some time and have some fun. I’ve subscribed and go the podcast, not listened yet, but looking forward to it. Big fan of both Keris and yourself. I have rarely re-read a book as there are so many new ones out there, I never have the time. The only one I’ve re-read is Practical Magic by Alice Hoffman which I love and Harry Potter book 1, but that was too my oldest. xx

    1. Sarah Avatar
      Sarah

      Thanks for visiting and for subscribing to the podcast, Susan; I really appreciate it! I adore Alice Hoffman, too. She is so good. Have you read her latest? x

  3. Carl Markham Avatar

    Well, not one, but TWO ‘revisits’ for me! At Easter I re-visited my old home County (the East Coast of Lincolnshire)-a long and arduous journey by ferry and train from the Northern Isles – but well worth it. The weather was glorious as I visited by old haunts of Skegness, and decided to work in a chapter or two in this setting within my novel (how’s that for combining business and pleasure?)
    Then for my holiday reading I discovered ‘by chance'(?) a rather battered p.b. of Deric Longden’s ‘Enough to make a cat laugh’ in the seaside bungalow I’d rented, which as a cat-lover I’d read many moons ago and seemed appropriate as I’d recently reluctantly sent my beloved Jaffa cat into spirit sphere (aged 23). Of course it brought it all back, and I was in floods of tears a number of times before I’d finished it (ironic, considering the title) – but in a strange way it was also therapeutic re-reading (and empathizing) with another man’s grief for his beloved feline friend – which I suppose begs the question – was this book ‘waiting’ for me? I don’t believe in ‘coincidence’, but I certainly believe in synchronicity and felt that given all the circumstances, this was a prime example. Needless to say, I placed a rather handsome donation in the charity box on the bookshelf, and now it resides on mine! Happy Holidays!

    1. Sarah Avatar
      Sarah

      Hi Carl. That’s a great example of synchronicity, for sure. Sounds like a powerful happy-sad experience – thank you for sharing it. x

      1. Carl Markham Avatar

        – and thank you, Sarah. As a fellow cat-lover thought you’d understand x

  4. Elle Turner Avatar

    Taking a break will help you decide about your project for sure. A bit of distance always helps, I think.

    I don’t tend to re-read books, although I have done so with a few. There are books I’ve liked so much though that I wish I could read them again for the first time, if that makes sense! 🙂

    1. Sarah Avatar
      Sarah

      Elle, that makes perfect sense! And thank you for the advice re. my stalled project. I haven’t tried to work on it for a couple of days and, this morning, I woke up with an inkling of an idea for a scene, so I’m hoping it is going to work out after all… x