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naraburns  nihil supernum  2yr ago (text post)   2940 thread views

Small-Scale Question Sunday for November 6, 2022

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I loved The Road, but I'm never reading it again.

I think I've been shirking my duties as a McCarthy fanboy and The Road is just about due a re-read on my part. Haven't read it since long before becoming a dad. Maybe the book will read differently now.

Come to think of it, it feels like I remember most of The Road, even though I only read it once. Surely I'm mistaken here and I forgot much, but it doesn't feel incomplete in my memory. I read it entirely on train rides, where I had absolutely nothing to do and time to kill and no distractions whatsoever except for sometimes the landscape passing by the window. When recently I read, it's usually just while waiting for something, in between tasks, in doctor's offices or on parking lots. I'm also much older now, but I occurs to me that the setting in which I read seems to have a significant impact on how well I memorize. Or maybe the Road just was more memorable.

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