Writer's Block: Time after time

[cupcake_goth]

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Ha! Do I re-watch or re-read things? Is this a trick question?

Movies I will watch over and over and over (to the point of the Stroppy One asking that I not watch them when he's around, because while *I* haven't tired of them, *HE* has): Beetlejuice. The Nightmare Before Christmas. The Addams Family & Addams Family Values. Lost Boys. Moulin Rouge. Sweeney Todd. Coppola's version of Dracula. The Langella version of Dracula. The Pirates of the Caribbean movies. Near Dark. Thirty Days of Night. Monsters, Inc. Mirrormask.

Look, I refer to them as comfort movies for a REASON. They make me happy. Even if I've seen them a gazillion times. And no, I haven't reached any sort of limit for repeats.

The same goes for books. I re-read Something Wicked This Way Comes by Ray Bradbury annually. (Every October, as is right and proper.) I've re-read gailcarriger's Parasol Protectorate novels about 4 times now. I re-read Dracula (or parts of it) maybe twice a year. Other things I re-read fairly often include the complete run of The Sandman, The Vampire Lestat, The Witching Hour, Tanith Lee's Blood Opera trilogy, and assorted Discworld books. Plus I get a whim every now and then to re-visit other things I've read before. Sometimes I'm tired (or cranky, or in need of soothing), and don't want to spend the energy and effort to try a new book that I may not like, I want the reading equivalent of visiting with a friend. Hence re-reading.

Yes, I know this is not how other people interact with books and movies. But it works for me.

Comments

[donnaricci.livejournal.com]

I have only seen my favorite film in the whole world less than 10 times precisely because I never want to tire of it. Silly, no?

I just discovered Cassandra Clare's books, particularly Clockwork Angel. I highly suggest it if you need something new to read.

[cupcake-goth.livejournal.com]

Ooooh. Thank you for the book rec! Not like my to-be-read pile isn't teetering and threatening to tip over already, but I love getting book recs!

(Edit): Also, if I am particularly fond of something (movies, books, food), I don't get tired of it. Ever. Even if I can recite the dialog from memory.

[donnaricci.livejournal.com]

I haven't gotten tired of any of my faves yet, but I'm afraid to. Strange fear isn't it? It's not like it's ever happened. I do get tired of some things though so I guess it's realistic enough.

I can only eat pizza a MAX of 5 times per week (no lie).

Okay, maybe it's an invalid fear.

[sirriamnis.livejournal.com]

I have several "I'm a moody bitch who doesn't want to brain" books that I re-read as "comfort food."

Lillian Jackson Braun's "Cat Who" mysteries.
Tanith Lee's Lords of the Flat Earth
The Shining
HP Lovecraft

[quasievil-bunny.livejournal.com]

Exactly what you said. They make me happy!

[amy37.livejournal.com]

I went through a tough period where I swear I didn't read anything but Little Women and A Little Princess, by turns, for a few months.

[matt1993]

I like your userpic!

Now I'm wishing even more that I had more userpic space on LJ so I could make the six or seven HyperboleAndAHalf userpics I've come up with...lol

Hope the icon makes you giggle.

[snowcoma.livejournal.com]

I do the same thing, though my comfort books, movies, and shows are perhaps sillier. >__>

Gods, I love The Lost Boys. Though I firmly refuse to believe David died. No, he is off doing his hot vampiring some place nicer. *firm nod*

[marc17.livejournal.com]

I used to read like that. I've tried to keep every book I've ever bought up till this year. I finally realized that I just don't read near as much as I used to let alone re-read things. Most of my re-reading and comfort books these days tends to be graphic novels which like my books are divided up into by chance of re-readability.

Re: Hope the icon makes you giggle.

[cupcake-goth.livejournal.com]

That is a FANTASTIC icon. Very nice. (Why don't I have any Lost Boys icons? I should fix that.)

Oh, David didn't die. No. He's off somewhere, being gorgeous, menacing, and eating people. Yes.

[requieminblack.livejournal.com]

No surprise my movie list is almost the same give or take a few. ;) Added to mine would be Time Bandits, From Dusk til Dawn and Army of Darkness.

For serious 'comfort' I watch Supernatural every day. I have all the box sets in my sewing room that I play while I work. It takes me about two weeks to watch season 1-5 and then I rinse and repeat. The voices of Sam, Dean, Bobby, Castiel and that car are like a warm fuzzy blanket.

[stephl.livejournal.com]

When I read that question ("what's the upper limit on repeats?") on the front page, all I could do was stare blankly at it and think, "...upper...LIMIT?!?" No such thing.

My best friend, who is not a reader (I don't get it, but we're friends anyway), recently married a great big geekboy who reads tons of SFF, particularly Neal Stephenson. And she told me that when he moved in to her house, she suggested culling his books.

At that point in the story, I just gave her the stinkeye. And she said, "Well, at least the ones that he's read 3 times!" At which point the stinkeye became squinty fisheye, and she said, "Oh my god -- that's EXACTLY the look he gives me when I suggest it!"

Sometimes I'm tired (or cranky, or in need of soothing), and don't want to spend the energy and effort to try a new book that I may not like, I want the reading equivalent of visiting with a friend. Hence re-reading.

That's exactly why I do it. All I've wanted lately is comfort, so all the new releases I had on hold at the library (other than Blameless and Mockingjay) went back to the library, and I started re-reading stuff like Queen of the Damned. Makes me very very happy.

[stroppy-baggage.livejournal.com]

In related news, the last time I was picking up some Chinese take-away, I was chatting to the girl at the counter while waiting for my food and we got onto the topic of authors and she said;

"Oh my mom went to school with someone who became an author and they still keep in touch. His name's Neal Stephenson. Have you heard of him?"

Bug-eyes followed.

[ladymairwen.livejournal.com]

Awesome, I can just copy pretty much what you wrote. Yay.

(translation - Me, too!)

[sistawendy.livejournal.com]

I do this with records, but not with movies or TV. I used to do it with books, but not anymore.

[shirtlifterbear.livejournal.com]

I love rereading beloved books, and rewatching favorite films. It's comfort food for my SOUL!

PS You might really love "A Night In The Lonesome October" by Roger Zelanzy. Charming Goth Victorian Horror Comedy.

Truefact!

[theosakakoneko.livejournal.com]

Yes, I know this is not how other people interact with books and movies.

It's...not?
I think the comments here prove otherwise!!
My list of movies is similar to yours, though I add Sleepy Hollow, 10 Things I Hate About You, The Craft, Down with Love, and a few others, and subtract Coppola Dracula (::shudder::) and some of the latter ones. Books the rereading happens a bit less than rewatching of movies, if only because I watch movies a LOT while sewing and I don't have enough time to read in general, but Dracula and Carmilla get reread many times, and there are a few manga in my collection that are my go-tos for when I really want to turn my brain off. (I know, I know...)

[kolizeon.livejournal.com]

30 Days of Night is the movie that cured me of my thirst for horror film, haha.

[chaoskitten-df.livejournal.com]

Gosh I re-read books and re-watch movies all the time.
Top movies for me are the Pirates of the Caribbean trilogy, Lord of the Rings, Corpse Bride and Sleepy Hollow.

Books are: -The Harry Potter series
-ANYTHING by the wonderful Michael Scott (especially his folklore books)
-Your book actually! :)
-The Druid's Tune, The Hunter's Moon and The Singing Stone by O.R Melling.

[maudelynn.livejournal.com]

There is no limit for me. Ever. I put on movies like music cds and just let them play. I carry books I love like security blankets.
NO LIMIT :D

[plymouth.livejournal.com]

My favorite movie is Videodrome. The reason it is my favorite movie is because it starts out seeming fairly ordinary and progressively gets stranger and stranger until I am no longer sure which parts are real and which are hallucination. By the end of the movie I am left feeling like "what the fuck just happened?" and I LOVE it! But the last time I watched it, it started to make sense. And that ruined it for me. So I'm not sick of it as such but I'm no longer allowed to watch it because I don't want it to make sense. Maybe in a few years I will have forgotten enough that I'll allow myself to see it again.

[caleidescopeyes.livejournal.com]

I'm the same way with a (rather large) handful of films and books. The films include Sweeney Todd, The Nightmare Before Christmas, Edward Scissorhands, The Phantom of the Opera, the Coppola rendition of Dracula, Sherlock Holmes, The Crow (not ashamed!), Labyrinth, and Interview With the Vampire. As you already know, Dracula is a talisman of sorts for me. It comes with me everywhere, and I assign myself scavenger hunts of sorts each time I re-read it.

[staxxy.livejournal.com]

I can't imagine anyone *not* rereading at least a couple of books, or rewatching at least a few of their favorite movies.

I re-watch stuff all the time. :)

my re-watch highest count for a film is well over 500 times, but I stopped counting 15 years ago, so it is probably closer to 1000 now. :D

[alexandra8011.livejournal.com]

I love your taste in books and movies! The parasol protectorate, 30 days of night, and mirrormask are some of my favorites!

[kibarika.livejournal.com]

For me, familiarity increases the pleasure of a thing. So maybe that's not how most people interact with books and movies, but I'm right there with you.

Especially on the Pirates of the Caribbean movies. I fell asleep to the first one every night for years.

[scarysammiekae.livejournal.com]

I don't know if you have netflix, but on instant play they have the Hogfather. I really think you would enjoy it, my kids are sick of it, but I'm not.