Embedded: How Many Re-reads Before a Book Becomes a Part of Your Psyche?

On the banks of Plum Creek, in Walnut Grove, Minnesota

This summer I had the chance to travel to South Dakota for the Laura Ingalls Wilder conference called Laurapalooza 2015. It was a fantastic experience to say the least. But there I had a bit of a reading revelation.

Now, I have not read the Little House books for over  - at least - ten or fifteen years. I did look at part of Pioneer Girl when it came out last year - but have not really immersed myself in it. So I went to an intense conference and fan based event, not really having updated myself on the material. To my amazement, I did not have to.

The details of the books and the story lines that I remembered astonished me. The recall I had was if I had read the books the night before. Where did this come from? (I can barely remember to take my daily medication - and have to double check sometimes.) Was it the energy from the fandom that was giving me the ability to bring up minute details of Laura's life?  I was a bit flummoxed.

As we know memories can be tricky. We can make ourselves forget things and emotions that others remember with clarity. There are many studies out there and no one knows everything about the brain and how our memory works. (Need to find a good book on this!)

Ingalls Homestead in DeSmet, South Dakota

But is there a time period where reading can imprint in your head and stories can embed themselves in your inner most memory? I read the Little House books over and over when I was younger. I watched the TV show and dismissed it since it went down a different path than the original books. I took the entire book set with us on a driving vacation, because I was somehow convinced that our house would burn while we were away, and I needed my Laura titles. They were MY collection. (Bless my parents for indulging me.)

Is that how I did it? Did my connection and obsession with Laura's works allow me to have a better recall? Or is this just a case of an old passion coming to the forefront during a time of "need?" I don't know. Are all readers like this? Or it is just our emotional connection to the particular written work? Perhaps it is just a case of the "right book at the right time."

It is something to think about. How embedded are you?

Format, Format - Who's got the format?

While I've been in non-blogging mode, I have noticed that among the readers I know - it has become more a question of not what they are reading - but how they are reading. (Non-readers - don't count in this - cause they ain't reading.)

Some über-readers are using audiobooks to get their story fix while others are downloading e-books as fast as they go on sale. And then others still have a To Be Read (TBR) pile that will never be done. Does the format bring more to the story?

I have found that since I'm an easily distracted driver - I can only listen to audiobooks that I have read before or that are in the same series. Brand new stuff distracts me too much and I'm soon driving in the wrong direction. But I've found audiobooks and their talented readers can bring parts of the book alive in ways that you did not notice while reading it.

What about reading e-books? Does it bring a new dimension to your book, or does the "how far you are in the book" bar distract from the enjoyment? Or is the reality just that it allows you to get a book and get it now!?

How do you read? Different genres or titles in different formats? Or a little bit of everything?