I'm a big advocate of rereading, or revisiting any form of media that resonates. I will turn a good piece of literature or art over again and again until I know it intimately and have it in my blood. Then I can walk away from it.
As others have said, some of the best works will provide new insights as you age and gain perspective. Some will reveal remarkable foreshadowing and narrative lines that run quietly through the background of the work.
And, of course, repetition reinforces and consolidates your memory and understanding. A lot of books are not retained well by me the first time. The revisit consolidates the work in my mind, and eventually I can recall it from memory. Perhaps not verbatim, but beat by beat and detail by detail.
A revisit always allows me to savor and appreciate the finer points of the artist's craft. The small choices that are attuned to the larger purpose in the book. The inflections that support the themes and reinforce the sensations that are being evoked.
The best work can be turned over again and again with little loss in pleasure. More often than not satisfaction and admiration appreciate with each visit.
jihadjihad 1 hours ago [-]
"All that can be done is for each of us to invent our own ideal library of our classics; and I would say that one half of it would consist of books we have read and that have meant something for us and the other half of books which we intend to read and which we suppose might mean something to us. We should also leave a section of empty spaces for surprises and chance discoveries."
- Italo Calvino
bArray 2 hours ago [-]
Re-reading a book is a lot like re-watching a film for me, I don't want to do it immediately, but there is value in doing it some years later where the details become less certain. I'm actively aware that even during tasks such as talking, my brain condenses and throws away most information. The import thing really is to develop and capture the right abstractions.
There are a few books I have gone back and read simply for enjoyment, for example Hitch Hiker's Guide to the galaxy was a pleasure to read. Some more dense materials that I know I will gain a lot from, I find it difficult to muster the motivation to re-read.
m-watson 21 minutes ago [-]
Yea, I have re-read things for goals as well. I also re-read things for the mental approach it may instill for a period of time while and after reading it, to enjoy it (like you said), or to see how the perspective fits to my new mental models a few years later. Three fiction books I constantly go back to at different times are Brave New World, The Alchemist, and Prey.
I'm curious what books others go back to over time.
lolive 1 hours ago [-]
Dune, like Lynch movies, are pieces of art you appreciate differently at different ages.
But you always come back to them … [at least I always come back to them ;)]
gnuhack 8 minutes ago [-]
With some authors, like Gene Wolfe, rereading is not optional. I really like the books designed to be reread, each time you read them you discover something new.
bodantogat 15 minutes ago [-]
For me, rereading just feels like missing out on the excitement of finding something new. A fresh story, a different perspective, an author I haven’t met yet. So I usually skip rereads and pick up something new instead.
NullHypothesist 2 hours ago [-]
I read a lot of non-fiction, and while I'm definitely guilty (and proud of it!) of sentimentally holding onto old books, I think the value of having a personal library isn't to show off what you've read (an added bonus), but to be able to go back and reference books / passages when inspiration strikes or you realize your memory's gotten a bit fuzzy on a topic. Re-reading a book in its entirety is great. But sometimes just pulling back up a specific passage or chapter is all you need.
thepryz 2 hours ago [-]
I have kids and so a good part of maintaining and curating a library of books,CDs, movies, and TV shows is also that it helps them begin to appreciate the values and lessons contained within them. What I choose to consume and/or keep on my bookshelf is a reflection of who I am and what I've absorbed to help get me there. It's nice to be talking with them about something and then just give them a book or movie they can use to gain a deeper perspective and perhaps reinforce media literacy.
iterance 29 minutes ago [-]
“Rereading, an operation contrary to the commercial and ideological habits of our society, which would have us ‘throw away’ the story once it has been consumed (‘devoured’), so that we can then move on to another story, buy another book, and which is tolerated only in certain marginal categories of readers (children, old people, and professors), rereading is here suggested at the outset, for it alone saves the text from repetition (those who fail to reread are obliged to read the same story everywhere)..." - Balzac
cyberpunk 49 minutes ago [-]
I’m not sure when it started but I seem to read Pratchett’s Night Watch at least once a year on average for the last decade.
Don’t think i’ll stop anytime soon. :)
csours 34 minutes ago [-]
Even "simple" books can be surprising. On my first reading of Jurassic Park I had no idea that it was about startup culture - no really! It's not even from the Sci-Fi section of the bookstore!
pklausler 1 hours ago [-]
When reading a work of fiction for the first time, I'll usually DNF it if I get halfway through and haven't yet reached a point where I realize, while reading quickly, that I'll want to re-read it slowly. Lots of crud out there, especially in "genre" fiction, and life is too short to read crud when the world is full of more good stuff than a person can ever get to.
serjester 1 hours ago [-]
Always appreciated Taleb's quote on this:
> A good book gets better at the second reading. A great book at the third. Any book not worth rereading isn't worth reading
ainiriand 1 hours ago [-]
I try to re-read The Lord of the Rings every year around Bilbo's birthday (Sept 22nd) some years I do not complete it, others I do. But it feels nice to go back to some old 'friends' and familiar places from time to time...
littlekey 44 minutes ago [-]
I like how this advocates the opposite stance of a post from a day or two ago that argued for letting yourself "forget" books and reading widely.
I think they can both be correct, and at the end of the day we shouldn't worry too much about being optimal. Leave some books quickly, keep others that feel deep enough to return to. Read for both learning and for pure entertainment. Read books that you already know you'll like, but leave room for some that could surprise you.
margalabargala 41 minutes ago [-]
"Some books should be tasted
Others devoured
But only a few should be chewed and digested thoroughly"
blueberry_47 2 hours ago [-]
I reread and thoroughly enjoy "main sequence" John Irving novels every few years (at least Garp, Owen Meany and the criminally underrated Son of the Circus). I cannot recommend them enough.
begueradj 1 hours ago [-]
For me, the most important statement is:
>Rereading a book can give you an insight into how you’ve changed since you last read it.
Said in a different way, I noticed I understand from a different perspective some of the books I re-read.
bobbiechen 44 minutes ago [-]
No man steps in the same river twice. I've had a good time re-reading books years later, where my opinion on the book can shift drastically between reads.
As others have said, some of the best works will provide new insights as you age and gain perspective. Some will reveal remarkable foreshadowing and narrative lines that run quietly through the background of the work.
And, of course, repetition reinforces and consolidates your memory and understanding. A lot of books are not retained well by me the first time. The revisit consolidates the work in my mind, and eventually I can recall it from memory. Perhaps not verbatim, but beat by beat and detail by detail.
A revisit always allows me to savor and appreciate the finer points of the artist's craft. The small choices that are attuned to the larger purpose in the book. The inflections that support the themes and reinforce the sensations that are being evoked.
The best work can be turned over again and again with little loss in pleasure. More often than not satisfaction and admiration appreciate with each visit.
There are a few books I have gone back and read simply for enjoyment, for example Hitch Hiker's Guide to the galaxy was a pleasure to read. Some more dense materials that I know I will gain a lot from, I find it difficult to muster the motivation to re-read.
I'm curious what books others go back to over time.
Don’t think i’ll stop anytime soon. :)
> A good book gets better at the second reading. A great book at the third. Any book not worth rereading isn't worth reading
I think they can both be correct, and at the end of the day we shouldn't worry too much about being optimal. Leave some books quickly, keep others that feel deep enough to return to. Read for both learning and for pure entertainment. Read books that you already know you'll like, but leave room for some that could surprise you.
>Rereading a book can give you an insight into how you’ve changed since you last read it.
Said in a different way, I noticed I understand from a different perspective some of the books I re-read.