Minimalization
can be pretty important.
Sometimes more
is less, whether it’s having fewer knickknacks (do I really need 500 bookmarks
or twenty-five?) or using fewer words in a story or blog post. Because my
family tends to move at least once every three years, I even have to limit my
book collection. Books mean weight, and more weight means more money.
This past year,
we’ve paired down some more, and I got rid of more books. *gasp* But I only got
rid of the books I knew I wouldn’t read again. The ones I bought on impulse and
didn’t care for. The books I liked but couldn’t remember enough to want to keep
it.
My reader goal
is to own only books I like. The ones I know I’ll reread and reread again. The
ones that are signed. The ones with covers that are falling apart because I
read them so much. The ones with notes in the margins.
Then again, minimalization
is great… but I’ve never understood people who don’t like buying books because
“Why would you want to read it again if you already know how it ends?” To which
I like to reply, “Why not?”
So here it is, a
semi-brief case for owning books to reread.
1)
Rereading
great books means no due date.
I like visiting
the library so much, I often leave with way too many books. Every now and then
I have to return a book without having even started it. Which then makes me
feel guilty for not having read the book and messing up the library’s
statistics for books read. At least I don’t have to worry about library fines
because military libraries rock and rely more on the honor system. I’m dreading
the idea of one day checking out books from a civilian library.
With books I own
and want to reread, I don’t have to worry about a due date. Of course, this
also means sometimes, they’re harder to start because I feel like I have all
the time in the world. Once I get started on a reread, though, I cannot be
stopped.
2)
Rereading
comes with fewer disappointments.
That’s not to
say that your opinion on the book won’t change. Maybe it will. And that’s okay.
But when you pick up a book you’ve read before, you know what you’re getting
yourself into. If you choose one you gave five stars, you’re probably less
likely to wind up giving it two stars upon finishing it again. Whereas books
you’ve never read before can be pleasantly surprising or they can be incredibly
disappointing. You don’t know.
Rereading is
like revisiting an old friend.
3)
Every
time you read a book, you have a different perspective.
When I first
read The Tale of Desperaux as a kid,
I thoroughly enjoyed it. But when I picked it up as a teenager, for some
reason, I didn’t like it at all. Then, when I reread it for a class in
Children’s Literature during my undergrad, I liked it again. I must have been a
weird teenager because my reading tastes have switched since then.
Every time I
read a book, my perspective is different though. I don’t just read a book for
the sake of reading a book. I read it having enjoyed (or not enjoyed) the book
before it. I may pick up a fantasy book after having been immersed in
nonfiction. Or maybe I’ll start a middle grade novel one after another and then
switch to adult fiction.
Then there’s
life. The books I read during midterms weeks are the same books I read after I
finished my first graduate degree, but that doesn’t make me the same person. I
have more experiences and a slightly different view.
No matter how
many times you read the same book, the experience will not be the same.
4)
Rereading
helps you discover new things!
When I first
picked up The Scorpio Races, I almost
didn’t finish it. Say what? This from the person who won’t stop ranting about
how good it is. I checked it out from the library during the summer when my
professor posted which books we’d be reading for YA fiction the next semester,
but I didn’t make it past the prologue. Later, I bought the book for class and
read the entirety then, starting from the beginning. I discovered that I could
really like some slower-paced books with just a smidge of romance and a lot of
blood. Nearly three years later, I picked up the book again, having completely
forgotten why I enjoyed the book so much.
Similarly, my
family and I have a Lord of the Rings
marathon once a year. Because I tend to remember plots pretty well, when I’m
re-watching movies, I start predicting what will happen in the next scene
before it happens. Before I know it, my mind is three scenes ahead and then I
get frustrated because the movie is so
slow. With the watching The Lord of the Rings, I started focusing on certain
characters, their mannerisms and character development, so by the time I got to
the end, I could enjoy the movies as a whole instead of mentally skipping
ahead. I like to apply this same focused technique to rereading as well,
whether it’s focusing on the writing style, the dialogue, or the character
development.
Reading
acquaints readers with the plot and the characters. Rereading helps readers get
to know them even better. Reading is an introduction, but rereading is a
friendship.
5)
Rereading
is rewarding.
Sure, it’s fun
to have books up on my shelf to look at and show off to all my fellow readers. With
all the time I spend collecting my treasured books, what good are they if I
don’t actually read them? Going to the library is good, yes. But it’s important
to spend time on books you’ve invested money and space to.
After all,
rereading isn’t just educational. It’s also fun.
Let’s chat!
What’s your stance on reading a book once vs rereading it? How often do you
reread books? What’s one book you’ve lost count of how many times you’ve read
it?
***
Literary
references: Kate DiCamillo’s The Tale of Desperaux, Maggie
Stiefvater’s The Scorpio Races, J. R.
R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings,
and Mary Elizabeth Edgren’s Methuselah’s
Gift
