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Rereading books

maxgirkins.com

66 pointsmgirkins54 comments

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.

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 ;)]

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.

> 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.

I feel my mental model actively changing. I read something last night (a great book on genetic programming) that I could feel actively unwinding an undeserved bias of a previous self and opening a new path for creativity.

Sadly, I suspect many actually do not make any real progress in developing their mental models. Some, after many years, I have the same conversations with about fundamentally the same subjects.

> I'm curious what books others go back to over time.

For me, George Orwell's 1984 & Animal Farm, various short classic stories, etc. If our learning processes are somewhat a support vector machine, I try to reinforce the ideas that originally drastically changed my internal model.

It's not always books and media either. I listened to Mao's Great Famine [1] over several days - and it's harrowing. I like to revisit foods that remind me of childhood (flashes of memory from being younger than 2), like orange & mango juice, and strawberry & banana smoothie.

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mao%27s_Great_Famine

> but there is value in doing it some years later where the details become less certain

Completely agree, but I also think there's value in re-watching within a short period of time. I find you retain enough memory from the previous viewing to be able to see subtle details and connect things that you maybe wouldn't have been able to in a first viewing.

And also, you can just drop the analytic brain and immediately rewatch something because you find it to be a beautiful film moment-to-moment.

> Completely agree, but I also think there's value in re-watching within a short period of time. I find you retain enough memory from the previous viewing to be able to see subtle details and connect things that you maybe wouldn't have been able to in a first viewing.

Maybe it is ADHD speaking, but I find it very boring if it is too predictable. If I'm bored, very little goes in anyway.

> And also, you can just drop the analytic brain and immediately rewatch something because you find it to be a beautiful film moment-to-moment.

There are some things I rewatched shortly after because it was beautiful. I like to also re-read George Orwell's 1984 annually so that I can figure out what my UK government plan for me next.

  "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

One of my favourite things a book (or video games, paintings - every single type of art) can do is: On first read - hint that there are stories hidden under the surface, available only to those who have already experienced the art's end point.

I think this is an act of a generosity. It shows that an artist is not only competent enough to execute something that complex, but also thinking deeply of their audience's time and money. It's hospitable: One of more virtuous virtues, IMO.

The best art should reveal itself to you over years, as you change as a human, and your sense of yourself - and the world you live in - changes. I think that should always be the aim of the artist.

You can't swim the same river twice; the same river can't be swum twice by the same person. Some rivers are much better for swimming :-)

> I think this is an act of a generosity. It shows that an artist is not only competent enough to execute something that complex, but also thinking deeply of their audience's time and money.

If the artist is thinking deeply of her audience's time then she should not make the book (or art) worth rereading. Putting things at the beginning that only make sense at the second reading is rude and inconsiderate to the audience.

Well, this is my view of the books or shows that have rewatchability anyway. Fuck them, I won't. Also screw the artist for messing with my time.

This is sort of a strange reply. You don’t have to spend any time on art at all really. For many people, the more they can spend time enjoying the art they like, the better. If you don’t like the art, that’s one thing, but if you do like it, why must it be shorter?

The video game community is often pretty explicit about this. They want their favorite games to be longer, not shorter, because they want to spend more time enjoying it. I don’t think it’s so strange that people may apply the same mentality, to books, movies, etc as well.

Haha. It's lucky that art is subjective, so I'm definitely right :-)

I wasn't saying a piece shouldn't stand on its own on first viewing - that is not hospitable, IMO. I think you misinterpreted what I was trying to say: That I like art that has prismatic qualities, ie, revealing different things when looked at from a different time and place.

This isn't mutually exclusive with the first angle you come at it from being beautiful. It's just additive.

> The best art should reveal itself to you over years, as you change as a human, and your sense of yourself - and the world you live in - changes.

Or: a single book that you enjoy different parts of it depending on your life situation is not better at all than if it were several different books instead, one for each life situation. A book for all ages is no better than a kid + an adult book. Maybe in a practical standpoint.

I don't think books are things you can benchmark & create rankings of (fun as it would be to try) which I guess my initial comment implied.

But I think I might disagree - my sister recently had a daughter, and there is so much beauty in the books I (am rarely able to) read to her. My appreciate for Mog's (to pick one example) artistic achievement has only grown by looking at it from a different time in my life.

It's not effective in the same way as it was - I don't find the narrative quite as suspenseful as I remember, for example - but this is sort of exactly what I'm talking about, condensed into a very basic analogy.

If anything, I'm enjoying reading Mog far more! And certainly more than I would enjoy a spin-off 'X-Rated Mog for Adults' series.

I'm being a little facetious, obviously. But I'm going to stick on this one.

I also seek this type of story out. I like Gene Wolfe; you might, too.

Most books have little to say and you can, in fact, get most of what it has to offer in one reading. It’s worth your while to find the books that reveal more to you on each reread, especially rereads at different points in your life. The books that do this for a lot of people over a few generations are, to a first approximation, what we call “classics”

Of course there’s still the challenge of identifying which books are classics. And of course there’s value in reading non-classics——whether you’re reading for entertainment or for wisdom. Still, we’ve got limited time and I’ll more often gamble my reading hour on a classic than something new.

I’ve just been reading some of Vernor Vinge’s books and they’ve certainly hit different the second time around (A Deepness in the Sky, A Fire Upon the Deep).

I think it really is mostly that I’ve changed. It’s been a slow change that has been hard to notice from the inside, but one that becomes quite stark when re-experiencing a fixed point such as a book.

Corollary: If you're reading books that divulge all on first reading, or don't reward re-reading, try finding a better class of books (and/or authors, genres, topics, etc.).

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.

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.

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.

do you get sad or somewhat similar feelings when you finish a book or series or whatever? i sometimes get those feelings badly, and im a big fan of rereading/rewatching or whatever.

ive also found that ill sometimes sorta really neglect reading the final portions of a book or stop close to the end of a TV series, not because of disinterest, but because i do not want it to actually end.

im pretty much just wondering if these feelings don't hit you quite as strong and you are more excited by new stories, than you are sad about ending the current story.

of course this is more aimed at fiction or just stories in general rather than something like a self help book or whatever, for those those same types of feelings don't apply at all.

I get that! I usually don’t feel that end-of-story sadness strongly enough to make me reread. For me, jumping into a new world is just too exciting, so the “leaving one behind” feeling doesn’t stick around too long.

Lately, I've been listening to audiobooks of books I've read in the past, some of them several times. I've found it to be a great pastime and a useful exercise: the content is experienced differently; some parts have a different effect when read than when listened to.

I also noticed that, after listening to an audiobook, I pick up certain expressions that I then, without thinking about it, use in conversation, something that I did not notice doing when reading the book.

There is something that Ugo Pirro, the famous Italian screenwriter, wrote in his book "How to write a movie", about the re-, which can also apply to re-reading books:

"The memories of each of us, after all, are transformed, fade and shatter, are redrawn and combined when they collide with the immediate experience according to the philosophies that are embraced, the experiences and emotions that have carved their own interpretative model of existence. So what strikes us today, tomorrow may hide, perhaps overwhelmed by other data recorded by the imagination, and then reappear unexpectedly in a day, a month, a year. The time of imagination, in short, is always another, it eludes chronologies, it relies on disorder"

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. :)

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.

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.

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.

There's certain books that I've been rereading for decades.

Right now, I'm getting to the end of Glen Cook's The Black Company series (11 books). I've read it many times, but I keep on enjoying it, each time, as if it's the first time.

I do not get the same from movies or shows. I have a few favorites that I watch over, but not usually more than once.

It's just not the same.

Whenever I have time, I could always re-read a favorite book.

Who doesn't love re-reading Snow Crash

Will you ever forget the way you felt the first time you read this?

"As part of Mr. Lee's good neighbor policy, all Rat Things are programmed never to break the sound barrier in a populated area. But Fido's in too much of a hurry to worry about the good neighbor policy.

Jack the sound barrier.

Bring the noise."

Exactly the book that came to my mind when I saw this headline.

I don't re-read that much "fun" material. But I totally get it, some stuff is so good it will seem like a better option to re-read it compared to trying something new. That is an elite level of book though.

I just started re-reading LOTR for maybe the 4th time in 30 years and probably first time in 10 years. Probably more for the 2nd two reasons in this authors list.

Part of my motivation was I was looking at books in the same genre I had not read and have become mostly tired of it and just kind of thought that I know LOTR is still better than 99% of them, might as well read it again. I am pleasantly surprised by how many small things I had forgotten. It also helps to wash the movies out of my brain and restore the memory of the real story.

Someone mentioned Hitch Hiker's guide to the Galaxy. I just bought a copy of that for my son, it has probably been close to 30 years since I read that, I will be tempted to re-read it again when he is finished.

Ten years is about right in my opinion-one thing I like to do is do my best to write down “what is going to happen” and then refer to that list as I read; see what I forgot.

I read a lot of nonfiction and there's only maybe one or two main ideas that I'll remember from a book a few months later, so I certainly agree with the premise of rereading, but there's just not enough time so I normally just reach for Littler Books or Blinkist whenever I need a refresher.

I can not recommend Xenophon's Anabasis (AKA March Of The Ten Thousand) enough.

I'm rereading it for the fourth time, in less than 2 years. There's a variety of themes:

- political intrigue; - religion; - moral, ethics; - companionship; - brotherhood;

etc. Xenophon is eloquent and straight to the point, I really like his approach in this narration.

Now, on the topic of "rereading", I've often thought that maybe I should (have) read other books; that perhaps I was "spending too much time" in one book, but I just don't care enough to ruminate on this thought, and besides, there's always something new to learn from it.

Concurrently I'm reading "Crime & Punishment", which I also recommend.

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...

“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

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.

From his Wikipedia page:

Wolfe wrote in a letter, "My definition of a great story has nothing to do with 'a varied and interesting background.' It is: One that can be read with pleasure by a cultivated reader and reread with increasing pleasure."

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.

I'm open to re-reading but I always have too long of a backlog of un-read to justify it.

“Rereading” in audiobooks is great; as you don’t have to pay 100% attention and can miss stuff.

I go the other direction. I use audio books to screen books that I actually want to spend time on (nonfiction). Typically, I run the audiobook at double speed. After completing the audiobook, I decide whether it’s worth the time and if so, I buy it. Otherwise, move on. The worst examples are those I can’t finish as audiobook, rare but it happens and usually points to an error in my prescreening.

Precisely the opposite approach as the other recent submission "Read to Forget": https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45239601

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!

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.

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

same as great tv-shows. you notice a lot of things in "The Wire" on your second or third or 5th watch. that you wouldn't notice on the first.

Rewatching season 1 of Game of Thrones is an absolute JOY! [first because it is soooo much better than the last ones! Also, because everything is already in place at the very first episode !!!]

I've reread Neuromancer three or four times and each time I understand a little more of it. I always leave that book not sure if I like it or not.

What did you think of the sequels? Personally, I like Count Zero more than Neuromancer.

Wall Street convinced some to become traders. Neuromancer convinced some others to become nerds.

Don’t think I read the sequels. I have read other Gibson novels (Pattern Recognition, Agency, The Peripheral, and others I can’t think of right now) and liked them.

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.

"Some books should be tasted Others devoured But only a few should be chewed and digested thoroughly"

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