on why you should pick that book up again

If you’re anything like me, your bookshelf is full-to-bursting from books; beloved, hated, and yet unread. As I (guiltily) ignore my own growing pile of to-be-read books, I’ve compiled a list of reasons why re-reading books is something you should be doing:-

1. You save money

Okay, so this is pretty obvious, but let’s be honest, the older you get, the less justifiable it is to spend money on extra pleasures like books when you can spend it on necessary pleasures like food. Besides, you paid for it, so you might as well get as much bang-for-buck as possible. So until you reach the point where money is a non-issue, re-read again that book you love, but may have forgotten the details of because it’s been a while. Which brings me to my next point-

2. You “reignite” the good feels that you got from reading it before

As much as we may wish, we can never get back that magical first time of reading a book and having it impact you to your very core, but rereading a book can serve to “reignite” the feelings you had before, especially if it hearkens back to a happy period when you first read it. A study has been carried out that suggests that “repeated hedonic experiences” (of which I believe reading is one) leads to a “renewed appreciation” of the experience and even provides mental health benefits.

3. You refresh your memory for the inevitable prequels/sequels

Even when I think I’ve found the perfect standalone, the author announces another book in that universe, and the completionist in me needs to read that too. And sometimes it comes out several years later, like Vengeful. Another case is the Shadowhunter Chronicles. I started the original Mortal Instruments trilogy when I was 15. As of now, a decade later, there are 12 books, not counting all the short story anthologies. And the author has announced at least another 6 novels to come. This trend is coertainly continuing on today in other series. It’ll take a lot of re-reading to keep up.

4. You gain new perspectives

If there’s anything that I’ve gained from growing up with Harry Potter, it all comes from re-reading the entire series right before the next book came out. When I was a little kid, I only ever really paid attention to what’s happening to the main trio, and as i grew older i became more able to relate to the other characters and understand their motivations, opening up a whole new world, making every re-read a fresh take. The same goes for the Little Women series, I never really enjoyed the later books much and I despised Amy. But now, I love them more than I had thought possible. So give those old books you didn’t like a re-read as well, they might just get promoted to your favourites list.

“When you re-read a classic you do not see in the book more than you did before. You see more in you than there was before.” 

Clifton Fadiman, Any Number Can Play