What Re-Reading My Favourite Books In One Year Taught Me
Falling In (and Out) of Love All Over Again
I know people who have never read the same book twice. After all, why bother, when you already know what happens?
For some of us, though, reading isn’t about where you end up, but how you get there, and knowing all the twists and turns in advance can leave us free to enjoy the journey.
A few years back I decided to give myself permission to do something I’d never done before: I made a list of twelve of my favourite books and vowed to re-read them all during the course of one year.
The list was by far the hardest part of the challenge.
I maintain that the worst thing you can ask a bookworm is, ‘What is your favourite book?’ Try it sometime and watch the terror dawn in their eyes as their brain scrabbles frantically to undertake the computations necessary to answer the question before realising it’s impossible. Do you mean favourite classic? Favourite new release? Favourite novel? Memoir? Are you including poetry collections and anthologies? What about YA and children’s books?
To make my life easier I decided to stick to adult fiction that I already owned, exclude classics (mainly because I love far too many of them) and include a mix of genres to keep things interesting.
I’m not going to list them here because I truly believe that what matters was not the books themselves, but the act of re-reading. In particular, re-reading something you once considered a firm favourite.
In some cases, it was a book I’d read only once, many years before, and in other cases, it was a book I’d revisited often, or that I was coming back to after a short break of only a year or two.
So here’s what I learned and what you can expect if you try it for yourself:
1. Your Favourites Are Favourites For a Reason...But Not Necessarily the Same Reason
There are lots of reasons you might fall in love with a book. Maybe the prose is magical, maybe the story gripped you from page one and wouldn’t let go, maybe you felt a connection with a certain character that you couldn’t shake.
It was only after re-reading the twelve books that I’d chosen for the project, I realised that there wasn’t one single factor that had elevated a book to ‘favourite’ status.
In some cases it was the beauty of the writing itself, sometimes the setting felt like home, other times I met the characters between the pages as old friends, but across the board, I couldn’t pin-point a single likeness between the books. In fact, taken as a whole, it would have appeared to anyone else as a very eclectic assortment of books, encompassing thrillers, literary fiction, a post-apocalyptic tale of good and evil, and a gothic romance, among others. The only uniting factor was that each and every one had spoken to me in some way.
2. You Missed a Bit (Yes, Really!)
Knowing where the story is going frees up your attention and slows your pace of reading, meaning that you notice little details you hadn’t before and pick-up on clues you might have missed the first time around. I found myself noticing subtle nuances I hadn’t previously and my feelings about certain characters (and even the story as a whole) sometimes altered slightly as a result.
3. You’ll Find Yourself Falling In Love All Over Again…
There’s something very special about revisiting an old favourite. As you turn the pages you’re reminded of all the reasons you fell in love with the book in the first place. In a world where productivity is prized and we’re constantly encouraged to look forward, never back, it feels both rebellious and luxurious to slow right down and indulge in something just for the pleasure of it.
4. …Or Perhaps Not
I enjoyed every single one of the twelve books I chose to re-read. But if I were to write the list again today, some wouldn’t make the cut.
Sometimes you remember a book as a favourite because it spoke to you at the time. You’ll probably always have a fondness for it, but that doesn’t mean it will remain a favourite forever. Revisiting it, you might be surprised it ever made it on to your list at all. Not because it’s terrible second-time around, or because you actively dislike it now, but because your tastes have changed, or it no longer speaks to you in the same way. And that’s okay.
Re-reading my top twelve books didn’t ruin any of them for me, but it did help me see how I’ve grown and changed, both as a reader and a person.
5. You Leave a Piece of Yourself in Every Book You Love
I’m not talking about Horcruxes, here. I’m just saying that when you read a book that leaves an impression on you, it’s possible you also leave an impression on it.
This is particularly true if you own a physical copy of the book. Picking it up again can evoke memories of the person you were when you read it last. You might find dog-eared pages, an old train-ticket you used as a bookmark, that particular ‘old book’ scent.
Opening a book you read years ago will transport you back in time and you’ll meet your old self there between the pages. You’ll remember who you were when you last read that passage, the job you had where you read it on your lunch break or the train station you waited at every morning, the people you spent time with back then, some of whom you might no longer know.
Rereading a book you’ve read before can be a trip down memory lane just as intense as flicking through an old photo album or reading an old diary.
6. And You Bring Yourself to Every Book You Read
This entire piece is about the power of reading the same book twice, and yet it has been said that no one can ever read the same book twice.
The title, the author, the words may remain the same. The physical book itself may be unchanged, but a good book is more than sentences on pages, it’s an interaction between author and reader.
Readers bring themselves to each book they pick up. They bring their personalities, their worries, fears, hopes and dreams. You might think you haven’t changed much in a few years but on bumping into an old friend they might remark that you have. Your hair, your clothes, your perspective, the things that matter to you and that you choose to talk about or devote your energies to.
An old book can be like that friend.
Ten years ago you might have identified with one character, but a decade on you’re not the same person you were, and you might find a sudden sympathy for another. (this was something I noticed happening a lot during my re-reading project). Parts of the book you found fascinating years before might not hold the appeal they once did, or you might find new treasure amongst the familiar lines. The passing of time brings with it new experiences and fresh perspectives. Chances are, you’ve also read a whole load of other books since you last read this one and you may find your tastes have altered.
7. It’s Worth It
Re-reading my favourite books taught me a lot both about reading and about myself and is something I’d encourage anyone to try. It doesn’t have to be a year-long project like mine, even just choosing one old favourite from your bookcase is a wonderful experience that can teach you a lot.
It’s also a good way to jump-start your reading habit if you’ve found yourself in a slump lately. A few hours curled up with a book you love will remind you of the power of stories and the joy of reading, which is something any book lover can appreciate.
