Thoughts on Re-Reading

The literary man re-reads, other men simply read.
- C.S. Lewis

When you read, do you get a sense of realness and awe?

How do you feel about re-reading books?

I love to talk about books with people, to hear what they enjoy reading, why they enjoy that genre, who their favourite authors are, etc. Many times the topic will come up about re-reading books. It has come to my attention that there exist people who do not ever want to re-read books (I've heard it declared from their own lips), which might be why those people do not ever buy books. I compare that with people like me who love to buy books so that I can re-read them and write in them, underline them, and visit them often. My books are friends that always have wisdom to offer, and I know I need that.

C.S. Lewis re-read books, and thought that one could enjoy them even more with a second reading. He would write the date in the back of a book whenever he finished reading it. Not saying that every book he read was worth a second reading (he did write "never again!" at the back of Don Juan by Byron), but he was seeking out the good books, and that is the point.

I would agree with Mr. Lewis, naturally. It's not that I want to re-read every book, but I want to pick out books that I would most likely read again, and gain new insights from a second reading, or third reading. 

Lewis reminds us "if you don’t read good books you will read bad ones. If you don’t go on thinking rationally, you will think irrationally. If you reject aesthetic satisfactions you will fall into sensual satisfactions” (“Learning in War-Time”, The Weight of Glory). 

Why do you read? What to you read?

I believe that reading should transform you. It should expand who we are. It should teach us from those who are wiser than we are. For seeing through other eyes is a gateway into another world, filled with experiences not your own. Dwell in that, and learn from it.