I just finished reading Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. To those who know how much I love to read, you might wonder why I’d be reading that book; hadn’t I read it already?
Why, yes, yes I have. Multiple times. I don’t know exactly how many, but probably at least five. Plus, I’ve listened to it being read on CD. This latest foray into the magical realm of Hogwarts was in a new edition of the book. I’m sure it’s an effort to grab more money, but the Harry Potter books are being released with new illustrations by Jim McKay. There are simply gorgeous drawings, and it’s almost like reading the book again for the first time with the new artistry.
But why? Why would anybody take the time to re-read something, even if they really enjoyed it? This is a refrain I hear from students a lot. Of course, most of them who say something like that don’t enjoy reading in the first place.
Sometimes we teach our students to read a passage a second time if they are searching for an answer to a question or trying to determine a main idea or theme of a selection. These are shorter bits, usually similar to a story in a newspaper. That in itself seems difficult to kids who struggle with reading. If I mention that I’m reading a 400-page novel for the fifth time, I hear mutterings like, “I haven’t read that many pages in my whole life.” That makes me sad.
I think I learned the art of re-reading when I was very young. My first comic book subscription was to The Amazing Spider-Man. I’d get one issue a month, and I loved these stories so much that I would often read my old issues again before my new one arrived. Many of those comics are tattered and torn, some even missing the covers, but the love and pure enjoyment I gained for reading through constantly looking at those Spider-Man stories are worth how much value those issues lost.
Some people might claim that there is so much good material out there to read that one shouldn’t waste time on books they’ve already read. I can buy that to a degree. I have an ever-expanding list of books and comics I’d like to read, and I will likely never reach the end of that list. Going back and reading a book another time will keep me from making progress on that very list.
The counter argument to that, though, is that a reader can often gain a better understanding and appreciation for a book through that repetition. Here’s an example. Louis Sachar wrote the book Holes. It’s a very good young adult novel about delinquent teenagers sent to a detention camp where they have to dig, you guessed it, holes. There’s a mystery there at Camp Green Lake, and Stanley Yelnats and his friends aim to get to the bottom of it. The book is replete with flashbacks to previous generations, and those are integral to understanding how everything gets figured out.
You can read it once and enjoy this book. But when you read it a second time, knowing how it ends, you pick up on many of the hints and the foreshadowing that is spread about in every chapter, especially the flashbacks. The book is an even better experience the second time through.
Have you ever watched a movie a second time? Of course, most of us have. I’ve watched Star Wars dozens of times, and I never feel like I wasted two hours, because it’s one of my favorite movies. I always enjoy watching it. It’s the same concept with reading a book more than once. That’s also not wasted time if I really enjoy it, right?
I don’t re-read every book I really enjoy. The Book Thief is a top-five book on my all-time list. When I read that novel, I had a hard time putting it down and was so thoroughly floored by the massive revelation that I couldn’t wait to talk to others who had read it. I look at it on my shelf frequently, but have chosen not to read it again...yet. I know I will, but I’m giving it a few years.
That’s just it. I don’t read books over right away. Like a good wine, they get better with age. I hadn’t read the Harry Potter book in probably five years or so. That’s a good amount of time for a book to age. Sometimes, with a movie, you want to go and watch it again very soon after your first viewing. There might be so much going on that you need that second viewing to keep everything straight. Or you might feel you missed something.
It’s the same with a book. I always find something new when I read a book again, something that adds to my understanding and enjoyment. There are a-ha moments while reading a book again, just like in watching a movie a second time, times where the light bulb goes on and things are made clear.
With winter arriving, there tends to be more time stuck inside, which leads to more time to read. Maybe you’ll consider picking up a favorite from the past and giving it another try. If you enjoyed it the first time, you probably will again. Now if you’ll excuse me, the next book on my list is another one I’ve read many times, my all-time favorite book, To Kill a Mockingbird. Happy reading and Happy Thanksgiving to all of you!
Word of the Week: This week’s word is indolent, which means lazy or averse to exertion, as in, “The winter caused him to become indolent about household chores, but he always found the energy to pick up a good book.” Impress your friends and confuse your enemies!